The darkness was oppressive. Amity Blight's eyes were wide open, but darkness was the only thing she could see, and no matter how much she turned her head, nothing but darkness greeted her. It was hard to breathe… doubly so, considering her current inability to open her mouth, and whenever she was able to suck in a breath through her nostrils, she was greeted with a thick, musty scent, permeated with constant heat.
She tried to stand, but that was impossible… as was moving much at all, considering how tightly she'd been tied down.
Great. Just great.
The last memories she had before ending up in this predicament were fairly hazy, but she knew she'd made it safely to the Temple of Six, the sixth of seven mysterious temples that had once belonged to the Collectors of the past and had long been buried before being unearthed after the Day of Unity.
I remember arriving at the Temple and finding the scroll, and then a pain in my side. After that…
After that, Amity woke up to find herself bound tightly to a chair with magic resistant ropes, her wrists crossed and bound tightly behind her back and to the chair itself, with more ropes encircling her chest, waist, and ankles, securing them equally tightly. No matter how much she struggled, she could barely move an inch, and even though she could conjure a bit of flame in her bound hands by drawing a magic circle, it was useless against her bindings.
I can barely breathe through this hood… I can feel myself trembling… whoever did this knew what they were doing… but I won't be afraid, I have to get out of here and make whoever did this to me pay!
Amity let out an angry snarl, heavily muffled by both the hood covering her head and the sticky piece of white tape sealing her lips. She screamed out, not for help, but a warning…
Let me go! Amity shouted, undeterred by the tape gagging her. Let me go right now or you'll be sorry!
Amity continued to shout, struggling against her bondage all the while. The black leather hood encasing her head felt stiflingly tight, and it didn't help that it trapped not just her head, but her ponytail as well, limiting the amount of air that could come inside through the tiny gaps at the bottom, where it had been fastened around her neck. She tried to shake the hood off as she struggled, but it wouldn't budge, and neither would her ropes.
Whoever did this, you'll pay! You're obstructing an official research expedition from the University of Wild Magic!
As Amity's struggles continued, she could feel sweat rapidly building on her forehead, and the heat inside the hood grew more and more stifling. She knew she couldn't keep this up forever, but she had to try… not just so that she could escape from whoever was holding her captive, but to show them if they were watching that they'd kidnapped the wrong witch.
How did they even find me…? Amity pondered silently, stopping for a moment to gather her thoughts.
O-O-O
Just a few hours earlier, Amity had been at the Bonesborough Library, visiting with Lilith as the two of them planned her latest research excursion. She'd been all over the Boiling Isles in the past few years, sometimes with Luz, sometimes with Lilith, and sometimes exploring on her own. After the defeat of Emperor Belos, the Isles were a somewhat less dangerous place, but not entirely. Vicious creatures still lurked around many a corner, and in the aftermath of Belos' death, a number of unscrupulous individuals and organizations were jostling to fill the power vacuum he left in his wake.
"And this is the Temple of Six, where it's rumored that one of the past Collectors may have hidden some priceless magical scrolls…" said Lilith, pointing to the Temple's rumored location on a fragment of a map that Luz and Amity had previous unearthed. Amity had already scouted the location, and she'd determined that it'd be safe enough to make the journey on her own without waiting for Luz to go on break from school… but still, Lilith did have some trepidations. "You should be careful exploring, rumors move fast and now that knowledge of the seven Archivist Temples has made it to the public, there are plenty of… 'treasure hunters' seeking to plunder them. I doubt any of them have discerned the location of this particular temple, but be on your guard nonetheless."
"Thanks, Lilith, but I'm sure I'll be fine," said Amity confidently. She then struck a pose, showing off a spell stance she'd recently been practicing. "I've already bumped into a few raiders on my missions, and they were no match for me, thanks to all the training I've been doing…"
"Still an excellent student as always," Lilith replied, smiling and placing her hand on Amity's shoulder.
"…I'm glad we reconnected," Amity said, returning Lilith's smile and warm expression. "You're an amazing teacher, and I've had a lot of fun helping you find these temples."
Even though Lilith hadn't been able to use her magic normally since taking on half of Eda's curse, her magical knowledge remained, and she'd guided Amity through much of her advanced magical learning. Though Amity had once held a grudge against Lilith for the incident that had led to her taking on half the curse in the first place, after the fall of Belos, she and Lilith quickly reconciled and entered a new, much healthier phase of their teacher-student relationship. If Luz could forgive Lilith, so could Amity, and she came to be quite glad she did… and Lilith never stopped expressing her gratitude for Amity's forgiveness and the chance to teach her on much better terms.
