Basilisk Number Five, or "Vee" as she renamed herself, was a curious girl.

Considering where she was now, she had to be. This new world called "Earth" was radically different from the Boiling Isles. There was no magic to speak of, but this "Technology" was in abundance.

There were no demons or witches of any kind, but there were humans and all sorts of animals that both terrified and awed the young Basilisk.

The place where the human woman, Camila or "Mom," had taken Vee five days ago wound up closing down due to a "Flood."

It was disappointing since Vee met so many new friends at Cabin Seven. But thankfully, they all lived in town, so she would be able to hang out with them more. After the human woman retrieved Vee from the camp, Vee was taken to what was called an "aquarium," Where Vee learned so much about the aquatic life of Earth.

Afterward, Vee was treated to a strange place where everyone sat in a large room watching a flat crystal with moving pictures on it.

Camila had called it a "Movie."

Specifically, the "movie" was called, "Cybersix."

It followed a leather-clad genetic engineering survivor who cross-dresses (to conceal her identity) and works as a male teacher during the day and fights against the scientist who created her at night.

And Vee loved every second of the movie.

She loved the action, the suspense, the romance.

But most of all, she loved the main character.

Her story resonated so much with Vee, from her creation by the madman, Doctor Von Reichter, to her seamless transformation from male intellectual teacher Adrian Seidelman, to the confident and powerful female known as Cybersix, and her fight against the cruel man who created her.

But it made Vee think.

Could she ever attempt to fight Belos like Cybersix did her creator?

After the movie, Camila took her to get some "Chi-ness" food and Vee found herself adoring the taste of Potstickers. While it wasn't magic, Basilisks we able to use food to fuel the magic they still held in their system to sustain them for long periods.

So as long as she ate food and used her shapeshifting abilities for strictly her body and not clothing, she would be able to keep her Luz form for a few months before she needed more magic.

But as Camila drove Vee to a place she would call home for the foreseeable future, Vee could smell a very faint scent of magic. All day, she had smelled it but it was too weak for her to pinpoint where it was, and it was annoying her, like an itch on a spot she couldn't reach.

"Alright, Cariño, since Reality Camp was canceled this year, I'm going to do some research so we can have you do something productive during the day while I'm at work, alright?" Camila asked as the two drove into the driveway.

"Understood, Mom," Vee replied.

"Good. Now, when we get inside, why don't you go to your room for a while and take a little nap? You look absolutely exhausted," Camila suggested with a small smile.

"A nap sounds good," Vee noted.

She did feel very exhausted, all things considered.

Once Vee walked into a house that made her cell look like nothing but a tiny cube, Vee walked upstairs and easily found the room that Luz had stayed in.

However, she caught a whiff of something coming from upstairs. She took a deep sniff, only to sneeze seconds later, but she had caught a scent.

It was a familiar scent.

It was magic.

Vee blinked in confusion as she walked to a door at the end of the hall and then opened it, just to see a staircase leading to another floor. She walked up the stairs into the attic. It was old and dusty, but the scent of magic was thick in the air.

Vee followed the scent until she came upon a box, tucked away in corner of the attic. It was buried under a lot of other boxes, with some of them looking very heavy, but Vee was bound and determined to dig it out.

She had to know why she smelled magic here in a world without it.

So, Vee worked for thirty minutes, carefully moving box after box until she unburied the magic-scented box.

Vee slowly opened it and the first thing she saw was folded clothing. She unfurled the clothing and saw that it was a black cloak with torn edges and a red inside. She sat it aside and found a white blouse with puffy sleeves, a black leather vest, black pants, and black boots.

She saw them aside and found a red suit jacket, a black button-down shirt, red slacks, and black dress shoes. Vee set those clothes aside and found herself at the bottom of the box, where the magical scent was coming from.

There were two glass flasks of golden liquid. There was so much magic in these two flasks, that Vee was almost overwhelmed by the stench of them.

But beneath the glass flasks, there was something else. Vee pocketed the two glasses and found that there was a picture beneath them.

It was a picture of Camila when she was younger. And beside her was a young person that looked like Eda Clawthorne of all witches.

Eda's arms were wrapped around Camila's shoulders from behind, with Eda's chin resting on top of Camila's head. Both of them had wide smiles on their faces along with flushed cheeks. There was also snow falling around them.

They looked so happy together.

But Eda was back In the Boiling Isles while Camila was here.

How was that possible?

Vee looked closer at Camila, she noticed something hanging from around her neck.

It was a necklace with a wooden heart dangling at the end of it. And carved in the middle of the heart was an owl's head and face. And etched on the edges of the heart were runes that Vee somewhat recognized.

She knew it came from the Boiling Isles, and she could make out a few runes that translated to "Heart" and "Protect" but nothing more.

Gathering the context clues, Vee knew that these items must have belonged to the Owl Lady, but the necklace wasn't in this box like everything else was.

But the question was, where was the necklace?


Camila was exhausted.

Not only did she work an overnight shift at the veterinary office, but she also had to pick up Luz from Reality Camp due to it flooding and wrecking everything.

Camila had already felt guilty about sending her daughter to that horrid place, but she noticed that Luz was more withdrawn and quiet. She had barely spoken a handful of sentences to her the entire time, except when it came to the movie "Cybersix" where Luz spoke with a reverence that was normally held for the Good Witch Azura.

After that, she quieted again.

Had Camila screwed up in taking that counselor's advice on sending her daughter to that camp? Camila sighed as she removed her shoes, her earrings, and her work glasses. She pulled the rubber band out of her hair to free it from its ponytail.

Finally, she reached beneath her scrubs and pulled out her owl necklace. Camila slowly ran her thumb against the owl and the strange symbols that were on the edge of the heart.

"These symbols…. What do they mean?" Camila's young voice asked in her head.

A warm laugh echoed in her mind.

"May no harm come to the protector of my heart," The echo of her lost love answered. "As long as you keep this bad boy on, you'll always be protected from anything looking to hurt you…."

