"And then I got really mad and challenged him to a witch's duel even though I only know one spell and he's so gonna murder me! What should I do?!".

All Amity responded with was her usual deadpan. The one that made her look annoyed even though deep down inside she was caringly worried.

"Amity please" I begged after she didn't say anything. "If I don't think of something, Katif is going to kill me all the way dead!".

"What does your mentor have to say about all this?".

"Well…" I drawled. "She's kinda got into a fight with her sister…and…".

"And she wants you to fight him?". It was my turn to deadpan disappointedly.

"Yeah. Apparently, you're not my rival anymore".

Amity's gaze traveled to the ground. She gritted her fangs while a growl rose in her throat.

"He is such a jerk," she snarled. "He always has been. Training with him was always such a pain in the ass".

"Doesn't he have to be a jerk?". I asked, making Amity pause.

"Does he have to be a jerk?" She repeated to make sure she heard my question right.

"Well, he was training for the emperor's coven. Don't you have to be kinda mean to be considered?".

I didn't know a lot about the emperor's coven. I only knew what I was told by Eda (mainly that they suck), what I saw in that presentation, and what the twins and Amity had said about them. That's why she had to be so mean, right? Well, I'm sure it wasn't the only reason. She also had an abusive mother and a bit of a temper. But the whole must be feared/can't show weakness thing was so she could impress whoever the hell decides who joins the exclusive guard.

"Well…I mean," Amity stammered. "This is different. He has no sense of honor whatsoever".

A small moment of silence filled the small corner bathroom we were hiding in. Despite the weight of the serious situation, the scar on my competitor's face wouldn't leave my mind.

"Is what he said about you true?" I murmured. "Did you really hurt his eye?".

The ghostly witch's irritation wrestled with her inner shame. She wanted to argue, she really did, but she couldn't deny it. Both her and I knew she did it, but I wanted to know why.

There had to have been a reason she did it. It had to be more than just Amity didn't like Katif and she hurt him to show off to the head of the emperor's coven. Amity was cold and could be mean at times. But she wasn't cruel. I'm sure she'd never hurt someone like that without good reason.

"It… It's true. But I didn't mean to hurt him. It just sort of happened.

Him and I were Miss Lilith's strongest proteges, which meant the coveness pit us against each other a lot. We were sparring one day and, to be honest, he gained the upper hand very early in the match. I had to give my all just to stay in the fight and, well, I lost more and more of my concentration each second. One uncontrolled spell later and you know the rest".

"He said you just stared at him afterwards, completely emotionless".

"I couldn't show how sorry I was, not in front of Miss Lilith. So, all I could do was just glower". Amity's voice wavered. Her glowing golden eyes looked into mine, the guilt she was feeling dividing two ways.

"That still doesn't make what he said okay" I pressed. "No matter what you've done you don't deserve to die!".

"I'm a Blight for titan's sake. If I had a snail for every time someone said I should die, I'd be richer than my parents".

"He's still muddying your name, which isn't cool no matter what way you spin it".

"Luz," Amity breathed out. "This is my fight, not yours. And it's a fight I clearly lost".

"Well, it's my fight now" I nervously squeaked. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. "God, I'm so dead".

"Not yet," Amity sighed. She grabbed the bridge of her nose and began to murmur something to herself. Her eyes moved side to side as if she were reading the air.

Shit! I needed to stop saying death related phrases. Each time I said something like I'm dead, or that's killing me was just a huge reminder of something that literally just happened a week ago.

"I'm sorry, Amity. You know I'm not thinking when–". The pondering spirit cut me off with an angry shush.

"We should go to the arena," she finally said. "It'll be easier to think of something there".

"Yeah. I think you're right. Also, I think Eda's there. Maybe she has an idea".

"She probably wants you to cheat," Amity scoffed.

"I'd never!" I exclaimed like I'd been offended. "The only thing you cheat by cheating is yourself".

"Oh really? Did you tell Willow that when you helped her cheat on her project?".

Amity's snarl hit like a bat. She wasn't wrong. The thing that eventually led to her death started with me pretending to be Willow's abomination homework. And say what you will about good intentions and what not, but at the end of the day I was helping Willow cheat.

What would have happened had we not been caught? Willow would have left school as top student and would come back the next day just as bad at abominations as she always was. At best, it would've been like nothing ever happened, and at worse, everyone would've realized that her amazing abomination golem was fake.

