The first thing I noticed while all of my senses returned to me was a haunting moan. I slowly opened my amber eyes. It took a minute for them to adjust in the low dim light, but, when I finally could see clearly, they shot open as wide as they could.

Where was I? The last thing I remember was packing to go on a trip and now… I rose my head off of the torn queen-sized bed I was laying on and scanned my surroundings: a small room with only two beds and a bed stand in it. I was in a hotel room, a very run-down, almost uninhabitable hotel room!

This couldn't have been the ski resort I was heading to. I'd been to it before, and it never looked this alarmingly barren. Seriously, had I been kidnapped?

The most interesting thing in the room, though, were the two other people there. They were both lying on the other bed. One, with darker greenish hair, had her back turned towards me. The other person was staring straight at me.

She looked as desolate as the room. Her tan skin had an unnatural sickly hue to it. The beautiful brown eyes she had were faded like they'd been left sitting out in the hot summer sun. Both her hair and clothes were miserably unkempt.

But there was something about her that painted a different picture than the one I was seeing, one that was colorful and sort of hopeful in a way. It was as if her outer appearance couldn't even begin to explain who she was.

"Emira," she whispered, so quiet I almost didn't hear it. "Your sister is awake".

Sister? I mean, I had a sister, but she wasn't whoever this Emira person was. For starters, my sister's name was Olivia, and she was currently back in San Diego with the rest of my family. Her hair was red, like mine but much darker. It definitely wasn't emerald, and she definitely didn't have pointy ears like some Christmas elf.

Emira hissed in pain at the sound of the other girl's voice, but she soon replied.

"She is?". Her voice was even softer than the girl next to her, and very shaky too.

She…she sounded exactly like my sister! Her voice was hoarse and raspy but other than that…

"What's going on?" I finally asked. "Where–".

"Quiet!" my supposed sibling caterwauled. She brought her hands to her pointed ears, which were now flattened like an angry cat's. "Please! It hurts!".

She began to shiver like she was seizing. With each breath out came an agonized whimper. The person sitting next to her went to steady her, but all of the effort just made the stranger even more agitated.

With a silent sigh, the brunette then beckoned me over with her hand.

I stayed where I was. My suspicion left me frozen. I suddenly wake up from being knocked unconscious in a creepy hotel room with two other strangers. What if that girl calling me over was the one who brought me here in the first place?

No. That couldn't've been right. Despite the strangeness of the situation, I couldn't bring myself to be scared of her. She didn't look intimidating; she was actually kind of cute if you looked past her initial untidiness.

And the stranger wasn't acting like a kidnapper. She wasn't threatening me or binding me to a chair or anything. If I really had been kidnapped, then the two other people in the room with me were probably hostages like I was.

After considering it for a moment, I finally walked over to the other bed. My eyes met the pained older teen. The green haired girl didn't just sound like my sister, she looked like her too! Pointy ears and golden eyes aside, she was a mirror image of a sibling!

"Olivia?" I asked, forgetting to speak quietly. Olivia bared her fangs…fangs?! She had fangs! And they weren't cheap plastic vampire fangs either. They looked completely real.

"Shut up! Shut up!" she pleaded as she began to claw at the tips of her ears. Her grasp on them was so tight she drew blood.

Her ears were also real?! What in the hell was going on?!

I began to stumble backwards. I would have fallen to the floor had the other stranger not been there to catch me.

"Take it easy," she whispered. The brunette began to back me away from my panicking sister, but Olivia grabbed me by the arm.

"Please don't leave me!". The look in her eyes was manic, while her expression was inhuman. "I'm sorry I yelled! I don't want to be alone!".

With all the strength she could muster, my sister pulled me down onto the bed and into her arms. She was sodden with sweat, though her skin felt cold to the touch.

I was left stunned for a moment, unsure of what to do. The familiar looking stranger badly needed comfort, but every wrong move seemed to badly hurt her whether it be talking or trying to touch her.

"It's okay, Liv," I finally murmured as quietly as I could. I braced myself for her harsh reaction, but it never came. "I'm right here".

The whole ordeal was giving me whiplash. The last time I had seen Olivia before I passed out, she and our brother, Omar, had taken all of the clothes I'd packed and scattered them around the house. Shit like that was par for the course when it came to Olivia. It was like every time she saw me, she silently asked herself, "how can I make that child even more miserable than I've already made her?".

And now, she was clinging onto me like a life persevere in the middle of the ocean. She was in so much pain every word I or the other stranger in the room said caused her agony. Yet us leaving her side would pain her even more.

