Luz walked quickly to her potions class, and upon entering Professor Flaskly, an older looking witch with salt and pepper hair, and permanently singed off eyebrows, gave her an odd look, but Luz just held out her note to him. After reading it, he smiled, but said regretfully, "I'm sorry, but I don't think you can really participate today. We were making Ten Ton Tonics, and with the time remaining in class, I doubt you could finish one. Sorry."
Luz felt dejected for a second before noticing something with the provided recipe. With a very Eda-esque smirk, Luz asked, "Well if it's ok with you sir, I'd still like to try. I might surprise you." Flaskly snorted with a small grin of his own, and directed her to an unoccupied cauldron she could borrow. After that the professor returned to his vigil over the class at large, but he made sure to keep a close eye on his visitor, Ms. Noceda. To his surprise, when he went around to test the various tonics of his regular students, only his top student Boscha succeeded in making a functional example. Despite this he saw Luz maintaining her slight cheshire grin, and when he tested her creation he found it to not only be perfect, but of even higher quality then normal. With an utterly flummoxed expression Flaskly asked, "Ok, I need to know. How did you do this, and in only a fraction of the time allotted."
Luz's smirk grew, "That's simple… I cheated." The professor went pale, but before he could say anything Luz clarified, "The recipe you provided doesn't compensate for the freshness of the Iron root. I happened to find some earlier, so instead of using the dried version that you provided, I used mine. By doing so, I didn't need to worry about rehydrating it, and the natural oils found in fresh Iron root acts as a catalyst for this kind of potion. In short, I simply used better ingredients. One of the first things I was taught about proper brewing is to always know your ingredients, and how to best utilize their unique traits. By doing so you can always start with the best possible chance of success, and sometimes you can do things to better take advantage of what you have on hand. Honestly, I could have shaved off another ten minutes if I used some of the Quicker sand in my bag as a thickening agent, but at that point I would just be showing off, and I might accidentally make the potion too strong for the intended purpose. You wanted a Ten Ton Tonic, and that's what I provided sir."
Flaskly looked at Luz in shock before breaking out into intense laughter, "Oh Titan. You're not wrong, but fresh Iron root is hard to keep since it rots so quickly, and Quicker sand is only practical if used in very precise measurements. Too little and you ruin the whole brew, and too much you cause the potion to potentially overwhelm the cauldron, and cause it to break, once more leaving you with nothing. I'll admit though, I'm impressed, and you're right. I gave you a challenge, and you found a way to make it work with only the ingredients you had on hand. Technically you used an altered recipe, but in doing so you actually made the task wildly more difficult, but also doable. Ms. Noceda, you are more than welcome in my class going forward, but please, if you're going to do something like this again, let me know first. Experimentation is half the fun of this track, and I'm not beyond learning something myself from time to time."
After Flaskly finished, everyone started getting ready to leave, and cleared up their stations. To Luz's surprise she found herself inundated with questions from the other students about where they went wrong with their individual brews, and congratulations on an impressive first showing. Luz was happy to help with some suggestions, and soon Flaskly came back to discuss other variations on potions. Soon almost the whole class was laughing, and scheming like mischievous children. From the back of the class one student wasn't laughing though. Boscha Triplet was pissed. While Flaskly hadn't said it outright, it was clear to everyone that Luz out performed her, and that was… unacceptable… Boscha would need to show this upstart where she belonged, more specifically under her boot.
After potions, Luz had her plants class, but that proved just as exciting for her. Luz managed to start a friendly conversation with the top of the plant track, a lanky dark haired witch by the name of Jerbo, and then managed to save a tall green haired witch named Amelia from being devoured by one of the carnivorous Acid Spitters in the greenhouse. Jerbo was even kind enough to introduce Luz to his friend Barcus, a brown dog-like demon with a person's face, when she made her way to her oracle class. Like Jerbo, Barcus was the top of his track, and with his help Luz managed to not only learn the basics of oracle magic, a magic type that Eda had actively avoided, but find that she had a talent for balancing being stern enough to command the spectors that where a large part of that track, and remaining soft enough as to not cause her requests to feel like they were commands. By doing so the spectors completed the requested tasks, and never tried to squirm away or cause problems.