"Promise?" Her voice asked.

"I promise," the echo replied.

Camila took a deep breath and whispered, "If only it could have protected me from you…."


The Owlet with Amber Eyes
Episode Four: Terror at Hexside High


It had been two weeks since she and Eda had returned from the Sunken Palm, and Luz was knee-deep in training. Day in and Day out, Luz worked hard at completing the schedule Eda set out for her.

Her schedule was very simple.

6:30 Am – Glyph Training. Luz was to practice using every glyph and even practice combining Glyphs. Luz learned the hard way that putting glyphs on top of glyphs did nothing but cause mass havoc when King was sucked up by an ice Amoeba.

8:30 Am – Oracle Training. Eda had informed Luz that most Oracle work drew in the magic from the world around them rather than from the magic bile-sac that most witches had. However, the magic bile-sacs did amplify the power of the oracles, so Luz was told to focus on using the magic of the isles to perform her oracle work.

Luz hated to admit it, but while the Oracle track was cool on paper she found herself unwilling to continue it. Besides, she had a lot of Glyphs to use. Maybe she should focus more on that for now. That and Illusions, because that still interested her, and she had some sick ideas about illusions and Glyphs.

Luz did feel bad about informing Eda that she no longer wanted to do Oracle magic, especially since Eda's first gift to her was her crystal ball, but Eda waved her off. "Trust me, Kiddo, I went through Beast Keeping, Oracle, and Illusions before I found my true calling with Potions," Eda told her. "Find the magic that makes your soul sing."

10:30 Am – Agility and Speed Training. Luz was told that witches had to be physically fit to increase their magical reserves, and Luz had to admit, she had weak nerd everything. So she was told to increase her speed and agility.

Luz wondered why she wasn't working on strength training, but Eda stated that speed and agility would be key to her eventual weapon training.

12:30 Pm – Potions. This was part of Luz's end of the deal for Eda's teachings. Luz found out that Eda not only sold human junk to unsuspecting marks, but she was a skilled potion maker that often had dozens of customers. While Luz found potions boring, she would soak up everything she needed to learn more about magic.

1:30 Pm – Human Collectibles. Enough said.

3:30 Pm – Beast Training with Liliyn. Luz didn't quite understand why Eda wanted her to deepen her already deep bond with Liliyn, but Luz was not going to question it. There was a method to Eda's madness and Luz would see it through.

However, there was one thing that Eda was supposed to train her in that she never did and that was using Mare.

Eda was supposed to teach her weapons training back at the Denigrad Tower, but due to her wielding both halves of Mare, a set of weapons Eda was unfamiliar with, her mentor needed more time to research how to train someone in using them.

Luz just hoped that it happened sooner rather than later.

"Another day, another chump," Eda chuckled as she pocketed a handful of snails while Luz leaned against the sleeping form of Liliyn, struggling to keep herself awake. "Alright Kiddo, looks like we're done here for the day."

Luz yawned and nudged Liliyn with her elbow, which made the Repede jerk in surprise. Luz felt displeasure flowing from Liliyn and nuzzled the Repede's neck in an apology.

Liliyn growled in approval, accepting the apology.

"Finally. My body feels so heavy," Luz complained as Liliyn bit down on her hoodie and hoisted the human to her feet while she stood on all fours.

"Well, you do have a weight spell around your ankles and wrists. Of course, you're going to feel heavy," Eda remarked with a grin.

During the first week of training, Eda wrapped spell rings around Luz's wrists and ankles to weigh her down for her speed and agility training. "However, I do have some good news," Eda announced with a smile. "Since Oracle Training is not your style, we're going to replace it."

"Great! What are we replacing it with?" Luz asked, instantly excited.

"Well, you know I've been looking for a way to train you in using Mare for the past two weeks, right?" Eda questioned.

Luz nodded.

"Well….I think I know someone that would be able to train you," Eda revealed.

Luz gasped.

"Really?!" Luz asked.

Eda gave her a subdued and exhausted smile. "Really," Eda told her. The excitement that Luz felt slowly died down when she noticed how somber her mentor was acting.

"Eda?" Luz softly started. "Is everything okay?"

"I'll be fine, Kiddo," Eda gently answered as she ruffled Luz's hair. "It's just, the person I need to ask…. I haven't talked to them in a long, long time…."

"Why?" Luz asked.

"Just a lot of history," Eda answered. "But, that's not anything you have to worry about right now."

Luz nodded.

Eda grinned, only to turn her head as Owlbert flew down on her shoulder. Luz watched as Owlbert cooed and chirped, which made Eda grin. "Welp! Here is some more good news. Clear your schedule for tomorrow I'm taking all of us to the beach!"

Luz's eyes widened in amazement and said, "Yes! Beach Episode!" Luz suddenly grasped at her chest and rubbed it with a whimper.

"Are you alright?" Eda asked while Owlbert's eyes widened in alarm, looked at Eda, and then back at Luz.

"It's my chest," Luz answered.

"That's been hurting you a lot more lately," Eda frowned.

Luz frowned as the pain subsided. Ever since she arrived at the Isles, she had been feeling this pain in her chest. But ever since she left the Sunken Palm, the pain has been getting worst.

What was going on?

"Perhaps I should take you to the Healing Coven," Eda noted.

Luz panicked.

She never liked doctors and from how Eda explained the Healing Coven, she would like them even less. "No! I'm good," Luz waved off. "See? The pain is already gone!"

"Luz," Eda warned.

"I know, but I'm really okay now," Luz sincerely told her. "If it happens again, I will tell you. I promise."

Eda frowned but nodded.


Night had fallen on the Boiling Isles and Eda sat in the middle of her nest with a frown on her face, her hand moving as she wrote down something on parchment.

"Are you sure that you wish to do this?" Owlbert asked, his voice gentle and consoling.

"I don't want to do it," Eda whispered. "I'm terrified of doing it. But Luz needs someone to teach her how to use Mare, and he's the only one trained in that weapon."