"Liv?" she sniveled while tears formed in her eyes. "You still don't remember".

"Remember what?". The sound of my voice once again hurt Olivia, but she didn't protest.

"I should've never let them kill you. They told me they were gonna do it and I did nothing" was all she responded with.

As all of that was going on, the other stranger grabbed a notebook off of the nightstand.

"Here," she uttered while handing it to me. "Hopefully this will get you up to speed".

I flipped through the pages of the notebook really quick before fully opening it up to the first page. It was filled with different letters going back and forth between someone called Y.F.H and…me! The first letter on the first page was written and signed by me!

"Dear, whoever this may concern

Today has been very confusing to say the least. I don't remember how I got here, and here wasn't the place I originally wanted to go. And there's a killer in the building with us and I'm locked in here by a giant barrier…".

I stopped reading for a moment to take a look outside. Low and behold, on the other side of the balcony door, was a giant red wall.

I re-read the beginning of the note again and again, hoping that the content in it would change. But all the words stayed the same, including the word "killer".

There was a killer inside the rundown hotel?! Was he the one who kidnapped us?!

"The bellhop, Luz, told me to write down my thoughts in this notebook. So, here I am. She said my memory would start going fuzzy, and she wasn't kidding. As soon as I got here, I mistook this witch, yeah apparently, they exist and so do demons, for my brother Omar. To my credit he really looked like Omar in a wig and elf ears, and he was just as annoying too. But no. It turns out his name is Edric, and those elf ears were real.

I was able to talk to Luz again, along with her mother. They explained to me I had been summoned to the "demon realm" by the owner of the hotel, who is also a witch, and that we were all stuck here."

My gaze went back to Olivia. Green hair, elf ears, mistaken for one of my siblings, my possible sister fit all three.

"Emira?" I questioned hoping I remembered what the other girl called her correctly.

"What?" she hissed while grimacing in pain.

"Crazy question but… are you a witch?". She nodded before realizing that nodding was a bad idea.

"And I'm not your sister, am I?" I asked nervously.

"Of course, you are," she replied, squeezing me tighter. "You always will be, no matter how many times you die".

With a glance at the other hostage, I pleadingly asked for an explanation. She didn't say anything, only pointed at the notebook. I didn't think I'd get any answers out of it. Hell, all reading it so far did was bring up more questions. Witches and demons? It was hard to believe those were real, yet living proof of that was currently hugging me like I was a giant teddy bear. And the witches and demons all looked like people I knew? Not to mention one of them was trying to kill us.

But I kept on reading. What else was I supposed to do?

"The man hunting us killed someone tonight. He used cyanide to poison his dinner. All of the demons and witches just watched him choke like it was some sort of spectacle. The only person who tried to help him was Luz's mother, though I knew that she didn't have much hope for him.

Luz didn't either. The look in her eyes as she watched the whole thing play out is something I can't get out of my head".

After the last sentence, I closed my eyes in an attempt to ground myself. And just like I said in the letter, the sight of Luz's grief-stricken stare was there to greet me. It was the pinnacle of hopelessness. The brown inside of her eyes had grown grayish and dull, yet they were also lit with sadness.

Wait. Brown eyes. My attention moved back to the girl who handed me the notebook.

"Is your name Luz?" I asked. My question brought some life back to her. Her posture got straighter, and she actually smiled.

"Your plan is working," she told Emira, excitedly. I felt the witches grasp on me get tighter and her shaking grew stronger.

"Plan?" I repeated much quieter. "What is she talking about".

"Those who bear fabric flesh must befriend ink" she croaked back.

"Emira can kinda talk to ghosts, and those ghosts kinda give her prophecies. They're the ones who told her you would lose your memories, so we had you journal some stu–".

"Luz! For the love of the titan, please, shut the hell up!".

Emira's grasp on me got even tighter. Her jagged nails began to dig into my skin, yet I stayed as still as I could. Who knew what would happen if I tried to move.

She quickly released me after realizing what was happening. She looked back and forth from me to Luz.

"I'm sorry" she hollered to the both of us, her own voice hurting her ears.

Neither of us said a word. Luz just laid her hand near Emira's, careful not to touch her, as a silent way to say it's alright.

An hour passed as I went back to reading. Luz had left knowing that I was there to watch Emira. Said witch had fallen asleep soon afterwards. Apparently, she had taken some pain medications before I had woken up, and was waiting for them to slowly kick in.