When Luz made it to her illusions class she found that she actually had a few minutes to herself before class would start, so she pulled out her glyph notebook, and started recording the new glyphs she spotted in her last two classes until she heard a pair of unfamiliar voices say her name. On instinct, Luz looked up, and saw a pair of older green haired students that she couldn't lie were very attractive. One had her hair braided down her back, and the other had short spiky hair, but Luz noticed that both were sharing a grin that immediately put Luz on edge. Their grins reminded her of when her Mom was up to no good. Slowly the duo strutted their way over to Luz, and in a quiet whisper they introduced themselves as Edric and Emira Blight. As soon as Luz heard them say their names, things fell into place for her, and the reason why she found them so attractive became apparent… they reminded her of Amity.
Continuing to whisper, Edric said, "So you're the witch who stole our Mitten's heart." After a second Edric paled, and started apologizing, "Wow, that was wildly insensitive wasn't it. Dang, I'm usually better at this. I'm sorry."
Luz couldn't help, but laugh, "It's ok, I know that's not how you meant it, but who's Mittens?"
Emira chucked, "Amity, cutie, and you seem to be the only thing on her mind these days."
For a moment, Luz's face lit up as she remembered how adorable Amity had been on their impromptu first date, but then her face fell as the events of that morning reared their head, and once more Luz felt conflicted. The twins noticed, and it bothered them.
With a concerned look Emira asked, "What's with the look, cutie? Already having marital issues?"
Luz sighed, letting the comment pass as she whispered, "I don't know. After I woke up in the hospital, I told Amity how much I was bullied at my old school, and how much the bullying affected me. She was so kind, and I thought she understood, but then this morning I caught her bullying someone. What's worse, after talking to the girl she was bullying, I found out that it had been going on for years." Luz looked down, and released a dejected groan, "I just feel so betrayed, and… now I'm wondering if I made the right choice when I agreed to go out with her. Do I even know her? Is she the sweet caring girl I met in the library, or the vicious mean girl I saw this morning? Oh Titan, and now I'm spilling my guts to her siblings after she specifically asked me not to tell anyone about us. Now I've betrayed her trust, so am I any better?" Luz put her head on her desk, and tried to disappear into the new hole she felt was forming in her chest. Ironically, this one seemed to hurt more than the time she actually had one too.
The twins looked at each other, and couldn't think of what to do. They knew Amity was cold, but this felt wrong. Willow must have been the girl Amity was caught bullying, but a part of that situation never made sense to the twins, so they had no idea how to explain it to the devastated girl before them. In the end, Emira just gave Luz a hug as she said, "We don't fully understand it either, but we do know one thing for sure."
Luz looked at them like she was begging for anything to keep her from drowning as Edric stated confidently, "Amity has never been happier than when she came back from your date, and yes we already knew so you didn't betray her trust. Luz, if you love her, give her a chance to try and explain. Who knows, maybe there's a side to this that none of us knows about yet. Regardless of what happens… thank you for saving our sister. We might not always show it, but we do care about her."
Luz sighed, "Thanks. You know, you two aren't so bad. Amity is lucky to have siblings like you."
Emira smirked, "We know. Maybe someday we'll be your older siblings too." Emira finished with a small wink that made Luz laugh.
"Sure, that's exactly what I need… hot older siblings. Sounds like a romantic comedy plot already," stated Luz dryly, making the twins blush as they walked away.
Once they thought they were out of ear shot Emira shoved Edric as she purred, "Dibs. If Amity won't take her, I will. Shame she isn't a little buffer though. This girl likes them strong." Edric just scoffed.
The rest of illusions was tepid at best. Luz found a glyph to allow her to turn invisible using her light rune, but actual illusions proved too intricate for her current skill level, a fact that seemed baffling to the instructor who insisted that complete invisibility was very much harder to do than basic illusions. All in all, Luz didn't feel like she would be back when she had to choose a single track to learn.
Hypox, a slightly plump warm witch with slightly clawed fingers and a single horn, was ready for her when Luz walked into her class, and unlike Bump she was very insistent that she get a look as soon as possible at the 'hack job' the other healer had done. Luz caught her almost snarling out 'unprofessional', 'unforgivable', and 'disgraceful' before she even finished spinning her first circle. Hypox got very quiet after that though, and that proved more unnerving for Luz than her anger was. Despite class already starting, Hypox didn't seem to notice, and after ten minutes of awkward silence she finally spoke.
With a sour expression Hypox sighed, "I hate whomever did this, but it's solid work. Whatever that heart is from, it was powerful. I can tell you a few things, but even I don't understand everything I'm seeing." Luz looked surprised, but encouraged the professor to continue. "For one thing, he lied when he said it was a fifty/fifty chance it would work. Unless there's something I'm missing I'd say it was closer to five percent that you would live with how powerful that thing is." With a soft smile Hypox gushed, "You must have a will like nobody else, because that's the only way I could see this working."
