When Luz Noceda was born, she wasn't born on earth.
She was born on a different planet, in a different solar system.
Lorien.
A beautiful planet, smaller than earth, but much richer in natural resources.
The people of the planet, the Loric, protected it, and in return, it granted some of them powers. Called Legacies, they allowed certain individuals among the Loric, dubbed Garde, to manipulate the world around them and their bodies in fascinating ways.
Some could see the future, others could read minds, manipulate the weather, control sound waves, duplicate themselves, control their density, or even copy other legacies.
It was unfortunate that the peace they held was not meant to last.
An invading force, sent from the planet of Mogadore, conquered Lorien for its resources, and massacred the Loric people. For although they held many abilities, they were not prepared for the Mogadorians overwhelming numbers.
Only eighteen Loric escaped. Nine children, future Garde, and nine Cepans (Loric people without powers), who would act as their guardians and trainers.
As they left, one of the nine elders of Lorien placed a charm upon them to protect them. They could only be killed in order. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. The charm would remain in place until the nine Loric children developed their legacies and met each other.
The child who would eventually be called Luz Noceda was Number Five.
In the small town of Gravesfield, Connecticut, Luz Noceda started her morning like every other.
A sigh of relief to see that her ankle had no new brand.
She was always afraid that whenever she woke up she would find a new one. But fortunately, she still only had the two.
She and the other Garde were connected, and when one died, their mark was burned into the skin of the rest.
After that, she got up and dressed in her favorite cat hoodie and pants. Packing the stuff she needed for her book report about her favorite book series: The Good Witch Azura!
Sure, she had a bit of a reputation for having her plans go wrong, but this one was different. No sausage guts, no spiders, and no showing of the insides of her eyelids (She didn't really understand that last one. At least the other ones were kinda frightening, but that one just looked kinda gross.) , no this one just had a few props. And a few defanged snakes. Not dangerous at all.
She mentally cursed herself as she sat in the principal's office. It hadn't gone exactly as planned.
See, it was mostly fine until the backup snakes escaped and began biting the rest of the students. At which point, everyone ran away screaming, desperately trying to escape the snakes, including the teacher.
Needless to say, she was in quite a bit of trouble.
"As far as I am concerned, you have two options, either send your daughter here," He handed Camilla a pamphlet with the words, 'Think inside the box', and a smiling boy in a very small box printed on it, advertising the Reality check summer camp, "Or she will be expelled. She needs to stop with these stunts. We just can't afford to have this continue."
Camilla sighed, holding the bridge of her nose. "Can we have some time to think about it?"
"Of course, take all the time you need."
"Thank you, Principal Hal. Come on Luz, we're leaving."
It was an awkward and quiet car ride, and once they got to their house, but before they got out of the car, Camilia spoke.
"Prepare for a burn. We're leaving."
A burn. They had only done it three times before. They would set their house alight, along with all of their possessions, then start anew far away.
"What? Why? It was just a little weirdness. I am not even next, Three and Four are still alive! There is no reason for us to leave!"
"Yes there is, Five." Oh, she was mad. "Don't you understand! We need to be careful. You are not on the chopping block, but they can do a lot to you without killing you. We and the rest are all that is left of Lorien, if we get careless, we could get captured and tortured. Even if it doesn't seem like you did much to get their attention, the Mogadorians have every reason to be indiscriminate. They can afford to capture and kill everyone that they even slightly suspect to be one of us!"
Camilia sighed. "I know it is difficult. But soon your Legacies will develop. Then we can stop running. Ok?"
Luz sighed. "Ok. You're right."
"Good. I am going to grab our chest and prepare for a fire, when I get back, I expect you to be right here, got it?"
"Yes Camilia."
"Good." With that, her Cepan went into the house to grab their chest and prepare the house to be set on fire.
Luz went to grab her book that she had placed in the back seat, but she felt her hand clasp on empty space.
"What? Where is it?"
When she looked around, she saw the back door of the car open, and a small owl with a bag in its beak hopping away, and in the bag, she could see her book.
She didn't even really think about it, she just unbuckled her seat belt and ran after it.
When the owl saw her running towards it, it hopped away, into the forest.
"Get back here you adorable little thief!"