Amity flinched while her scowl was destroyed by her surprise. Her ears flattened while she stared at the ground in shame. The spirit apologized with a simple breath out before changing the topic.

"I'm ready to go back in the amulet whenever you're ready to send me there".

"Amity…cower".

With a flash of light, Amity was sent back into her crystal prison. Each time I'd sent her there hurt a part of me, but that time was especially painful. I got her killed, then got myself into trouble, and now she had to get me out of it. I was definitely going to owe the ghostly witch for this.

When we both arrived at the auditorium, I found Eda digging a mound in the dirt with her hands. She spotted me watching from the corner of her eye. Standing back upright again, she popped her stiff back.

"Hey kiddo" she greeted while stepping up to me. "Ready for the big fight?".

"Do I look ready?" I asked with a nervous grimace. Eda patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Luz. I've got a plan" she said with a white fanged smile…well more a yellow fanged smile really.

"Is your plan to cheat" I deadpanned.

"You know it". The middle-aged witch slapped my back while she looked at me excitedly. "See that hole? I'm gonna dig a bunch and fill them with traps".

"No," I snapped assertively. "I'm not cheating".

Eda rolled her eyes at that and scoffed.

"I know you're all about fairness and kindness and stuff, but this is gonna be a bloodbath. And a lot of blood's gonna be yours if you don't do something".

"Eda, no" I repeated, this time a little more beggingly. "The last time I cheated I got someone killed!".

"That wasn't your fault".

"Except it was. Had I not helped Willow cheat on her assignment, no one would've tried to dissect me".

"You're not the only one who did something bad that day. Willow lied and Amity was out for blood".

I gaped at Eda. My eyes grew wide and filled with rueful realization. I get that my mentor was trying to cheer me up but that just made my brain whirl. Both Willow and Amity were involved, in fact so was Gus and principal Bump. Yet I couldn't blame any of them for what happened. Willow just wanted people to stop seeing her as a weak talentless witch, even if it was just for one day. Amity just wanted her title of top student that was unfairly taken away from her. Principal Bump was just doing his job. He was just punishing the people who broke the school rules, albeit in a very scary way. And Gus was just there for the ride. In fact, he wasn't even in the room when the incident happened.

The only person I could blame was me. I did something completely selfish, all so I could live out some stupid witch-school fantasy. I didn't have any excuses. I'd never been stuck in the wrong track, being bullied by my old best friend. I'd never studied for hours and hours only to have my project be overshadowed by someone who cheated.

"How do humans fight?" Eda went on after noticing my discomfort. "I've been in a human bar before. I know you guys aren't all peaceful".

"Well, we usually use powerful weapons, guns, tanks, bombs. But we don't exactly have a tank on us".

"But what if you want to duke it out?" she pressed. "Like a street brawl?".

"Then people mainly just use fists and feet. Punches, kicks, what not".

"Then do that".

"I'll try, but I've gotta not die to his magic first".

As I spoke, the amulet around my neck began to flash and buzz like a phone on vibrate. It had done that before, mainly when Amity wanted to be let out for a small period of time in the marketplace. She said that the room inside the amulet was a bit cramped and way too purple, so I'd go inside of the tent with all Eda's wares and let her out for a bit.

"Hello," I called while grabbing onto it.

"Luz, I think I have an idea".

"You do?!" I gasped, filling with hope.

"Yeah, but you're gonna need a lot of light glyphs".

The sight of Katif standing next to the head coveness made terror shoot through me like lightning. The gray speckled witch wasn't even trying to be intimidating, he was just simply standing there with his arms comfortably crossed, but just his presence was enough to make me want to flee the arena.

"Beloved citizens," Miss Lilith bellowed from the dais. "The Emperor's Coven proudly presents an impromptu demonstration of the sort of witch we seek every year. Introducing Katif Aziz".

"Huh" I internally squeaked. "That's what his last name is".

The crowd on the sidelines began to cheer. Some chanted his name while others hooted and hollered.

"Versus…some human girl".

The cheering instantly stopped. The silence was delicately broken by quiet chattering.

"A human?".

"Humans can't do magic".

"Isn't she the one who snuck into Hexide?"

"Yeah. She killed Amity".