Luz looked scared as she asked, "I'm ok though right? I'm not going to suddenly explode or fall over dead?"
Hypox shook her head, "No, at this point the heart is fully integrated with your body. I can't say if these changes are over since I can't even identify the species of that thing, but it's your heart now. I might not like how they did it, but they gave you quite the gift. Use it well. Besides that I can tell you that structurally that is definitely a reptilian heart since it has five chambers, but that raises even more questions. It's too large to belong to a biped demon, but beast demons usually have three chambers since they don't utilize magic." Suddenly Hypox noticed how late it was, and rushed out from behind the screen they set up. "Sorry about that, but you know the rules."
"A patient's health is paramount, and their secrets stay on the table," said the class as one. Hypox nodded happily, and finally started class.
Once Luz pushed the new revelations to the side, she found healing to be a natural extension of what she already knew from working with her Mami, but that proved its own kind of bad since it caused Luz to get distracted a few times as something would remind her of her Mami, and how much she missed her. Thankfully Luz was paired with the duo of Cat and Bo, and after Luz proved her prowess by stopping Cat from almost making a mistake that could cause a fatality in a live patient the trio formed a solid team.
Hypox seemed to understand why Luz was distracted, so she did her best to not get irritated at Luz when her mind drifted, and when Luz was focused… Hypox was amazing at how seamless Luz's work was. It took almost no time for Hypox to realize that Luz had the potential to unseat Head Witch Cutburn if she could focus consistently, and most likely before graduating if she continued to learn at her current rate. That thought caused a lot of mixed feelings for Hypox. Sure, Cutburn was a sociopath with no ethics, but she usually took her position very seriously. Should she be worried the coven head might try to rip her student apart to get her out of the way, and use her heart as an excuse? Hypox needed a drink, and Bump was paying for it.
On her way to lunch Luz got a message on her scroll from Amity asking her to meet at the Grudgby field in a couple minutes. Luz wanted to get mad, and tell her off, but she couldn't. Luz wanted to understand, and the twins were right. Amity deserves a chance to explain. Since Luz didn't have anything to eat for lunch, and she had forgotten to grab any snails on her way out that morning she just sighed, and after she sent a message to Willow to let her know where Luz was going, she headed toward her answers. Would she stay with Amity, or would she break up with her and just help her as a friend?
The Titan had other plans as Luz turned a corner and ran right into Amity. Amity tried to apologize, but Luz just reached down to offer Amity a hand up while smiling slightly. No matter what happened, Luz would always find Amity's little panic's adorable. Once Amity was on her feet again, Luz asked, "Is it alright if we talk here? Everyones at lunch so we should be alone. No need to go all the way out to the field." Amity just looked confused, which irked Luz a tiny bit, but she clarified, "You sent me a message saying you wanted to talk, and to meet you at the Grudgby field, remember."
Amity paled, and grabbed Luz's hand as she dragged her girlfriend behind her, "Luz my scroll got stolen earlier… I didn't send that message." Luz's eyes grew wide in worry, but then they started to burn with purple magic as they shifted to slits, and Luz scooped up Amity and began to run. A part of Amity wanted to melt as she found herself once more in Luz's arms, but the other marveled at how much more refined Luz's light jumps had gotten. Somehow Luz had seemed to master them in only a day and a half. They no longer left evidence behind them in the form of burn marks or divots, and the flashes were now red and barely visible in the light of day. More impressive was the ease with which she used them. To Amity it didn't seem any more strenuous than a light jog for Luz.
When they arrived, Luz set down Amity, and they saw Boscha waiting for them surrounded by the clearly uncomfortable faces of her crew, and a very angry Willow. A smaller dark skinned witch that Luz remembered from her illusions class was currently being bound by foam to one of the Grudgby posts. When Boscha saw Luz carrying Amity her smug smirk warped into a look of rage as she roared, "What are you doing Bight? Can't I leave you alone for five minutes without you making us look bad? Get over here NOW or I swear I'll make the call, and tell her all about your 'indiscretions' today." Amity's face went white with fear before her shoulders dropped, and she dragged herself into her position at Boscha's side. Boscha forcefully placed her hand under Amity's chin in a mockery of tenderness as she whispered quietly enough that Luz only heard it due to her improved hearing, "You belong to me, and no one else. I think it's time I remind you of that fact MY Blight." Boscha then turned to Luz with a sadistic grin, "We challenge you to a witches duel Noceda. You win, and you get to leave here with your little half-a-witch friend, but if you lose… you leave Hexside forever and never look in Amity's direction again."