"But to face him again," Owlbert murmured. "It's been years since we've seen them. Even I can't help but be nervous."

Eda smiled and petted Owlbert's head. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, Owls," Eda sighed. She finished writing, rolled up the scroll, handed it to Owlbert, and then said, "Alright take that to him."

Owlbert flapped his wings and grabbed the scroll with his talons and said, "I'll be back in three days. Will you be alright until then?"

"I will be," Eda replied. "Now get outta here."

Owlbert bobbed in the air and flew toward the open window, only to stop. "Eda, I've also had a concern. About Luz."

"Speak your mind," Eda instructed.

"I know that she's your daughter," Owlbert revealed. "And I know that she's Camila's daughter as well…."

Eda stilled.

"How?" Eda softly questioned.

"When I went to the human world that day to find some human treasure, I sensed your magic. It was a small amount but it was very potent as well. I was confused but I followed it, and it led to a house. To my surprise, it was Camila, and she was talking to Luz. That's how I know Luz is her daughter. But then, I sensed your magic on Camila and a faint hint of magic from Luz. A signature of magic that I only recognize from you," Owlbert explained.

"Magic? Luz is human, she doesn't have magic," Eda explained, her voice tinging with panic.

"Eda…." Owlbert murmured with narrowed eyes.

Eda swallowed and weakly replied, "Sorry…."

"I didn't understand why your magic was on Camila and why Luz had a faint trace of it, but I brushed it off at the time, stole her book, and came back here," Owlbert continued. "But since then, I've been feeling bursts of magic coming from Luz. And it's only confirming my thoughts. Why haven't told her?"

"Because it's wrong," Eda answered. "She can't be my daughter."

"But it's obvious that she is," Owlbert softly argued.

"Owls, just leave it alone," Eda pleaded. "Please….."

Owlbert sighed and said, "I don't why you're denying this so heavily, especially to me of all Palismen, but I did not become your partner for so many years just to watch you lie to yourself and me. It's just demeaning to us both. You need to be honest with Luz before something bad happens."

With those words, Owlbert flew off into the night, leaving Eda alone in her nest, with the faint sound of thunder rumbling in the distance.


"Well, Luz! Did you ever in your life think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?"

Luz stared at the towering corpse of a large trash-made creature that washed up on the beach. When Eda told her to clear her schedule for something amazing, Luz had expected another trip to the Sunken Palm or another place that would be filled with amazing lore.

Instead, she was staring at a dead trash monster. "I don't like this," Luz slowly admitted as she watched flies buzz around the corpse.

Eda grinned, walked up to the corpse, and patted it as she said, "Yeah, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the trash slug. It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside. Until, blam, it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt. And then we get to sell the stuff it ate."

Luz physically recoiled when Eda pulled out a pickaxe and whimpered, "Please don't make me."

"Aw, come on, Luz," King started while he unfurled his beach towel onto the sand. Beside him, Liliyn walked in a circle and curled up against the sand, a feeling of amusement coming from her. " It's not every day you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass."

"Ah, nuts to you three," Eda grumped as she swung the pick at the trash slug. "Come on Luz, not every day can be like the Sunken Palm. This is just as important as everything else."

"I get that," Luz remarked. "But, I was expecting to read ancient scrolls, maybe find some way to unlock some cool ability."

"Sounds like some Hexside stuff," Eda brushed off as she tossed a few items from the trash slug's mouth.

"Hexside?" Luz questioned.

"Yeah, it's the school I went to growing up," Eda explained. "Boring place."

"Wait. Like a magic school? Like, winding towers, cute uniforms, dark plots that threaten your life kind of magic school?" Luz asked, her eyes glittering with delight.

Eda paused and looked at Luz with a faint smile on her face. "Mm-hmm. What's worse, they force you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper. It's wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful."

Luz nodded.

Wild magic was pretty cool….

"Look, I understand how you feel," Eda started as she moved away from the slug, sat the pick down, and placed a hand on Luz's shoulder. "It's hard to see the lesson in things, especially if it's gross. But, here's a lesson for you. A great witch is resourceful."

"Resourceful," Luz softly repeated.

"Now, why don't you dig in there and see what you can find," Eda suggested with a smile.

Luz nodded and despite her disgust, she dug into the trash slug and pulled out a greasy slime ball. "Oh hey, a slime ball," Luz chirped.

Eda smiled and balled Luz's hand around the slime ball. "Use your slime ball wisely, young witch. Now, Back at it! We'll hit the stink nodes first."

"Actually, if it's okay, I think I'll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still... alive," Luz said while she backed away from Eda and the trash slug.

"Suit yourself," Eda shrugged. "More for me, then."

Luz walked toward King, bent down, and petted his belly, which caused King to giggle. "Love you, King. You little beach peach," Luz cooed.

Liliyn quickly stood up and motioned for Luz to hop on. "You sure?" Luz asked. "You can stay if you want."

Liliyn growled and shook her head.

"I don't blame you, Lil," Luz laughed as she straddle the top of Liliyn's body. "Well, let's get going."

Luz felt a burst of excitement come from Liliyn before the Repede darted off, which caused Luz to scream in excitement. Liliyn's speed slowed to a gentle jaunt as Luz was carried through a lush and beautiful forest that had trees with blood-red leaves, blue bushes, dark blue grass, and strange and cute critters.

Everything felt peaceful.

But that peacefulness was shattered when she heard a girl scream in terror.

The next few minutes went by in a blur for Luz.

The moment the scream was heard, Liliyn blitzed through the forest at a faster rate than before, causing the world to whip beside her until the human and the repede came across a clearing filled with thick vines that had various flowers attached to them.

"Whoa…." Luz whispered in awe.

Luz could feel that Liliyn was impressed with the sight as well. Liliyn walked through the vines until Luz came across a figure.

The figure was a short and stocky light-skin girl with pointed ears and short, neat, dark navy blue hair with a few loose strands.