The rest of the letters were interesting to say the least. A lot of it didn't jog my memory like Luz hoped it would. I didn't remember attacking the witch who was trying to kill us, me breaking my arm, or turning down Luz when she offered to take me to this ball that wasn't really a ball. But there were a few things described that I did recall.

I remembered Luz showing me the bent elevator doors, and I remembered finding Luz singing in front of them a few nights later. She was mourning her girlfriend, who was killed when the elevator fell from one of the upper floors. Amity Blight. I'd never met her, but that name was one I couldn't forget.

And the dreams. Despite me forgetting about them, they were all still so vivid. As I read about them, I could see them in front of me, as if I was dreaming them all over again. Trying to catch a goop-covered imposter in a magic school, going inside someone's mind after I burned photos of their memories (by accident of course), fighting a nightmare blob by dancing with Luz, I remembered seeing it, experiencing it, all.

But those were dreams. They were weird dreams, sure, but they were just dreams. Though, I still thought of asking Emira about them when she woke up. Luz said she spoke with ghosts, and ghosts and magic dreams went hand and hand, right?

Again, what other choice did I have? I couldn't go out of the room and look for anyone else. I had to stay with Emira in case she suddenly woke up. Besides, there was someone out there trying to kill me. I know the letters said the third floor was a safe haven…well it was safe at the very least, but that could all change when the killer wanted it to.

I guess I would just have to sit there and wait it out.

The sound of the door creaking open nearly gave me a heart attack. And the sight of two witches entering the room made my heart stop all together.

The raven-haired lady who walked in first was intimidating, despite not looking like it. Yes, she had a very tall posture, and her eyes shone with prestige, but the expression on her face was delicately welcoming.

Yet I felt like she was judging every move I made, even when her differently colored eyes weren't on me. And, despite not knowing who she was, something inside of me didn't want to disappoint her in any way. I know that sounds stupid, caring so badly about how this random stranger felt about me, but I just couldn't help it.

And the other witch looked exactly like my mother besides the different colored hair and pointy ears. The letters I had just finished reading mentioned witch versions of my family members. Hell, one of them had their arms wrapped around me at that moment. It seems I had found my mom's doppelganger.

"Who are you?" I whispered in alarm. I didn't know what was scarier, the two new strangers arriving without notice, or waking Emira up.

"Don't be alarmed" The first stranger hushed back. "It's only us". While she spoke, the other witch walked up to me and rested her hand on the side of my face.

"Oh, Mittens," she lamented quietly. She gently moved my head around as she looked me over. "What has he done to you?".

Things were getting stranger by the moment. This witch from a different world knew my family's nickname for me. Still, I doubt I was the "Mittens" she was referring to.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, ma'am but…um". The grenette's stare made me stammer. Talking to mom was scary enough but talking to a strange version of her chilled me to the bone. "I may look a lot like Amity, but I'm… I'm, uh… not Amity".

My confession made the older witch chuckle, which made me internally shiver. That laugh was nowhere near genuine.

"There's no need to stay in character, dear. That sorry excuse for a man isn't with us".

"I'm not acting". I politely offered the witch my hand, silently hoping that handshakes were a thing witches did. "My name is Amiyah Bane. I'm a human that has been kidnapped and is now trapped inside this building… apparently".

The witch's blue eyes went wide while they lit with fury. I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat while waiting for her fiery reaction.

"He didn't".

"This just made things a lot more complicated," the other witch murmured while she grabbed the bridge of her nose.

"Well, Amiyah," the first woman continued with a very fake smile. She offered me her hand in return. "I am Odalia Blight. It is a pleasure to meet you".

"And you as well". I responded. The other stranger offered her hand.

"My name is Lilith Clawthorne, though you may just call me Lilith".

And I just went even farther down the rabbit hole. I had a tutor named Lillian Hawthorne who simply went by Miss Lillian. She too was very self-composed and intimidating, and she even looked just like Lilith, witch ears aside.

Before the awkward conversation went any further, Emira's rheumy eyes squinted open. She took a moment to rub them while she tried, and failed, to sit up.

"Oh," she uttered once she noticed our two visitors. "I see you finally made it to hell, mom".

"Emira, dear," her mother went on like she hadn't said anything. "How are you doing?".

"I can't walk, I've got a constant headache, I'm hallucinating, I keep getting badgered by dead people, do you want me to keep going?".

"Spirits are still talking to you. Have they said anything new?". Odalia's voice was surprisingly soft. It was weird to hear since her and my mother had the same voice.