"Sure Triplet. I'll happily drag your face all over this field. Too bad the turf will get ruined though, since you never seem to know when to shut your mouth," growled Luz.
Boscha scoffed, "I never said you'd be fighting me you purple pissant. You're not worth my time." Boscha grinned wickedly, "No, Amity will be my champion in this fight. Isn't that right, hun?" Boscha summoned a crow phone, and looked at her expectantly.
Luz watched in horror as Amity's pendent glowed softly, and Amity choked out, "Yes, Boscha."
Willow watched the exchange, and got an idea. With a smirk, Willow laughed, "Damn Blight that's pathetic… almost as pathetic as Boscha refusing to fight herself. After all she's never been this much of a coward before. She must really fear the beating she'd get from Luz."
"Careful Park, or little Augustus might find himself… breathless," growled Boscha as she used a spell circle to constrict the foam around the small witch causing him to groan in pain.
"Why not prove it then you three eyed pendejo. Since you're too much of a coward to fight me one on one, let's make it two on two. Willow and I versus Amity and you. Same terms, but if we win you leave Gus over there and Amity alone," smirked Luz.
Boscha cackled, "Oh that's rich. You and half-a-witch versus us… Ya. You got yourself a deal, but don't be surprised when she lets you down."
Luz smiled at Willow, "She won't. I know she's more powerful than she lets herself show… she just has to 'toughen her roots'." Willow went pale, but nodded understanding what Luz was asking her to do. After shaking hands to seal the oath the fight began.
Boscha started by throwing various potions at or near her opponents resulting in small splashes of acid, or corrosive foam being released. To everyone's surprise Willow didn't try to summon Abomination matter, but instead threw up small plant shields to block the potions. Luz just seemed to start spinning small spell circles, and start creating dozens of light obs that drifted lazily around the field. With a snarl Boscha ordered Amity to cut down Willow's weeds, and Amity tried to fight it, but her pendent glowed brighter in response. Soon Amity called forth a pair of Aboma-swords, and got to work with dull passionless eyes. Willow did her best to keep them both distracted, but she was starting to sweat. With a worried cry, Willow yelled, "Luz, a little help would be nice!"
Luz just laughed as she created a couple dozen more orbs while she said in a sing-song tone, "Just a few more, and… time for a light show." Luz stopped making orbs, and started firing small light beams into specific orbs that refracted, and split her beams into two small faster bursts. Some continued to bounce, merge, or multiply while others started raining down at random angles to cause small aggravating welts to form on various parts of Boscha. Amity managed to avoid them, but the constant onslaught kept her distracted and moving. Everyone just watched in awe at Luz's display, and even Willow was slightly distracted by it.
With a roar Boscha ordered Amity to make a shield for her, and while it helped with the small blasts, the bigger ones still broke through much to Boscha's annoyance. With another sadistic grin Boscha continued her potion assault, but interspersed among them were a different potion that didn't seem to do anything. Willow didn't notice, so she just kept using her vines as shields. Luz did though. Luz stopped refracting half of her blasts, and shifted her aim into direct blasts. After one particularly nasty hit, Boscha started summoning Grudgby balls to intercept Luz's direct blasts, and even got lucky with one throw. Luz ended up taking a direct shot to her face from one of the balls, ending her light assault completely. Willow shifted to cover Luz, and Boscha cackled in delight as her plan came together. As Willow checked on Luz she heard Boscha scream, "Now burn you trash, burn!" Willow barely had time to see Boscha throw her first two fireballs, and wrap herself and Luz in her vines.
Everyone watched as the plant dome burst into flames like dry kindling along with half of the field. Amity and everyone else just watched in horror as Boscha continued to throw fireball after fireball causing the inferno to burn increasingly hot, and powerful. Amity fell to her knees as she was sure Boscha had just killed the only girl she would ever love, and she couldn't even cry… the pendant just glowed brighter. Eventually Boscha stopped to catch her breath with a satisfied smirk, but then they saw Willow's dome turn to ash as it burned away, and revealed the light dome beneath. Through the raging flames they saw that dome fall as well releasing a palpable magic pressure, but through the smoke a figure was walking… and all they saw were two dark purple eyes, shining angrily . When Luz emerged physically unburned, and set Willow down everyone saw the girl in her full glory. Her wraps and shoes had burned off from the heat, and Willow was wrapped in her hoodie to protect her from the flames. Her undershirt and shorts were scorched around the edges, and the glow of the flames danced off of her violet scales.