"And you've done an amazing job uncovering the secrets of the Isles. I'm so proud of you, Amity."
Amity looked at the map again, and remembered what Lilith had told her about the Temple and the scrolls within.
"Lilith, some of these scrolls may have been created by the person who conjured the original Owl Beast curse," said Amity. "Inside that temple, there may be another copy, and if I can find it, there may be a way to reverse-engineer a cure to you and Eda's curse…"
Lilith just smiled and sighed… while it would certainly be nice to be able to access her full magical powers again, she knew that ship had sailed a long time ago, and she and Eda had both accepted the consequences of her actions. A way to reverse the curse may have been welcome, but Lilith didn't waste any of her energy hoping for it, having gotten used to the powers the Raven Beast had granted her… and having even come to enjoy certain aspects of them, even if the affliction continued to pain her over the years.
"Don't worry about that, Amity… if a cure is found, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I've gotten used to this and so has Edalyn. Besides, Eda's curse is a living creature whose essence is bound to her, I doubt she'd want to separate it without a way to sustain its life force, or at least an assurance that it's not going to be eradicated or condemned. Take whatever scrolls you deem important, but don't risk your own safety for our sake."
Amity nodded in understanding, but there was a slight sadness on her face, and Lilith picked up on it quickly.
"I'm fine, Amity."
"I know, it's just… Luz and I were talking, and I hate that the last time you two used the full extent of your powers was when you were trying to kill each other. I… guess I just hoped I could give you two another chance to have your full magic again."
"Not having our natural magic doesn't make us any less of witches," Lilith reminded her.
"I know… but still, if there's a way to get it back, I want to give you a choice. That's all."
Lilith just smiled and walked with Amity to the courtyard, where her abomination vessel was ready to depart.
"The purpose of this expedition is research, nothing more," said Lilith. "…and please, take care of yourself. I want to hear all about your trip when you get back!"
"I will, I promise," said Amity, giving Lilith one more hug before climbing into the vessel. "Abomination, rise!"
O-O-O
Amity wasn't sure if Lilith would want to hear about this particular aspect of her trip… after all, she couldn't very well report on the temple's architecture while her head was covered with a hood.
Last chance, release me or else! Amity muffled, her shoulders jerking fiercely as she gave the ropes another tug. LET ME OUT RIGHT THIS SECOND!
And, as if responding to the last several minutes of muffled shouting, the rope holding the hood around Amity's neck was loosened. A moment later, the hood was roughly yanked off her head, leaving her hair somewhat disheveled but also restoring her ability to see. Amity blinked as the light returned to her eyes, the dim flames illuminating the large temple room she was in mercifully preventing her vision from being overwhelmed too quickly. However, she still couldn't observe much of her surroundings, as much of her vision was currently being obstructed by her captor… a tall male witch who looked to be in his 30s, and who was outfitted in all manner of exploration gear, including a sash with numerous potions, a belt with various grappling and martial arts implements, and a brown mask that partially obscured his face, covering his eyes with a semi-transparent, visor-like layer. Below that, Amity could see his lips curved into a cocky smile.
"Woke up pretty fast, huh? Glad that knockout spike didn't do too much damage… if I wanted ya dead, you'd be laying in the temple entrance in a pool of blood right now. But I'm a merciful guy… and I need you alive for what I plan to do in just a bit."
Amity didn't care about a word this guy was saying… she narrowed her eyes at him, working her lips fiercely under the tape in an effort to protest her captivity in an intelligible way.
Let me go! she shouted, able to repeat herself much louder with the hood off her face. She lunged at him, but the chair she was bound to didn't budge, and the only thing she managed to do was fling a few drops of sweat off her face. Her captor just laughed, leaning down and brushing his hand down the side of her cheek.
"I know all about you, Amity Blight," said the man, prompting her eyes to widen for the first time since the hood had been removed. "Heiress to Blight Industries, and now renowned junior explorer and scholar… not to mention the girlfriend of Luz Noceda, human savior of the Boiling Isles. Don't worry, rich girl, I'm not holding you for ransom… what I'm looking for in this temple is far more valuable."
So he knows who I am… big deal, thought Amity, trying her best not to look scared. And I have no clue who he is, but I'm thinking he's about to tell me.
Sure enough, Amity's captor was more than happy to reveal himself, and since she was unable to interrupt him, he could be as loquacious as he wanted to be.
