Lilith had dropped Amity off at home, where she had found Edric subtly weaving an illusion spell onto one of the Blight ancestor portraits that hung in the living room, looking over the family in quiet judgement. "Hey, Mittens! Check it out! Great Grandmother Blight is looking pretty suave, huh?" he asked as Amity stepped in the door. "Hey, have you seen the abomibutler?"

Amity tossed the purple, gooey marble on the floor, where it shifted and warped before unfurling into its standard form. Amity couldn't help but smile at the pair of cat ears that still poked from its head. It seemed to have an affection for Luz's modification. "It found me in town. What was going on today?"

Edric shrugged. "I swear I just got home." he said, looking like a pet that had just gotten in trouble. "Emira's upstairs."

He returned to his artistry attempt at drawing a large, looping moustache on their great-grandmother. "Stop that! The last thing I need is her showing up for my birthday and harassing me!" Amity scowled at her brother as she climbed the stairs. "Emira!"

"What?!" her sister called back. With their parents gone for the last week, all semblance of discipline had vanished from the twins, as none of them would have been allowed to shout through the house. "I'm busy!"

Amity found her way to her sister's room to find the door ajar and let herself in to find Emira lying on her bed with a raven in her hand. "Emira, how did…"

"Hold on, Viney. My little sister needs attention." she laughed, covering the black bird with a hand and turned toward Amity. "What part of busy didn't you understand?"

"The abomi- Vir, found me in town. If a rogue abomination gets caught, we could all be in trouble." Amity explained, crossing her arms defensively.

"You're the abomination expert. Shouldn't that be your problem?"

"Aren't you listening? It's all of our problem!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Emira groaned. "Let me finish this call and we'll figure something out."

A quick series of footfalls came up the stairs, and Edric appeared at the door, out of breath. "Guys! The Emperor's Coven is coming up the driveway!"

"Are mom and dad with them?" Amity asked casually.

"No, it's the Head of the Oracle Coven!"

What little color was in Amity's face drained as the implications ran through her mind. Was Osran after her? Was he after Vir, after having seen it at the market? Why else would he come here now, with their parents gone? "We need to hide Vir!" Amity shouted, bolting from her sister's room.

"This guy is an Oracle Coven Head, Amity! We can't hide anything from him!"

Amity wanted to try. This abomination had been a better caregiver to her than her parents had been. Whether it had ever been sentient before or not, it was the one that had protected all three Blight children when their parents had been too busy or too tired. She summoned up a stream of abomination goo and quickly surfed down the stairs on it, finding Vir still waiting anxiously in the living room, trying to clean the illusory graffiti that Edric had left. There had to be somewhere she could hide it.

The doorbell rang, and Vir began moving to open the main entrance for their guests. "No!" Amity shouted. "You have to hide! Who knows what they'll do if they find you!"

"Where?" Vir asked.

"I don't know. Figure it out!"

The doorbell rang again, and Amity slowly moved toward it as Vir shambled out of the living room. Edric and Emira appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down. "What if we just turned off all the lights and pretend no one's home?" Edric asked.

"They're already at the door, Ed." his twin sister replied.

"Go hide Vir!" Amity hissed. As her older siblings went in search of the rogue abomination, Amity straightened her shirt and rolled her shoulders. The doorbell rang again, and she took a deep breath before opening a side of the double doors. Before her stood Osran, the heavily robed and hunched-over demon, situated as the head of the Oracle Coven, his four arms tucked into their opposing sleeves. Surrounding him were a pair of Emperor's Coven scouts, masked and unwavering. "C-can I help you?" Amity asked, swallowing hard.

Osran breathed a heavy sigh before speaking, his breath rippling his moustache tied back behind his head. "Greetings, Ms. Blight. Are your parents home?"

Amity narrowed her eyes for a moment. Of course, he knew they weren't. They were at the Castle working for the Emperor. Plus, he was the most powerful Oracle Witch on the Boiling Isles and would have been able to see that they weren't home before even stepping foot on the estate grounds. No, he was testing her to see if she would lie without thinking. "No, sir. They're out."