She wore a pair of round gold-framed glasses, a gray tunic with a dark gray cowl, orchid leggings and sleeves, a belt with a gold pin, and gray-black short-heeled shoes. There were slight tears in her clothing and she was holding the left side of her body as she limped away from the vine-covered area.

Liliyn's chest rumbled with a low growl as a copper smell invaded Luz's nose.

She knew that smell.

Blood.

Was that girl injured?

"Come on, Lil," Luz directed. "We need to help her."

Liliyn nodded and quickly made their way to the girl while Luz yelled, "Hey, hold on!"

The girl's head snapped up at the shout and pushed herself off of a large vine right as Liliyn skidded to a stop in front of her. Luz immediately swung her leg and landed in front of the girl and asked, "Are you alright?"

Olive-green eyes looked up into amber as the girl gritted her teeth and nodded her head. "That stupid Skeltaur managed to get me in the side," the girl explained.

"Skeltaur?" Luz asked.

The girl blinked and asked, "You don't know what a Skeltaur is?"

"No, I've only been here for a short while," Luz answered.

"Short while?" The girl repeated, only for the girl to lean close to Luz's face, causing the human to back up with heated cheeks. "Wow, so… circly."

"Well, I do try," Luz joked as best as she could.

"Wait," The girl suddenly grabbed Luz's face, causing the blush on Luz's face to deepen. "You're human! This is astounding! A human on the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here? What are you doing here?!"

"Um… do you mind giving me my face back?" Luz squeaked out.

The girl gasped and quickly moved her hands away, her own cheeks flushing. "Sorry. I've just never seen a human before. Augustus is going to be so ha—" The girl suddenly grew serious. "Augustus! I have to go!"

The girl turned away but Luz grabbed her forearm. "Whoa, whoa," Luz started. "What exactly is going on?"

"Those Skeletaurs are heading to Hexside, my school!" The girl exclaimed. "I have to get Augustus out of there and get the Emperor's Coven!"

"Slow down a sec," Luz urged. "What are Skeletaurs?"

"Okay, you know what a centaur is?" The girl asked.

Luz nodded.

She had seen one during her first day on the Isles and was still scarred from it.

"Well, imagine them, but they are heavily armored skeletons with spears and shields that can fire magic that causes intense fear and even death," The girl explained.

Luz blinked.

"Yeah, they suck," The girl said. "I was training in the forest when I was attacked by one. I managed to beat it." The girl then pointed above and behind Luz, which prompted her to turn around and gasp.

Luz was treated to the sight of a centaur skeleton with thick black and gold chest armor, a horned helmet on the head, a two-sided spear, and a large shield with an eyeball in the middle of it entangled in thick vines.

"Whoa," Luz whispered. "How did you stop that?"

"I used my magic," The girl shamefully admitted. "The magic that I'm not supposed to use…."

"Okay, we can unearth that later," Luz announced as she took the girl's hand. "But you have someone to save, right? So let's go save them!"

"Wait, you want to help me save my friend?" The girl asked, surprised.

"Of course," Luz cheekily replied as she climbed back up on Liliyn.

"B-But you can't just make a decision like this on the fly! This is dangerous, especially for a human!" The girl worriedly said.

"I laugh in the face of danger," Luz taunted and then proved this by laughing. "So come on, let's go save your friend."

The girl looked unsure, but in the end, she nodded and got on top of Liliyn. "So, before we go off, my name is Luz. Luz Noceda," Luz introduced. "And this is my Repede, Liliyn."

"Willow Park," Willow introduced. "And what is a Repede? I've never heard of that type of creature before."

"Trust me, that's kind of a long story," Luz said. "Let's go, Lil!"

Liliyn growled and charged forward through the forest. "So! What school do you go to?!" Luz shouted.

"Hexside!" Willow replied. "One of the best schools for magic in the entirety of the Boiling Isles!"

"My teacher went to Hexside!" Luz revealed.

"Really? Who is your teacher?!" Willow shouted.

"Eda Clawthorne, The strongest witch of the Isles!" Luz proudly answered.

"Whoa, your teacher is the Owl Lady? She's the biggest criminal of the Boiling Isles!" Willow gasped. "That's so cool! What is she like?!"

Luz smiled and replied, "You know what?! I think we're going to get along famously!"


Eda stared at the portal door as she sat on a beach chair, with an unsure look in her eyes. Despite being annoyed by Owlbert's words from last night, they did stick with her.

Eda scoffed.

Owlbert was created from part of her soul, like all Palismen that are hand-crafted by the witch with Palistrom. Of course, he would give it to her straight. But still, his words were like a smack to the face.

Eda had accepted the fact that Luz was Camila's daughter. They looked far too alike and acted alike in various ways for her to ignore that truth. But Luz couldn't be her daughter. She can't be her daughter. Because if she were, then what would that make her?

What would that make her sacrifice mean?

"Eda, you've been staring at that door for like thirty minutes."

Eda's head snapped up at King's voice, which prompted her to turn to him. King had been pretty quiet in the pursuit of winning their bet over Luz's apprenticeship, so hearing him speak had surprised her, especially considering what she was thinking.

"Oh, I was just thinking," Eda admitted as she dismissed the portal and put the key back into her hair.

"You better not try to send Luz back home because you know that you'll lose this bet!" King warned.

Eda chuckled. "No, King. I'm not going to send Luz home for that…." Eda assured him. But at the same time, she was thinking about sending Luz back. Not because of her fear, but because of Camila. From what Luz told her, Camila had sent her off to camp, not aware of the danger Luz was facing.

It would be wrong of her to keep Luz here without Camila knowing.

"And yet you want her to stay,' a voice that sounded like hers whispered. "You want Luz to stay because you're selfish…You like having her around. She's like a breath of fresh air compared to the patheticness that is your life. You know that you will ruin her and yet you can't bare to see Luz go."

Eda let out a breath.

'Get out of my head,' Eda thought.