Luz stared down Boscha with hate in her eyes as she stood protectively in front of her unconscious friend. Suddenly Luz made a circle between her palms before she crushed it as she brought them together. A wave of purple magic washed over the flames, and they extinguished like they were never there. With an angry growl Luz stated, "So you want to play with fire, do you? Let me show you how it's done." Luz shot toward Boscha in a single blazing light jump, and used her claws to slash at her, but she found herself intercepted by Amity with her Aboma-swords. Luz wanted to be angry, but then she saw Amity's defeated mournful face, and she heard seven words escape her loves mouth that made Luz's blood freeze…
Kill me… I can't do this anymore.
For a moment, all of Luz's anger evaporated, and she felt her heart break. Luz pushed Amity back just enough to draw a circle in each claw causing them both to burst into flame. When Amity tried to block Luz's way again, Luz grabbed her swords and pumped her fire directly into them causing the goo to turn to ash, and Amity to get dazed by the sudden heat. With confident steps, Luz walked toward the still stunned Boscha, and slammed her in the chest with a fire coated kick. Before she could recover Luz was standing over Boscha with her knee on her chest, and hands pinned to her sides. Everyone watched as Luz used her tongue to spin a circle, and breathed in deeply. Luz's mouth began to glow with purple fire as she stared down into Boscha's face, preparing to release her breath at point blank range, and leaving her no way to dodge. At the last moment, Luz tilted her head to the side, and released a cone of purple fire five feet long that made even the spectators sweat from the heat.
With her mouth still releasing black smoke, everyone heard Luz say coldly, "Forfeit, or the next one won't miss."
Boscha looked up, and nodded on the edge of tears, "We surrender."
As soon as those words left Boscha's mouth, Amity started to scream, and her pendent growed like a sun until a massive Spector emerged from it. In a voice that only Luz didn't recognize, it began to backhand, and pummel the poor witch as it bellowed, "Worthless… detestable… scum. I give you life… and this is my reward. Disgrace… weak… undeserving…"
While everyone else looked on in terror, Luz's whole body began to glow purple with new untapped power and rage. She used a light jump to charge at the spector, screaming, "Nobody hurts my Amity." Luz hit the Specter like a purple comet, and everyone watched as Luz's flaming claws dug into the Spectors chest, and started to tear as fire pumped into its being, making it scream in pain. Soon flames burst forth from its mouth before it burned away to ash from the inside out. Despite it being gone, Amity continued to thrash as her pendent seemed to send pulses of burning pain through her. With one clawed hand, Luz grabbed the gem, despite it burning her palm, and crushed it into dust before passing out.
Luz woke up on a bed in the back of Hypox's classroom that doubled as the infirmary with a massive headache and her mouth sore. Across the room she saw an interesting sight as Eda was sitting across from Hypox… with a large bottle and a pair of cups between them. It took a minute for her eyes to clear enough so that she could read some of the larger parts of the label… Johnnie Walker? Luz chose to ignore whatever was going on, and tried to get up. In a flash Eda was next to her daughter. With a strong hand Eda pushed down on Luz's chest. "I think not kiddo. You're staying in that bed until we say otherwise. Am I clear?"
Before Luz could answer she saw a slightly stumbling and flushed Hypox come towards her, and start checking her out mumbling, "You heard your mother little drake. Sit. Stay."
Luz groaned at the duo of women she respected, "Fine, but at least fill me in on what's going on." Suddenly Luz's eyes flashed, "Where's Amity? Is she ok? I swear to the Titan if…"
Eda snicked, "Luz, calm down. Minty is fine. If you don't believe me just look to your left." Terrified Luz did, and she saw Amity in the next bed over resting peacefully. Past her was Willow, and then Boscha. With a stern expression Eda said, "We heard what happened from the spectators, but I want to hear what happened from you. I promise I'm not mad with you, and unless you were up to something on top of the fight, I don't see that changing."
