Author's Note: I know a lot of you were expecting this chapter to take place during the Adventures in the Elements episode, but I decided at the last minute to make it an original chapter. It's just easier to use the elements below.

Hope you enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

Over at a restaurant, Lillith took a look at a newspaper. She dropped her mouth as she read the headline.

"Serial Drainer Strikes Again"

That's when Baron Mordo returned with a couple small cups of hot beverages. He handed one cup to Lillith. "Here you are, dear."

"Thanks, Karl." Lillith a took a sip and kept her eyes locked on the front page story. "Looks like the Serial Drainer took another one."

Mordo sighed as he sat across the table. "I've heard. Apparently, the victim was Tyrin Troy."

"Tyrin Troy? You mean that talented young man from the Illusionist Coven? He's the only one who Adrian Graye doesn't correct with notes."

"And now, he's gone. Drained of every last bit of his magic until he's left with nothing but a shriveled husk thin as a skeleton. And like always, witnesses said it was the work of a hooded figure who drained him of all his magic and disappeared after. They say that the assailant also took Tyrin's watch that he got from his boyfriend."

"That makes the five victims this month, and all of them are powerful witches in their respective covens." Lillith said. "Emperor Belos wants this to be as much of a priority as recruiting Edalyn."

"We'll find the drainer." Mordo said. "It's all a matter of finding their next victim. The question is, who is it going to be?"

Stephen spent most of the night going over the file he picked up after Eda accidentally dropped it. Each note and picture he found inside made him even more concerned. He stared at it up until early the next morning. He only stopped when Luz tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, Stephen, are you all right?"

"Not really." Stephen answered rubbing his eyes. "Eda is spying on Clea. I want to know why."

"Then why don't you ask her?"

"If I confronted her about it, she'll likely do anything to keep from answering me straight."

"So what are you going to do?"

"What else? I'm going to tell Clea. She has the right to know."

DING-DONG!

"Hoot-hoot! Guess whoooooo. TOO LATE! IT'S CLEA!"

"My dude!" Luz gasped pointing her wide eyes at Stephen. "You did that with your mind!"

Stephen ignored Luz's joke and headed downstairs. He stopped when he saw Eda answering the door.

"Morning, Eda." Clea greeted.

"Uh… Hey, kid." Eda said. "You here for Stephen?"

"Yep." Clea looked and saw Stephen approaching. "Actually, Stephen, would you mind if we do this downtown? I've got some urgent errands to run for Mordo."

"…Sure." Stephen said giving a suspicious look to Eda. "I can go."

"Great. Nice seeing you Luz. Congrats on trying out for Hexside by the way."

"Thanks. Great we're gonna be classmates." Luz replied waving her brother and his friend away. She then noticed the worry on Eda's face. "Hey, Eda, is something wrong?"

"What?" Eda asked getting caught off-guard. "Uh, yeah. Sure. I… I better go."

Before Luz could say anything else, Eda made a mad dash to the kitchen. King was already there nuzzled up and laying on the warm kitchen counter.

"Oh, boy. This is getting more and more nerve-racking for me." Eda said to herself. "When's that investigator going to…" She stopped and chuckled. "Oh, right. I forgot I met him the other day. Let's see what he's got on the kid." She reached into her hair and brushed it along. But when he hand didn't reach what she was after, her worry returned. "What? Where is it? Where is the file? Oh, my titan!"

"Keep it down, will ya?" King asked. "I'm trying to sleep."

"No sleep for you, you little rascal." Eda grabbed King by the back of his fur and lifted him up. "Stephen and Clea just left for Bonesborough. If you go now, you can catch up with them and you can tail them."

"What? Why?"

"Rent."

King grumbled to himself. "Every time I try to take a nap, you pull that threat over me."

Once they headed to the open market, Stephen presented the folder to Clea. She looked over it and shared his concern.

"Well, I feel violated." Clea said. "Why would Eda hire someone to spy on me?"

"I don't know." Stephen said. "But look over at the fourth page."

Clea flipped the pages until she found the one she was looking for. She gasped as she stared at four words that were highlighted and circled three times.

"Devil spawn rumor"

"What?" Clea asked. "This…"

"I guess this whole page discusses that rumor." Stephen said.

Clea almost dropped the whole file, but Stephen took it back before she could. "This… This is wrong. Why would she do this? Does she actually believe that stupid rumor that Boscha started?"

