Camila had never had the distinct displeasure of meeting Odalia Blight before. Odalia had been arrested not too long after Camila visited the Isles for the first time. But she'd heard numerous stories of her monstrosity from Amity and Amity's siblings. And that wasn't even getting into the pack of bullshit she'd been selling to everyone on Earth to turn them against the Boiling Isles, the fact that she'd murdered Amity's father in cold blood, or was currently working with Eduardo's murderer.

Camila didn't know exactly what she was expecting Odalia to look like. She'd seen a few photographs of her, and unfortunately had the displeasure of watching a few of her interviews on the news channel that had asked her those questions outside the stadium, just to get a sense of how her enemy worked. But it was clear that Odalia must have been using illusions in those interviews, because she looked positively awful. She was gaunt, sunken, haggard. It was like she'd become a wraith, a shadow of her former self. Her green hair (the same color Amity had been forced to dye hers to, Camila recalled) was wild and unkempt, and there was a demented look in her blue eyes.

And this was when she was trying to look composed!

Camila pulled out a glyph and tried to summon her gun to her hand. Her shamefully violent behavior against Hal notwithstanding, Camila was not someone usually comfortable with violence. She was a healer at the core; it went against her very nature. But she was more than willing to make an exception against the monster who had the nerve to call herself Amity's mother. Besides, Odalia's specialty, she recalled, was mind control magic; if she let Odalia speak, she could be placed under her thrall.

In any event, it proved to be moot, because when she tried to activate the glyph, absolutely nothing happened. Odalia pointed at the ceiling, where some very elaborate sigils had been drawn and activated. "Wards, my dear." Wards, Camila knew, were a form of magic that blocked out all other forms of it. They were very difficult to use and cost a significant amount of magical power, to say nothing of the cost it had on one's body. It was likely Odalia's usage of them was what was causing her to look so awful.

"I'm not dumb enough to come before you without cutting out your access to magic," Odalia went on. "I'm not here for violence. I'm here to make a deal with you."

"Go fuck yourself," Camila said immediately, thanking her lucky stars that Luz wasn't around to hear her.

Odalia let out an animalistic snarl, and spun her hand in a circle, but nothing happened. The wards that were cutting off their access to magic were also cutting out hers. Eda rolled her sleeves up. "So what's stopping me from beating you to death with my bare hands, then?"

Odalia gave a rusty laugh that sounded like sandpaper. "Why, all of them are, of course!" She gestured outside the box seat, where there were several rows of seats, many of them occupied, with the occupants both watching the confrontation and filming it on their cell phones. "You have enough publicity problems. Would you like to add to the list?"

Camila didn't. But then again, Odalia was extraordinarily dangerous, and a wanted fugitive to boot. Not to mention that the publicity problems Odalia was already causing them would disappear when she was taken out of play. Camila certainly didn't like the idea of just beating Odalia to death while she was unarmed, but roughing her up enough to incapacitate her so she could be arrested had a certain appeal to it. "In any event, I'm here to talk. Or are you so uncivilized that civil discourse is now anathema to you?"

"There's nothing civil about what you did to your daughter," Raine said, their voice ice cold. "You abused her. You left her thoroughly traumatized. You murdered her father."

Odalia shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. "What you refer to as abuse, I refer to as discipline necessary to unlock her true potential."

"You hampered her true potential," Camila retorted. "Amity has become extremely powerful in your absence, pushing the boundaries of magic beyond their established limits. It wasn't discipline she needed. It was love. I gave her that. Not you. Never you."

Odalia rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, she's established proficiency in a field of magic used by hippies and beatniks." Camila idly wondered how Odalia even knew those terms. "So impressive. Love is meaningless. It is ephemeral. A name lasts. A legacy lasts. The Blight name will last."

Eda smirked at her. "Except it won't. All of your children are ready to take on their SOs' names when they marry. There won't be any Blights left."

Odalia's eyes twitched with fury. "Their perversions are but a temporary thing. I am busily working on curing them and dragging them back to the holy path of the Titan." A chill went down Camila's back. Could Odalia forcibly change Amity's sexuality? It sounded far fetched, but then again, what didn't in her life these days? "You may have slain Belos, but it matters not. The Titan speaks to me now."

Camila shared an incredulous look with her partners, both of whom looked like they didn't believe Odalia in the slightest. "Okay…" Raine said.

"He has ordered me to cleanse the scourge of deviant sexualities from both my land and yours," Odalia went on, serenely. Dear God, she actually believed the claptrap she was saying. It was 95% certain, Camila knew, that given what they knew of Belos' past and nature, that he had just made up his claim to speak to the Titan to hold onto power. But Odalia actually, literally believed the Titan had been speaking to her. Was he? Who knew? Or cared? If God himself had come down from heaven to tell Camila she was a sinner for being in love with Eda, she'd give him the finger.

"Get the hell out of here, Odalia, before we call security," Eda threatened. "This is our suite, not yours."

Odalia gave her a bright smile. "Actually, this is the mayor's box seat, and after a…conversation with him, he was more than willing – well, perhaps willing is the wrong word – to allow me to join you."

Camila felt about to throw up for a few seconds. Was this bitch actually planning on watching the whole game with them? That would not happen. Camila was going home first. T-Mobile Park had practically been Eduardo's second home. Odalia was befouling it with her mere presence. Camila remembered going to baseball games with her husband, listening to his explanations of the intricacies of the sport. She barely understood how the sport even worked, but listening to the sheer joy and enthusiasm he put into it made that fact completely irrelevant by comparison.

"I am feeling generous," Odalia lied transparently, "so I will give you the offer I came here to give you. I know you've been having some…legal difficulties, shall we say, with your parents, Camila. They're rather charming individuals…but very easy to manipulate." Camila clenched her fists. She may have despised her parents, but they were still family. "I can make those go away for you…if you give me Amity."

"In your dreams, puta," Camila snarled, and she slugged Odalia across the face. Her knuckles screamed in pain. Recordings be damned, she would not be blackmailed into giving up her nuera. "I am not giving you Amity, because Amity is not a thing to be given! I don't care if you offer me my own galaxy! I will not betray her."

Raine put a hand on her shoulder. "Camila, please don't hurt her like that." They gave Odalia an open hand strike to the face. "Punching her in such a manner could hurt your knuckles. I don't want you in pain."

"I should have known expect such behavior from savages such as yourselves," Odalia sneered at them. She looked over at Eda, expecting her to punch her as well, but Eda just gave her a cold stare. "I make this offer in good faith. Perhaps I should sweeten the pot. Were you to give me Amity, I would withdraw from the field, at least until the coming eschaton. I could even be persuaded to exempt you and your family from it."