Luz sighed, and looked at Hypox, "They're going to be alright professor? You're sure?" Hypox smiled, and nodded. Luz laid back and closed her eyes. After a deep breath, Luz said, "I should probably start from when we separated. So I explored and gathered like you suggested, but then I heard Amity and Willow, the dark green haired girl two beds over, and I wanted to surprise her. Then I got close, and… Amity was bullying her. Suddenly, I was back in the human realm getting degraded and baited, so I kinda snapped and yelled a bit."
Luz sighed again, "After Amity left, Willow and I got to talking as I walked her to school… I just wanted to make sure she got here safe, ya know. In the process we became friends. After that, I talked to Principle Bump… Mom, he's just like you described, and nothing like the holes I'm used to. I really think I could like it here." A single tear escapes Luz's eye. "Then I went to potions, and wowed the professor with the stuff you taught me, but I must have pissed off Boscha, the lich in the last bed, somehow. Had a good time in plants, and found out I'm really good at oracle magic. Met Amity's siblings in illusions, and they convinced me to hear Amity out. Then I met Professor Hypox, and…"
"Yes, that was a fun period. First, I got to examine a once in a lifetime surgical feat, and then got to meet a potential Healing Head that could eclipse Cutburn in a few years," Hypox giggled. "You're a lucky lady Eda. Luz is a heck of a girl, and no matter where she ends up, she's going to be an amazing witch." Eda beamed with pride, while Luz blushed.
Luz cleared her throat, "I was on my way to lunch hoping I could borrow something to eat, or maybe a few snails since someone didn't let me wake before we left the house this morning." Luz gave Eda an accusing look, while Eda ignored it. "So I got a message from Amity's scroll asking me to come to the Grudgby field to talk, and being a dope I started heading that way until I ran into Amity. She tells me her scroll got stolen earlier, turns out Bosha is a thief on top of a lich, and together we rush to the field. Long story short, Boscha treated Amity with calling someone, causing her to swap sides, and then Boscha challenged me to a witches duel. Amity versus me with my attendance to Hexside and seeing Amity again on the line. Willow and I called Boscha out on being a coward, and we ended up making it two on two."
Eda chuckled, "That's my girl. When in doubt, kick'em in the pride."
Luz smiled at her Mom, "We were doing good. I used my light show to put them under pressure, and avoid doing any real damage until they were too exhausted to fight back while Willow played defense with her plant magic."
"But wait, she's in an abomination uniform, not plant. Why wasn't she using that?" asked Hypox.
"Willow's dads wanted her in that track, and she didn't want to disappoint them. I can empathize with what she felt, but a friend of hers was in danger, and we couldn't afford to not play for keeps, so I asked her to use her better magic. Willow would be the first to admit… she kinda stinks at Abominations, but wow is she good with plants. Mom, I'm not lying when I say she might have been able to beat me before…" Luz explained.
"Before what, Owlet?" asked Eda intrigued.
"Well once Boscha started to lose, and it was clear Willow was too strong for her to stop, she started adding flamably potions into her thrown attacks. They didn't do anything, so Willow didn't notice, but when Boscha got a lucky shot, and Willow tried to cover me… she went arsonist. Willow covered us with a plant dome, but between the flames and heat with the potions as further fuel… it was just too much for her. I tried to take some of the pressure off with my own shield, but it wasn't enough. I thought we were going to die, but then I heard a new rune calling to me from within the flames," Luz started to laugh evilly, and created a purple fireball in her hand much to both adults' awe. "My clothes got rekt, but I managed to use it to clear a way out so I could save Willow. After that I handed Boscha her butt, and made her surrender with a new creation of mine I wanted to try if I ever learned fire magic, Dragon breath." Luz snuffed her fireball, and covertly spun another circle with her tongue so she could breath out a small gout of flames, making Eda begin her own evil laugh.
Eda cheered, "Rule two of the Bad Girl Coven handbook, If you're going to go in, go all the way. That's a heck of a way to end a fight kiddo. Great job."
Luz looked at Amity sadly, and stated, "It wasn't though. As soon as Boscha surrendered, Amity started screaming in pain, and her pendant flared. The biggest Spector I've ever seen came out, and started beating and berating her. It sounded like a woman's voice, but I didn't recognize it. I managed to destroy the Spector and her pendent, but I must have blacked out after that."
Eda seemed to have a guess at what the pendent was from the way Luz described it. It horrified her to imagine anyone using one of those nearly indestructible things, but that left only one question in her mind, "Who would use a cursed oracle stone on a child?"