I tried to silence out there murmuring but their words were jagged enough to break through. The whole, humans can't do magic thing didn't bother me as much anymore, since I knew that they could. But hearing the crowd talk about my break into Hexide, just like every other time someone mentioned it, crushed me like a boulder.

"Stay focused" Amity commanded from inside the gemstone. "Don't give him the chance to attack first, and when he eventually does, don't panic".

"Easier said than done," I mumbled while handing Eda the amulet. "Be careful with this, and DON'T DROP IT".

"Relax" Eda huffed amusedly while tossing it back and forth. "I'll be careful".

The moment she said that the necklace slipped through her fingers and nearly hit the floor. Though she luckily snagged the chain with her finger and flipped it back into the air, catching it with one hand.

"In the name of the titan, or the god of mischief, or whatever you believe in, promise me you'll keep Amity safe".

"Alright, alright. I will". My mentor gave me a little push. "Now, go kick some ass".

A shrill screech filled the air as the fight began. Just like Amity said, I rushed towards my foe without hesitation. The ghostly witch's words echoing in my head.

"Katif's attacks are powerful but they're slow. I need to stun him before he has a chance to attack".

I attacked a sliver of a second too late. The prodigy drew a circle into the air and, from beneath the ground, a pillar began to grow. I didn't slow down. I couldn't let his intimidation break me.

I leapt onto the top of the pillar, barely able to pull myself up in time. From there I dove towards the witchling, or more accurately, behind the witchling. My landing wasn't graceful in the slightest, but I was still able to scoop up enough of the dirt below me and toss it into my enemy's face.

He reared back and let out a small cry. In spite of his blindness, he summoned four rigid slabs that met at the top to incase me. From out of my pocket, I pulled out a few large pieces of papers that were covered with light glyphs. Quickly slapping them onto the stones and activating them, they created a flash I could hide behind. I squeezed between the back two slabs, its many edges scraping my skin.

Murmurs filled the auditorium, all of them in shock.

"That's right," I thought to myself. "The human who can't do magic just did magic".

From there, I raced to the left. Katif threw up a wall to block me, which sent me in another random direction. The two of us danced, the witch playing into my game. He filled the room with slabs and towers until there were enough places for me to hide.

"You're pretty good" I taunted from behind a wall. I watched my enemy carefully. Any time he looked away, I hopped from one hiding spot to another.

"You're not bad yourself, human" he laughed, genuinely sounding impressed. "But you're still screwed".

"Oh yeah? Come and get me!".

Katif did just that. He rushed towards me, masterfully weaving through the barriers he created. As he did so, he summoned more. One of his towers finally found me. It threw me into the air like a ball. I slammed against the stones on the way back down. Landing on the ground, I fell as limp as I could. I let out a pitiful moan and grimaced in pain.

"Had enough?".

"You still have to finish me," I pointed out while I hissed.

"I don't know," he drawled back. He looked over towards the stage, towards his mentor. "What do you think, Miss Lilith?".

Finally, the time was right. I showed everyone that I could do magic. Now it was time to show them what magicless humans could do.

I broke out of my defeatedly injured act and leapt towards Katif. With one hand I shoved his face into the dirt. With the other, I pinned his arm down. My weight restrained him to the ground. He jostled me with his squirming, but I held on steadfast.

"Had enough?" I snippily bragged.

"You still have to finish me," he cleverly snipped back.

"I will. I just–wait a minute".

My triumph was halted by the back of Katif's neck... There was something stuck onto it, a piece of paper of some kind…a glyph!

"What's this?" I asked as I peeled it off. I turned it around to find a weird symbol of a fist. I'd seen it before, over by the construction coven's display.

Eda walked up to me and took the paper from me. She lifted it into the air so everyone could see.

"A power glyph from the construction coven" she announced.

The gasp from the crowd morphed into a thousand different conversations.

"He cheated".

"Why would he cheat, she's just a human?"

"She would've beaten him anyways" I heard Gus boast. "And only with a light spell".

"You mean I had a power glyph on this whole time?".

Katif stared at his mentor in utter disbelief. His eyes then moved to the crowd. His blooming embarrassment made him recoil as if he was scared of the situation.

"No… No wonder those spells were so easy". The student staggered as a chance to mend his breaking reputation.