The voice laughed and then taunted, "Why? You don't like the truth? Look around us! We're alone. Our older sister hates us, Our mother has gone insane in trying to cure us, we've scarred our father, we failed to save our mentor's life, Alador and Darius left us behind for their glorious futures, Raine left us behind because we failed to trust them, we broke our promise to Camila, the woman we cherished more than Raine themselves, and we've lied to King about his past. Face facts, we ruin everything we touch. What's another life to add to our failure?"

Eda took a harsh breath as tears built up in her eyes.

In the distance, she could hear the thunder roll.


Chaos.

That was the word of the day for the school of magic called Hexside High. There were teachers and students all over the place, using their magic to combat these Skeletaurs. Liliyn skidded to a stop while Luz and Willow looked on in shock.

"There are so many of them," Luz whispered. "How can we defeat them?"

"There is a way," Willow said. "The Skeletaurs are often led by a Necrotaur. We take them out, we save everyone. But the teachers can handle that. We just need to get Augustus!"

Luz felt a burst of excitement come from Liliyn at the sight of the battle, and for once, Luz could understand why. Something deep inside of her felt a rush at the combat. A rush that made her want to enter it.

Luz gripped her chest with a wince.

"Luz, are you alright?" Willow asked with concern.

"I'm easy, breezy," Luz replied. "Alright! Let's get inside and save your friend. Ready Liliyn?"

Liliyn growled in confirmation.

"Then let's go!" Luz exclaimed as Liliyn tilted back on her hind legs, roared, and then dashed forward toward the school. Liliyn swayed, jumped, and dodged the various magic that flew from both the Skeletaurs and the Hexside students/staff as she ran toward the entrance of the school.

Unfortunately, there were three Skeletaurs at the front door.

Luz pulled out three slips of paper with the wind glyph written on them and said, "Time to blow them away!" She pressed the glyphs on all three slips and then launched them toward the Skeletaurs, blowing all three of them away while separating their bones.

"Whoa!" Willow exclaimed. "I thought humans couldn't do magic!"

"Well, looks like I'm one of a kind then," Luz joked as Liliyn ran into the hallway of the school. "Now, where would Augustus be?"

"Spelling class," Willow answered. "This is usually the time for it."

"And where would that be?" Luz asked.

"Down the hall and then take a sharp left," Willow instructed. "We'll come to a large chamber that has three hallways. Once there, we'll go down the left hallway."

"You got that, Lil?" Luz asked Liliyn.

Luz felt a burst of understanding from Liliyn. "She's got it!" Luz exclaimed as she pulled out three more glyph papers. "Ready?" Luz asked both Liliyn and Willow.

"Ready," Willow confirmed.

Liliyn growled her confirmation and together, Liliyn rode down the hall of Hexside, took a left, and then rode straight into the large chamber with three hallways attached., Liliyn took the left hallway, only for a bunch of students to run into view, with three Skeletaurs chasing behind them.

"There he is! Augustus!" Willow suddenly screamed as she pointed ahead of them.

Leading the group of witches, Luz saw a young, short, boy with slightly dark brown skin, dark blue eyes, chubby cheeks, elf-like ears, and dark brown hair with lighter shades on the sides.

The boy wore a gray tunic with sky-blue leggings and sleeves, a dark gray belt, a cowl, and boots.

"Willow!" Augustus screamed in panic as he and the other witches continued to run.

"All of you duck!" Luz commended as she pressed the glyphs on the three slips of paper. The group quickly ducked, which allowed Luz to launch her glyphs at the group of Skeletaurs.

The first slip of paper turned into a fireball, the second one turned into a spike of ice, and the third one turned into a stalactite, which proceeded to burn, freeze, and then smash the three undead centaurs that chased the group of witches.

"That won't stop them for long," Willow warned as removed herself from Liliyn's back and immediately grabbed Augustus into a tight hug. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" Willow cried.

"They came out of nowhere!" Augustus yelled after separating from Willow. "We were in spelling class when the alarm went off warning us of a Skeletaur swarm."

"This happens all the time?" Luz asked.

Augustus turned to her and answered, "Only every other ye—" Augustus gasped. "No. No, it—" the boy cut himself off as he flicked his ears, his eyes wide with awe. "It couldn't be. A human? Here?"

"Hey, Augustus. The name's Luz, a human," Luz introduced. "And aren't you utterly adorable!"

"A human called me adorable," The awed boy whispered in disbelief.

"Come on, we need to go," Willow told him as she hoisted him up onto Liliyn. "Before mo—"

Willow was cruelly interrupted by the floor exploding beneath her, causing her to fall below with a scream. "Willow!" Both Luz and Augustus screamed.

Luz immediately jumped off of Liliyn and said, "Get him out of here, Lil!" And without waiting for a response, she jumped down after the girl, only for her to land in a purple, goopy giant hand Willow.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Luz exclaimed as she hugged Willow, who returned it with a panicked expression on her face.

"You jumped after me!" Willow exclaimed.

"Of course I did!" Luz screamed back. Luz then looked down at the goopy hand and asked, "What is this?"

"This is an abomination matter," Willow grumbled. "And there is only one person that could make only a part of an abomination this large and this perfect."

The goopy hand lifted them through the hole, where Liliyn and Augustus still stood.

"I have to say, Superstar," A cute but condescending voice spoke. Luz turned to see a skinny, pale-skinned girl with chin-length hair and a ponytail pulling the front hair out of her face, pointed ears, and bright golden eyes looking at them.

The girl also wore a light gray tunic with a dark gray belt, cowl, and boots. She had orchid sleeves and leggings like Willow, triangle-shaped black earrings, black nail polish, and a star pin on her cowl.

"I was expecting to see you in class, not in the palm of my hand," The new girl continued with a cat-like smirk before she chuckled.

Luz turned to Willow and saw a look of disdain on her new friend's face.

"Blight," Willow greeted.