"Do you know when they'll return?" he asked next, keeping up his friendly demeanor.

Amity shook her head honestly. "I don't."

"Well, the Emperor has sent me and these young scouts here tonight to retrieve something for him. You don't mind, do you?"

She clutched the hem of her shirt nervously but nodded. "Of course, sir. Though I can't imagine what…"

Osran's smile vanished the moment he stepped over the threshold of the manor. "It's not your duty to imagine, it's to obey the Emperor's will." he said, seemingly floating into the foyer. He took a shining crystal ball from his robes and gently grasped it in all four arms. A bluish hue enveloped his eyes, and four spirits streamed out of the orb, bound in ethereal funeral wraps. The spirits screeched with maws that stretched impossibly large. They twitched violently, looking to and fro with sunken, empty eyes as they searched the immediate area for anything of interest. One of them swooped up to Amity threateningly, hissing out a scream.

Amity stood firm against the ghast's howl, having seen far more horrifying creatures used by her mother. Frustrated, the being left her alone. "Uhm, what exactly are you searching for, sir?" she asked. "Perhaps I could help."

"The scouts will make certain that you don't interfere. Don't worry, these friends of mine won't cause any damage."

Amity was hardly worried about any damage caused, but whether Ed and Em's skullduggery skills were up to the task of hiding Vir. Abominations and spirits didn't mix, a trait she had learned from the Owl Lady.

The squeak of a door upstairs grabbed one of the spirit's attention, and it flew up through the ceiling to investigate, resulting in a scream from Emira. Osran turned to Amity for an answer.

"It's my sister's shower time. You got here kinda late." she replied flatly, crossing her arms. The clatter of a pot from the kitchen caught another spirit's attention, and it sped away in the direction of the sound before a shout and more pots could be heard dropping. "My brother fancies himself a cook while mom and dad are away." Amity added before the Coven Head Witch could glare at her again. "He's… not very good."

"Bring me that rogue abomination." Osran grumbled to the remaining two spirits, commanding one to the top of the manor while the other sunk into the basement. Vases and lamps made from abomination goo wobbled with their passing, nearly toppling to the floor.

"Mr. Osran, sir? We have abominations all over this house. Maybe if you told me what you were looking for…" Amity offered.

"Quiet, child!" he snapped, standing stock still with his eyes closed and all four hands clasped around his glowing crystal ball. He paused in thought before grumbling, "Scouts, search this house."

"But we were just supposed to watch the girl…" said one.

"Man, this place is covered in abomination stuff. We have to search all of it?" complained another.

"I think this young witch knows better than to defy the Emperor. Go!" Osran ordered, turning his attention back to the orb in his hands. With heavy sighs, the Coven Scouts began searching behind portraits and inside flower pots before moving to the adjacent rooms. Amity slowly backed away and stealthily ascended the stairs to Emira's room.

"Emira!" Amity whispered. "Where are you?"

Her sister poked her head out of her attached bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief upon recognizing Amity. "Oh, thank the Titan." she said, dropping a purple towel that she had wrapped around herself to reveal she was still dressed in the shirt and shorts of her school uniform. "I almost gave that spirit an eye full."

"Where's Vir?" Amity asked.

"Ed took it down the hall."

"What?! I thought Ed was in the kitchen just now!"

"If we're caught hiding that thing…"

"We won't be." Amity assured her. This was no longer in the realm of goblin tipping or putting firecrackers in the school's sewer system level of pranks, and they all knew it. "You find Edric. I'll find Vir."

Emira nodded, and they peeked out the doorway of her bedroom. The squeaks of a Scout's boots on the bottom of the stairs meant that they only had one direction to go. "You find your friend, and I'll block the guard."

"It's not my…"

"Just go!" Emira said, rolling her eyes and pushing Amity down the hall toward the back stairwell. She traced a light blue illusion circle, and a Coven Scout sprang into existence at the top of the stairs. The illusion might trick the Scouts, but it wouldn't stall Osran's spirits.