She ran after it, surprised that it was keeping ahead of her. Even beyond legacies, Garde were far stronger and faster than humans, and yet that owl had no trouble staying ahead of her.
After a minute of running, they arrived at an old cabin with an open door, which the owl ran into, and Luz immediately followed.
It wasn't like any cabin she had seen before, it looked like a… tent?
It was full of junk, much more than she would have thought would be in an abandoned shack.
"Finally, your back." Luz looked at where the feminine voice came from and crept forward reaching a hand forward to pull the fabric back. "Now let's see what you got." She pulled it out of the way of her vision, and saw a middle aged woman with pale skin, gray hair, a golden fang, and golden eyes, along with a red dress and a green bandana covering her ears, and perched on a stick next to her sat the owl she had followed here.
She grabbed the owl and twisted it, and as if by magic, it became a wooden figurine, attached to the staff. The women then dug into the bag, looking at what was inside of it.
She pulled out a phone, "Garbage," A diamond ring, "garbage," A glowing golden cup, "garbage," then a pair of joke glasses, "Now this, this will make me rich!" She pulled out the book, " And, well, this will make good kindling." She then put into the fire of a candle.
Luz gasped, and ran forward, grabbing her book, "Sorry, that's mine! Thank you!" Then ran back towards the door, but before she could make it, the door folded into itself, and she gasped.
She turned around, and saw the woman take off her glasses and glare at her. "You're not going anywhere."
She ran dove under the back edge of the tent, and was met with a cliff, and beyond that, the most horrific and amazing view she had ever seen.
What looked like a city set into a giant rib cage, with mouths on buildings, a giant hand holding a building, and a bunch of fantastical creatures roaming its streets.
She looked around, amazed, and what looked like a fairy flew up next to her.
"Hello, little fairy, are you going to tell me this is all some wild dream?"
"Give me your Skin!" It revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth, and she slapped it out of the air.
"Where am I?! I can't have died!? What happened?!" She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she jumped back, turning to face that woman, ready to defend herself, her mind going back to the self defense training Camilia had given her. "Don't try to eat me! I can defend myself!"
"Eat you? Why would I try to eat… a potential customer!" All hostility left the woman's face as she led Luz to the front of the stand, displaying a variety of items.
"Can I offer you a green human foot filled with holes?" A croc? "A bar of blue human candy?" Deodorant, "Or how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" A portable tv was pushed right into Luz's face.
She laughed. "That's not all it can do. Here, let me see it." She took the tv and grabbed two batteries out of a bowl labeled, 'Human Candy?' and put them into the tv, then she pressed the on button, and it displayed a work out video from the nineties.
A variety of strange creatures heard the music, approaching the stall.
"I'll pay forty Snails for the screaming box!"
"I'll give you a hundred!"
"Can I eat the tiny person inside?"
It was soon just a cacophony of different offers for the TV.
The woman looked at Luz. "What did you say your name was?"
She didn't hesitate to give her name, as even if this world worked off of fairy logic, that wasn't really her name. "I'm Luz. Luz Noceda."
The woman began grabbing money from various people, taking their money, but not giving them the tv. "Well, Luz, that was pretty clever." She gave Luz a strange side eye. "For a human."
"That's kinda weird for a human to say." Luz winced internally at her small slip, but the lady didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, dear child," She grabbed her bandana and ripped it off, revealing elven ears. "I'm not like you." She climbed onto the table, "I am Eda, the owl lady! The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!"
"A witch?" That seemed a little strange. But then again, Luz was an alien, so who was she to judge?
"I am respected! Feared!"
"Busted!" A gloved hand smashed the tv, sending parts of it flying.
All of the customers who had been clambering for the tv ran, while the man in what seemed to be in a plague doctor's mask spoke. "Eda the Owl Lady! You are wanted for Misuse of Magic and Demonic Misdemeanors!" He grabbed Eda's arm. "You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium!"
Eda yanked her hand back. "Would you guys quit following me?! I haven't done squat!"
The gloved hand grabbed onto the hood of Luz's hoodie, lifting her up. "And you're coming too, for fraternizing with a criminal!" Unfortunately for him, he made the mistake of lifting her right into his face.
She pulled her arm back and jabbed her right fist forward, putting all the strength she could muster into the blow.
