Have I mentioned this place sucks? I'm sure I have, along with everyone else, but none of us can say it enough. The decaying floor and walls and the abundance of chipped paint was only the half of it. The recent memories spurred by each, and every inch of the hotel were just as toxic as the gardens of mold all around us.
The mountains of dust were a reminder of Dusty attacking both Vee and Gus. The ice machines, no matter what floor they were on, reminded me of Juvencus's horrific death. Even the lobby was hard to be in. I could still see all of the bodies lying on the ground after the rat attack.
Then there was the Elevator. I didn't even have to see the elevator doors to bring back the awful memory of cradling Amity as I wept for her. I could just feel the pain of losing the love of my life from outside of the nook in the hallway.
But there was a silver lining, a time where the hotel didn't slowly chip away at all of us. Breakfast time, the time we would forget about the hell around us and rejuvenate.
Of course, the solace of breakfast time could be broken, especially if Boscha was involved, but when the rest of the day was hell, you needed to take any peace you could get.
A bit weak and shaky, (spending days straight in a moldy hotel room without eating wasn't kind to me) I walked over to the front desk. Standing there, as always, was the younger Blight twin. Or, at least, he was trying to stand there.
"Edric, my man. You doing okay there?".
No matter what he answered I knew he wasn't. The witch's skin was super clammy, sweat seeping down him like molasses. His eyes were so sunken they made craters on his face.
"Hey, Luz. Yeah, I'm o– *koff* I'm okay". Edric fell into a small coughing fit. He tried his hardest to keep it down, but his hacking filled the lobby.
"Sorry," he croaked. "The mold upstairs is getting to me".
"It's been getting to all of us, but you look…" I drawled off, not quite knowing how to put it.
"I'm fine" he reassured while pushing coughs back down his throat. "I can handle *koff* a little *koff* mold".
"Are you sure?" I uttered as my pity for him rose. Edric stopped hiding his exhaustion for a moment of honesty.
"I have to be" he wheezed. "I need to work so Em and I c–*koff* *koff* get out of here". He fell into another coughing fit, this one much longer than the last. "Emira needs her rest, so I need to k— *koff* *koff* *koff*".
When my worry didn't fade, he added, "You want something. I can tell".
"I did, but… I think it can wait, really".
"Luz". His golden eyes, though cloudy, pierced into me. I don't think I'd ever seen the witch so serious. "What do you need?".
"It'll be very risky. You could get in trouble and the killer could–". Edric cut me off by touching my shoulder. He once again asked me what I wanted with his gaze.
"Eda came up with this idea the other day. She said I should start teaching the bears glyph magic, see if I can spark their memories of doing magic" I answered.
"And you want me to help with that? I don't *koff* *koff* I don't know anything about glyphs".
"I need someone to gather all of the bears and escort them to the third floor. I don't want them going up alone".
"Done" he coughed. "Just tell me when and wh–*koff* *koff* *hac*".
"I'll let you know," I murmured, regretting ever saying anything. "Just have to find out when the killer goes to sleep".
Before he could respond, Edric began to cough again. The more he hacked, the more he hunched over the desk in front of him.
I got more and more scared with every cough. It was hard to jump to conclusions when it came to Emira's visions. With what happened with the promise shattered prophecy, we weren't too quick to assume we knew what any of them meant. But I was starting to think that Emira was right.
She said human gunk flew into his mouth and burrowed into his lungs. Now that sounded like what was happening with all the witches on the third floor. But she swore that only Edric would die, and that she would die if he came in contact with her. And then there was the part about the gunk staining his lips blue.
She may not have been correct about everything, but I was starting to think she was right about Edric's fate.
I decided to leave the poor witch alone and head to the other side of the lobby. Almost everyone in the hotel I knew was there aside from most of the bears, Emira, and Vee.
There were also a few other guests sitting at a few of the tables near the windows. I only recognized them because I helped carry their luggage into their rooms.
The chatter that filled the room stopped once everyone noticed me. It stayed silent for a few moments before everyone started throwing their elated greetings towards me.
"Luz!" Willow hollered out in relief. She eagerly waved me over.
"You're alive!" Gus cheered from beside her. "And you're downstairs!".
"All thanks to her loyal owl mom" Eda bragged, a table across the way from my two friends. My mother, sitting next to her, scowled at that.
"Her biological mom helped," she muttered.
"And her biological mom helped," the owl lady parroted, rolling her glassy golden eyes.
King, who had been perched on Eda's shoulder, bounded from table to table up to me. He climbed into my arms, his fluffy tail wagging like an excited puppy's. In response I began to rub his underbelly.
Out of all the welcomes I received, one stood out. Over at Eda's table, on the other side of my mentor, sat an older slender woman with partially curled hair. Her glasses reflected the relief in her light blue eyes.
"Aunt Lilith?!" I gasped. The familiar witch stood up from her seat and made her way over to me.
"Luz, it's so good to see you're alright" she said while throwing me into a hug.
"When did you get here?"
"Last night. You were in bed, so I was told" she answered, partially chuckling.
