Back and forth, the owl lady traipsed across the clearing. The more her patience broke the faster her pacing got. The struggle to keep her ferocious curse inside of her made her golden eyes fiery. She bared her sharp fangs and flexed her growing claws as she imagined tearing my mother to pieces.
King's yellow eyes followed her anxiously, searching for any sign of comfort. The small horned demon was no longer the ruthless ruler he bragged about being. He let his fear show, turning him into a normal frightened child.
Even Hooty was unnaturally quiet. He had been ever since he spotted Edric's body. I don't know if he'd been stunned by the horrific sight initially, or if he was just scared he'd piss me off again (because the last time he did ended rather painfully for him). But one thing's for sure, his current silence was for his human friend. All of our worry was.
It had been around an hour since my father and sister left for Blight Manor, and there was no sign of their or Luz's return. My own patience was just as thin. There was a power deep inside of me itching to get out too. Just like at the knee, the very thought of Luz being in danger had awoken an energy I'd never felt in life.
But if I went to the manor, it would've given my mother a chance to get the amulet. If she succeeded, then everything, Luz and Eda putting themselves in jeopardy and Edric's death, would be for nothing.
"Eda," I desperately called. Memories of fighting the owl beast pushed themselves to the front of my brain. "You need to calm down before your curse takes over you!".
"Calm down?!" she spat while a growl rose in her throat. "My kid could be hacked up and at the bottom of the boiling sea, and you're telling me to calm down?!".
"Luz isn't dead" I urged. Eda stopped for a moment to look me in the eyes.
"You don't know that!".
"Not for sure…" I admitted hesitantly. "But…remember what we said we found out at the library?".
"That a powerful bond could set you free?". I nodded with a weak "mhm".
"When you'd been captured by the Slitherbeast, I got this unexplained power boost. I think…and I could be wrong but…that boost…".
"You think your friendship with Luz is enough to set you free" Eda finished.
"I can't speak for Luz," I murmured. "But…and I know this sounds kind've weird what with the whole almost getting her cut open thing, but…she means everything to me".
That made Eda soften. Her shoulders sank as her fear dulled. She was still horrified for her apprentice, but my vulnerability grounded her.
"That still doesn't mean she's safe," the owl lady sighed. "She could be badly hurt or worse, your mother could've put her in an amulet".
"She already has Edric, and she's planning to get me back. Why would she want another one?".
Just as I finished my question, the sound of footsteps carried my gaze to the other side of the clearing. Two teens emerged from the woods, one of which was the human of the hour.
"Luz!" King cried while racing past us. He leapt into Luz's arm and pressed himself against her.
Eda and Hooty were right behind him. The older witch crashed into her apprentice, nearly knocking her over, and the house demon wrapped his stretchy snake-like body around the three of them.
Despite my extreme excitement, I stayed back and waited my turn. As much as I wanted to join the group hug, I knew it was only between the four of them. They may have accepted me, but I was still a guest. I wasn't exactly part of the family.
I looked over Luz, searching for any sign of injury. Her caramel-colored skin had a few nasty dark spots, as well as some thorn sized cuts all over her arms and legs. But the most noticeable injury was the large slash on her forehead. It wasn't that deep and had since stopped bleeding, but it still looked puffy and swollen.
Luz noticed me standing there nearly right away. She gently pushed her way free from the large embrace and welcomingly held her arms out.
"You know you want to" she chuckled while wiggling her eyebrows.
I rushed into my friend, wrapping my arms around her as if I was holding on for dear life. I felt her slightly shiver, my ghostly body chilling her, but that didn't stop her from hugging me back.
"What happened?" I asked when we both let go of each other. I couldn't keep my voice from cracking.
"A lot," the other teen answered from the sidelines.
My attention finally turned towards my sister. With all the excitement with Luz's return, I'd nearly forgotten she was there. She looked… fragile, sickly even. Her pallor skin was clammy, her eyes were a hellish red. It was if she was one calm breeze away from collapsing.
"Emira," I called out as I gawked at her. "Are you hurt? And where's dad?".
"Dad's back at the manor" she answered weakly. "Him and mom got into a pretty big fight. It got physical".
"Is he alright?" I pressed. Worry tied my stomach into knots.
Emira shook her head. She took a moment to prepare herself for what she said next.