Amity ran down the hall as quietly as she could, the heels of her boots clicking on the hardwood floor, much to her annoyance. Before reaching the rear stairs, she hopped along, pulling her boots off and tossing them to the side of the hall. Suddenly, a noise of rustling came from the attic above her, and she gasped a breath.

Reflexively, she summoned a wad of abomination goo to surround her and shaped it into a stand-up lamp, pressing herself against the wall as the first spirit descended from the ceiling. It floated down to inspect her boots, hissing before turning its attention to her. Fortunately, Blight Manor had such an assortment of abomination-themed furniture and decoration that a purple lamp wasn't particularly out of place, even if it was somewhat misshapen.

Amity watched through pin holes in the goo as the spirit sniffed about. She knew it couldn't pass through her impromptu shell, but she was beginning to struggle to hold her breath. Finally, the spirit gave up its investigation, distracted by the Coven Scout at the end of the hall talking to Emira's illusion.

"That was a close one." she whispered to herself as she banished her abomination goo and let out her breath as quietly as possible. She started down the stairs, her sock feet far more quiet now, and began looking about for any sign of the intruders or Vir in the rear hall. She had last heard a commotion in the kitchen, but Osran's spirits had already swarmed to that location.

Footfalls on the stairway going into the basement below her could be heard coming up, and she raced down the hall and into the laundry room, closing the door behind her. Usually, the Blight children weren't allowed there, such chores being set aside for the abomination servants. However, that had hardly stopped the twins from terrorizing their younger sister by telling Amity it was an excellent hiding place.

"Amity?" Edric whispered, his voice muffled from inside a large abomiton machine that sat against a wall, its broad torso hollowed out in order to wash and dry clothing behind a thick pane of glass. Another of their father's inventions that had added a measure of convenience to the wealthy on the Boiling Isles.

"Edric?" Amity asked in surprise, sneaking over to the abomiwasher. "Looks like it really is a good place to hide, even if someone's actually looking for you."

"Yeah, see? Now let me out." he said insistently. Amity knelt to peer at her brother through the window. If they weren't in a crisis at the moment, she would be very inclined to leave him in the machine and use her magic to send him through a wash cycle. He frowned at her hesitation. "C'mon, Mittens… You wouldn't leave me in here, right?"

Amity grinned evilly, if only to make her brother sweat. She was no more than six years old when she had been hiding from her brother and sister during a game when Edric had suggested that the abomiwasher was a great place to hide. However, he had neglected to mention that it locked from the outside and that they had decided to stop playing with her. While it had only been a few minutes that she had been trapped before the abomibutler had found her, it had felt like an eternity and started a substantial mistrust in her older siblings.

"I would, if I didn't need your help right now." she growled. "Because you'd actually deserve it." she added, opening the hatch on the abomiwasher to let her brother out.

To her surprise, Edric heaved a sigh after climbing out. "I know. And… and I'm sorry, Mittens."

The apology came as a surprise to Amity, and she took a step away. Neither of the twins had ever apologized to her. They had all been taught to never admit to being at fault. It was a habit that she was still getting comfortable with after her short time interacting with Luz. To allow herself to feel empathy for others. She reached out and poked her brother in the chest.

Edric looked up at her with a tired frown. "Yeah, I'm really here." he admitted, and Amity retracted her hand when it was clear he wasn't about to vanish in a puff of smoke. "Just that this last week that mom and dad have been gone have really put in perspective that us three only have each other."

"That's, uh, really profound, but could we do this later? Before that Coven Head finds out we're harboring an illegal abomination?"

"Hmm? Oh, right. What if we put a concealment stone on it? Make it look like the Emperor or something? Then we could order Osran to leave!"

"One, that's a terrible idea. Why would Emperor Belos be here?" Amity asked, her expression falling back to her usual neutral state. "Two, spirits can see through illusions, remember?"

"They can?!" Edric nearly shouted.

