Swishing back and forth, my fluffy tail brushed against the wooden floor. My yellow eyes clung to the front door, where the human, Luz, was standing mere minutes ago.
"You really think she's coming back this time?".
"Yes, she'll be back. She always comes back" Eda rasped from the stove.
"It's cute you miss her, though".
"The King of Demons–". I paused for a moment to yank off the bread around my face. Luz had left in the middle of our comedy to go see her stupid friends at Hexide. "The King of Demons misses nobody! I wouldn't care if she came through this door right now!".
As if it were on cue, the door I was pointing at opened, knocking me away from it. Luz popped her head inside, before pushing her way back into the kitchen. Excitement threw me up the human's back and into her scruffy brown hair. I…I wasn't glad she was back, I just missed…using her head as a pillow.
"I didn't miss you at all" I stated, just to make sure everyone knew.
"School's been canceled today" Another voice joined in from behind Luz. I had almost forgotten Amity was there. The ghost had been so quiet all morning, just watching what was going on like it was a crystal ball show. "Boscha brought her pixies to school and…yeah".
"That sounds like a crummy situation," I joked to Luz.
As we both laughed Eda turned to Amity and muttered, "I envy you".
"Guess what's been in my mouth that I'm about to throw up!" our annoying house demon screeched as he stretched around us. He began to hack as he pushed something up his freakishly long throat.
Fed up with all the gaging, Amity floated to Hooty, forced open his mouth and grabbed whatever he was coughing up. She handed the slobber covered pile of letters to Eda, before shaking the spit off her hand.
"The mail" the bird worm croaked as he receded back to his spot on the door.
"Junk, junk, death hex. Oh, a carnival's in town today".
"A carnival?" Luz repeated, intrigued. "I've been so busy with school lately I haven't been able to really hang out with you guys. Let's all four of us go!".
"Actually," Amity spoke up. Her ears went flat as she gave her friend a grimace. "Would it be okay if I stayed home today?".
"Why? Are you feeling okay?".
"Admittedly… no" the young witch sighed. "I've been sort of stuck in my thoughts today. I think I need some alone time…If that's okay".
"It's fine, Minty," Eda reassured. "You're free now, remember".
"Yeah," Luz joined in. "Everyone needs to be alone sometimes. Just let us know if you need anything".
"Thank you" the Blight murmured for the hundredth time that month. "I'm glad you understand".
"You know how I keep saying not to mention it. I mean that literally" the owl lady huffed. "Stop thanking us for treating you like an actual person".
"Sorry, Eda".
"And stop apologizing so much too".
After that the spirit made her way up the stairs, probably heading to her usual sulking spot in Luz's room. Hooty started blabbing something about some fly he'd found to her, but one scary glare made him immediately shut up and go away. I would have to ask her how she did that.
"Guess it's just the three of us". Luz picked me up from the top of her head and held me in front of her. "Let's take our comedy hour on tour!".
"You bread my mind" I snickered before shouting, "To the carnival!".
"To the carnival!".
…
"Friends, welcome!". The greeting made the fur on the back of my neck rise. That annoyingly over enthusiastic sales voice sounded strangely familiar. "I see you got my postcard".
From a stand near the entrance of the carnival, a small hog demon skipped up to us. On his face was a golden masquerade mask with a mane made of dark purple feathers.
All three of us jumped backwards in surprise, Luz throwing her hands up ready for a showdown.
"Tibbles?" Eda asked. The owl lady pulled the invitation we got in the mail out of her hair and showed it to the masked demon. "You sent this?".
"And what's with the costume?" Luz added, just as confused.
"Haven't you heard?". He was way too chummy for someone who had tried to turn Eda in and keep me as a slave. "It's my new side hustle".
Tibbles pointed towards a large tent in the back of the fairgrounds before doing a little spin. While his back was turned to us he pulled out a little black top hat.
"Tibbles' Tent of Terrors! My first show is today, that's why I threw this carnival. It'll feature things like exotic creatures, made tiny for the audience's sake, and a chance to win a big prize!".
"Really?". The human didn't seem suspicious of the demon any longer. "What's the prize?".
"No spoilers," Tibbles laughed back. "You'll have to go to the show to find out".
"I'm not buying this," Eda griped. "What kind of con is going on here".
"No con, owl lady. I'm just an honest businesswitch who so happens to also sell things on the night market".