Camila tilted her head. Eschaton? Did Odalia have something big planned? Perhaps it was a good idea to keep her talking. Villains liked to monologue. Camila recalled when she and her partners had taken down the crime lord Valefar – he'd monologued about his sinister plot to rule the world, and Camila had recorded the whole thing, completely devastating his reputation.

"Yes, do tell us more about this eschaton, Odalia," Camila encouraged her, covertly taking out her cell phone and setting it to record. But Odalia spotted the cell phone, grabbed it out of her hands, and smashed it against the wall. Camila groaned – that phone had cost her a lot of money!

"Nice try," Odalia said. "But I'm wise to your technological tricks. I am the smartest woman in the universe, after all." She gestured at the crowd of people who had gathered to watch them potentially duke it out. Unfortunately, it looked like they were still too far away to actually capture what they were saying on their phones. "You may have the upper hand for now, but it will not last. Humans are savage, paranoid beasts at the core. Of course, they pretend otherwise. They weave a web of lies around themselves and say it is civilization. But in the end, a system is only as strong as its people…and the will of said people."

Odalia stood up. "When the eschaton comes, you will kill your daughter, Camila." Camila almost wanted to throw up at the very thought. Obviously she'd never do that in her right mind…but could Odalia make her do it anyway? "Assuming, of course, you still possess her. And you'll want to do it. That is the price of making yourself my enemy."

She turned to leave and Eda transformed into the Harpy Beast and slammed Odalia against a wall. Odalia let out a yelp, and looked positively petrified. Clearly, word of the Harpy Beast had not yet reached her ears. It was interesting that what was technically a manifestation of Eda's curse, even if it wasn't fundamentally one anymore, could transcend the wards. Camila had no idea what that meant, but it meant something.

"NO ONE THREATENS MY DAUGHTER!" Eda snarled at Odalia, her voice echoing as it always did in harpy form. "I'm going to rip you to giraffing shreds!" Camila tried her best to keep a poker face; the Harpy Beast always got her and Raine hot, and Eda threatening Odalia over Luz honestly just made it even sexier. But this was probably the least appropriate place or moment for such things possible.

"HELP!" Odalia screamed for the benefit of the crowd. "SOMEONE HELP ME! This monster is trying to kill me!"

Camila shook her head minutely and Eda reluctantly released Odalia, who tried her best to compose herself, and then ran out the door before anyone could say another word. "Nothing to see here, just internal Boiling Isles matters, move along!" Eda cried out jauntily.

Raine cleared their throat, looking somewhat in awe of their girlfriend. "I'm going to make a suggestion, and you can shoot it down, but what do you say we ditch the game and…"

"Do some dressing up and traveling?" Eda said with a wink.

Camila blinked. "I…don't know what you mean by that."

"It's a euphemism," Raine explained, a huge blush over their face. "It, er, means…"

"I want to screw your brains out," Eda clarified. "That's what it means."

Camila nodded slowly. Staying at the game wasn't all that appealing anymore. The Mariners would probably lose anyway, because they usually did, and she'd already accomplished her objective in coming out publicly with her relationship. She was determined to prove that Odalia's threats weren't going to phase her, and honestly, getting her brains screwed out sounded quite fun, especially if Eda was going to do it in her harpy form. Besides, Odalia's homophobia meant that doing it with her female and nonbinary partners was an excellent way to defy her.

"I'm probably going to regret this tomorrow morning, but let's dress up and travel," Camila said. "In a hotel room," she added, just in case. "I've got to call Luz to let her know we'll be late, though…"

"No problem," Eda said with a grin, as she settled down in an armchair. "We're in no rush."

"Speak for yourself," Raine muttered, as they adjusted their pants.

Edric was ashamed of himself. It was an unpleasant and very rare feeling, and he certainly had no desire to experience it any longer than necessary. But there was no doubt he'd fundamentally screwed up every aspect of his life ever since Odalia had escaped from prison. He did his best to hide it, but he was absolutely terrified. He knew that Odalia wouldn't bother brainwashing him or torturing him until he became her obedient son anymore. No, if she saw him again, she'd simply kill him. Some may have thought that this would be a better outcome, but Edric was not one of those people. He was terrified of dying, but more than that, he was terrified of not being able to help Amity anymore.

He definitely hadn't done a very good job of helping himself, much less Amity, recently. Edric had hid his fear behind dangerous pranks, constant partying, and imbibing substances that he was frankly surprised he even survived drinking and snorting. Jerbo had been quite right to break up with him for the fact that Edric had stood him up on several occasions to attend a rave alone. But the ex-detention track witch had the patience of a saint and had persisted in dealing with the mess that was Edric, right up until he caught Edric having a threesome with twin cyclopes. So that was the end of that relationship. (And to add insult to injury, neither of the cyclopes would return his crow calls.)

That would have been bad enough. But then Edric had been dumb enough to encourage Amity to have a few drinks herself, and she'd gone way overboard and gotten so plastered that her life had genuinely been in danger. That was the last straw for Edric, who realized that he had gone too far. He'd proceeded to acquire some extra strength detoxification potions and purged all of the drugs and alcohol from his system. It was excruciatingly painful. Edric was throwing up for several days straight. But in the end, it was necessary.

Once he was completely clean, he used illusions to sneak into the Human Realm. Honestly, the security present was a joke. It was honestly quite worrying. Edric somehow managed to find the school where Amity and her friends were going now, and used an illusion to pretend to be the principal. It wasn't exactly Edric's best impersonation – it wouldn't have fooled Principal Bump, for example – but none of the humans appeared to even realize that someone could be impersonated like that. As Principal Weiss, Edric was able to learn that one of Amity's teachers – her bigoted English teacher, Mrs. Claremont, actually – was going to be out for an extended period of time for an operation, and was being replaced by a substitute.

Edric intercepted the substitute before he could go into the school, and bribed him with a bag of gold to impersonate him. To the substitute's credit, he was extremely skeptical of Edric's intentions, and Edric had to make an Everlasting Oath not to cause harm to any of his students before the substitute would even consider taking the deal. In the end, a better part of an hour worth of persuading and a second bag of gold later, the substitute took the deal.

The impersonation wasn't flawless, but it didn't need to be. Fred Jacobs was a blank slate. No one at the school knew him. There was absolutely no way that anyone would be able to tell it was him. Edric would not allow his sister to go unprotected. Okay, sure, there was that law enforcement guy who kept on stalking her, but Edric had heard all sorts of stories about the horrible things the American government did to aliens. Agent Johnston could be a danger. No, Amity would be much safer with her brother watching stealthily. Truly, Edric was a master of deception. There was no way anyone would see through his illusions.

"YOU'RE A WITCH!" Vee shouted the instant Edric entered the classroom. Oh, damn it. He'd forgotten that basilisks could sense magic. Well, so much for that plan. Maybe he could salvage things somehow?