Amity clapped a hand over his mouth in frustration. "Yes!" she whispered. "How do you think mom keeps catching you?" Edric shrugged nonchalantly, and Amity turned away to approach the door again. "Emira had one scout distracted upstairs, but I need to find Vir before Osran does."

"Oh, I hid him."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's in the freezer."

Amity's eyes widened, and she clenched her hands in frustration. "You put it in the freezer?!" she growled.

Edric crossed his arms, looking smug. "Actually, he is a pretty swell… uh, pile of goo."

"But the freezer is the only place in this house where there's no other abomination fluid!"

Edric genuinely frowned as the realization struck him. There would be nowhere for the abomibutler to hide when anyone checked in there, and it would be his fault. "I messed up big, didn't I?" he asked, shyly rubbing his arms. "I wish I could get him out of there."

"Wish?" Amity asked. Her frustration began to fade as a smile crept across her face. "Wish… Edric…" she began, gaining her brother's attention. "Nevermind." she added, regaining her composure. "I need to get into mom's room."

"Why?"

"Because I know where we can hide Vir." she said, listening at the door. Her father's room was across the hall, but that wouldn't do her any good. Her mother had confiscated what she needed, which meant returning upstairs after getting Vir out of the freezer.

Edric shrugged but nodded. "Okay, so you need a distraction. How's this?" he asked, drawing a spell circle and enveloping himself in what looked like abomination goo. He opened the door and ran out, shouting, "You'll never take me!" as he raced for the front door.

As scouts began to descend on him, Amity grimaced as her brother was tackled to the floor. "Why didn't you just make a separate illusion?" she whispered. She couldn't be sure where Osran's spirits were, but once everyone that had come into the house had assembled in the foyer again, she snuck out of the laundry room and into the kitchen. Pots and pans had been scattered everywhere, and every cupboard door was open after being searched. She ran quietly through the kitchen, her socked feet sliding across the smooth stone floor until she reached the freezer. She looked about to ensure no spirits were watching and opened the large door, feeling the cold air rush out. "Vir?"

Her whisper echoed in the large, misty room full of frozen beasts that hung from the ceiling. She grimaced in surprise as several eyes trained on her from a few hanging creatures, and she shivered. "Am-it-y?" came a shaky voice from the back of the room. While abominations were difficult to destroy in typical methods such as fire, piercing weapons, or even bludgeoning, their fluid-like forms tended to be vulnerable to the cold, and Vir was no exception. It stood behind a dragon carcass in the back of the freezer, frost caking its form.

She silently waved for the abomibutler to approach as the sound of Osran shouting orders at the Coven Scouts could be heard from the foyer. "Come on! I have a place to hide you!"

Vir began to take a step, the icy shell that had hardened its outer layer cracking where it bent. Scouts could be heard approaching, and sweat began to run down Amity's back. "Come on…" she seethed, drawing a spell circle and summoning a spout of purple flames that filled the freezer, warming the abomibutler while simultaneously filling the chamber and kitchen with a thick mist.

"Woah! What's going on in here?!" shouted one of the scouts. They conjured their spears, hesitating before entering the cloud as Amity and Vir raced for the rear stairs, mere shadows in the fog. "They're heading upstairs!"

The clattering of the pots and pans that the scouts had left on the floor and were now tripping over covered Amity and Vir's retreat momentarily, but it was enough to allow them to get to her mother's bedroom. "Where would she have put it?"

Going into their parents' bedrooms was strictly forbidden, and Amity felt uncomfortable crossing the threshold, let alone searching drawers and closets. Still, she knew Jinn's bottle had to be there somewhere. She hoped that her idea that the magical bottle, despite now being empty, still held specific properties that could hide Vir. Footfalls of the scouts could be heard entering the hall outside the room, and Amity felt herself panicking. "Uhm…" she squeaked, grasping at her shirt. Suddenly, a flicker of light reflected off a familiar, glossy round bottle containing wilted flowers on the windowsill. "Vir!" she shouted, tracing a spell circle in the air and magically grasping the abomibutler, compressing it into a stream that entered the bottle. Like her scroll, the bottle was banished into the astral plane with another glowing circle.