"My mother, Odalia," stated the now sitting up witch quietly, making both adults gasp, and Eda start to sprout feathers in rage. After they managed to force an elixir into Eda's maw, Amity continued with her head down, sounding devastated, "I'm sorry, but it whispered to me constantly, it puppeted me on occasion, and it hurt me when I didn't act as it wanted me to, but that doesn't matter. I choose to not fight it, and just let it rule me. I might not have enjoyed the things it made me do, but I did them. That Specter was right. I'm weak… worthless… I can't blame you if you decided to throw me away, I'm scum. I should have let it tear me apart, but instead I was a coward… a detestable, undeserving, waste."
Amity was cut off as she was pulled into Luz's warm embrace, and Amity saw tears in her eyes. "NO. Amity Dolora Blight, you are none of those things. You are my loving, sweet, brilliant, and slightly nerdy girlfriend. I love you, and I'm happy that you were wearing the pendant." Amity looked horrified. "I knew that you'd never do the things people said without a good reason. Hermosa, you were in an impossible position, and you did what you had to in order to survive. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to see past my own issues enough to help you sooner, but all that is over now. That thing is destroyed, and I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again, I promise."
Amity wanted to say so many things in that moment, but instead she just gave Luz a kiss, and held her close. Unbeknownst to Amity or Luz, Willow heard it all. She remembered the days when they had been friends, and a part of her felt ashamed. Suddenly they heard Willow speak up, but not move, "How long has she made you wear that thing Blight?"
Amity paled, but she knew she owed Willow an answer, "Eight years… I got it right before that party."
Eda screamed, "Eight years!!! She made a six year old wear that thing."
Willow laughed with tears in her eyes, "So that's why…"
Amity sighed, "Yes. It was the first thing it made me do. I'm sorry, I tried to fight it, but I wasn't strong enough."
Willow sat up, and moved to Amity's other side as she and Luz sandwiched Amity between them as they hugged her. With a tenderness Amity hadn't heard in so many years, Willow said, "I forgive you, Ami. I never should have believed you'd hurt me like that." Willow looked at Luz, "Thank you for saving her… thank you for giving me back my best friend, but why didn't it keep you away like everyone else?"
Amity chuckled, "Because my mother isn't as smart as she thinks she is. She barely ever checked the enchantments. Why would she? They had worked without fail since the day I was collared. By this point, I knew the exact wording of them better than she did. It's why you almost never ran into me, why I never seemed to be around other people except for Boscha and her crew, or why until I met Luz I was so cold. I knew what would set it off, and I meticulously avoided those situations." Amity looked at Luz lovingly, "She never expected me to meet anyone like you."
"But that still doesn't explain why specifically Luz?" pressed Willow.
Amity looked nervous, but Luz just kissed her forehead, "Willow is our friend. I trust her, so don't feel like you have to keep any secrets from her about me, me amor."
Amity smiled, and answered Willow's question, but never looked away from Luz, "It prevented me from socializing with specifically 'lesser witches', but when we met… Luz was human. I couldn't show weakness in front of lesser witches, but Luz is Ms. Eda's adoptive daughter… a Clawthorne, and just because they don't flaunt their position, that doesn't change the fact that they are still one of the ancient noble houses just like mine. Between those two facts, Luz sat in a natural blind spot for the enchantments. I still couldn't tell anyone about the pendant, or what it did, but as long as I was in the presence of only a Clawthorne… the pendant wouldn't react."
Willow looked shocked, and looked at Luz, "But you can cast magic? You're not a witch?"
Luz laughed, "Yes, I can cast magic now, but if you go back more than two or three weeks… nothing. I would be just like any other human, and technically I might still not be a witch since I don't have a bile sack. I guess I would qualify as a unique type of demon or magical creature, but I always dreamed of learning magic, and now I can, so I would call myself a witch or at least as close as I can get, but that just leaves the question of how you knew about us being safe to be around."
Amity grinned, "That's easy. Ms. Eda is your mentor, and Ms. Lilith is mine."
Eda released an annoyed scoff, "Of course Prissy Lily is your mentor. Why wouldn't she be? Why didn't she notice the pendant though? Even she can't be that blind."
Amity sighed, "Since she's only known me for the past four years, nothing would seem out of place. We spent half a day together in close proximity, and even you didn't notice Ms. Eda. You said it yourself, 'Who would put a curse oracle stone on a child'. My mother is an oracle so making me wear a stone makes sense for communication purposes. She probably never gave it a second thought… just like everyone else."
Luz still looked confused, "Mom… Who's Lilith?"