"Now, now, is that any way to treat your better?" Amity asked. "Especially the one who just saved your lives?"

Amity moved her hand to the right, which made the purple goopy hand move to the right. Luz and Willow shrieked as the abomination's hand dumped them in front of Augustus and Liliyn.

"But, I guess that is what I deserve for being such a caring classmate," Amity sighed while she withdrew the matter into a thermos that rested on her right hip with such a fluid movement, Luz was immediately reminded of a Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Luz rose to her feet and gingerly helped Willow up as she said, "Well, you could be a little bit more friendlier, but you are right. Thanks for saving us back there."

Luz shot the girl a genuine smile.

Amity paused for the briefest of moments and then swiftly recovered. "You are unfamiliar to me, who are you?" Amity asked.

"The name's Noceda. Luz Noceda," Luz introduced, remembering how her dad's favorite character in movies would introduce himself.

"Nice to meet you, Luz. My name is Amity Daria Blight. Heir to Blight Industries and the daughter of Odalia and Alador Blight. A pleasure to meet me, I'm sure," Amity introduced with a polite, if not pompous, tone.

Luz knew exactly how to disarm this introduction.

She had a history with elaborate names thanks to her nemesis in the human realm, Clarabelle "Clara" Violet Kiramman.

"Oh, we're doing elaborate names! Then allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Lucia "Luz" Caitlyn Noceda. Gravesfield's first Human Witch and the Proud Daughter of veterinary surgeon Camila Noceda and attorney-at-law Emmanuel Noceda. Charmed to meet you," Luz formally introduced herself.

"Human Witch?" Amity stated. "Humans don't know magic."

Before Luz could respond, a Skeletaur turned a corner at full sprint behind Amity, with its wooden spear being hoisted into the air. "Look out!" Luz shouted as she whipped out a lightning glyph, pressed the glyph, and then launched it at the skeleton.

The slip of paper turned into a bolt of lightning and once it connected to the enemy, its boney remains flew apart upon impact. Amity whipped back around in stunned disbelief as Luz gave her a grin. "Oh, I'm sorry, I interrupted you. I believe you were saying something about humans not knowing magic?" Luz smugly questioned. "Well, I hope that was enough of a retort for you."

Willow laughed and said, "Wow, you were just proven wrong, Blight."

"Quite," Amity murmured. "Well, perhaps you can be of some assistance to me then, human."

"My name is Luz," Luz blankly corrected.

"A Necrotaur was located down in the auditorium," Amity smoothly started as if Luz hadn't spoken. "My friends and I were on our way to take care of it when we were all separated by a horde of Skeletaurs. I intend to defeat it, but I know I can't do it on my own."

"Oh wow, The mighty Amity Blight admits she can't do something on her own? How surprising," Willow remarked.

Amity frowned and clapped back, "Quiet, Half-a-Witch, the real witches are talking."

"Whoa, whoa," Luz interjected. "I don't know what the deal is with you two, but let's just cha-cha slide into a truce while we're dealing with danger, alright?"

Willow and Amity glared at one another.

There was a lot of bad blood here.

Luz would dig into that later.

"I tried to go to the teachers but they're busy helping protect the other students due to the large horde of Skeletaurs that's attacking," Amity slowly started again. "And my friends are currently missing in action. You are a quick human, and I'll need something like that against the Necrotaur."

Luz felt conflicted.

This was a dangerous situation and she had done her part in getting Willow and Augustus. She should just snag them and run with Liliyn.

But another part of her acknowledged the danger, but couldn't help but want to sink her teeth into her first big magic battle.

And that side won out.

Of course, it did.

The Good Witch Azura was her age when she got into her first witch adventure in the prequel book. And she survived that.

Luz would survive this.

"Willow," Luz questioned as she turned to the girl. "You said that defeating the Necrotaur was the way to defeat the horde of Skeletaurs, right?"

"Yes, but it is very powerful in Necromantic magic. It would take more than the two of you to stop it," Willow answered.

"Then why don't you and Gus help us?" Luz questioned. "I mean, that thing you did in the forest was amazing, and I'm sure Gus has some magic that could help."

"Whose Gus?" Augustus asked.

"You, silly," Luz replied.

"Gus? Nickname? Human nickname? Gus? Call me it. Wow. Gus. This is the best day of my life!" Gus gushed with a blush on his face.

Luz felt a burst of adoration from Liliyn regarding Gus and Luz understood why. He was way too adorable.

"Consider yourself adopted," Luz told Gus and then turned back to Willow, who despite the situation, was amused. "So, will you help?"

"I-I can't. I'm an abomination witch. I shouldn't even know that type of magic," Willow stammered with a disappointed tone.

"Who cares?" Luz unceremoniously asked.

"Principal Bump cares," Willow answered.

"Yes, yes, I'm getting bored," Amity announced. "Human, are you ready to do this?"

"My name is Luz," Luz corrected with a blank tone. "And hold your horses."

"What are horses?" Amity asked.

"Willow, I don't know nor care about this principal guy. As my mentor says, "Find the magic that makes your soul sing." It shouldn't be any less difficult than that," Luz instructed. "Why stick with a magic that makes you miserable when you're better at something else?"

Willow blinked as Luz turned to Gus and said, "And what about you, Gus? What's the magic that makes your soul sing?"

"Illusions!" Gus happily answered. "I'm also pretty good with Oracle Magic, but we're not allowed to mix magic at all."

"Illusions, just what I wanted to hear. I bet you can do some cool stuff with that," Luz said as she hoisted herself onto Liliyn. "Well, will you help us?"

"Of course!" Gus chirped. "I never thought I'd be talking to a human, let alone fighting with one! Let's do it!"

"Dope," Luz said as she held out a hand to Gus, who took it, and then hoisted him on top of Liliyn. "Willow?" Luz questioned as she held out her hand.

Willow looked unsure but then nodded. "Alright, I'll come with," Willow relented with a smile. Willow took Luz's hand and Luz helped her on top of Liliyn.