Her heart pounded as the scouts appeared at the door, flanked by all four of Osran's spirits.

Another hour of searching had frustrated the Coven Head and his minions despite keeping all three children in the living room to keep an eye on them. Fortunately, the intruders found nothing and were finally standing in the door when Osran turned to Amity specifically. "You're as shrewd as your mother, but mark my words that if you continue on this path of rebellion, nothing good will come of it." he said, his anger barely contained.

His threat was cut short by the front door slamming shut by Edric. "What a weirdo." he said, locking the door and joining his sisters on the couch. Amity let out a breath, sliding down her seat into a posture that resembled a near-liquid state. "Time to switch to decaf, Mittens."

"So where is the abomibutler, anyway?" Emira asked. "Someone's got to clean up this mess those guys left."

Amity clasped her hands together, then slowly opened them to reveal the defunct genie bottle. She had never told her brother and sister about Jinn, her experiences with her wishes, or the revelations of their family history. It would still be her secret for now, but the leftover container had served its purpose admirably. She concentrated, rubbing a finger around the mouth of the bottle and summoning Vir back to her side. The thick fluid glugged out and reformed into the feline-faced abomination.

"Whoa! I've never even seen dad do that." Edric said, clearly impressed. "Usually when he's going out, he has his fluid tank."

"Wait, is that the potion bottle from Grom Night?" Emira asked.

For the moment, Amity ignored them both and stood to face Vir. "You won't be able to stay here. They're going to keep looking for you, and as soon as dad gets home, he's going to reset you. It's the rules." she explained. "You'll need to go."

Vir rubbed the back of one gooey hand with the other nervously. "Where?"

Amity took a breath as though she had a definitive answer, then let it out. "I don't know. The Emperor's Coven has control over the entire Boiling Isles."

"Well, except Luz's place." Emira said. "Y'know, the Owl House. Everyone says that weird old Owl Lady is some kind of criminal, but she seems okay, and the Emperor didn't chase her down after she escaped from that petrification ceremony."

She didn't want to get Luz in any trouble, but Amity knew Emira was right. The Owl House was the only place for any outlaw in Bonesborough. "Okay. So I just need to call… Luz." she gulped, feeling her face warm. "No problem. It's just a raven call, right?"

"Right." Emira smiled.

"Sure." Edric added.

Amity took the raven from its perch in the living room. "I just… I haven't had to call her before. What if she isn't there right now? Maybe she's on another one of her adventures? What if she is home, and says no? What if…"

"What if you're just asking a favor?" Emira asked.

"Right." Amity agreed as she began dialling. "A favor. A favor from Luz. Luz's favor."

"What do you want?" came a tired voice from the other end. The voice was older and instantly recognizable as the Owl Lady's. "You're interrupting some intense crystal ball watching."

"I… uh…" Amity bit out, suddenly flustered.

"Kid! I think it's for you!"

"Are you sure it's not my dad?" came another voice from some distance away.

"Hello?"

"Uhm, hi…" Amity stammered. It was Luz's voice finally, and despite helping her at the library that morning, it felt like forever since she had heard it. "I was wondering…" she said slowly before her confidence grew. "If I could, uhm, ask a favor. Y'know what? Nevermind. It's probably too much trouble, and I'm sure you're busy with that research thing you were doing."

"Amity?" Luz asked with surprise in her voice. "A favor? I mean, sure! I don't know what I could do that… I mean, I'll definitely try."

"Oh. Okay. I have… a friend. A friend that needs somewhere to go. To be safe."

Luz paused. "Amity, did something happen?"

"Well… kind of?"

"What? What happened?" Luz asked, an edge suddenly appearing in her voice.

Was she being protective? Concerned? It made sense. Luz was protective of everyone. She had seen it during Boscha's bullying of Willow and Gus. This was nothing special or specific to her, even if it made her heart hammer in her chest. "I just… I think… I need Ms. Clawthorne's advice." Amity said, growing annoyed as Ed and Em groaned at her cowardice.

"You need Eda's help?" Luz asked, confused.