The nose of the mask crumbled like tissue paper, and the man quickly let her go, staggering backwards.
Eda slammed her staff into the ground, and all of her stuff rose from the ground and went into a small sack, which landed on her staff. "Follow me human!"
With no other choice, Luz raced after her, easily keeping pace with Eda. "What's happening? Are we going to get arrested?!" Sure, there was virtually no chance they would be able to catch and hold Luz, but she had seen a lot of crazy things today.
Eda smiled at her. "Don't worry, I won't let them catch you! You are too valuable for me to lose you."
Well, that was concerning. "What's that supposed to me-!" She was cut off by the witch grabbing her arm and jumping in the air with a cry. The wings on the owl on the staff spread, and she jumped onto it, dragging Luz with her, then, they took off flying away from the guard, who was definitely yelling at them. Probably. Luz couldn't hear him over the wind.
They flew through the air, and although Luz probably should have been scared to see the ground rushing past so far below them, it was strangely… comforting? Maybe that wasn't the right word. Familiar? It was something. And not negative.
"You know human, I was expecting more screaming."
She ignored that, and went straight into her main question. "Flying staves, crazy monsters, you're a witch, What is this place!?"
Eda smirked. "This is the Boiling Isles. Every myth you humans have is caused by a little of this realm bleeding into yours."
Suddenly, a griffin flew up right next to them, and cawed, then, opened its mouth, and tumbling out of its mouth came thousands of tiny spiders!
She couldn't help but smile, "I knew it!"
"Yep, griffins, vampires, giraffes"
"Giraffes!?"
"Oh yeah, we banished those guys. Bunch of freaks." They landed, and Eda got off of the staff. Luz noticed however, that her hand was left stuck to the staff, and not on her arm.
"Um, Eda, you kinda forgot something."
"Oops, that happens sometimes."
Luz got off the staff, "Welp, I've had enough adventure today. This is clearly not the pg fantasy world I was expecting. So, can you help me get back home?"
"Only if you help ME first." She gave a snorting laugh. "Come along human."
She led Luz up to a house, with a strange owl decoration on the door. At least she was sticking to the theme. But … "Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?"
"Nope, my house has a state of the art defense system."
Suddenly, the owl on the door started talking, which really shouldn't have surprised her at this point. "Hoot, Hoot. Password please." The voice was grating.
Eda poked it in its eyes, "We got no time for this Hooty, Let us in."
"Alright, alright, geez! You never want to have any fun! Ow. Hoot." Then, the door opened its mouth wide until it covered the entire doorway, and they walked inside.
The door closed behind them, and Eda spoke. "Welcome to," A snap of her fingers, and suddenly all the candles in the room lit up, "The Owl House. Where I hide away from the pressures of Modern life. Also the cops. Also my exes."
"This place is beautiful. Do you live here all alone?"
Stomps echoed, and the house shook. "Actually, I have a roommate."
A deep voice spoke, "Who dares intrude upon I," The voice lightened dramatically, as a shadow cast on the wall in a hallway shrank, to reveal a small creature that looked kind of like a cubone appeared, swathed in towels. "The King of Demons!"
Luz couldn't help herself. She rushed forward and hugged him, "AWW, Eda, he's so CUTE!, who's a little guy, who's a little guy? Is it you, Is it you?"
The small creature began to panic. "NO! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda, who is this monster!?"
"This is Luz, the human, she is here to help us with our situation."
"Oh, hooray!"
Luz let go of the creature. "Wait, wait, wait. I don't like the sound of this situation."
"Just let me explain. King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became this." She gestured to King's small form. "The crown is being held by the evil warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical barrier that only a human can get through. A human like you!"
Luz winced a bit. She couldn't help it. If it was made so only a human could get through it, that would be problematic.
"If you help us steal back his crown, we'll send you back to your realm, so, what do you say?" She picked up King, "Plus, who could say no to this cute face!"
"No! Please don't encourage her!"
"I mean, we're kinda your only way home."
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Nope! Now we've got no time to lose!" She picked up Luz, and carried her outside.
"Where are we even going?"
"Somewhere superfun!"
The Coformatorium, contrary to Eda's statement, did not look superfun.