"The name's Kell… Fiddeford Kell, leader of the Archivist's Coven. Yep, ever since old Belos kicked the bucket, anybody can start a coven now! And my coven's all about finding historical treasures, keeping the powerful ones and selling the valuable ones… 'course a lot of the time, the stuff we find's both."
Amity raised her eyebrow, having no clue who Kell or the Archivist's Coven were, but immediately coming to the determination that they were nothing but a bunch of thieves, and giving him a judgmental glare. Kell just laughed, turning back toward her and pointing his finger at her taped mouth.
"Now, I know what you'd be saying… at least if I hadn't stuck that tape on your mouth. You'd be saying, 'Kell, that's stealing!', to which I say, finders keepers, right? I mean, what were you gonna do with what you found? Steal it and keep it for yourself, weren't ya?"
That's not true, I was going to put it in a museum! Amity muffled, prompting Kell to press his finger into her taped lips in a mocking fashion. And don't touch me!
"What I do is no different from what you do, only instead of keeping priceless treasures locked in a museum somewhere, me and my crew take 'em and sell 'em to the highest bidder! And, of course, there's some we keep, like this little number here…"
Kell reached behind his back to a leather bag that had been slung over it, and began pulling out an object, while at the same time, Amity renewed her struggles.
I can't let these thieves take the treasures from the Temple. They need to be studied, they're dangerous in the wrong hands, especially in the hands of a bunch of thieves who'd resort to kidnapping! Wait… is that a scroll?
Kell held up a large piece of parchment paper, tightly wrapped in narrow leather bands that were held together even more tightly by a red wax seal.
"Like this bad boy here," said Kell, unwrapping the bands from the parchment and unfurling it in front of Amity. "It's a powerful curse, said to be unique, but twinned to this scroll that was buried in this Temple a long time ago… can you imagine? A magic suppressing curse like this could turn even the most powerful witch into a weakling, no more powerful than a human… heh, kinda like your girlfriend when you think about it…"
Amity was too busy reading the wording on the parchment to respond to the insult… and when she realized what Kell had uncovered, she gasped under her gag.
That's the Owl Beast curse…! I knew it, I knew it was here!
"Apparently this Collector spent years trying to replicate it… then buried it here, probably fearful of what it could do… if even a Collector feared a curse, imagine how powerful it would be? Oh-hoooo, no witch could stop us!"
You don't even know how it works! Amity protested, her eyes reflecting both anger and fear. That curse almost ruined the life of a friend of mine, it's too dangerous for anyone, let alone you!
"See, this is why I gagged you," said Kell, patting the top of Amity's head. "Goody-goodies like you never know when to shut up! You're always just 'blah, blah, blah, you can't do that, you're a thief, you'll never be as good a witch as your big brother…'"
Amity raised her eyebrow again at that last one before continuing her futile protests, helpless to dissuade Kell from taking the scroll as he rolled it back up and shoved it in his pack.
"Just need someone to test it out on… luckily you showed up!" Kell said, before starting to laugh. "Honestly, when we found this place, we thought some other explorer would come, so we staked it out and waited, and here you come on your big ugly balloon, right into our trap! THE Amity Blight, famed explorer witch and girlfriend of the human savior, the perfect little meddler to test these cool new scrolls on! So first-"
"Kell, we got a problem!"
Kell turned to see the remainder of his coven, four more witch thieves all decked out in explorer gear, all holding various treasures from the temple. One of them, a younger woman with short green hair, was running to him with a frantic look on her face.
"Luz the Human is on her way, I don't know why but she's coming and she's almost here!"
Amity blinked her eyes, letting out another gasp.
Luz? I didn't tell Luz I was coming here, I didn't want to interrupt her studying for her midterm!
When Amity woke up and realized her situation, she'd almost regretted not having Luz tag along… but at the same time, she'd almost been relieved that her girlfriend hadn't fallen into the same trap she'd stumbled into. The two of them had been in worse predicaments, but she was still glad to spare Luz from anything that might distract or upset her so close to an important test. She thought she'd be able to handle this, but now she wasn't so sure, and once again, her thoughts upon hearing that Luz was coming were a mix of relief and trepidation.
"…you sneaky little brat, did you manage to signal her somehow?" asked Kell, pacing around Amity's chair and briefly inspecting her bonds, as Amity shook her head and gave him a look that indicated that she was just as surprised as he was that Luz was coming.