Emira's glare fell. Her eyes grew wide while she struggled to keep her forming tears inside of them.

"I got another vision from them. They showed me black gunk destroying Edric's lungs". The witch sniveled as her tears spilled over and traveled down her face. "He's going to die, just like Amity".

Odalia shushed her eldest. The witch carefully sat down on the side of the bed. She reached for her shoulder but put her arm down when she noticed Emira flinch.

"Sweetie," she cooed. "You don't know what a premonition means until it happens".

"You said that about Amity! And look what happened!" Emira hissed, her frustration coming back twice as strong. The sickly witch pointed over at me. The attention that fell on me was as heavy as stone.

"Is this a bad time to ask what's going on?" I sheepishly questioned.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you" Emira rasped in response.

"Try me".

"You're my dead sister's soul who's forced to haunt a fake skin puppet".

She was trapped in a hotel with a deep nasty head wound, and yet, my sister's witch version still had time to bullshit around. What did I expect? She was just like Olivia who treated life like one giant joke. But this was a serious situation!

"Seriously!" I snarled, unknowingly baring my teeth. "This is no time to mess around!".

"You see! Before Blight and Bane can bind, they must be soaked in blood, Edric's blood! He's destined to die, just like Amity, but he won't be brought back!".

Worry flashed in Odalia's eyes. The only thing keeping her from being wholly convinced was a grief like denial.

"Well, we were wrong about Amity, which means we can be wrong again," she said, struggling to keep her whisper strong.

"I guess" her eldest murmured before adding, "But there's a chance that I'm right. And the worst thing of all is I can't say goodbye, because he might infect me".

The younger witch's stare was no longer in the room with us. She began to mutter to herself while she dug her broken nails into her lap.

"What kind of sister am I? First, I let Amity get torn apart by an elevator, and now I'm leaving my brother to die alone!". As panic surged through her, she wriggled towards her mother. "I want to see Edric! I don't care if I die! I want to see my brother! I want to die with him!".

In spite of how terrifying Emira's reaction was, both her mother and Lilith stayed calm. The former was able to lure her child's attention to her.

"Breathe" she hushed.

"I need to get to Edric!".

"In time. But, for now, all you need to do is breathe in and out. Can you do that for me, sweetie". When Emira didn't respond, Odalia began to take deep breaths herself.

"In and out".

For the hundredth time that day, things got even weirder. Wasn't Odalia supposed to be like my mom? Since when did my mom ever comfort her children? Granted, this was a special circumstance, but this was the cold hard bitch who never showed weakness. This was the woman who had to intimidate everyone she met, including her own kids. Before that moment, I didn't even know my mother being motherly was possible.

No, no. That witch wasn't my mom. She was just look-a-like…and a sound-a-like… and– Point is, they weren't the same person.

Once Emira began to calm down, Lilith stepped forward. Her rigid posture faded away, her movements now carefully delicate.

"Don't worry about your brother. We know now that he's sick and going to get a lot sicker. Now we can help him".

"But the ghost said his blood from his lungs needs to be spilt".

"Then perhaps that means that we must help him clear his lungs. I've seen a lot during my time with the emperor's coven. I've seen witches lose enough blood to fill this room, and witches get so ill you could smell the sickness from outside the palace. And yet those witches survived and made full recoveries. I know you've got no reason to but trust me. We will help your brother".

Emira thought about it for a moment before finally sniffling, "okay".

"I suppose we should go see your brother now," Odalia sighed. "Unless you'd like us to stay a little while longer".

"No. I'm okay. You need to get to Edric as soon as you can". Our– I mean her mother nodded.

"Alright. Then we'll get going".

Before the two older witches left, Emira called out to them.

"Can you tell Edric I still care about him?".

"I'm sure he already knows," Lilith reassured her. "But we'll tell him".

The room grew still when the two visitors cleared out of it. The only sound that could be heard was Emira's continued sniffling.

"Amiyah?". The sudden break of silence made me jump. "Can you come sit with me?".

I was already sitting next to her, but I knew what she meant. I scooched closer to her, allowing her to wrap her arms around me. She nestled into me, slightly rocking side to side.

"She's a gamble you're not likely to win,". Emira's ears twinged as she spoke. The witch's attention wasn't only on me.

"Who?" I asked. "Lilith?".

"Mom," she uttered. "That kinder side was a nice surprise, but kind words of a sea serpent do not remove its venom".

Her cloudy golden eyes moved over to me. The caution shining in them was both concerning and heavy-hearted.

"Please, Mittens. Be careful".