"Sure you are. And I'm an honest buisnesswitch whose got some suckers to sell to".
The older woman found a random stand and shoved the vendor onto the ground. With a simple spell circle it transformed into Eda's Human Horror House, a display full of a ton of photos of the boiling isles only human, that we know of, and a bunch of junk from the human realm. The conwoman grabbed a net like pair of leggings from her pile of "human artifacts" and started to go on a tangent about how humans shed their skin.
"Do you–"
"No" Luz deadpanned before I could finish my question. "No, we don't".
"Any who" Tibbles spoke up, reminding the two of us he was there. "The show starts at three! Don't be late". With what almost sounded like an evil cackle, the hog demon slunk away.
"That guy is really…".
"Is a giant freak?".
"I wouldn't put it like that King…but yeah". The human shook off whatever that just was and turned to me. "Now you ready for the carnival, partner in crime?".
"Yes, yes! I love crime!".
It wasn't long until Luz and I found the prize booth. It was full of cool stuff like a talking snorse skull, a fancy new broom, and some freaky fish thing. But the prize I had my eyes on, were these two sharp gold pieces on a string.
"Look! It's some sort of weapon!". Luz laughed at that.
"No silly, those are friendship bracelets. You keep one and give the other to someone special. It's basically a declaration to the whole world that you're the best of friends".
"Then we have to get them!" I declared before the witch behind the stand plucked them out of Luz's grasp. "Luz! He stole those things from us! Kick his ass!".
"Butt. You're still a little guy, remember?" Luz chided. "Besides. We can just play the games and win them normally".
"Okay!" I cheered. "Let's go play some games!".
From the ground I pushed Luz into a run. We both hurried, in search of the first game we could see but we never made it there. Just as we were passing the fun house, they showed up.
"Heya, friends!". Just as Willow and Gus noticed her, Luz threw them into a hug that both of them happily returned.
"Luz" Willow purred.
"Didn't expect to see you here," Gus added.
"I didn't expect to see carni-y'all here either". The human waited for laughter that never came.
"That sucked," Gus admitted curtly with a thumbs down.
"I got an invitation from Tibbles," Willow explained while holding it up. "Glad to see he's not too mad about the snapdragon thing".
"And I'm finally tall enough to go on all the rides! Moller coaster here we come!". Luz joined in with Gus's shouting, but stopped when she heard me madly clear my throat.
"Right! We're on a very important quest to get a special prize for King!".
"We could help," Willow offered.
"Great idea! What do you think, King?".
What did I think? I hated the idea! This was supposed to be my and Luz's chance to hang out! But, once again, Luz's school friends were going to ruin it!
But I couldn't say no. It might've hurt Luz's feelings, or worse. It might've made Luz go off with them and leave me behind!
"Sure. I'm okay with that, Luz".
I wasn't okay with it, obviously. The more the day went on the more sure I was about it. Luz was way too busy talking to her school friends, that she didn't even notice she was walking too fast, or that I was having trouble with some of the games. Grr! We were supposed to win these friendship things together! But I was the only one who seemed to care about winning them, the only one who cared I was there at all!
When the three of them ended up rushing ahead of me again, I just chose to stay behind. What was the point? My day with my crime partner had been completely ruined! I might as well just head home and be sad with Amity!
"You seem troubled".
There was that voice again, coming from the alleyway that was next to the curb I was sitting on. Donning his feather filled mask, Tibbles sat still in the dark. Beside him, I could barely make out a red chubby bird-like creature perched on a wooden pole.
I tried to approach him, but he stopped me by holding up his hand.
"Not too close". He pointed at his three-eyed pet. "He has a large personal bubble".
"What are you doing in this dimly lit alley?".
"I was on break," Tibbles purred. "But then I noticed you may need my help. What's got you so glum?".
I still didn't trust the hog demon after he tried to force me into being his personal servant. He wanted me, the king of demons, to follow his orders while wearing cute little outfits! But knowing him, he was probably just trying to sell me something. He was a conwitch after all. What could've been more important to him than snails?
"It's just, this day was supposed to be about me and Luz. But then her friends from Hexide showed up and basically ditched me".
"Yes," Tibbles hmmed. "That is quite the problem, one I think I can alleviate".
"How?" I prodded.
"What if I told you I knew a way to make both Willow and the other one disappear".