"Answer him, you liar!" shouted one of Kell's minions, lunging forward and grabbing her roughly by the jaw.
Get off me! Amity shouted, trying to wrench her face out of his grip.
"Now now, no need for that," said Kell, smirking as he separated Amity from the other thief. "This might actually be a good opportunity… we can spring another trap for the savior, with this one as bait…"
NO! Amity protested, giving Kell a furious look. You bastard, I won't let you hurt Luz!
Amity continued to struggle and shout, but Kell remained calm and pulled something else from his sack… the knockout spike he'd used on Amity before, a device resembling a gun from the human world, infused with a sparking blue crystal. He held it to Amity's side, and before she could do anything else to resist, he pulled the trigger on the device, sending a wave of concussive energy through Amity's body. She grunted, then her head slumped as she quickly fell unconscious.
"Think you can rig some of these ropes up over that beam?" Kell asked his minions, pointing straight up.
O-O-O
Luz Noceda hadn't expected a typical study day to turn into an adventure. She'd just gone to Lilith for help studying, but when she noticed the look of worry on her face, a quick inquiry led her to divulge that Amity was out adventuring at a potentially dangerous temple.
I can afford to blow off studying for one day! thought Luz, as she climbed off her broom and began walking toward the Temple of the Six, impressed by its scale and architecture. Besides, this is WAY cooler than cramming for midterms… and maybe I can convince my professor to let me write about it for extra credit!
Luz was also excited about the chance to see Amity again, though the two had made plans to meet up for a dinner date in the human realm that night, after she was done studying and after Amity had finished exploring the temple. Now they'd have something cool to talk about together!
As Luz walked through the temple's large entrance, ornately decorated with art of the various things this particular Collector liked to collect, she couldn't help but think of her own Collector, dwelling somewhere up in the heavens. Did her Collector know this one?
Collie probably doesn't want to have anything to do with the other Collectors, considering how they treated him before… but maybe he gets curious sometimes? He was lonely for so long, after all…
Luz noticed the various paintings of wild beasts on the walls, many of which resembled the great Owl Beast that Eda had been cursed with transforming into. The familiarity of the art wasn't lost on Luz, who marveled at the paintings and thought of Eda at the same time. She wondered if this might indeed be the same Collector who created the cursed scroll that had afflicted Eda (and later Lilith) with that terrible condition, but unlike Amity, she hadn't yet connected the dots that the contents of this temple might provide the opportunity for a cure. Mostly, she was just looking for Amity, and wondering if she might have to rescue her awesome girlfriend from a trap like she'd had to do in the Temple of Two.
That was a pretty funny predicament Amity wound up in… and she had to return the favor in the Temple of Three! I wonder why she came here without me? I guess she didn't want to interrupt my studying…
Amity did tend to take an interest in Luz's studies, and often encouraged her to be more diligent. She never pushed Luz particularly hard, only giving her some occasional nudges in the right direction, as she was quite aware that Luz sometimes had trouble focusing on her academic tasks. She was never judgmental, at least not with Luz, and it was one of the things she loved most about her.
Don't worry, Amity. I'm sure I'll do just fine on these midterms, and if I don't, I can always cram harder for finals!
Luz stepped through another large opening, making her way into a back chamber of the temple… and it was there that she heard Amity's voice for the first time.
Luz! Be careful, it's a trap!
"Huh…?" Luz exclaimed, hearing Amity's voice from above and looking up toward its source. "Amity, it sounds like there's something over your… mouth…! AMITY!"
And then, Luz saw her. Amity was dangling upside down from the ceiling with a rope that bound her ankles tightly together, with more ropes around her thighs, chest, and waist, with the ropes around Amity's waist connected to more ropes that kept her wrists tightly bound behind her back. The strip of white tape was still over her mouth, and Luz could see Amity working her lips fiercely under it, desperately trying to call out to her.
Luz, look out!
But Luz stood still, frozen wide-eyed in place as Kell's four minions advanced on her… and then they struck, each looking to subdue the human girl with either a gadget or a spell. Amity let out another scream, watching as her girlfriend was helpless to avoid the surprise attack… or so she thought.
Un ataque sorpresa, ¿eh? Luz suddenly said in Spanish, before leaping to avoid the four strikes and landing several feet away from her attackers. "This is a classic! Leave the tied and gagged damsel in distress to distract the hero so they don't see the sneak attack from behind? Please, I've seen Tangled like a million times!"
"What?!" exclaimed one of the thieves, turning toward Luz.