"I don't see what my religion has to do with anything," Edric bluffed. "I can practice witchcraft if I want to. It's a free country." Vee glared at him. Wow, xe had a fierce glare, didn't xe? Edric frantically looked through the exceptionally detailed lesson plans Jacobs had given him. And, thankfully, he seemed to luck out. "But this does rather neatly lead us into today's lesson. Today, we'll be reading through The Crucible, which indeed does involve lurid accusations of witchcraft."

Amity looked at him askance. "Hang on a second. I think Vee's accusations need to be addressed here."

"There's nothing to worry about, Amy," Edric assured her. Amity grimaced. The nickname was one only used by her siblings and it was an obvious sign that Edric (or Emira) was standing before her. "Is there?"

Amity sighed. "I suppose not."

"Good! Turn your textbooks open to the proper page. We're gonna have a lot of fun!"

Much to Edric's surprise, he actually did. At first, he'd been offended by the fact that they were being asked to read a book centering around the burning of witches. But he quickly realized that it was actually a cautionary tale against such things. And none of the people getting burned were real witches anyway; they were just humans who had the misfortune of living in an exceptionally paranoid society.

Even more surprising than that was the fact that Edric was liking teaching. It was enjoyable, and he really felt like he was making a difference. The thought Oh my Titan, I want to be a teacher now leaped into his brain, and though the idea would have once horrified him, the new Edric was finding he actually was totally okay with it. Also, the fact that he'd probably give Bump a heart attack the moment he got wind Edric was even going to be studying to become a teacher was an added bonus.

Edric asked Amity to stay after class. One of the benefits of being a teacher was that he could write hall passes and no one would question it. He would only use those powers for good, he vowed…well, most of the time. "What are you even doing here, Edric?" Amity wondered.

"Just keeping an eye on my little sis, that's all," Edric said, trying to keep his voice casual. "Amity…I'm so sorry. I went off the deep end, and that was bad enough, but then I tried to pull you in and that was just…unforgivable."

Amity rolled her eyes. "Oh, Titan, everyone's acting like I'm a ticking time bomb just because I got plastered once. It's getting old! Anyway, I don't need your protection."

"Don't you?" Edric retorted. "Willow told me there's a kid around here who has no problem flashing knives around. Johnston isn't allowed to watch over you in school – that's where I'm going to pick up the slack."

Amity took a few breaths and then appeared to realize that punching a person everyone thought was a substitute wouldn't exactly do her any favors. "Okay, but you can't just follow me wherever I go as Mr. Jacobs, because that'd look really weird."

"I'll find a way around that," Edric promised. "It's gonna be fine. Amity…honest to Titan, if you don't want me to do this, I'll go home. But I think it'd be helpful for you to have me around. Luz is great and all, but sometimes, you just need to confide in family, you know?"

"Yeah," Amity said softly. "Yeah, I know. Okay, you can stay…but only if you're on your best behavior! No getting me in trouble, no playing pranks on me, none of your shenanigans!"

Edric gave her a grin. "No shenanigans, cross my bile sac and hope to die." Amity nodded curtly at him and then left the room without another word. There would so be shenanigans. After all, he may be a new and improved version of Edric, but he was still Edric.

It was honestly quite disappointing how well he was able to blend in as a teacher. Sure, he was regarded as weird by some, but as an authority figure, he was given the benefit of the doubt. Also, everyone seemed to be so relieved that Mrs. Claremont was out of the picture that they didn't bother asking any questions. Seriously, everything he'd heard about her so far indicated that she and Odalia would have gotten along very well.

Edric didn't even bother trying to hide his identity when he was one on one with Luz and the exchange students. He knew Amity would have told them. Besides, as fun as it would have been to keep his identity secret, it was more important that Amity's friends knew he was there to have their back. (Not to mention that Vee would have just kept on asking awkward questions until the whole thing unraveled.)

When he was asked to supervise detention (which was so dull compared to Hexside's detention), he made a deal with the student he thought would blend in most with Luz and her friends and had lunch with them. The student had been gotten in trouble for skipping classes; Edric would give him all the hall passes he wanted if he allowed Edric to use an illusion to impersonate him during lunch. It was none of Edric's business if Victor didn't bother attending his classes. It would only hurt him in the long run, after all, especially when tests rolled around.

The whole thing ended up backfiring spectacularly on him. Edric had been chatting away with Luz and her friends (apparently, everyone was particularly excited that the Mariners, whatever those were, had made the playoffs), all of whom had now been briefed on his presence, when a redheaded human girl sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. Amity was struggling to hold back laughter, and then the girl kissed Edric.

It was all Edric could do to not vomit. A girl was kissing him! Eww! He'd lose all cred with his gay friends back at Hexside when they found out that he kissed a girl, even if he didn't like it. "Hey, Vic," the girl purred after the kiss was over. "I'm surprised to see you with…Luz and her friends." By the looks of it, the girl was about to say something else in lieu of Luz, probably not something very flattering. Edric was tempted to just slap her for having the audacity to kiss him, but he knew she thought she was kissing Victor. It would have been nice if Victor had mentioned he had a girlfriend before they made their deal…

"You need something, Jessica?" Amity said coolly. Only one who knew her like Edric would see that she was holding back a tremendous guffaw only by sheer force of will.

"Oh, just wanted to remind you that the party's coming up," Jessica said, her eyes filled with mischief. Edric had a very bad feeling about this party, whatever it was about. "It's gonna be an evening that'll go down in history, that's for sure." She ran a finger down Edric's face. "Now if you'll all excuse me, Vic and I have a…prior engagement. Behind the bleachers."

"Actually, I have to go and…study," Edric said desperately. He regretted every single life choice he had ever made now. "In the library. Alone."

Jessica narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Well, it wouldn't do to piss off Victor by getting his girlfriend upset with him, lest he blow the whistle on their arrangement. "But! I'll totally be up for it after school." What, was Victor going to complain about that? Surely not. Jessica nodded slowly, looking mollified.

"Hey, Jessica, what's the dress code for the party?" Luz called out.

"Oh, I don't think you'll need to worry about that, sweetie," Jessica said in a menacingly honeyed tone. "Just…come as you are."

Edric hightailed it into the bathroom and dropped the illusion in favor of his illusion for Jacobs. And a good thing too, because Jessica actually followed him into the boys' bathroom shortly thereafter. Why the bathrooms were segregated by gender at all, Edric had no clue, especially since people like Avery showed that a gender binary was just silly, but he had been hoping it would save him from Jessica.

Fortunately for Edric, Jessica appeared completely convinced by his impersonation. "What are you doing in here, young lady?" he asked, failing miserably to keep his anger out of his voice, and not even bothering to try.

"Uh, nothing, sir," Jessica stammered. "I went in the wrong bathroom by mistake…I'll just be going."