Amity let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. "I have a rogue abomination that I need to hide!" she blurted out.

"Oh, uh, okay. Eda?"

Amity pressed the raven into her chest, quietly cursing herself until it pecked at her in frustration and beat its wings in protest. "Okay, Boots. It's been a busy day. What do you need? You made an abomination that got out of control? Ah, I remember those days. One of the times Hexside was almost destroyed. Word of advice: don't let more than one loose or they'll combine and become a real pain in the…"

"Okay, well I kinda need a place to hide him. From the Emperor's Coven."

The Owl Lady let out a surprised snort. "Dang, Boots! Are you in trouble with the Emperor?!"

"What?! Eda, let me talk to her!" Luz shouted from some distance away.

"Well, not directly. But sentient abominations are illegal in the Empire, and the Oracle Coven Head came by looking for him." Amity explained, looking at Vir and realizing she had suddenly seen him as more than a construct. "If he's still here when my parents get home, dad will reset him."

There was a pause as muffled and indecipherable voices spoke before Luz returned to the line. "I think I know somewhere he can go."

"So this is the tower you and Lilith were researching?" Amity asked, looking up at a monolithic structure. They had slept for the night before, and she had compressed Vir back into Jinn's bottle before making the trek to the Owl House. The trip took several hours with Amity riding behind Luz on the Owl Lady's palisman staff, taking them far off the Titan carcass to a rocky island she had never heard of before. It was covered in unfamiliar foliage, and the ground itself was very different from what she was used to feeling under her boots. She noticed that there were no bones sticking out of the soil, and even the small creatures hiding in the rocks were unrecognizable. There were no Flying Snakes in the trees or Hand Spiders on the ground; no Sugarlip Gliders or Cerebi. It was eerily quiet, foreboding, and yet Amity wanted to explore every crevice.

"We're still not sure what all of this is, but we know King was born here and this is where Eda found him." Luz explained, joining Amity in looking up at the tower that protruded past the jungle canopy. "We even brought home some kind of construct guardian that tried to kill us all."

Amity swallowed and shivered. "A guardian? Like the Golems of the Shrines in the Good Witch Azura?"

Luz grinned happily. "Exactly!" she exclaimed, eager to have someone to talk to about their shared interest. "It turned out that it was trying to keep us from King-napping."

"Wow…" Amity whispered as they stood together. "I wish I had more time to explore, but I really should be getting home for school tomorrow."

"Uhm, right. Maybe we could come back some time. To explore and visit." Luz said. Amity closed her eyes and clasped her hands, conjuring the magical potion bottle that held the abomibutler in a compressed, fluid state, and drew a spell circle to bring him out in a thick stream of purple ooze. The abomination formed, regaining the sagging feline features that Luz had molded into him earlier. "Aw! You kept the kitty ears on him!" she noted, her eyes sparkling.

"Actually, he kept them himself. I guess he likes it."

Vir looked about his surroundings, nervously rubbing one hand with the other. "Where are we?" he asked, turning around to look up at the tower.

"Hopefully your new home." Luz said, stepping up to him. "No one will be coming to hurt you. Something seems to keep this island invisible unless you've already been here."

"And we'll come to visit to make sure you're doing okay." Amity added.

"Right. We've got your back. The tower could use some work, if you're up for it, and maybe you could help us find out more about it."

Vir nodded and then turned back to the pair. "Thank you. I will try to help." The abomibutler looked down at them awkwardly, nodded, and cautiously stepped into the tower entrance to begin exploring.

"They grow up so fast." Luz said, playfully wiping a cheek.

"Are you sure he'll be okay here?" Amity asked as Luz activated the owl-like palisman on Eda's staff, causing it to spread its wings.

"I don't know a lot about abominations, but he should be. He won't have much company without us, but he'll be safe from the Emperor's Coven at least. If Lilith didn't know about this place, it's likely no one else does either."

Amity nodded and straddled the staff behind Luz again, wrapping her arms around her waist before the staff launched into the sky and back to the mainland.