"Get her!" shouted another, before pointing her finger at the human girl and quickly drawing a circle. She conjured a binding wrap that extended toward Luz, but Luz quickly slid out of the way, pulling out a slip of paper on which a fire glyph had been drawn.
"Take this!" Luz shouted excitedly, before creating a flame that engulfed the wrap and caused the fire to make its way back to her attacker, badly singing her hands. "Feel the burn, sucka!"
Two more of the thieves ran at Luz and tried to grab her, but she just ducked under them, causing them to slam into each other, then rolled back and held up two more glyphs. Now facing the four thieves, she slammed the glyphs to the ground and activated them with the palms of her hands, creating a massive burst of ice and vines that surged toward the thieves before they could regroup. In seconds, all four of the thieves were bound up tightly in ice and vines, with the two female thieves even gagged with a band of ice and a tight vine wrapping respectively. As the four thieves writhed angrily on the floor, Luz stood over them triumphantly, dusting off her hands as if she'd just taken out the garbage back home.
"And that's why you don't mess with the Good Witch Luz… or her sweet potato," she said, before turning toward Amity and looking up at her with concern. "Guess Lilith was right, you did need my help after all… are you okay, batata?"
Amity just nodded her head, her eyes wide at just how impressed she was with how easily her girlfriend had taken down those thieves.
I knew you'd been practicing with those new glyphs, but I didn't know you'd gotten that good that fast! thought Amity, finally allowing herself a smile.
"Don't worry, I'll have you down in a few seconds," said Luz, preparing another glyph and positioning herself to catch Amity when she fell. "You don't mind being dropped, right?"
I trust you, Amity muffled, shaking her head. Then, she remembered something, and her look of relief turned back into concern. Luz, wait, there's one more!
"Second thoughts, huh?" Luz asked, before swapping glyphs and preparing to use vines to launch herself up to Amity's level. "It's okay, I'll just come up there."
No, Luz, it's not that, it's-
Amity's muffling was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Kell, who dropped down behind Luz and prepared to knock her out with a stun spike, just as he'd done to Amity. But Luz was ready, and turned around just in time to avoid it, then threw down the plant glyph she was holding to push him back. Kell came to a stop next to his minions and looked down at them with a scoff before looking back up at Luz.
"I see they're as worthless as always," said Kell, shaking his head dismissively and prompting one of them to yell 'hey!', while the vine-gagged thief muffled an angry objection.
"Hey!" shouted Luz, clenching her fists. "That's no way to talk to your friends, no matter how bad at fighting they are! And why'd you kidnap Amity, anyway?"
"Because she got in the way, just like you," said Kell, starting toward Luz as his hands began to light up with magical energy. "And I think you'll find that I'm a lot more competent and powerful than my 'friends'…."
Luz looked back up at Amity, wondering if she should get her loose so it could be two on one… but Amity just began struggling, calling out to her to focus on the task at hand.
Luz, I'll be fine, worry about him and then you can get me down!
Luz couldn't understand much of what Amity was saying, but seeing the bravery in her eyes convinced her that she'd be fine with being left hanging at least a bit longer, and she looked back at Kell just in time to see him aiming a burst of magical energy at her head. She quickly raised up a plant wall, but it wasn't enough to keep the blast entirely away, and the force of the explosion blasted Luz backward, prompting Amity to let out a scream.
"I've come to far to let some human wannabe witch get in the way of my score!"
Kell ran at Luz even before she could recover, preparing another blast to fire at her again as Luz scrambled to get another glyph ready. Amity wasn't about to let herself be a spectator to her girlfriend's fight, and she resumed her struggles in earnest, swinging wildly back and forth and trying to get her wrists free while also trying to free herself from the beam suspending her in the air.
I can't let Luz fight him alone, it's my fault she's in this mess in the first place!
Amity growled in frustration… the ropes around her wrists had been tightened since she'd been knocked out and repositioned, negating what little progress she'd made in slipping free before. She continued to swing, and looked above to see the beam overhead already starting to give way.
That wood has to be hundreds of years old… it's weak, and getting weaker! It's my best chance, I've gotta help Luz!
Though she tried not to distract herself with her girlfriend's struggle, she couldn't help but sneak a few peeks at the fierce battle raging below. Kell wasn't lying when he said he was far more competent and powerful than his minions… he was still assaulting her with numerous powerful spells, and despite her training, Luz was struggling to keep up, using her glyphs and her agility to avoid the blasts, but barely putting up any offensive of her own. Every time Amity heard her girlfriend scream in fright or grunt in pain, it filled her with a renewed sense of guilt, and she knew she had to free herself soon or Luz would be in even worse trouble.