Meanwhile, Eda was dancing around in celebration.

"Ah-ha! Yes, yes, yes-yes-yes! You cheated. Perfect, prissy Lilith cheated, and my kid still won. Hot dang, I love coventions!".

"I only did that because I knew you would cheat!" Lilith hissed like a feral cat.

"But I didn't this time! And you did! Welcome down to my level!".

"Knock it off. You're making a scene!". Lilith's ears flattened and she took a step forwards.

"You cheated. Hey, where's the Rhyming Coven? What rhymes with "cheated"?". Eda began to mockingly rub her chin. She looked upwards as if she were thinking hard about something.

"Stop acting like a child!"

"You were defeated, don't get heated, get your stank face treated".

"Rhyme one more thing. I dare you!" the coveness growled through her teeth.

"Oh, it's okay, I'm done". Eda stopped for a moment before continuing to speak. "Because my rhymes are depleted!".

"That's it!" Lilith yowled.

She summoned her staff, her blue eyes lit ablaze! Similarly blue energy shot from it and rammed into Eda.

My heart stopped. My breathing did as well. My mentor was wearing the amulet! If Lilith damaged it, Amity could've gotten really hurt!

"Don't mind me" I rushed while I shoved past Lilith and ran up to Eda.

"Move out of the way, Luz. Me and my sister have some unfinished business to take care of".

"I will. Just gotta take this really important piece of jewelry that definitely can't get damaged first".

I grabbed the amulet and gestured for Eda to take it off. I draped it back around my neck, sighing in relief.

As I passed the coven head to exit the auditorium, I turned back around for a moment. I pointed at the older-woman's older sibling.

"We still gotta talk about this".

"Not now," Eda replied.

"We'll do it when we get home" I called while walking away.

"No we won't" Eda called back.

"Yes we will. You're gonna tell me about your whole mysterious past when we get home. It's gonna be great".

She didn't tell me about her mysterious past when we got back to the owl house. But we did talk about how I won a Witch's dual with just a light spell.

"You should've seen it! He was like throwing rocks everywhere and tossing me around and stuff! And I laid down on the ground all like I was in pain because I was. But then he looked away and I tackled him!".

Amity giggled at my insane elation.

"I can't believe you actually won," she said with a smile.

"What's that?" I teased. I held my ear and leaned towards her. "I didn't hear you".

"You won" the spirit cheered louder.

"You know I did!".

I jumped towards her, ready to wrap my arms around my new friend, only to fall right through her.

"Ah" I hissed in pain. "I forgot".

Amity laughed once again; it was now a common occurrence. She grabbed my hand and carefully helped me up. Apparently, she could touch and grab things if she focused hard enough. But anything that touched her phased through her.

Eda's mind instantly went to breaking and entering. I couldn't help but be a little concerned about that.

"I couldn't have done it without you," I thanked when I got back on my feet.

"Well," Amity's golden gaze moved away from me. Her faded face partially grew red. She bashfully rubbed the side of her arm. "I wouldn't say that".

"No, seriously. I would've had no idea what to do. I probably would've just curled up in a corner somewhere".

"You've gotta be more confident in yourself, Luz. I mean, you literally just did something everyone thought was impossible".

I did, didn't I. And I'd done it before too. I learned a magic spell everyone thought only witches could do. Then I defeated someone studying under the emperor's second command. I puffed out my chest in pride. I was finally starting to become a powerful witch, just like I'd always dreamed of being.

"Kids!" Eda called from downstairs. "One of the Blight kids asking for you on our crystal ball".

I skipped a few steps while bounding down the staircase, frantic to brag about that day's victory. Amity followed, albeit a bit slower.

Waiting on the other side of the line was Amity's older sister. She looked anxious to see her sibling, her concern flashing in her eyes.

"Hey, Emira," I greeted excitedly. "You'll never guess what happened today".

"You challenged Katif to a witch's duel today. I heard". Her mood didn't change in the slightest.

"And she won," Amity chipped in. "It was on a technicality, but a win is a win".

"Yeah. Even when he was wearing a power glyph, I was still able to pin him to the ground".

"That's great, Luz," Emira congratulated in a rush. "But we sort of have a problem here".

"We do?" I questioned while finally feeling a bit nervous. "What's the problem?".

"Katif knows about the amulet".