Edric grunted. "See that you do."

Awkward situation handled – at least to a limited degree – Edric resolved to avoid Jessica like the plague over the next few days. Fortunately, it was quite easy since she wasn't even supposed to be at that lunch period, and thus it was just a simple matter of changing back into Jacobs and getting her in trouble. After a few days, she seemed to get the message and stayed away.

Edric's arrangement with Jacobs also meant that he had usage of Jacobs' apartment while he was using his bribe to travel the world, so he had no issues finding a place to sleep. Thankfully, Jacobs was single and had not that much in the way of family, so Edric had no problem bluffing his way through the odd phone call with Jacobs' parents and sister. In Edric's opinion, Jacobs' sister needed to dump her boyfriend stat, but it wasn't Edric's place to give her advice, so he kept his mouth shut.

Emira had been complaining about how boring the Human Realm was, and Amity was full of nothing but praise for it, so Edric had been curious about how he'd find it. The answer appeared to be somewhere in the middle. It was a fascinating place, no doubt, but at the end of the day, it wasn't all that too different from the Demon Realm. There were more than a small amount of jerks around in both realms, that was for sure.

Edric had gone to the Johnston residence to drop off a textbook that Amity had accidentally left behind in his classroom. He had expected it to be completely routine. The Johnston parents, especially Agent Johnston, had been kept out of the loop that Mr. Jacobs, mild mannered substitute teacher, was secretly Edric. Amity didn't trust Agent Johnston. She didn't think he necessarily had sinister intent, but she knew that his agenda was that of the American government's, and while it aligned with hers now, that could easily change.

What he did not expect was for Agent Johnston to ask to speak to him in his office about Caroline's academic performance, and then pull a gun on him. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

Edric put up his hands and tried to look like an innocent, frightened substitute teacher. "Fred Jacobs! I…what's going on here? I thought you were one of the good guys?"

"Really?" Agent Johnston sneered. "Then why does my intelligence – our intelligence – indicate that the real Fred Jacobs is currently in Paris? Were you sent here as my backup? I don't need any! I have this whole situation under control."

Ah, damn. Well, Edric should have seen this coming. At this point, he was reasonably certain Agent Johnston was not willing to shoot Amity's brother, so he dropped the illusion. Agent Johnston blinked a couple of times, and then burst out laughing. "Oh my God," he said, and then he repeated it a couple of times through his laughter, seemingly unable to come up with any other words. "This is just…too good. I thought you were a spy this whole time, and now…I finally get to meet Edric Blight."

The gun was not wavering slightly and Agent Johnston did not seem willing to put it away, and Edric did not like that one iota. "You could hurt someone with that thing," he said mildly. "Why don't you put it away?"

Agent Johnston looked at the gun in his hand as if he was surprised to see it, and then put it back in its holster. "I wonder," he muttered under his breath, probably thinking Edric couldn't hear him, "would the disadvantages of bringing you in outweigh the advantages?"

"YES!" Edric said enthusiastically, and Agent Johnston jumped. Edric was very glad he had gotten Agent Johnston to put away the gun now. "Yes, they definitely would! Look, I'm not here to be of any harm to anyone. I just want to keep my sister safe."

Agent Johnston closed his eyes and seemed lost in thought for a few moments. "No, now is definitely not the right time for that," he decided. "Very well, Blight. I'll let you keep your façade up. But if you get caught, don't come crying to me for help." That sounded fair enough. If Edric's cover was blown, he'd only have himself to blame.

Would it be prudent to get Amity reassigned? Or even possible? How would he engineer such a thing, and if he could, was it a good idea? There were too many variables. Edric had a natural talent at oracle magic. It was so good that Odalia had deliberately discouraged him from using it, in retrospect likely terrified that his talent at the art would outstrip her own. (Luz's account of his parallel universe counterpart, Edmond Serrano, seemed to back this up.)

"Just keep her safe," Edric said. "If you don't, I'll know who to blame."

"Don't worry, Blight," Agent Johnston said, sounding vaguely amused. "Keeping Amity alive and safe is in my best interests right now. She's no good to us dead." Well, that wasn't reassuring. Still, it was probably the best Edric was going to get. And he'd pick up the slack. He'd make sure of that.

Lucas Sinclair had made it a point to separate his personal and professional lives in any way possible. As Lucas, semiprofessional monster hunter and member of The Party, the network of friends united by their past experiences with the paranormal, he was perfectly fine with acknowledging the existence of cryptids, alternate dimensions, and psychic powers. But as Lucas Sinclair, J. D., one of Seattle's top lawyer, he was serious, sober, and grounded in the supposed "real world." You could not pay him to admit the existence of anything paranormal in his professional capacity.

He had been able to balance those two sides of him with perfect ease right up until the two worlds were suddenly pulled together with Odalia's lies and Luz's video. Now people who would have died before admitting they believed in anything vaguely paranormal were openly acknowledging magic. Now a whole new field of law was being developed to deal with the many changes magic and its effects would bring to the legal system. And now, Lucas was determined to make Sinclair & Broadchurch PLLC the Boiling Kingdom's go to when it came to dealing with their affairs in the Human Realm.

But first, he had to make sure he won Camila Noceda's damn custody case. It had seemed so very simple at first. Aside from a few skeletons in her closet from her teenage years, which she'd cleaned up her act from long before Luz was even born, Camila appeared to have no liabilities to speak of. There was no evidence whatsoever of abuse, and most of the accusations the Serranos were levying against her appeared to be based in prejudice and lies without even faked corroborating evidence to back it up.

Unfortunately, things were rarely as simple as they looked, and Camila proceeded to complicate her case immensely. First, she beat up Luz's former principal and almost shot him. A gun was discharged during the fight, which made it look even worse. Then she proceeded to come out in a polyamorous relationship with two nonhumans. Lucas had nothing against polyamorous relationships – he'd seen enough weird shit in his time to not care about something so comparatively mundane – but the same, he knew, could not be said for a lot of people, including judges. And to top it all off, she had punched Odalia in the face and one of her partners had transformed into some sort of monster and threatened Odalia.

Lucas didn't think that any of these things, let alone all of them, would make the case completely impossible to win, but it did make it considerably more difficult. The worst part, he knew, was the attack on Marcus Hal. It spoke of a volatility that a judge could easily imagine turning against Luz. Lucas didn't believe that to be the case, of course. Steve trusted Camila and Dustin surely would have done something if Luz had confided she was being abused. But his beliefs could end up being irrelevant.

As such, he decided to invite Camila and her parents, along with the Serranos' lawyer, to a meeting to see if they could get the matter resolved out of court. It was risky, but Lucas hoped he could mediate some sort of compromise. It had been very difficult to get Camila to face her parents again, but after a lot of cajoling, she finally agreed to sit down with them, provided that Luz not be present.