"I don't know." Stephen said. "Believe me, I would love to know what any of this means."

"What if you could?" That voice didn't come from Stephen nor Clea. They turned and a strange woman left from behind her stand and approached them. This witch was middle-aged and had black hair and a dark-purple robe. "Sorry. I couldn't help but overhear. You did after all talk in front of my stand."

"Oh." Stephen said moving aside with Clea. "Sorry about that, Ms…"

"Agnes. And, I think I can help you two."

Stephen and Clea exchanged looks with interest. Meanwhile, King scurried along until he stopped right behind the two he was sent to spy on. He didn't want to be seen, so he ducked behind the nearest barrel and continued to spy.

"Secret Agent King of Demons, reporting for mayhem. My mission: spy on my future magic human slave and his girlfriend. Current notes… They're talking to an old lady. Not exactly the epic twist I was waiting for."

"What do you mean you can help us?" Clea asked.

"You asked if there was a way to find the answers to all your questions, didn't you, kiddos?" Agnes asked. "Why this 'Eda' has been spying on you. What this all means. Well, as a member of the Oracle Coven…" He rolled up her sleeve to reveal her sigil. "…I believe I can get some insight into your questions."

"How does it work?" Stephen asked.

"Well, the spell requires a ritual. I don't have the ingredients on me at the moment, but if we meet up later on, I'm sure we'll be able to pull this off."

Stephen raised his eyebrow. "Why the help? You barely know us."

"What? Can't a kind, generous woman help two kids in need?" Agnes asked, but the kids weren't convinced. She sighed and admitted. "Okay, fine. The head of the Oracle Coven, Osran, requires me to make at least one prediction before the end of the week, and I regretfully am a little behind on that."

"That's what I thought." Stephen said. "Look, I'll have to think about it."

"Well, if you decide to take me up on my offer, I'll be waiting at… Let's say Chain Street."

"Okay. We'll see." Stephen said before walking away from the stand with Clea. "What do you think?"

"Well, oracle magic is tricky to use, so I've heard." Clea said. "But if this Agnes can help us look more into this, I'd say it's worth a shot."

"Okay. I'll consider it." Stephen said. "Now, let's see if we can't pick up some grease for King."

"Ooh! Can they be crispy, please?!"

Once again, Stephen and Clea were caught off-guard by the third voice that didn't come from either of them. They turned and caught sight of King still trying to hide behind the barrel.

"King?" Stephen asked.

"Uh… You found me!" King said desperate for an excuse. "Now, it's your turn to hide."

Obviously, neither of them bought it."

Stephen and Clea marched back into the Owl Sanctum where Eda was reading and Luz was sweeping.

"Hola, guys." Luz said. "How was the trip?"

Stephen answered that by holding King up and tossing him into Eda's lap. She grew a little concerned at that.

"You sent King to spy on us?" Stephen asked.

"Sorry, Eda." King said apologetically.

Eda laughed nervously. "Look, kid, I can explain."

"Explain what?" Stephen asked as he finally held up his folder waving it in front of the Owl Lady. "How you hired someone to spy on Clea?"

Eda gulped. "So that's where that went. Look, Stephen, it's more complicated than that. I admit, I was nervous about Clea since the day we met, and yes, I was even more afraid since you two started hanging out…"

"Afraid?" Clea asked in shock. "You're afraid of me? You really believe in that devil spawn rumor?"

"No, no! I don't!" Eda pleaded. "Look, Stephen, I'm just trying to protect you!"

"By keeping tabs on my friends behind my back?" Stephen asked. "Why? You and I barely know each other! Why would you care that much for me?"

"Kid, come on! Is it really that hard to believe?" Eda asked with a raised voice.

"Yes! That's your problem, Eda! You do the wrong things without consequences! Salvage from human garbage cans! Sell them at outrageous prices on the market! Pull pranks on the Emperor's Coven! That's all fine for me! But when you do something wrong to me or any of my friends, then we know that you're too complacent!"

"Stephen, wait." Luz said. "Let's just talk about this. I'm sure Eda's got a good reason."

"I'm not complacent! I'm just trying to protect you! And Luz!"

"Protect him from what?" Clea asked. "Do you honestly believe that I would ever hurt Stephen or Luz? Is it because I'm Baron Mordo's ward? Is it because of the devil spawn rumor?"

"Forget it, Clea." Stephen said. "If Eda's not responsible enough to give us a straight answer, then we'll go to someone who does."