"A place for those considered unsuitable for society."
Luz picked a wanted poster off of the wall, it was of Eda and King in a fairly odd style, but this was the boiling isles, so of course it was. She would've thought they would try to be as realistic as possible, but it got the point across.
The reward was just obscene.
"Wow, they really wanna catch you, don't they?"
"Yep, but we were never caught, because we're too slippery."
"Try to catch me when I am covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little fella!" King said, from atop Luz's head.
King fell off of her head, "Me and you are going to the top of the tower, where they are holding my crown."
Eda smirked, "And I'm gonna make sure the warden's distracted."
"Ooh, will I need a disguise?" Before either of them could answer, she flipped her hood up, and with a "Meow, meow" She flicked the cat ears up.
She was met with a "It's hideous," from King.
Eda smirk grew. "Oh you'll fit right in."
Before Luz could be offended at such an undeserved insult, Eda slammed her staff into the ground, sending Luz and King into the air on a golden disk.
It rose quickly, and before she knew it, they were at the top, and the disk disappeared.
Her quick reflexes saved them from a very embarrassing death, as she caught the edge of the window, and King climbed in.
She followed after him, entering the tower.
Rows of cells greeted them.
Before she could make a comment about the size of the place, a voice spoke from behind her.
"Hey, Cat Lady, how did you get out of your cell?"
"Oh, no no no. I'm not a cat. Also, I'm not a criminal." She pulled down the hoodie.
King, very (un)helpfully, added, "Not yet your not."
The witch scoffed. "Neither are we. The dumb warden just likes locking up people he doesn't think fit in society. I mena, I like writing fanfic about food falling in love. I like food, I like love, just let me write about it."
A demon from the cell next to hers spoke. "I'm here, because I like eating my own eyeballs." He then demonstrated this, and the eye quickly grew back.
Then, the demon from the other cell next to the witch spoke. "They will never silence us, we are agents of free expression!"
"Yeah, she's really into conspiracy theories."
"This world is a simulation! We are but puppets of a higher being!"
"Wait, these aren't crimes." Luz shook her head, "You guys are just weirdos, like me."
Stomps echoed out from a nearby doorway.
"It's the warden! Hide!"
Luz ducked into a nearby cell, slamming the door to it shut and huddling in the corner with her hood over her head and King hugged close.
"I can hear you." The voice was intimidating. It felt Malevolent. "Just what are you fools whispering about?"
She saw him bend down and pick up a piece of paper, and she realized it was the wanted poster of Eda. She must have dropped it.
"Ah, the Owl Lady." He crushed the piece of paper in his hand, and then, his hand formed into a hammer, before it rammed into the door of the cell that contained her and King.
She felt a strange feeling passing over her, but she wrote it off as just the shock of his hammer hitting the cell.
"I'll get my hands on her soon enough." His head turned to peer at them, before a voice echoed in the cell next to theirs.
"We will fight against the oppressor. We will resist! We will conquer! We will never be afraid of you, you old creep!"
The warden stared at the small demon, which was basically a nose on legs, before pulling the lever next to her cell and opening the door to it.
"Oh, I'm free!" A hand shot forward and grabbed the demon, squeezing it.
"Let this be a lesson to you all. You will never find a place in society if you can't fit in."
Then, the warden stomped away, his footsteps echoing across the facility.
Luz crawled out of the cell with King on her back.
She turned to the Demon and witch. "Don't worry, I can get you out."
The witch scoffed once again. "I'm sorry kid, but there is no way you will be able to use
these leve-" She was cut off by her cell door opening.
Luz opened the other door as well. "Go, you're both free." Then, she ran off into the hallway that the warden had gone down, as it was the only available one.
Soon enough Eda joined them. "Hey, I just checked, the warden is distracted tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."
"At least there's that."
Soon, they were at a door labeled 'Contraband' in big bold letters, which King eagerly pushed out of his way.
Eda had a fond smile on her face as she watched. "Aw, he gets so cute when he's hungry for power."
They entered to find King repeatedly running into the wall, then being bounced back by the barrier.
It was a glowing pillar of light.