The Serranos arrived first, along with their lawyer Andrew McHale. McHale was from a law firm in New York, notorious for their work with controversial figures on the far right. Lucas had tussled with him several times. He was a ruthless man, willing to use any tactic to win a case, but he was also quite intelligent, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law and a keen tactical mind. If McHale lost, he would just move on. He wasn't a man who indulged in revenge. The trick was getting him there in the first place.

"Ready to lose?" McHale said after giving Lucas a firm handshake. The strange thing was that Lucas rather liked McHale. When not representing vile scum who would laugh at Lucas's death, he was a funny, charming, likeable guy. He never took anything personally.

"I think the goal of this enterprise is to make sure that Luz wins," Lucas said diplomatically. McHale nodded, like a fencer giving a touché.

The Serranos just sat in their chairs, glaring ferociously at Lucas. He wasn't even the slightest bit intimidated by them. When one has faced down a Mind Flayer, the threats that humans pose tend to lose their luster, and in any case, they weren't all that scary in objective terms in the first place. "Can I offer anyone some refreshments?" Lucas asked innocently. There was silence.

Ordinarily, Lucas would make sure that Rachel Broadchurch, the other name partner of the firm, and the actual specialist in family law, was present, but she was out with a sudden nasty stomach virus, so he had to handle matters himself. This case was simply too important to trust to anyone else down the corporate ladder. Still, he wished she was there. He didn't have Dustin's knack with getting people to reconcile, to say the least.

The door to the conference room opened and Camila walked in. "Sorry I'm late. The traffic was awful." She stopped in her tracks when she saw her parents. It was the first time she'd seen them, Lucas knew, in fifteen years. "Mami, Papi. Hello."

Sebastian's fists clenched in anger. "Camila. Your hold over our granddaughter is about to come to an end." Oh, this was off to a great start. Dustin would know what to do. Lucas wished he was there; unfortunately, since he was now Camila's therapist in addition to Luz's, he would have refused even if Lucas had bothered asking, as he would have seen it as a conflict of interest.

"I…uh, I fear there's been some…misunderstandings," Camila began. "Whatever worries you have regarding my care for Luz, you're mistaken."

Guadalupe hissed at her daughter. Actually hissed. "Really? So then all the accounts of the beatings you've given her, how you starved her for days on end, they're all just lies? Hmm?"

Camila's eyes widened in horror, and with good reason. This was not just some lie that the Serranos had cooked up; they genuinely believed Camila was abusive. They'd gotten suckered. Or perhaps even brainwashed, given what he'd heard about Odalia's powers. "Of course it's a lie! I would never treat Luz in such a manner! Even you wouldn't!"

Lucas leaned forward. "Mr. and Mrs. Serrano, do you have any proof to back up your accusations?"

"Certainly," Sebastian said, his tone regal. "We've seen videos. Recordings. Spoken to witnesses. We've seen hospital records. It's all quite unequivocal."

For a second, and Lucas was ashamed to admit it even in the moment, Lucas had a moment of doubt. For a second, he even wondered if there was any truth to those accusations. But no. There couldn't be. Dustin knew very well the signs of abuse and the manifold ways the abused and abusers hid it. Luz could not have hidden it from him, and he would have asked Lucas to withdraw if he thought for a moment Camila was abusive.

"Then produce this evidence," Lucas said, calling his bluff.

"I…we…" Sebastian trailed off, looking bewildered. "We brought it with us?" McHale shook his head, looking irritated. No one had bothered telling him, Lucas surmised, about this new strategy. "Why wouldn't we bring it with us, Guadalupe?"

"Because it never existed in the first place," Camila said, her voice much gentler than before. She was starting to realize, no doubt, that Sebastian and Guadalupe had indeed been brainwashed and it wasn't their fault. "Odalia has messed with your memories. You can speak to Luz's therapist. Or…Luz herself, as long as a neutral third party is present. They'll tell you the truth." Camila sighed; it was definitely a huge concession she was making.

Guadalupe slammed her hand against the table. "It matters not! If anyone has used magic on us, it is you! You openly flaunt your promiscuity in front of everyone, no doubt holding bacchanalian orgies in front of Luz! Maybe even involving her!" Lucas sighed. This meeting was rapidly becoming unproductive, and he was ready to end it soon. Not quite yet. There was still a chance it could bear fruit. But soon.

"Mami…you don't understand," Camila said softly. She sounded very hurt, and no wonder. Even though her parents had been mentally manipulated, it must have really hurt to hear them accuse her of such ridiculous things. "I love Eda and Raine. Just Eda and Raine. There's no one else in our relationship. I know it's…strange to you. But it's a very healthy relationship. We support each other in dark times, and we make the bright times even better. And there are no bacchanalian orgies."

Sebastian looked like he was fighting whatever brainwashing Odalia had placed on his mind. "Camila…we just want what's best for Luz. Think of the example you're setting for her. You have convinced her that it is possible, much less acceptable, to be attracted to women and men."

Lucas tried to hide his smirk. Biphobia in the progressive bastion of Seattle was not a very winning argument. As long as they could disprove the abuse argument, which should be fairly easy, if McHale walked in with this argument, he'd go so down.

"Ah, but Luz didn't even know I was bi until after she figured out her own sexuality!" Camila said triumphantly. "So I couldn't have influenced her at all!"

Guadalupe shook her head sadly. "Camila…I don't even know you anymore. How can you possibly think that any of this is all right? You're just encouraging Luz to be sexually loose."

"Well, considering that she's only had one girlfriend in her entire life, and to the best of my knowledge, they've never gone any further than kissing, I don't think I'm doing a very good job encouraging her if that's the case, am I?"

Lucas cleared his throat. "Look, I think we've established that the evidence that Mrs. Noceda is abusing her daughter is fake. That notwithstanding, I think your differences can be ironed out. Custody should remain in Mrs. Noceda's hands, but, Camila, what would you say to allowing your parents to have contact with Luz? To get to know her, so they know she's healthy, well treated, and moral?"

Camila looked like she was ready to leap out of her chair and strangle someone. And then she suddenly deflated. "I was wrong to cut you both out of my life for so long," she admitted. "I was resentful. I convinced myself that you hated me. But I should have tried harder to build a bridge between us. We're family. I may not like you, but…I still love you. So, yes, if you drop this suit, I will allow you to visit Luz on a regular basis."

Sebastian's face twitched repeatedly and then he burst out laughing. "Oh, you silly girl," and Camila let out a yelp. Someone was speaking through him, no doubt Odalia. "You actually thought that would work? It will not. We reject your offer. Come, Guadalupe."

Guadalupe stood up and followed her husband out of the door. "See you in court, Lucas," McHale said with a jaunty wave and a cruel smile.