"Wait, what…" Eda's words failed to stop the two kids as they rushed out the door. "Stephen! Clea! Wait!" She stepped outside, but it was too late. The two kids disappeared into the forest. Eda sighed sadly and sat on the front porch. Luz, King, and Hooty leaned to her to comfort her.

"You okay, Eda?" Luz asked.

"No. Of course not. I just chased away your brother, the only other human that I was responsible for. If I had just told him the truth…"

"Hey." King said. "What is the truth?"

Eda lowered her head before giving a heavy sigh. "Okay. I'll tell you. But everyone has to hear it, Stephen and Clea included. King, you were following them. Do you know anywhere they might have gone?"

"Hmm… Come to think of it, they could be going to Chain Street. They met an oracle named Agnes at the market, and she promised to give some insight in what you're hiding from them."

"Take me to this Agnes then." Eda said.

"And then what?" Luz asked.

"Chain Street's a big street. She might be the only one to know where the kids are."

"This is her stand." King said as he brought Eda and Luz to where Agnes was. The only difference is that it was absent.

"Well, there's no one here." Luz said.

"That's nuts. What kind of nutcase would leave their stand open and not be running it?" Eda asked. "Hey! Any Agnes home? I need to talk to you!"

The three of them searched around the stand when King noticed an unusual smell coming from the tent in the back. He opened it slightly catching an overwhelming, foul order.

"Whoo! Smells like something died in there!"

Eda peeked in and widened her eyes. She quickly closed the tent flap and leaned backwards onto the stand counter.

"Eda! Are you all right?" Luz asked. "What did you find?"

"Kid, don't go in there!" Eda warned. "You ever read the newspaper about a mysterious person draining the magic dry out of five different witches?"

"No! Only grandparents read newspapers anymore!"

"Well… I just found the sixth!"

"What? Agnes was…"

"No! The witch in there was a man! That means Agnes is…"

Luz widened his eyes. "Oh, no! Stephen!"

The night fell when Stephen and Clea made their way to Chain Street. It was dark and seemingly abandoned with most of the buildings there boarded up to be condemned. The two of them looked around until they found a single figure in the shadows. They carefully approached the person and found that it was Agnes standing at the doorway of an ill-looking home.

"Good you kids came by." Agnes said. "Are we ready?"

Stephen took a deep breath. "Yes. I want to know what Eda is hiding."

"Me too." Clea agreed.

"Goodie!" Agnes pulled out a small gemstone which she held with her fingertips. "Now, before we begin, I'd like to tell you kids a story."

"Now?" Stephen asked.

"Trust me. It'll be good. This is the story of a young witchlet named Agatha Harkness. Ever since the day she was born, she was raised to lead a standard life for witches. Go to Hexside. Learn magic. Join a coven. Work until you retire. However, that kind of life was not for little Agatha. She was a dreamer, and she wanted something that every sane person would want: power. So she often snuck into the forbidden section of the library to look for a great source of it. And sure enough, she did. She came across an old diary about an explorer from the Deadwardian Era who studied witch cultures and dark spells. Somewhere along the end, Agatha noticed that he had discovered the secret of a draining spell, a dark ritual which leeches the magic out of unsuspecting witches. So Agatha took the pages that explained the draining spell and spent the next fews years modifying it. It wasn't that difficult. The diary's author already did the hard parts. Still, it took time until she made a special change to the draining spell. You see, the draining spell was meant to suck a witch's power out during a celestial event, rather fatally I'm afraid. But with my modifications, the magic can now instead be transferred."

Throughout the story, Stephen and Clea became more and more nervous. "Your modifications?" Stephen asked.

"That's right, kiddo. The truth is, my name isn't Agnes. It's Agatha Harkness!"

Suddenly, with a snap of the witch's fingers, the circle around Stephen began to glow and he found himself trapped. He tried to escape, but he couldn't even twitch a finger.

"Stephen!" Clea cried out. Suddenly, her arms were caught by purple sludge. From underneath her, an abomination oozed out and immobilized her. She struggled as hard as she could, but she had no luck.

"Now, now, dear. Wait your turn." Agatha said. "I just need to take care of the magic human first." She raised her wrist revealing her Oracle Coven sigil and wiped away the ink making it.

"Stop!" Stephen pleaded. "You can't do this!"