"Alright Amity," Luz confidently started. "You have yourself a team."

"Great," Amity stated. "Now let's go to the auditorium."

"Wait, before we do that, is there a nurse's office somewhere?" Luz asked.


The trip to the auditorium was a tense one as the three teens and one preteen sat on the back of Liliyn, with Luz in the front, Gus behind her, Willow in third, and Amity in last.

Luz was surprised at Liliyn being able to fit all four of them on there, but she contributed this to Gus not taking much room on her back.

As they neared the auditorium, Luz could hear ominous chanting in a language unknown to her, along with brief flashes of dark purple light. Luz looked down and noticed that the ground was thick with lavender mist that made the pain in her chest intensify.

Liliyn growled with concern as it craned its head back to look at her. Luz smiled and petted the top of her head. "I'm okay," Luz whispered through the pain.

Liliyn huffed and turned her head to the front as she took them down the stairs to the top-floor entrance of the auditorium. "We're here," Amity said as Liliyn slowed to a stop. The dual-color-haired girl hopped off of Liliyn and then gave the side of her hind leg a pet in thanks as she asked, "Ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Luz answered as she slid down Liliyn's body and kissed the side of her head. Luz then stepped beside Amity and with a nod, the two pushed open the door and walked inside.

The auditorium was vast, with three levels of seating. Amity and Luz opened the door on the third floor of the auditorium, which gave the two an ample view of the lower floors.

Sitting on stage was a centaur with black fur, a large staff with a crescent moon on top of it, and a purple gem sitting at the moon's bottom. It wore a black cloak and had glowing purple eyes on its chest.

On the stage around the centaur, were the bodies of several students. All of them pale and unmoving.

They were dead.

As Luz stared at the bodies, an image of her father's deceased body laying in a hospital bed filled her mind, which caused her to jerk.

No.

This was not the time to think about him.

"Oh no…." Amity whispered in horror as she covered her mouth. Luz followed her gaze onto four bodies.

The first body Luz saw was of a young girl with pale Dorothea skin with small ridges spread across, three claws on each hand, and horns in the shape of a crescent moon. She also has a singular clouded-over lavender eye that sat on the right side of her head.

She wore what Luz knew now was the standard Hexside uniform, but with dark purple sleeves and leggings.

The second girl had pale cream skin, clouded-over brown eyes, five freckles across her nose, and brown shoulder-length hair with some strands lying in front of her pointy ears.

She also wore the standard Hexside uniform with blue leggings and sleeves and high-heel black boots.

The third girl had dark skin and brown wavy hair with a side bang and pointed ears.

She wore squared glasses with black frames over her clouded over brown eyes and has red lipstick on her lower lip, along with the standard Hexside uniform with blue leggings and sleeves, and black clog-styled shoes

"Bo…Cat…Celine…." Amity whispered with dread.

"Were those your friends?" Luz asked.

"Yeah…." Amity whispered.

The centaur chanted as it moved its staff in an elaborate show. It reminded Luz of a cheerleader wielding a baton.

"There it is, the Necrotaur," Amity whispered.

"What is it doing?" Luz asked.

Luz quickly got her answer when the dead Hexside student's bodies glowed and then rose, their once clouded-over eyes now glowing with dark purple magic. "He's enthralling them," Amity whispered. "We have to defeat him, at least to free their bodies from his control…."

Luz nodded and the two walked ahead, allowing Liliyn to follow them inside.

Luz tried to ignore that sudden cry that Gus gave out at seeing his dead classmates, but she couldn't. It reminded her too much of when she….

'Stop thinking about it,' Luz admonished.

She had a job to do.

"So, how we are going to stop this thing?" Luz whispered.

Amity opened her mouth, but it was Willow who said, "The Necrotaur can only be defeated by separating it from the staff. The staff is what is keeping it alive. We remove the staff, we defeat the Necrotaur."

"It won't be that simple, however," Amity interjected. "The staff won't allow itself to be removed from its host so easily. We have to overwhelm it."

Luz nodded and asked, "Gus, how good are you with illusions?"

"Well, I'm pretty strong with them," Gus answered with a somber tone. "I'm the only one in my class that can create more than one illusion of myself."

"Are you able to create three more versions of you and Liliyn?" Luz asked.

Gus nodded.

"Okay," Luz murmured. "Here is the plan. Gus, you create three illusions of you three and distract the Necrotaur from afar. Willow, are you able to walk alongside Amity and me?"

Willow nodded and replied, "The pain in my side is fading thanks to the healing potion we snagged from the nurse's office on the way here. I'll be able to move just fine."

"Then you're with us," Luz told her.

"Who made you the leader of this?" Amity questioned.

"I'll have you know, I played plenty of strategic JRPGS and managed to keep everyone alive with my strats," Luz boasted. "I'm the man with the brain to plan."

"Well hopefully those "strats" will keep us alive," Amity grumbled.

Willow slid off of Liliyn and gave her a brief hug in thanks. "Liliyn, Gus will stay on your back for a bit to keep him mobile. Please protect him, okay?" Willow asked.

Liliyn growled in reply as Luz felt confidence ooze from the Repede. Willow must have felt it too because she smiled and said, "Thank you."

"That's my girl," Luz smiled at Liliyn and then pulled out two fire glyphs and a lightning glyph and glanced at Willow and Amity. "Ready ladies?"

"No, but that won't stop me," Willow replied.

"Let's do this," Amity whispered.


"Where in the Titan is she?" Eda asked herself as she stood within the Owl House with a concerned look on her face. "She said she was coming back home, right?"

"Yeah, she said she was coming back here," King confirmed. "I wonder where she is?"

"Hoot! Hoot! You both missed the Crystal News!" Hooty exclaimed as he slunk into the room. "Hexside is being attacked by a horde of Skeletaurs!"

"Wait, the Crystal is on?" King asked.

"I do have to catch up on my stories," Hooty replied with an easy air.