"Well…that was something," Lucas admitted. "Don't worry, I know the accusations were faked. We've got to take steps to protect ourselves from mental interference. Is there anything you can recommend?"

Camila shook her head. "I really don't know anything about oracle magic. I'm going to look into it. I should have done that a long time ago." She stood up from her chair. "Thank you for assisting me, Mr. Sinclair. I owe you a great debt for this."

A perfect opening. "Well, as long as Prime Minister Clawthorne is in town, perhaps you could introduce us. Our firm would be perfect for her legal needs in the human realm."

Camila gave a genuine smile. "I'll see what I can do."

Luz was well aware of what a stubborn individual she was. The more someone convinced her that something was a bad idea, the more she wished to do it, just to prove them wrong. This was definitely the case for the party at Ben Morrison's house. Everyone around her was trying to persuade her of what a bad idea it was, everyone she loved. Hell, even Clara had warned her that it was no doubt a trap, though that would have made Luz want to go more even if she hadn't had an abnormally stubborn streak.

The simple fact of the matter was that Luz always wanted to be popular. It was a secret dream of hers, and it hurt all the more to think that it was completely unattainable. She was an outcast among outcasts. Everyone hated her. She had as much chance of becoming popular as she did surviving a climb up Mount Everest in her underwear. (Though with the right spells, she could possibly do that now. Maybe.)

So when the opportunity to actually be popular dropped in her lap, she grasped it with both hands. She'd accomplished almost every one of her dreams. She had a super hot girlfriend from a fantasy world, she was an actual witch, she had saved the world, she had friends who cared about her. The only dream she'd never accomplished was being popular. And, true, Luz Noceda wasn't popular, only Her Royal Highness, the Princess of the Boiling Isles. If Caroline was the princess somehow, it would have been her invited to the party, and not Luz. Luz wasn't stupid. She knew all this. She also didn't care. She had a chance to be cool. She would not squander it.

Honestly, Luz was anticipating the party to suck. She did not like crowds. She did not like loud noises. She did not like crowds making loud noises. And all of these things were sure to be present at the party. She had no idea if teen parties were anything like the movies, but if they were, there was sure to be alcohol, drug usage, and probably lots of drunken hookups. Luz would truthfully rather be at home reading a good book. None of that stuff appealed to her.

But the gauntlet was thrown down and to not attend would be a show of weakness. She was not a Luzer anymore, and she would prove that to absolutely everyone. First, however, she had to convince her mother to let her attend the party. Fortunately, she'd come up with a winning strategy that had absolutely no chance of failing.

"Mami, there's a party at Ben Morrison's house tonight," Luz told Camila, making her eyes big and pleading. "Can I go?"

"No."

Damn. Luz had not expected that outcome. Camila had always been complaining that Luz wasn't being sociable enough. Now that she wanted to actually go to a party with real teenagers who weren't imaginary or reptilian, she was being denied? It was totally unfair!

"But, Mami, it's a great opportunity for me to make new friends!" Luz argued.

"I like the friends you have now," Camila retorted. "If I recall correctly, Ben pretended to ask you out on Valentine's Day only to stand you up on your 'date' and laughed in your face about it the next day."

That had indeed happened. Luz had almost forgotten about it. She hadn't even been that upset when it happened, reasoning that the fault had been hers for being a total moron who thought for a second that the quarterback on the football team had been interested in her. "Yeah, well, the past is in the past. He says he's changed. We're all, you know, more grown up people."

"Talk is cheap," Camila said. "This party is going to be full of people who have bullied you, Luz. Why would you even want to spend time with these people?"

"Amity was a bully once," Luz reminded her. "She bullied me! And look at her now! Look, mami, I know it's risky, but this is a chance to show them they were wrong about me. It means a lot to me."

"I think you should let her go, Mrs. Noceda," Willow said, and Luz let out a yelp. Luz hadn't even seen her enter the room. "Think about it for a few minutes. This is Luz asking. If you tell her no, she's going to sneak out and go anyway. If something goes wrong, she won't tell you. But if you agree, if she's uncomfortable or in danger, she'll feel comfortable asking you for help. It's safer this way."

Camila groaned. "You're right, Willow, as loathe as I am to admit it. All right, fine, you can go." Luz let out a shout of joy. "But! If there's drugs there, I want you to leave and go straight home, all right?" Luz nodded. It was a fair compromise. Luz certainly had no interest in partaking in any such things herself. "And if you're uncomfortable at any moment, you can call me and have me pick you up, no questions asked."

Luz practically pounced on Camila with a hug. "Thank you, mami! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"And one last thing: If it goes pear-shaped, I will hold it over your head forever!" Despite her threatening tone, Camila was smiling when she said this.

Luz didn't bother dressing up too much for the party. Her normal look would suffice. Jessica had said that the dress code was come as you are. Granted, Jessica was a filthy liar who had spread baseless rumors about Luz's nonexistent sexual life, but Luz would probably look sillier if she dressed up for a party she didn't need dressing up for rather than the converse. Besides, she was royalty. Royalty was allowed to be eccentric, right? Willow wore a slightly fancier outfit than normal, but nothing that would really raise too many eyebrows if she wore it to school.

Camila drove her to the Morrison residence. Luz was surprised, though in retrospect she probably shouldn't have been, to find that the Morrisons lived in a very expensive neighborhood. Their house was practically a mansion. Luz spotted an outdoor pool in the back of the house, and cursed herself for not bringing a swimsuit.

"All right, mija, try to have a good time tonight, okay?" Camila said, sounding fond and almost proud. After all, she had wanted this from Luz once upon a time, even if her priorities had drastically shifted. "And remember, if you're not having fun, I'm totally okay with you leaving early, or even doing your own thing, maybe seeing a movie or something. You don't have to prove anything to me. I love you no matter what."

"I love you too, mami!" Luz said. After planting a quick kiss on Camila's cheek, she and Willow left the car and went inside.

The Morrison residence was very nice. It wasn't anything quite on the level of Blight Manor, but it blew Luz's house out of the water in sheer fanciness. And, honestly, it appeared much more sedate an event than Luz had expected right off the bat. Yes, there was music blaring, but it was at a relatively reasonable volume. There were people milling around, but most people didn't seem to be drinking anything stronger than Coca-Cola, though, admittedly, she was pretty sure a few of them were drinking beer. There were also a few adults around, parent chaperons no doubt. Luz spotted Officer Anderson of the local police, Phil's dad, among them.

"Mi valiente defensora," a voice called out, and, of course, that voice belonged to Amity. Amity stepped into the foyer. She was dressed in a ridiculously gorgeous and expensive glittering silver dress. It made her stand out, because, as Jessica had said, the dress code was indeed come as you are. Of course, she'd have stood out even in a formal event, such was her beauty.