"Sure, I can. I did it before. Half a dozen times, actually. With each new victim, my power grows stronger. And after I saw you backfire a coven head's spell right back at her, I knew that your power would be the icing on my cake. With your magic, I'll finally be strong enough to overthrow Emperor Belos and take over the Boiling Isles!"

"You're crazy!" Stephen said.

"And proud of it! Now, let's begin." Agatha said. She raised her hands toward Stephen and they started to glow dark-purple.

Suddenly, Stephen felt a growing sense of pain coming from the inside of himself. An orange stream flew out of his body and he yelled out in pain. Clea continued to try and save him, but the abomination held her good. Agatha kept her spell locked in on him until she heard a voice breaking her spell.

"Hey! Stay away from my brother!"

Agatha turned behind her to find Luz standing there. "Sorry, kid, but you don't have any magic for me to take. So instead, I'll just feed you to my palisman, Scratchy."

Agatha raised her staff from the inside of her robes and shot the top of it off. When it rolled up in front of Luz, she wasn't scared because all she found was a little, white bunny that scratched its ear.

"Well, that's effective." Luz said. "What's its special power, carrot munching?"

Suddenly, the rabbit palisman twitched. It turned its body parts around until it began to grow. The bigger it got, the more nervous Luz became, especially from seeing its fur change from white to black and claws coming from its paws. Its teeth sharpened into fangs and it towered above Stephen's sister.

"HOW BIG ARE YOUR CARROTS?!" Luz cried out.

Scratchy roared as it attempted to strike at Luz. Luckily, she ducked and ran off with the monster palisman chasing after her.

"Have fun, Scratchy! Now, to…" Agatha turned back to Stephen just in time to catch Eda trying to free him. She shot a fire blast to keep the Owl Beast away. "Eda Clawthorn! I should have known you'd meddle in business that isn't your own?"

"Do I know you?" Eda asked.

Agatha widened her eyes. "Agatha. Agatha Harkness? We were classmates at Hexside? You humiliated me with one of your pranks?"

"Lady, do you have any idea how little that narrows it down? Look, as much as I want to get in a witch fight with you, I'm here to save the kids. It's my fault they're in this mess, so it should be me to get them out."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Agatha cried out as she waved her hand again.

Suddenly, the abomination holding Clea also latched onto Eda's hands. Thankfully, the Owl Lady pulled herself enough to pop her hands off.

"Ha! Nice try, sucker!" Eda said.

Agatha raised her eyebrow. "And how do you plan to grab the boy and pull him out without hands?"

"…Oh, farts."

All of a sudden, the abomination grabbed Eda again. This time, her whole body got caught. Eda wrestled in it, but the hold got her too much.

"Now then, back to where we were." Agatha said pointing her hands at Stephen again. Like before, Stephen's magic was painfully being pulled from him.

Unlike before, Clea could do something. While the abomination was keeping its hold on Eda, the hold on Clea was weak enough for her to break out. Once she was free, she wasted no time in rushing toward Stephen and pushing him out of the circle. Unfortunately, she was trapped in his place.

"Clea!" Stephen cried out. He tried to get back to her, but the abomination grabbed him too. This time, it kept a tight hold on both its hostages.

"Well, I wanted to start with the boy," Agatha said, "But I guess I'll take the appetizer before I move onto the main course."

Agatha continued her spell attempting to drain the magic from Clea. The girl screamed feeling magic drain from her. As the minute passed, the spell made a noticeable change to Clea's appearance. Her pitch-black hair began to brighten up until it was pale white. That's when King made his move.

The little demon leaped up from behind the abomination and flew over to Agatha. He latched himself onto her face breaking her spell. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

"GET OFF, YOU FURRY GOBLIN!" Agatha demanded. She stepped around trying to shake King off. As she did, she accidentally motioned for the abomination to release Eda and Stephen.

After being released, the two moved on to save Clea. Stephen broke the circle that was keeping her frozen and Eda caught her as she fell. She was already sluggish and exhausted.

"You okay, kid?" Eda asked.

"Just a little rest, and I'll be fine." Clea said.

Agatha finally managed to pry King off of her face and pin him to the nearest wall. "You're done for!" She raised her hand ready to shoot a blast of fire.

"KING!" Stephen cried out. Suddenly, the Axe of Agarruumus appeared in his hand, and as if on instinct, he chucked it across in Agatha's direction. The blade grazed against her hand and she yelled letting go of King. She knelt down to care for her damaged hand while King scurried away from her.