"And you didn't wake me up?".
"Years of living with Edalyn have taught me not to wake anyone up unless it's an emergency". Lilith deadpanned towards her younger sister. "Though I doubt you would bite anyone like she does".
"She what?" my mother asked in alarm. She, once again, glared at my mentor, expecting an explanation.
"Hey". Eda threw up her hands. "I've never bitten Luz before".
She had, lots of times in fact. But I wasn't going to say that, lest I make my mom even madder at my owl mom.
Though, ever since they had that fight in front of my hotel room, they were taking more time to understand each other. I can't even describe how relieved that made me feel. One of my biggest fears of mom learning about my time in the demon realm was her finding out about Eda's, and my, criminal history. Yes, she was mad at first, but she finally started seeing past all of that.
"Yes, yes. Edalyn is crude and animalistic" an unfortunately recognizable voice jumped in. "But we have more pressing matters to discuss".
Great. The bitch witch was here to abuse her children more.
She was the last thing Amiyah needed. The bear already had to deal with being trapped in a hotel with a killer and having to care for her badly injured older sister. Now her overbearing mother was thrown on top of that.
Oh. And did I mention she tried to murder me once. All because I was friends with her daughter.
"Pressing matters?" I questioned while pushing down my disdain.
"You wouldn't consider this a pressing matter?".
"Well, geez, Odalia. We're all pretty caught up with the whole ordeal, but if there's anything you want to share with the class, go ahead".
The murderous witch paused in confusion for a moment, but she then disregarded the weird way I phrased it and continued.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere more private" she suggested while flicking her ear towards one of the lobby cameras. "Does this horrid place have any blind spots?".
"You can't be serious" my mother howled before I could respond.
"Is there a problem, Mrs. Noceda?".
"You seriously think I'm going to let my child go to "somewhere more private" with two witches who've attempted to murder her!".
"It's okay, mami. Lilith won't let anything happen to me" I reassured unsuccessfully.
"And neither will I" she growled back. She rose from her spot while simultaneously slamming her hands on the table. She stomped towards me, resting her hand protectively on my shoulder. "If you even think about hurting my mija and I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again".
Odalia's apathetic scowl didn't change.
"Is that a threat?".
"Oh no, honey. That's a promise".
"Well, "honey" Odalia spat. "We've found some information on the killer we think your daughter should know".
Lilith nodded, her eyes promising no ill intentions.
"You have been speaking with him, haven't you?".
"Unfortunately," I sighed. "He consults me about hotel theming all the time".
"That's not "unfortunate". It's quite the opposite". The way Odalia's voice sounded gave me chills. She just sounded so venomous. "He confides in you, which means you have the opportunity to learn his weak spots. I suppose that's how you'll help free us".
I don't think there was anyone in the room who wasn't shocked by that. She just admitted she thought that I, a no-good criminal varmint, was the key to escaping.
The prudish witch turned to go into the hallway. Her gaze traveled back to my mother, not hiding any of her annoyance.
"If you insist on being involved then come along".
Out of all the places she had to pick, Odalia just had to have chosen the second-floor laundry room. Though it was the same floor the killer was on, she didn't want anyone on the first or third floor to overhear us. Having this kind of dirt on the killer could've been dangerous.
As said witch was entering said room, she took a moment to glance at the elevator. Letting the three of us go in first, she carefully crept up to Amity's present resting place. Before she could look down the elevator shaft, I touched her arm and lightly stopped her.
"Don't look," I warned quietly. "No matter how much you want to, it's not worth it".
I expected her to argue, but instead she simply walked forwards. As she did though, her sharp blue eyes wouldn't leave the open elevator doors. And as I walked by them, neither did mine.
"It took some digging to even find any mention of him, and the records we did find said next to nothing" Lilith began while searching through a satchel. "Until we found this".
She handed me a weathered down piece of a newspaper. The picture included in the article was unrecognizable, and the words on it were very faded. I could still read them, but it took me a moment.
"Serial Killer, Dearil Hugh, arrested after underground bunker found?" I read aloud.
"It was heavily overshadowed by other events. If it'd been a slower news week then no one would've ever forgotten what happened". Lilith's voice was tinted in remorse.
Memories flashed in her monochrome eyes, none of them good in the slightest.
"I'd never heard of him until now," Odalia admitted. "Though I barely had time to breathe thirty years ago, let alone watch the news".
"They found the bodies of fourteen kids inside there?" my mother gasped as she looked over my shoulder.
"All mutilated. He did experiments on them pre and postmortem".
"But he kidnapped fifteen kids. One of them survived". The Blight matriarch pointed at a paragraph near the bottom of the page.
"Mortimer" I murmured as I read. My sunken brown eyes then shot wide open. "He was uninjured?".
"Hugh used him as an assistant of some sorts. When asked about it, he responded that he was going to kill him last because he liked him".
The older Clawthorne's words chilled me to the bone. As she spoke, the many conversations I had with the hotel owner bounced around in my head. Him saying he decided not to kill me because I was "way too special", or his pleas for me to stay here forever, my mind replayed it all.