"Amity, mi amor, it's so good to see you again," Luz called out, and planted a very passionate kiss on Amity's lips. She could see people looking on with envy, and her heart practically danced a jig. She was woman enough to admit her true motivations for something, and her one and only reason for attending was to get revenge, by rubbing her happiness in everyone's faces. And that mission was definitely being accomplished.

"Hey, everyone, you might remember my awesome girlfriend Amity Blight," Luz said to everyone, when they were done kissing. As if they could forget her. "I'm so glad she could be with us today."

Jessica appeared seemingly out of nowhere and looked at Amity's outfit with naked jealousy. "That's an…interesting outfit you have, Amity," she said, and Luz could sense that she was visibly preventing herself from saying something bitchy. Luz reveled in that. She reveled in the power she now wielded, the power to make the bitch among bitches Jessica Turner restrain herself.

"Thank you," Amity said. "It cost me quite a lot of snails." Jessica looked disgusted. Presumably, she hadn't gotten the memo that snails was just the Boiling Isles' term for cash. "But the best girlfriend deserves the best outfits."

Luz followed Amity into the shockingly expansive living room. True to their word, her friends had joined her at the party, both from the Boiling Realm and Earth. Caroline was sitting on a couch, reading something on her cell phone and looking completely bored by everything. Avery was dancing with a girl whose name Luz didn't know but vaguely recognized as being in her science class. They looked like they were happy to be there, and surprised by that. Sean and Gus were in a corner, animatedly debating something.

Vee was chatting with Clara in xyr basilisk form. Everyone was giving them a wide berth. Vee had asked Luz not to let slip that xe was dating Clara too. Luz had agreed for Vee's sake, even if she knew in her heart that Clara would end up betraying Vee and breaking xyr heart. It was what she did. It was who she was.

Willow made a beeline in the direction of her datemate and planted a kiss right on xyr mouth, a message to everyone that she was not ashamed of Vee's basilisk form. Luz expected Clara to react with some level of jealousy, but instead, she just gave her metamour a thumbs up. Huh. Either Clara was a very good actress (not impossible, especially given her quite good performance as Juliet in the school play Luz had epically failed to try out for) or she was actually fine with sharing. If she didn't know it was completely impossible, Luz might assume Clara had changed.

"Thanks for making it, Luz," a voice called out, and a middle aged man walked up to her and gave her a handshake that almost cut off circulation to her arm. "Paul Morrison, Ben's dad. It's great to finally make your acquaintance. I, uh, know that things weren't all that good between you and Ben back in middle school, so it means a lot you're giving him a second chance."

"You mean when he bullied me?" Luz said, twisting the knife a little. Morrison no doubt had been given a skewed story of his son's actions, but there was little doubt in Luz's mind that his parenting decisions had, to a greater or lesser extent, contributed to Ben's actions.

Morrison grimaced. "Yes, well…kids make mistakes. In any event, I'm glad you're here. My house is your house. I hope you have a good time." He walked off, perhaps a trifle quicker than he otherwise would have.

"Hey, Luz, why don't I introduce you to everyone?" Jessica called out, and Luz found herself being led from person to person, all of whom seemed delighted to talk to her. It was like something out of a dream, really. These people, who had made her life a living hell, now thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. Meanwhile, Amity gave several demonstrations of her magic; nothing particularly flashy, but they certainly impressed the hell out of everyone.

It was amazing. The whole thing was amazing, and Luz was just shocked that she was having fun at all, much less enjoying the hell out of it. Luz even found herself trying some of the beer, just to say to herself that she'd done it. She found it utterly disgusting and set her glass down after a few sips. A slower song came on the stereo, and Luz walked up to Amity. "Might I have this dance, Amity?"

"Well, of course, Luz," Amity said with a gentle laugh. "You can dance with me anytime."

The two of them danced extremely close to one another. Breathing in Amity's scent was more intoxicating to Luz than a whole six pack of beer ever could be. She felt like it was a perfect moment that could last forever. The whole evening had been so good…

…too good to be true.

And as that thought entered her head, as if on cue, the doorbell rang. "Oh, you're going to want to get that," Jessica called out, a malicious note in her voice.

"I…don't think so," Luz said, not liking this sudden change of tone at all.

Morrison casually walked over to Vee and then grabbed xyr and smashed xyr head against a wall repeatedly until xe was unconscious. Then he pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at Luz's head. "She said open the door," he snarled at her.

Several other students, along with all the adult chaperons, also drew guns and pointed them at Luz and her friends. Jessica was among them; Luz had no idea where she'd even been keeping hers. Luz's friends had been right all along. It was a trap, and Luz had been dumb enough to walk into it.

Clara went for her cell phone, but Anderson shot it out of her hands. "You think calling the cops is going to do you any good? All I have to do is tell my fellow officers it was just a prank."

The pantry door opened and Erik Hellinger stepped out, his face lined with fury. "Open the door right fucking now, Luz, or I'll beat your whore to death with my own bare hands," he snarled at her, stepping over to Amity for emphasis.

Luz walked over to the door and opened it and Arend Havik was standing on the doorstep. He wasn't holding any weapons. He grinned upon seeing her. "Luz Noceda, at last we meet face to face," he said, in an Afrikaans accent so thick that Luz could barely understand it, anger bubbling under the surface. It had been barely detectable when he'd given his speech in New York; his fury must have intensified it. "Well? Aren't you going to invite your host in? You are my guest, after all."

Luz stepped backwards and her father's murderer walked into the house as if he owned the place. Which, for all Luz knew, might actually be the case. "Dankie, my skat," he said in Afrikaans mockingly. "You've been quite a thorn in my side these last few weeks."

Luz spat in his face. Several guns cocked and were aimed in her direction, but Havik put up a hand to forestall the bullets. "No, no, we're not going to be killing Miss Noceda yet. Soon, but not yet."

"You killed my father," Luz snarled at him. It was the first time the two of them had directly interacted. Luz wished she had a wittier line, but she'd never been good with one liners under pressure.

Havik shrugged. "And you killed mine. I'd say we're even, wouldn't you?"

Luz headbutted him as hard as she could. There was a crack and Luz was satisfied to find that she'd broken Havik's nose. "We are not even, you son of a bitch! Your father was a murderous tyrant and we had no choice but to kill him in self-defense! My father was a saint who you had murdered in cold blood!"

Havik just laughed at her, cold mocking laughter, and then he pulled out a sheet of paper and pressed it against his face. Luz watched with horror as the healing glyph activated and the damage done to Havik's nose was repaired. Her archenemy could do magic now. Of course he could. How lovely. "I don't care, Luz. You've been meddling in my affairs with your ridiculous movement towards peace, of all the ludicrous things. The worst part is that it's actually working! Can you imagine? It's like the whole world's gone mad!"