At the same time, Luz knocked over garbage cans as she ran trying to slow Scratchy down. She managed to make a U-turn making the monster palisman do the same. As soon as she got close enough, she quickly spun herself and pulled out a handful of papers light light glyphs on them. She swatted at them releasing a large blast of light that caught Scratchy by surprise. As she was blinded, Luz ducked out of the way. Scratchy fell over and rolled over to his side right into the wounded Agatha. Scratchy shrunk back down to his normal size as unconscious as his owner.

After the fight, everyone gathered back together. "Is everyone all right?" Eda asked. Everyone nodded. Stephen kept his head low for a second before turning it back at Eda.

"Eda, I wanna go back to the Owl Sanctum."

Eda sighed. "Yeah. We've got a lot to talk about. But first…"

After receiving an anonymous tip, scouts from the Emperor's Coven hurried over to Chain Street. There, they found and surrounded Agatha Harkness who was tied up along with her palisman. Attached to her was a note which the short leader read.

"Who's been draining magic from witches? It's been Agatha all along."

"What's the call, Golden Guard." A scout asked their leader.

The Golden Guard turned his gold mask away from the note and up to Agatha's unconscious face. "Well, the Emperor has been invested in this investigation. He wants to deal with her personally. Take her to the castle."

After Clea woke up feeling rested, she met up with her friends in Eda's room. She sat next to Stephen while brushing ner newly-white hair.

"How do you feel?" Stephen asked.

"Better, thank you. I feel my magic replenished already." Clea said. "Though, I guess I need to come up with an excuse to explain my new hairstyle to Mordo."

"I think it's a good look for you." Luz commented.

"Thanks." Clea said.

Eda cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Okay. First of all, I would like to say… I'm sorry. If I had just owned up and expressed my concern, maybe you wouldn't have fallen in Agatha's hands in the first place."

"I'd like to apologize too." Stephen said. "I was acting irrationally earlier and said things I didn't mean. I don't even know why I said all that."

"I do. You were mad." Eda said. "I get it. I haven't been the most honest person, but that's mainly because something I should say is hard to talk about."

"What do you mean?" Luz asked.

"Stephen, there's a reason why I'm so protective of you. It's not just because you're living under my roof and you're Luz's brother. Tha truth is…" She lowered her head and sighed. "…You remind me of my dad."

That answer got everyone's attention. They stiffened their backs and focused on her.

"What?" Stephen asked.

"More backstory?" Luz asked.

"Not a happy backstory." Eda frowned. "It happened shortly after I first got my curse. My dad was the greatest palisman carver on the Isles. He even helped me carve Owlbert. One night, he was getting ready for a special trip, but all of a sudden, the Owl Beast got spooked and came out. I blacked out during that time, but when I regained consciousness, I found my dad… maimed."

Eda stopped for a moment to see everyone's reactions. As expected, she saw them horrified and sympathetic toward her. She took a breath and continued.

"He lived. But the damage I've done to him left him unable to carve a single palisman ever again. I guess you could say that I gave him nerve damage."

Stephen lost his breath. He finally saw how he reminded Eda of her father. He looked at his hands and remembered the pain it did to him while feeling great sympathy towards Eda's dad. He lowered his hands and let Eda continue.

"After that, nothing was the same at the Clawthorn house again. My dad was seriously injured. My mom became desperately obsessed with finding a cure. I barely talk to my sister anymore. I was afraid of what might happen, so I ran away. But even though I left the house, the Owl Beast still haunted me keeping me miserable. It even ruined my relationship with… someone I really care for. I thought I'd never be happy again. But then, you kids came into my life. King for starters. Eight years later, I stumbled upon you two human kids. And when Stephen told me of his condition, I had flashbacks of what happened to my dad and… I was afraid. So afraid, I let it mess me up. I'm sorry, kids. I'm so sorry."

Eda began to tear up, but those tears slowed down right when everyone else went to hug her. She smiled hugging back at them.

"Eda, I forgive you." Stephen said.

"Thanks, kid." Eda said breaking the hug. She cleared her eyes and looked over at Clea. "And Clea, I'm sorry I had someone spy on you."

"That's okay." Clea said. "Though, I have to ask, why were you so scared of what I'd do? Is it because I'm Mordo's daughter or because of the devil spawn curse?"

"None, really. To be perfectly honest, your birthmark scared me."

"My birthmark? What about it?"