When King landed on his butt in front of them, Eda put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, we have a human, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
Both of them looked to her, and she took a deep breath, reaching out to the barrier and
hesitating. If it just wanted something not from the Boiling Isles, she would be able to go through, but if it was specifically looking for a human… not a chance.
'No choice now.' She rushed her hand forward.
And was stopped by the barrier.
She heard Eda gasp and King ask, "I thought you said a human could go through?"
"I did. And a human would have been able to pass through." Luz turned around to face Eda and King
"You guys deserve to know the truth, I think. I mean, it's not like you'll turn me over to the Mogs." She let out a laugh. "Do you guys know what aliens are?"
Eda gave a confused stare. "Those tiny green men in human realm movies?"
She laughed again. "Kinda. An Alien is a creature from a planet other than earth. There are actually three planets with life on them that the Loric, my kind, were aware of. Two now I suppose. Lorien, Earth, and Mogadore."
"Lorien, where I am from, used to be a beautiful place, but the Mogadorians attacked, and they overwhelmed us with pure numbers." She paused. "They massacred us. Only eighteen escaped. Nine children, and their nine.. Trainers, I guess. I am one of those kids. We hid on earth."
"So there. That's why I can't get through the barrier. I'm not human. Just like you. My name isn't even Luz Noceda. I am Number Five."
Eda gave her a skeptical look. "You know, you could have just told me you were from the Boiling Isles. I would have sent you back to the Human Realm. But do you seriously expect me to believe that story?"
Luz glared, then grabbed her left pant leg, lifting it up to reveal the two brands on her ankle.
"All nine of us Garde children are connected through these brands. Surely you can do some magic something to prove my story is true?"
Eda's face twisted in concern. "Well, you just went from a liar to someone who is seriously disconnected from reality. Did you seriously brand yourself?!" She drew a small circle in the air, and her eyes widened, "Holy sh—" A look at King "- oot." She drew another circle in the air. When nothing happened, she glared at the brands. "Well, there is certainly something magical about them, because they won't heal."
Luz nodded. "That makes sense. They are supposed to be an early warning system between us. When one of us dies, the rest of us are branded with their symbol, letting us know one more of us is dead."
Another spell circle of a different color, and Eda's eyes became clouded.
After a few seconds, her eyes returned to their usual color, and she looked at Luz with surprise and a bit of pity.
"Well kid, this is certainly not how I expected today to go." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and turned to King. "She's telling the truth. I'm sorry King, but we're gonna have to come get your crown another time. Now come on, let's get out of here before the Warden finds us and loses his head."
A shadow rose behind her. "Too late." The shadows arm raised and formed a blade, which came down through Eda's neck.
The newly severed head went right into Luz's arms, and she did the only reasonable thing.
She screamed.
"Oww! Oh I hate it when that happens."
What. The head was talking.
"Eda, are you alive?"
"Yeah, this just happens when you get older."
"Somehow I seriously doubt that."
Before Eda could respond, the warden spoke. "Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady." He reached a hand behind and pulled out a…. Cardboard crown? "My guards could never catch you, but I knew if I took your pets toy, you would come running."He then crushed the crown.
King fell to his knees in horror. "NO! My power!"
"What do you want with me?! I've never broken any of your stupid laws!... In front of you"
"I want you…. To go out with me." He grabbed a bouquet of flowers from… somewhere, and held them out to her.
"What?"
"What?"
"Go Boss!"
"You can do it!"
The Warden gave the guards a thumbs up, then turned back to them. "You've always eluded our capture. You always get away. I found that alluring."
Luz gagged a bit. "I hate everything your saying right now."
His arm transformed into… something, and stretched out, grabbing Luz, "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"
He grabbed Eda's head by her hair and lifted her up to his face. "So what do you say, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath! We would be the strongest power couple ever! I mean, it's not like you can say no."
Eda looked around and sighed. "Alright Warden, you win. I'd just like to say something first. Come closer." He lifted her head closer to his. "A little bit closer." He put her head up further, "Yeah that's good." She stuck her tongue out and blew into his face.
The Warden recoiled, dropping Luz and holding Eda's head as far away as possible.
"You impudent Wench, don't you know how many germs are in your mouth!"
"Get over it! I am not going on a date with you!"
"Then you leave me no cho-" Before the Warden could finish his sentence, Luz hit him over the top of the head with Eda's staff, knocking him to the floor.