My black fur was now standing straight up as my nerves started to chip away at me. I unknowingly tucked my tail behind my legs while taking a step backwards.
"I don't know…wouldn't that be taking things a little too far?".
"But isn't that what you want?" Tibbles' voice grew louder and louder the more he spoke. "With them out of the way, you'd get all the time with your favorite human as you wanted. All you need to do is lead them into the alleyway, and I'll make sure they never bother you ever again".
"But if I hurt them, then I'll hurt Luz, and that's the last thing I want to do".
"Oh, bone boy," Tibbles laughed after raising his hand again. "It's already a little too late for that".
With a snap of his hoof like fingers, the bird beside him jumped into the air and dove straight for me. I only had time to turn around before its talons wrapped around me. I squirmed as much as I could, "weh"ing out for help. But all that did was bring the three people Tibbles wanted to harm into the alley with him.
"King!" I heard Luz cry as she rounded the corner. Both Willow and Gus were right behind her.
The bird tossed me forwards. All three teens leapt towards me with their arms stretched out, but they were stopped by the sound of breaking glass. They fell to the ground, which was now covered with wads of expanding spider webs.
I landed on Luz's back, despite all her squirming around.
"Just go!" she cried. "Go get Eda!".
After a giant jump, I scrambled away. Even with all the times I'd been chased after pickpocketing someone, I had never run so fast in my life. It took no time at all to get back to the human horror stand. As I expected it was all still there, but Eda wasn't.
She didn't usually leave her stand. The emperor's coven must have found her, and she didn't have time to pack up her things before she ran.
Dammit! I didn't have time to look for her or wait for her to come back for her stuff! Luz and her friends needed help now!
What was I supposed to do? Would I have to rescue them alone…No! I could go back to the owl house! Amity might've been able to help me! She didn't need to hide from everyone anymore and her last name protected her!
I ran all the way back to the owl house, not slowing down the entire time. When I burst into the clearing, both Amity and Hooty were out front. Hooty had the amulet hanging from his mouth while Amity paced like an animal in a cage. She looked…different. The literal fire in her eyes was brighter, and so was the purple glow that surrounded her had become fiery as well.
"It's Luz!" she barked as soon as she saw me. "She's in danger! I can feel it!".
"Tibbles was at the carnival! He captured Luz! Willow and Gus were with her!".
"He must want revenge for when you saved Eda! Where did he take them?!".
"I'm not sure!" I admitted before a thought struck me like lightning. "The tent! He must want them for his new circus!".
I grabbed the amulet from Hooty and broke into a sprint back into the woods. Amity followed close behind before scooping me up and placing me on her shoulder. She was fast, like untitanly fast. And she didn't even break a sweat (if ghosts even could sweat). It was as if she was nothing but energy.
When we finally arrived, Tibbles' show was already half over. In the middle of the ring, Luz and Gus were juggling knives! Each in clown makeup, they tossed the daggers back and forth at each other while the evil hog demon whipped at their feet. Desperate not to drop them, they caught some of them by the sharp jagged blades, slicing up their hands. Meanwhile, the crowd cheered ecstatically. They were also holding daggers for some reason.
"Alright folks!" Tibbles cackled while making his way towards the center. "Now for the part you've been waiting for".
He yanked a large tarp off of…a giant wheel? A giant wheel that Willow was strapped to! He gave it a big spin, sending the poor witchling round and round.
"First one to kill her gets a prize!".
"What prize?" someone from the audience shouted.
"You'll find out when somebody wins it".
Knives flew through the air like birds! From every direction people flung their daggers towards the ring!
Amity's horrified scream turned into a ferocious roar. Everyone suddenly froze in terror, especially Tibbles. He tried to run but, like a Griffin, the Blight dove towards him and pinned him down. When he hit the ground, his mask fell off exposing his scared-up eyes. The snapdragon really did a number on him.
The angry spirit bared her fangs inches away from his face. His wriggling in attempts to break free only made Amity's hold get tighter. She then lifted him into the air by his throat to show off the demon's sorry state. She waved him around so everyone in the audience could see.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you!" Amity roared. "Luz, Willow, and Gus are my FRIENDS! That means you mess with them; you mess with ME! And if you mess with me, you mess with the ENTIRE BLIGHT FAMILY, you hear? DO YOU HEAR ME?!".