"I'll ask you again, why'd you take Amity prisoner?" asked Luz, while hiding behind the broken remains of a stone pillar as Kell issued forth a burst of powerful flames from his hands. "Why not just steal whatever's in here and go?"
"I don't owe you an explanation for anything! But since you asked, we were almost done raiding this place when she showed up, and I wasn't in the mood to explain to some nerd why these scrolls belong to us and not in some stuffy museum, so I decided it'd be a lot easier to just tie her up and leave her here so she couldn't bother us."
"Ugh, that's terrible!" shouted Luz, rising from her hiding place to confront Kell. "The treasures of this temple do belong in a museum, and Amity doesn't deserve to be tied up! You guys are just a bunch of jerks, and you belong in… some kind of witch jail!"
Of course, ever since Belos' defeat, the Conformatorium had been dismantled and there really wasn't much of a place to put naughty witches, not even a witch like Odalia, so Luz didn't know what she'd do with Kell and his friends… but she knew he needed to be taught a lesson! As Kell prepared another blast, Luz finally went on the offensive, sending up a ball of light to temporarily blind him before attempting to wrap him up in another pile of vines. Kell was ready for this, pulling out a machete and slashing through the vines before lunging at Luz and taking a swing at her next. She managed to avoid it, but just barely, the blade slicing across her cheek and making a small cut as she spun away from him. She let out a cry of pain, holding her cheek as a trickle of blood slowly came out, and when Amity saw this, she screamed in fear.
"Amity, I'm fine, I've had worse!" Luz reassured her, gesturing to one of the scars on her face. "I don't even think it'll make a scar… which is too bad really because scars are kinda cool-"
Kell swung at Luz again, and though he missed, Luz fell backward in her efforts to dodge. She landed on her butt with another loud cry, and Amity winced before renewing her struggles with even more intensity.
Don't worry, Luz, I'm almost-
Amity's train of thought was interrupted by a loud snapping noise, the sound of the wooden beam above her head giving way. With a loud scream, she fell toward the floor, but just as she closed her eyes and prepared for impact, she could feel a set of vines catching her, then bulging upward to allow her to slide gently to the ground. When she opened her eyes again, Luz was already running toward her with a look of concern.
"Amity, it's okay, I got you-"
Amity could see Kell behind Luz and screamed out a warning. Luz turned, just in time to be blasted by one of his spells, sending her flying back. As Kell ran toward Luz, Amity climbed to her feet and threw herself hard into him, knocking them both to the floor. Amity then began crawling toward Luz, only for Kell to grab her by the ankles and raise his machete high.
"You know, I can always test these scrolls on your girlfriend… it'd be more fun to try them out on a human anyway."
Amity narrowed her eyes in determination, and before Kell could bring the machete down, she kicked him in the face as hard as she could, causing him to fall back and giving him a nosebleed. She then started to crawl toward Luz again, squirming across the floor and trying to get her wrists free all the while. Luz, still recovering from the blast and fall she'd sustained, began climbing to her feet just in time to see Amity crawling toward her, but as she ran to Amity, Kell, who'd recovered quickly from the kick, blasted the floor between the two girlfriends, sending them flying in opposite directions from one another. Amity landed hard on the floor near Kell, rolling with a grunt and coming to a stop at his feet, while Luz managed to land on one knee, sliding backward and stopping herself just before hitting the wall.
"Amity…!" Luz called out as soon as she stood back up, reaching out and then running toward her and Kell. "Amity, I'm coming!"
Amity groaned, having taken a much harder fall due to not being able to use her arms to protect herself. As she tried to crawl toward Luz again, Kell lifted her to her feet, pulling her close to his body and holding one arm around her neck while using the other to point a hand toward Luz.
"Stay back, or your… 'sweet potato' gets it!" shouted Kell, enunciating Luz's nickname for Amity in a mocking fashion. Amity wasn't about to let herself be used as a human shield, and she tried to slam her bound hands into Kell's stomach, but their proximity prevented her from doing much damage, and she was unable to lift her bound feet up to stomp on him either. "I mean it, stay back!"
"Coward!" Luz spat, stopping halfway across the room and reaching out toward Amity as Kell walked back with her. "If you're such a powerful witch, let her go! I'm just a human, you were winning before!"