"Oh, that's dangerous. They usually migrate down south this time of year. Hexside is always in the way of that," Eda murmured. "But that's not anything we have to concern ourselves about. We need to worry about Luz. This place is far too dangerous for her to be all alone."

"But she's not alone. She's been on the crystal," Hooty replied.

"Say what?" King asked.

Eda marched toward her crystal ball and watched as her old friend Perry Porter continued on the news. "We're still covering the Skeletaur Horde's attack on Hexside. Most of the horde has been dealt back, but there were casualties. We're still trying to identify the young girl riding on a creature the Isles has never seen before."

Eda watched as the crystal's image changed from Perry into a moving image of Luz, some girl, and Liliyn riding into the school, with Luz throwing glyphs at the Skeletaurs that got in her way.

"After crosschecking records, we do know that this brave but unknown girl is not affiliated with any of the Magical Schools in the Boiling Isles and neither is the creature she is riding on. However, we were able to identify Willow Park as the girl traveling with the unknown girl and creature," Perry explained.

Eda's irises shrank.

"Hooty. Watch King," Eda commanded and without hearing a response, she got on Owlbert and flew out of the Owl House.


"Look out!" Luz exclaimed as she tackled Willow to the ground to avoid a pulsating beam of dark magic. Luz withdrew two ice glyphs and launched them at the Necrotaur, who swung its staff and cleaved the ice spikes in half.

"Abomination: Attack!" Amity commanded as two tall purple slime monsters charged toward the Necrotaur. The Necrotaur roared and pointed his staff at the oncoming creatures. The deceased Hexside students charged forward and mindlessly attacked the abominations.

The Necrotaur roared and fired beams of pulsating dark magic at one of the Gus/Liliyn illusions, but the illusion avoided it while the real Liliyn jumped into the air, closed the distance, and swiped her left claw down the creature's front, causing bright oozing lavender blood to spill.

Liliyn landed and darted to the left while an illusion of Gus and Liliyn landed behind them, only for it to be dispersed when a beam of the Necrotaur's magic collided against it.

Luz helped Willow up and said, "This thing can really hold its own."

"It's strong. It has to be to use the remnants of Necromancy Magic," Willow replied.

Luz and Willow could hear a stampede getting closer and closer, and knew that a group of Skeletaur was closing in on their location. "Willow, we have to close block the entrances to the auditorium. Can you do that?"

Willow nodded with glowing green eyes and spell circles around her wrists, she raised her hands and four thick vines exploded from the ground in front of her and flew toward the exits of the auditorium.

Luz then heard the Necrotaur roar and when she turned around, she saw the Necrotaur holding its staff aloft toward her. Thinking quickly, Luz pulled out a push gravity glyph, pressed it, and held it in front of her right as the Necrotaur fired a beam of dark magic.

The light grey tendril of her push gravity glyph clashed against the dark beam, which caused Luz to skid back from the amount of force against her. "Oh no! Some got in!" Willow exclaimed.

Luz looked and saw that twenty Skeletaurs managed to get into the auditorium before the vines blocked the exits, with some coming toward them, and the others making a beeline toward Amity, who had abomination slime around her fists in the shape of gauntlets and was now punching the Necrotaur's undead thralls.

"Gus, Create another illusion and try to divert their attention from Amity! Liliyn, Attack the Skeletaurs that won't divert from their path!" Luz commanded.

Liliyn roared as Gus shouted, "Got it!"

"I'll help!" Willow exclaimed as she pulled up another vine with her left hand and then swung her arm left, causing the new vine to swat two of the Skeletaurs against the wall, shattering them into several pieces.

Willow pulled up another new vine and proceeded to use the two vines to swat at the oncoming Skeletaurs.

Suddenly, Luz skidded back more as the magic from the Necrotaur doubled in strength. Luz gritted her teeth and reached into her left pocket to retrieve another push glyph. She pressed the glyph, held it in her left palm, and moved her hand next to her right hand, alleviating the pressure of the Necrotaur's beam.

But another pulse from the Necrotaur's beam caused her to skid again.

The painful pulse in Luz's chest continued to rise until it felt like it was matching her heartbeat. Luz was in pain but something told her that if this beam struck her, that would be it for her and Willow.

Desperation grew in Luz as the Necrotaur's beam was seconds away from overwhelming her glyphs and taking both herself and Willow out of the game, and potentially out of their lives. "Willow, you need to get away!" Luz managed to get out.

"And leave you behind?" Willow panted out. "No way."

"His beam is going to get us both! You need to get to Liliyn and Gus, get Amity, and run for it!" Luz commanded.

"And do what?" Willow asked while she continued to swat at any Skeletaurs that came close.

Luz opened her mouth to answer, only for her back to slam against Willow's when the Necrotaur's beam grew larger, which caused the slimy ball to fall out of Luz's pocket and roll against Willow's foot.

Luz took her attention off of Luz and looked at the beam. It was at the base of her push glyphs. Any second now, it was all over. Between this, Willow's refusal to leave her side, the sounds of Liliyn, Gus, and Amity battling their respective fights, and the rapid pulsating in her chest, it was all closing in on her.

Her mother was right.

She thought so much about fantasy that it led her right to her death in this place. Luz gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes shut as and thought, 'God, Titan, whatever is out there, please get me out of this! Please give me something that can save us all from this situation!"

And then, the painful pulses in her chest exploded, causing her to scream in absolute agony as her eyes snapped open, revealing her glowing amber irises with sparkling amber lights floating from her irises.

Luz felt something pour from her hands and into the glyphs, which changed the tendrils into beams of amber light, which overcame the Necrotaur's dark beam and enveloped the creature, which sent it slamming into the wall.

The force of the push glyph was so strong, the Necrotaur's body was flattened against the wall before the wall itself was punctured, leaving a giant hole. The glyphs at Luz's palms shattered, and Luz felt the air escape her lungs.

She staggered forward and began to fall to the ground, barely missing as the greasy orb exploded into vines before it all went black.