Amity slammed Tibbles into the ground, leaving a giant crater in the dirt. She then yowled again, "DO YOU HEAR ME?!". The audience's silence rose into nervous murmurs in agreement. When they all quieted back down, one sound remained: Willow's whimpering.
Blood trickled down the wheel from the witch's knife filled abdomen. Most weren't in lethal places, though they were sure to do quite a bit of damage. But one was wedged right into Willow's stomach.
From out of nowhere, Eda rushed into the ring. She was wearing some kind of uniform and had a basket full of candy crabapples slung out in front of her. When she noticed me gawking, she simply said "the fun police got me", then went back to tending to Willow.
It was bad, really bad! Soon the orange dress she had on had turned a hellish red. Her already pale skin grew as white as Eda's and the lines on her face thickened.
Eda spun the wheel until the witchling was upright, unstrapped her, and lowered her onto the ground. As blood dripped from her clenched fangs, Willow latched onto Gus's now blood drenched hand. Luz…her eyes were the size of pinpricks, and her stare was far off as if it was in the past. She didn't see Willow, despite looking right at her. She saw Amity lying on the ground covered in blood.
Speaking of Amity, the Blight looked like she was about to drop. She made the same connection Luz did. Her hand hovered over her stab wound while her eyes went from the blade buried in her old friend to the amulet. An idea sparked in them, but it pained her.
"The amulet has my soul in it, my life?".
"Yeah" I answered. "Why?".
"There's this rumor I overheard mom talking about one time, that witches have used souls to heal themselves before. If I give Willow a part of the amulet, do you think that would heal her?".
"But if you break the amulet, won't you get hurt?".
"It's either that or Willow dies". When I didn't say anything, Amity begged, "Please, King. I promised to protect her!".
I looked back over at Willow. Her breathing had grown so shallow you could barely see her chest rise and fall. She seemed completely still like a rag doll that had fallen down on its back.
I had no choice. The amulet was probably her only hope of surviving.
With a long deep breath out, I took the amulet off of my neck and slammed it into the ground as hard as I could. Amity let out a howl in pain that she tried to stifle by biting her finger. I had to push out of my mind; I couldn't let how much pain she was in stop me.
I did it again and again until a small chip fell into the dirt. I carried it up to Eda, who was pressing her hat up against Willow's heavily hemorrhaging cuts. She was confused for a moment, but she connected the dots quickly.
She had to take a deep breath of her own, but then she removed the dagger sticking out of Willow's abdomen.
"What are you doing?!" Luz gasped.
"Saving your friends life" Eda growled before shoving the shard into the wound. The pain surging through her brought Willow back to life. She flinched and squirmed as the owl lady pushed the piece of stone deeper.
When Eda stopped, so did the blood. As if we were speeding up time, the gash healed into a fresh scar. It worked!
"What! How did you do that?!". Luz's jaw was practically on the ground. "What was that thing?!".
Since both her mentor and I were hesitant to answer, Amity did instead. She stopped beside Eda and delicately pulled her hand away from her face. The bridge of her nose had a giant white chip in it. It was as bright as the sun, like there was a light hidden inside of the ghost's head.
"Amity! The amulet–".
"I know," she sighed. "I had to. I couldn't let Willow die!".
"How are you feeling, Willow?" Gus asked, his focus still stapled on his friend.
"I…" she shakily croaked. "I… don't know".
"She still has a handful of knives in her" Eda rasped. "Goops,".
"Gus".
"Fetch us the closest healer you can find!" she snapped impatiently.
"But she's going to be okay, right Eda?". The fear in Amity's voice broke the old witch's heart. She frowned at the Blight and rested one of her bloody hands on her shoulder.
"She's badly hurt," Eda admitted. "But thanks to you, she has a chance to heal".
I felt all of the dread clumped in my chest disappear. I never thought I'd feel so much terror for the thief that kept stealing Luz away from me, but it's like I said. She made the human happy, and as Luz's friend I wanted her to be happy.
Cautiously, I walked up to the witchling's open side and laid down. I nuzzled her hand onto my fur, hoping to bring her whatever comfort I could. I don't know how well it worked, but I felt Willow slightly relax at my touch.
"Amity". Her voice was only a whisper. "Th…thank you".
"No Willow" she murmured. "I owe you. You gave me a second chance, the least I can do is give you one too".
The tired teen smiled at that. She closed her eyes and peacefully waited for the help that was coming.