"You're the savior, I can't take any chances," Kell replied, tightening his grip around Amity's neck as she continued to struggle against him. "And stop fighting!"
Amity just responded by muffling a swear, then she looked at Luz, calling out to her not to be intimidated by Kell's threats.
Luz, don't let him use me against you! Just blast him, I'll be okay, I trust you!
Amity kept fighting, both to escape the ropes and to escape the grip of her captor. As Luz watched, she couldn't help but notice that even though Amity was the one who was tied up and held hostage, she seemed to be much braver in this situation… and it only made Luz more desperate to save her.
She's all tied up and gagged but she's still fighting… I have to fight for Amity too! I know she doesn't want me to stop, but I can't help it, I can't let her get hurt…!
Amity continued to fight until she'd nearly broken Kell's grip on her, and rather than let her fight her way out of his grasp, he shoved her to the floor, forcing her to her knees in front of him. Luz immediately broke into a run, only for Kell to hold out his hand again and with his other hand, hold up a scroll.
"Up, bup bup, stop RIGHT THERE!" Kell shouted, showing the scroll. "Do you recognize this?"
From her studies, Luz recognized only a bit of the writing… but she recognized the picture in the bottom right very clearly.
"The… Owl Beast?" Luz stammered, blinking in bewilderment as she came to a stop just a few feet from where Amity was kneeling.
"It's the curse, the same one that was used on Eda the Owl Lady!"
"That's impossible!" Luz shouted, pointing angrily at Kell. "There was only one Owl Beast curse, and it was used up! The curse was created from a unique creature, and that creature's trapped within Eda now!"
"The Collectors had power beyond that of any witch," said Kell, "and all the time in the world, considering their immortality. The Collector spent decades replicating his curse, and buried it within this temple! Now I have the only remaining copy, and if you make a single move, I'll use this curse on your precious Amity…"
Luz, he's bluffing, he doesn't know what he's doing! Amity muffled, before starting to climb back to her feet. Just take him down!
Before Amity could move, Kell drew a magic circle, conjuring a whip of magical energy that encircled Amity's neck, preventing her from standing or moving toward Luz. Luz lurched forward, and Kell held out the curse in a threatening gesture.
"…if you use that curse on Amity, she won't be able to control it…" Luz warned, looking into Kell's eyes with tremendous concern. "If you use that curse, she'll tear all of us apart, including you!"
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," said Kell, smiling cruelly.
Then you're an idiot! Amity screamed back at him, her eyes narrowing in rage. She kept struggling, and looked at Luz again, begging her not to be intimidated. LUZ, STOP HIM!
Luz crouched into a fighting stance, holding up a fire glyph and preparing to use it. Kell just smiled, raising up the scroll on which the curse was printed, knowing that he could curse Amity before Luz could use that glyph. As Luz stood frozen, wondering what to do, her eyes met Amity's again, and the two exchanged a silent apology… Luz apologizing for not being able to save Amity, and Amity apologizing for not being able to keep Luz from being dragged into this.
Next time… if there is a next time… we go together, okay? thought Luz, trying to give her girlfriend a reassuring smile.
I should've been able to keep myself safe… Lilith was right, I should've been more careful… but I won't let you pay for my mistakes.
Amity's finger traced a circle behind her back, and she could feel a warmth in her hands. The ropes binding her wrists might've been resistant to magic, but the scroll wasn't, and Kell was distracted by Luz.
I'm sorry, Lilith.
With as much strength as she could muster, Amity flicked the fireball behind her back in the direction of the scroll, just as Kell was preparing to invoke the spell. As he started to speak, the scroll caught fire, and began to burn in his hands. He let out a cry of pain, but refused to let it go until it had nearly burned entirely to ashes and had scalded him severely. As Kell stumbled back, he released the magical whip, and it evaporated from Amity's neck, allowing her to take a single hop to the side and giving Luz a clear shot at her foe. Luz rushed forward, just as Kell fell back toward the wall.
¡Quema, bastardo! Luz shouted, before slamming her glyph onto Kell's chest, generating a powerful burst of flames that caused him to fly back into the wall.
Though not severely injured, Kell had been stunned by the strike, allowing Luz to conjure up four more plant glyphs and affix them to the wall behind him. Before Kell even had a chance to recover, he'd been bound tightly to the wall with vines that embedded themselves into the stone, securing his arms and legs and preventing him from conjuring another spell. The remains of the scroll fluttered to the ground, the curse and any potential cure once again lost to the ravages of time. As Luz stepped back, making sure that Kell had been subdued, she could feel someone gently falling against her… it was Amity, still tightly bound but quite happy that Luz was safe, and through the tape sealing her lips, she offered a warm and relieved smile.