Eda stood up and headed to her bookshelf. She pulled out a book labeled "The Other Dimensions and You" and flipped its pages until she went to her bookmarked section. She showed it to everyone.

Luz read the heading aloud. "The Dark Dimension?"

"Yep. Out of all the realms out there, the Dark Dimension is the worst. It's ruled by an evil entity called Dormammu who wants to expand his universe by absorbing others. If he takes a world, he'll bring nothing but death, destruction, chaos, and ruin."

"I've heard of Dormammu." King said. "They say he's done things so scary, even the fiercest of demons are too scared to mention them."

"The mark you have, Clea, looks similar to the mark of the Dark Dimension." Eda said. "They say that whoever bears this mark is a servant of Dormammu. They're usually drawn into his grip through whatever promise he made. So when I saw that mark on you, I was afraid of what it might mean."

"Wow." Clea said. "Okay, I can understand why you were so paranoid. So I'm not mad at you. But you can rest assured that I don't wish to hurt anyone. I never made a deal with this Dormammu. I've never even met him. I don't want to hurt the Boiling Isles, least of all you guys."

"I know." Eda said. "As soon as I saw you risk your life to save Stephen from Agatha, all my worries were put to rest… Well, not counting all the worries over getting out of that situation alive, of course." She laughed along with the kids. "All right. Well, it looks like I was worried over nothing. Though your mark looks similar, it's now clear to me that you're no servant of Dormammu. So Clea, you're welcome in the Owl Sanctum any time."

Clea smiled proudly as Stephen wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Welcome to the Owl Sanctum, Clea."

"It's a wild ride, girl." Luz promised.

Agatha Harkness stirred slowly awake finding herself in a large, dimly-lit room. She was bound by her hands an kneeling on the floor. Her eyes widened with fear seeing who it was standing above her. Sitting from his throne was a man in a long, white and brown robe with gold trim. He also wore a gold, horned mask.

"Emperor Belos." Agatha shuddered in fear.

"Agatha Harkness." The ruler of the Boiling Isles returned. "Former student of Hexside Academy turned into a serial drainer. If your goal was to get my attention, I admit, you've done a spectacular job at that." Belos groaned clutching onto his chest. "One moment." He reached the table beside him and held up a certain palisman that made Agatha widen her eyes.

"Scratchy?"

Belos gripped both his hands on the palisman and twisted it roughly. In a split instant, Agatha's palisman was broken into two and a green smoke flew out of it. Belos let the smoke into his mask and he exhaled as if he let out a therapeutic aroma.

"Ah. Much better."

Agatha was stunned. She had witnessed what the emperor did to her beloved palisman and knew that a similar fate awaited her. All she could do was beg for her life. "No! Please! Don't hurt me! Please!"

Belos made her quiet by raising his hand. It wasn't magic, but she was still too scared to speak up. "Not to worry, Ms. Harkness. The Titan has instructed me to spare you."

"R-Really?" Agatha asked.

"The only reason you are evading punishment is because you can be useful." Belos said. He picked up his staff and waved it across. Suddenly, Agatha's bonds disappeared and she stood back up.

"How can I be useful?" Agatha asked nervously.

"It's very simple really." Belos said. He held up a glove which he then put on. "I knew you began draining magic to try and overthrow me, but what if I could give you a position of power myself?"

Agatha didn't expect this proposition. "Why me?"

"I'm preparing something special for the Day of Unity," Belos said, "And I would like a second opinion on it when the time comes. Given your specialty, I believe you are the right witch to talk to. So here's my proposition. You join the Emperor's Coven. When the time comes, I will call on you for your expertise. And in return, the Titan will reward you what was promised to all our most loyal witches: paradise in a world free of wild magic."

For a moment, Agatha wasn't scared. Instead, she found the proposal to be most generous and tempting. But first, she had one question to ask. "And if I don't take you up on that deal?"

Agatha could feel the intense glare coming from behind the emperor's mask. She already knew the answer, but she awaited his response.

"Then I will have no choice but to bestow on you the fate of all who practice wild magic. And given your crimes, I believe petrification is the most fitting." Belos held out his hand with the glove. He clenched his fist and reopened it revealing the branding sigil for the Emperor's Coven. "So what do you say?"

Agatha thought for a moment. To her, this deal was obvious and she had nowhere else to go. So reluctantly, she held out her right wrist ready to be branded.

"I'm in."