"For the greater good" my mother snarled after she read the rest of the news article. "I doubt whatever his "research" found wasn't worth killing children for".
"What happened to him? Was he petrified?".
"No" Lilith said, unease slightly catching in her throat. "He was taken to the basement of the conformitorium. He was then beaten to death after he at–".
The witch suddenly stopped talking while her ear twitched. It was probably much easier for her to hear, but, once I listened close enough, I heard the sound of footsteps.
"Everyone out of the laundry room" Odalia whispered.
"Why?".
"Just do it".
We all did what Odalia said. The four of us filed out of the room, stopping right next to the open elevator shaft.
The owner of the footsteps peeked around the corner. His blue eyes conveyed curiosity instead of the anger I expected, though that could change at any moment.
"I thought I heard people out here" the hotel owner hmmed. "What are you all doing up here?".
"We've come to mourn for my daughter" the Blight informed, her voice sharp and icy. "This is where she was killed, isn't it?".
"Mourn?" he echoed. "Both of your daughters are upstairs".
"Amity is dead," Lilith added. "No matter what her soul possesses, that's still true".
My newfound aunt's words just confused him more. His gaze traveled to each of us, inaudibly asking for more of an explanation.
"She's not Amity anymore". It was a hard thing to say, despite being the truth. "She's Amiyah. And, Amiyah might have Amity's soul but a lot of things that made her Amity have been wiped away".
My response made a frown sink onto the killer's face. He took a step towards me, which made everyone but me step backwards.
"Luz" he sighed while touching my shoulder. I stifled the urge to slap his hand away from me. "Memories are important, but they're not all a witch is made of. She doesn't remember you, but she still loves you, doesn't she? And her bravery hasn't faltered either".
It didn't wash my grief away in the slightest, but the killer had a point. The bear was still Amity, even if she didn't remember she was.
But she also wasn't Amity. She was no longer the abomination witch who was the top of her class. She was no longer the witch who worked at the library and read to kids. She was no longer the witch who transformed into the sweetest girl on the isles through the many adventures we had together. And, even if she were to get her memories of all that back, she would still be Amiyah, the bear who shared a soul and memories with a dead witch.
I cared about Amiyah, I really did! But, for her to exist, Amity had to drastically change, and those changes would last forever.
"Mourning isn't just for death". My mother's statement snapped me back to reality. "It can be for any large change, like someone moving away or a broken relationship".
"Amiyah's still here" the hotel owner argued. "She hasn't gone away".
"Some of her has. That's what we're mourning".
"I know change is hard," he cried, longing for our understanding. "But look at what's come out of it".
"Yes," I growled. "She gets to be murdered over and over again for the rest of time".
My rise in anger just made Mortimer even more somber. Sympathy rose off of him like steam.
"It'll be hard for them to adjust at first, but they will get used to it in time".
"How will they get used to being slaughtered if they forget about it each time?".
That made the withered witch pause. He slightly tilted his head in intrigue as he pondered what I said.
"I suppose that is an issue" he murmured, still lost in his thoughts. "Perhaps I should lessen the memory loss of more recent events, yes?".
"Yes!" I shouted while failing to hide my elation. "That's perfect!".
My shouting made all of the witches' ears fold back, all three of them jumping in surprise. My mom, on the other hand, didn't flinch. Over the many years of raising me she had gotten used to sudden shouts of excitement.
"That sounds like a good idea," she said. "That might make it easier for Amiyah to bond with Luz. They could become a couple, just like you wanted them to".
That last sentence felt like a shot through the heart. Memories I wouldn't mind forgetting came back to the front of my mind, and, along with it came shame.
I broke my own heart really. I should've known that Amiyah wouldn't have wanted to go to a dance thrown by the man who was trying to kill her. But then she went anyway because she felt bad for hurting me, and then he killed her for it. He brutally slaughtered her all because I asked the bear a stupid question.
"Alright then. I'll see what I can do about that later". Mortimer's gaze fell onto me once again. "But for now, I wanted to talk to you about a few things".
My mother opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say anything Odalia silenced her by moving her arm. The two locked eyes, the elder Blight silently telling her to let me go. She wasn't happy about it in the slightest, but mom said nothing.
"We'll head back downstairs, though we still have to discuss my two older children's forced residency here" Odalia said in a rush, not giving the killer a chance to say anything.
She partially turned around, though stopped to take one last glance at me. She knew I needed to get information from the killer, and I think, for once, the pompous buisnesswitch was rooting for me.
I nodded to her, then told my mom not to worry by simply waving to her. The three older women made their way to the stairwell, while Mortimer and I went the other direction.
It took a small moment of courage, but I decided to just ask him straight up.
"What time do you usually go to bed?".
"Why do you ask?" he questioned, his suspicion peeking out.
"I've been having trouble sleeping at night. I was wondering if you could give me advice".
The killer completely softened. From how he looked then, it was hard to imagine that he'd killed a bunch of students.
"Of course," he soothed with a creepy innocent smile. "Anything for you, Luz".