"Oh, Amity…!" Luz exclaimed, a wave of relief in her own voice, accompanied by a few quiet laughs as Amity fell into her waiting embrace. "…are you okay?"
Amity couldn't answer Luz with her words… so instead, she leaned up and gently pressed her taped lips against Luz's free ones, prompting both young women to blush. Forgetting for the moment that she'd been gagged, Amity realized what she'd just done and blushed even harder, before letting out a few embarrassed giggles.
"Here," said Luz, raising her hand to Amity's taped lips. "Let me get that for you…"
Luz gently peeled off the tape, and Amity immediately kissed her again, much more passionately this time. As the two were kissing, Kell let out an angry shout, protesting the show of affection.
"Stop that, stop celebrating, you brats don't deserve-"
Luz tossed out another glyph, causing more vines to appear and wrap themselves around Kell's mouth, continuing to kiss Amity and ignoring the thief's bitter, muffled protests.
O-O-O
A short while later, Luz and Amity, still in the temple, looked over the gathered treasures as the five would-be thieves all sat tied up in the corner. Even a few tattered remnants of the Owl Beast curse scroll had been salvaged, though they were now useless for the purposes of casting the spell… or curing it, for that matter.
"No wonder those guys wanted all of these scrolls, this place is loaded with them," said Luz, looking at some of the other scrolls while Amity assembled the curse scraps on the floor. "More than any of the other five temples we've explored, and a lot more potent too… I'm really glad those jerks didn't get their hands on this stuff."
"I agree, in the wrong hands some of these scrolls could make somebody even worse than Belos," Amity commented.
"No one could be worse than Belos," Luz replied, shuddering at the mere mention of his name. "But I'm glad we kept these guys from getting them…"
As the two continued to sit together, Luz could see the harsh red marks on Amity's wrists, and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Luz asked, for what must've been the dozenth time since she'd freed her from her bondage. "That was a really close call, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."
"I'll be fine, we've been through worse…" Amity replied, a soft blush making its way back to her face. "Remember when we dealt with the Three Families of Latissa?"
"Ugh, don't remind me, those guys had all of us in a bind, literally," said Luz, before laughing at the memory. "But it was so awesome when you showed up and saved me and Willow!"
"I was just returning the favor," Amity replied, reaching down and taking Luz's hand in her own. "Thanks for saving me… again."
The two then leaned on each other, both examining the burned scroll that Amity had placed on the floor. They'd both discussed Eda and Lilith's curse before, and had wondered whether to try and remove it should the opportunity ever present itself… and now it seemed that opportunity had come and gone.
"I… don't know what I'm gonna say to Lilith and Eda. A way to cure their curse was right in front of us, and I had to burn it to save our skins…"
"If I know them, they'll be glad you did," said Luz, nuzzling her cheek against Amity's. "Besides, they've both told us they've come to accept it, and that we shouldn't worry about it anymore. Eda doesn't even know if she'd want to be cured, the Owl Beast is like an old friend to her now."
"I know, but I just wanted to give them a choice," said Amity, before Luz gripped her hands even tighter, prompting Amity to look into her eyes.
"They already made their choice," Luz replied. "And even if they hadn't, they'd never sacrifice either one of us for a cure."
They both remembered the time when Lilith would have, when Lilith kidnapped Luz in an effort to get Eda to come to Belos… but she'd changed so much since then, and Luz and Amity had both forgiven her… and were glad they did. They'd tell Lilith everything, about the scroll and what had happened with the thieves, and they were sure that Lilith would be as kind and comforting as she had been to them over the past few years… and so would Eda, who'd probably have a few choice words for the thieves once they were brought back.
There'd be time for all of that later… but now, it was time to go home and rest, to make sure the thieves were put somewhere where they wouldn't be able to hurt anyone, and to make sure the scrolls were put somewhere safe as well.
And then, there'd be time for Luz and Amity to be together, to comfort each other through any lingering trauma, and to make plans to explore the seventh and final temple… together, this time, and perhaps with Lilith and Eda as well.
And as for right now…
"…don't you still have a midterm to study for?" asked Amity with a gentle smile.
"What midterm?" Luz replied, smiling back at Amity before leaning in to give her another sweet kiss.