"Come on, let's go!" She grabbed Eda and King and got onto the staff, and began trying random phrases she had heard before to get it to fly.
Eventually, Eda must have gotten tired of listening to her embarrass herself, and said, "Gun it, Magic Stick!"
And off they went.
They flew through the prison at ridiculous speeds, and Luz took the time to put Eda's head back on her body.
She could hear the Warden following close behind.
They got outside before he caught up.
He managed to hit the back of the staff, knocking it off course and throwing them off of it at high speeds.
Luz was sent careening towards a wall, and by instinct, she reached out and touched the ground as it flew past below her.
Luz didn't know why she did it, but she wanted to be protected.
And her Legacy responded.
A strange feeling came over her, a ripple, and she saw stone creep up her arm, until her entire body was covered in it.
Her trajectory changed, as she was suddenly much heavier, and she hit the ground, skidding and skipping across it, until she hit the wall, undamaged, and her skin rippled once more, losing its stone quality.
King and Eda quickly followed, hitting the ground right next to her.
"Ow! My bones!"
Eda reached into her hair and pulled out a key tossing it to her. "Luz, or Five, or whatever your name is, get back to the human world."
"But what about you guys?"
"If you think this guy is bad, you should have seen her last boyfriend!"
"Not my boyfriend!"
Eda ran up to Luz, grabbed her staff, and put Luz on top of it. "Go!" She hit the back of the staff, and Luz went flying away.
Luz yanked the staff, trying to turn it around, so that she could go help them, and she managed it, turning it around so that she was looking at the prison from above.
She saw the three prisoners she had met earlier in the doorway to the prison, and she flew over to them, landing in front of them.
"Why aren't you guys escaping? You're free!"
The eye eater spoke. "The Warden will catch us. He always does."
"We belong here."
"Self doubt is a prison we will never escape from."
Luz shook her head. "Don't you see? You might be weird, but that is what makes you awesome!"
"Why are you helping us?"
"Because no one should be punished for who they are!" She rose into the air on the staff. "Now let's get 'em!"
She flew towards the Warden, hovering above him as the three former prisoners rushed towards him.
The eye eater and fanfic writer tackled him.
"I eat my own eyes!"
The conspiracy theorist stood in his path, tripping him. "I think the world is a triangle!"
The fanfic writer tied his arms together. "I practice the ancient art of fanfiction!"
The Warden looked up at Luz, still flying above him. "Who do you think you are!"
She held the key tightly in her hand, praying that her plan would work. "Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz Noceda, Garde of Lorien and Warrior of Peace!"
She focused on the key, the feeling of the cold metal against her palm, and she tried to call up the rippling feeling, and smiled when her legacy answered her call, her skin shifting to a brown metallic color.
She jumped off of the staff, falling towards him, "NOW EAT THIS SUKKKAA!" She collided with the Warden at terminal velocity, knocking him out cold.
The prisoners cheered, and Eda walked up Luz with King on her shoulder.
"That was actually one of her better break ups."
Eda glared at the King. "Not a break up." She smiled down at Luz. "Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me."
With that, they went back to the Owl House.
"I know a deal is a deal, but are you sure you should go back?" Eda put her staff down, leaning it against the couch. "You said those, what did you call them, Mogs were hunting you. Should you really go back?"
Luz smiled, "That's not a terrible idea. I would be safe to train here. You have the only way between realms, right?"
"I think so. There could be others, I found mine in the dirt. No clue where it came from."
Luz shrugged. "Still safer than the human realm." She paused. "I think I should talk with my Cepan first. She's probably worried sick. She also might know a way to contact the other Loric, that way we could train and be safe toge-"
Pain, burning pain. She screamed, falling to the ground, clutching her ankle.
She heard Eda and King call out to her, but she couldn't answer. She knew if she opened her mouth, all that would come out would be a scream.
After about a minute of pain, it stopped, and Luz looked down at the newest brand upon her ankle.
A spiral, with three half circles surrounding it.
"Kid, you ok?! What happened?!" Eda was in front of her, looking at her with concern.
She couldn't take her eyes off of the brand.
"Three is dead." She looked up at Eda. "Six of us are left."