Luz grinned at him. She was going to die, quite possibly, but she'd be damned if she died with her nemesis thinking she feared him. "I guess you haven't heard. I'm Luz Noceda, warrior of peace."

Havik grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against a wall. There was suddenly a gun in his hand, and a crazed look in his eyes. "It doesn't matter. None of it does. When the Owl Lady finds out that humans betrayed and murdered her daughter, her wrath will be fierce and will drag our worlds into war. Finally." He gave her a savage grin. "Take heart. It's going to be less painful than Odalia's plan for everyone."

He tossed her onto the ground like she was a piece of meat and then strode into the living room. Two adults held Amity's hands behind her back so she couldn't cast any spells. Someone had tied Willow up and hit her several times over the head; she was not unconscious but looked like she had a concussion at the very least. Gus was unharmed and unrestrained, but Luz didn't think his illusions would be able to help her very much.

Havik walked over to Amity, who stared at him defiantly in the eyes. "Is this the moment where you deliver a message from my mother?"

"No," Havik said, his tone amused. "This is the moment where I deliver a message to your mother: I don't need her anymore. And I certainly don't need you."

And with that, he lifted the gun and shot Amity straight through the bile sac.

Amity let out a soft gasp and then the adults let go of her and she toppled to the ground.

Luz screamed. She screamed so loudly she was pretty certain they could hear her from miles away. But it was of no use. The walls had top of the line soundproofing; if the neighbors hadn't heard the gunshot, they sure as hell wouldn't hear her screaming. "BASTARD!" she screamed at him.

Havik scoffed. "I tire of bantering with you, Luz. May you rot in hell. Bring them out back."

It wasn't terribly surprising to learn that everyone Luz had not specifically invited to the party was in on it. What was surprising was that Clara was not. Luz would have expected such treachery from her. It would have made sense. Her seduction of Vee, in that scenario, would merely have been a means to an end. And yet…she was being led out into the back yard at gunpoint just like everyone else.

Havik took a cell phone out of his pocket and tapped it. Immediately, the screen glowed – oh, man, he could do glyph magic with his phone; why hadn't Luz thought of that? – and several large wooden stakes that had heretofore been invisible appeared. There were piles of wood beneath them. Several adults and teenagers were now wielding torches. The bottom dropped out of Luz's stomach. She could tell where this was going.

Was this…truly how her story was going to end? It seemed ridiculous. She had come so far from her roots, done so many amazing things, and now everything was coming full circle and her damn bullies were about to burn her alive. And, of course, she couldn't do a damn thing, because she'd stupidly decided to leave all her glyphs at home like a moron!

One by one, Luz and her friends (and Clara) were all tied to the posts. The whole thing had been a trap to kill them all along, and Luz had been stupid enough to walk into it. Not only that, she'd brought her friends into it.

"It is past time that we, the warriors of God, smote the demons living amongst us," intoned Anderson. "My friends, we have all been summoned here with a holy mission, to rid the world of demonic filth and sin." Out of the corner of her eye, Luz could see Havik roll his eyes. "What we are doing here today will be rewarded mightily in the afterlife."

"YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF MURDERERS!" Caroline screamed. "My dad's not going to let you get away with killing me! He'll have the whole FBI on your asses!" Where was Agent Johnston, Luz wondered? It was strange he hadn't attended the party; he'd certainly followed them nearly everywhere else.

Erik pulled out his switchblade and rammed it into Caroline's shoulder. "Bitches like you should know their place. Maybe if you beg…I'll let you live as my toy." Caroline just laughed at him. Erik slashed her across the face and she screamed in agony. He stepped back, looking satisfied with himself.

"Look, it doesn't have to end like this," Clara argued. "You can still let us go…"

Jessica shot Clara in the leg. "Looks like I'm gonna be the new captain of the cheerleading squad, honey. I liked you better before, back when you got everyone to call Luz out for the Luzer dyke she is."

"I'm so sorry, Luz," Clara said, looking straight at her. "I'm so sorry I did that…if I'm going to die, I want you to know that."

"Enough of this!" Havik snapped. "Light the damn fires already. I don't have all night!"

Before anyone could do anything, there was a screeching sound coming from the distance. Luz grinned. "Why are you smiling, freak?!" Ben screamed at her.

Luz winked at him. "Because you're going down, Ben."

The screeching got louder and Eda the Harpy Lady, flying at a faster pace than Luz had ever seen any living being fly before, emerged from the sky and landed on the ground with a classic three-point landing à la Black Widow.

"Well, I'm out," Havik announced, and blasted a hole through a nearby fence to a neighbor's yard with his phone glyph, then ran for it. Eda made no move to follow him. Instead, she snapped her fingers and all the torches were instantaneously extinguished. Everyone opened fire on her, but the bullets bounced off her skin without even coming close to penetrating it.

Eda cast a spell and the ropes untied themselves. With another spell, Vee regained consciousness. Clara tackled Jessica, knocking the gun out of her hands, and kicked her in the face repeatedly until she was unconscious with the leg that didn't have the bullet in it. She scooped up Jessica's gun and pointed it at the enemy. "ANYONE ELSE WANT A PIECE OF ME?!"

"Willow, I think I'm in love," Vee whispered. Willow gave an indulgent smile at xyr.

Luz grabbed a now unconscious Amity and dragged her over to Vee. "She was shot in the bile sac! You've got to get her to a hospital before she bleeds out! And don't forget to tell them what a bile sac is and where it is – humans don't have one!" Vee shapeshifted into a dragon, put Amity on xyr back, and flew off into the distance.

Erik suddenly appeared from nowhere and started choking the life out of Luz. Luz's vision started blurring and then there was a thunderous booming sound. Erik fell to the ground, dead, from the bullet Clara had just fired into the back of his head. Luz couldn't believe her eyes. Clara had just saved her life? What was happening to the world?

Eda sliced and diced the adults, not showing them any mercy, though the kids, she just tried to knock unconscious. When she approached Officer Anderson, he dropped his gun and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Please don't kill me! Spare me!"

There was no mercy left in the Harpy Lady. She snapped Anderson's neck and he fell to the ground with an ignominious clatter.

Sirens suddenly reverberated through the night and the doors to the backyard slammed open as Agent Johnston and several FBI agents came storming out, guns drawn. Eda transformed back into her original form and reluctantly let the FBI arrest the remaining malefactors.

"It's a good thing I decided to spy on you," Eda said casually. "And what have we learned today, Luz?"

Luz didn't bother answering her. She was just too worried about Amity. Eda appeared to realize this immediately and she hugged Luz. "Hey, no, sweetie, it's gonna be fine. Amity's a fighter. I promise you, she'll be right as rain."

Luz hoped so. Either way, she wasn't going to get caught flatfooted another time. The next time she saw Havik, she was going to kill him. He wouldn't get away again.