"Mom's dead".
My glowing eyes flew open as wide as they possibly could. All of my thoughts and emotions tackled me all at once, but I couldn't really feel any of them. I was stunned, my shock making me feel sort of numb.
I was free. Yes, I was still connected to the amulet, but I didn't have to hide anymore. I didn't have to worry about being captured or being ordered to "writhe"; the witch hunting me was gone. But it all happened so fast my mind was having trouble registering it.
"She was just about to kill Luz," she continued. "But Edric killed her before she could".
"Edric?" Luz echoed, highly confused. "He was in the field with us? I thought you said he'd been exorcized?".
This time, my surprise was painful. I desperately looked towards Emira, hoping that she'd say Luz heard wrong.
"Mom said that Edric "betrayed" you, so she exorcized him".
Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse for my older brother, my mother had to prove me wrong. It was one thing to be connected to an amulet, but to be stripped of any physical form whatsoever and turned into nothing but the wind, titan I could only imagine the kind of pain Edric was in.
"Does that mean something different here?" Luz whispered to her mentor. "Cause in the human realm that just means the ghost was sent to the beyond".
"I'll tell you later," the owl lady responded quietly. Thankfully, Luz didn't press any further.
"The important thing is you're safe" Emira sighed, anxious to change the subject. "You can live in the manor again".
"...Oh…Right". I tried my hardest to sound enthused, but my disappointment was painfully obvious. "I guess I can".
Yet another blow. I was just starting to feel comfortable at the owl house, which was more than I could say about the manor. It was a flying-pigsty, infested with all sorts of creatures and filled with a bunch of human clutter, but it was the people who lived inside that made me feel so welcomed. In the short period of time, I'd been living there, I became one of them. For once in my life, I felt like I belonged somewhere.
But they only agreed to let me live with them until I was free. I had to uphold my end of the deal. I had to leave.
"Or you could just stay here," Eda mumbled.
"Really?!" Luz exclaimed, her excitement immediately breaking free. She turned towards me with both a huge grin and big shining brown eyes. "You've gotta stay!".
"She doesn't have to do anything" Emira jumped in. She lovingly placed her hand on my shoulder. "It's up to you. Unlike mom, we won't force you to stay at the manor".
I took one more glance towards Eda, silently asking if she was sure.
"You'll have to do house chores like the rest of us," she warned. "You won't just be a guest anymore".
Joy swelled in my chest. It didn't care about the housework. I'd clean the thing spotless every day if I had to. To no longer be a guest, for the owl house to become my real home, that was worth much more than any chore the owl lady threw at me.
"I'm sorry, Em. But I can't say no".
Hurt flashed in Emira's eyes, but she fought against it and delicately smiled.
"As long as you're happy". My sister then yanked me into her arms. She ruffled my mint-colored hair and laughed at my attempt to shove her away. "But don't be a stranger, okay?".
"Yeah" I grumbled when she finally let go. "Whatever".
Emira let out one more faint chuckle before walking towards Edric's body. She hoisted him onto her back, a bunch of the lavender we placed falling off of him and wrapped his arms over her shoulders.
"Come on, Ed" I barely heard her whisper. "It's time to go home".
I must admit, it hurt me a small bit to see her carry our brother back into the woods. But then a cold breeze pushed past me. It picked up all of the lavender petals in the clearing and flew after Emira as if it was following her.
"Thanks for the help, Ed" I silently told him before the chill disappeared.
All of a sudden, Luz sprung at me with an excited squee. Unlike all of her other surprise hug attempts, she didn't faze through me. Perhaps I was starting to get used to them.
"I'm so glad you decided to stay!".
"Why wouldn't she?" Eda joked while slicking back her mane of hair. "We're irresistible".
"Once a weirdo, always a weirdo" King added while he climbed onto Eda's shoulder.
"One of us! One of us!" Luz began to cheer before everyone else joined in. "One of us! One of us! One of us!".
"Now come on kids" Eda ordered once the chanting died down. "We've held off supper long enough".
"Finally!" King groaned while he and the owl lady headed back into their... our home.
"I'm starved!" Luz agreed, while going to join them. At the door, Luz stopped and looked back to make sure I was following her.
"Coming" I called as I broke the space between us and went inside.