Eda sighed, "Lily is my older sister despite appearances, and the Head of the Emperor's Coven. She's the one in charge of sending those weekly raids at the house that Hooty loves to deal with." For the next ten minutes Amity and Eda shared stories about Lilith, often bouncing between positive and negative, or impressive and embarrassing, but then a very tired Bump entered the room.
With a sigh Bump looked at Luz, "From the sounds of it, it wasn't your fault, but for the record lighting half of the Grudgby field on fire is not an acceptable alternative to blowing something up, Ms. Noceda."
Luz scratched the back of her head feeling a bit embarrassed, "Sorry sir. Could I still finish my Zero day though? I understand if you changed your mind about enrollment, but I'd still like to experience at least one full day here. Honestly before the fight happened I was really enjoying myself, and I learned a lot. You can probably just call me Ms. Clawthorne now… by this point I'm sure the whole school knows, or they will soon, so there's no point trying to hide it, and frankly… I'm done hiding. I am Luzura Noceda-Clawthorne, daughter of Eda the Owl Lady, and the next Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles… going to have to start thinking of a cool moniker soon though, before I get stuck with something lame like the Luzura the Owlet, or The Scaled Wonder."
Bump smiled, "I'm happy to hear you're comfortable in your own scales now, Ms. Clawthorne. Regrettably it was decided to cut today short, but feel free to come back tomorrow to finish your day, and don't think you're getting away now. I said it before, and I'll say it again. These halls are neutral, and we want you to join us, if you're still interested. Wasting your kind of potential would be a true tragedy from what I've heard so far." Bump snorted, "And I think it's too late to name yourself. Last I heard, both 'The Hexside Drake' and "The Dragon of Bonesbough' are getting floated around, apparently that fire breath trick got some attention. Ironically you might get stuck being The Dragon Lady at this rate." Then Bump turned to Willow and Amity, "Ms. Blight, we are going to have a conversation about your part in today's actions, but Ms. Park, I believe that an oversight was made." Bump snaps his fingers, and Willow's uniform sleeves turn green. "That's better. I expect great things from you."
Eda faked a groan, and gave Luz a wink, "And I was so looking forward to passing on my title, and I think Luzura the Owlet would have been cute, but in all seriousness. Got any more paperwork for me Bumpy. I might not have gotten the chance to finish my time here, but my daughter deserves the chance to eclipse even me. Also, neither my daughter, Glasses here, nor I want Minty punished for her actions today. You and I will have a private conversation on why, but frankly it wasn't her fault."
Bump looked at his old student a bit confused, but with a warm smirk, "As you wish, but no, we are quite done with that, and after talking to some the professors she's met so far almost all of my worries have been put to rest, but now that you've had time for a second examination, is there any other new information for us Hypox?"
Hypox immediately sobered, and looked to Eda and Luz for permission, and once they nodded she said, "Yes, but I find the results hard to believe, so let's start off simple, and work up to the unbelievable. In the cause of the fight, Ms. Clawthorne got some teeth knocked out, but by the time she made it here it became impossible to return them since some new fangs had already started growing in, and should be finished within the next couple days. While checking for a concussion I found evidence of horn growth so I made sure to open the skin slightly so as to remove any discomfort or issues while they develop. While I can't identify the species, I can now say with a healthy certainty that Luz's heart is not demonic, but wyrm in origin. Ironic given the events of today. Lastly, comparing her rough magical output between the two tests is staggering. To quantify it, if one was the average witch, seven a coven head, and ten the Emperor, Luz's first results would have been a three, but now she sits at a five. If this kind of growth continues… Titan only knows how powerful she could become."
Everyone had to take a minute to process what Hypox just said, most of all Luz before she started to laugh, "So hermosa, are you still interested in walking this road with me?"
Amity gave her a light shove, "I don't care if you become the Titan itself, you're stuck with me now, and I don't even care who knows it. My mother can feel free to beat me or disown me… none of that matters to me anymore. Until the day you send me away, I'll happily walk beside you regardless of where the road leads, and never stop holding your hand."
Luz kissed Amity's cheek, "I love you too."
Once everyone was cleared to leave, Eda took Bump into his office for a discussion, and Gus came to make sure Willow made it home safe, but he wasn't waiting alone, Edric and Emira were there too. All three noticed Luz and Amity holding hands, but Gus said nothing for now. Emira looked kind of disappointed for a second, but then both twins gave the couple a hug. Once Willow and Gus left, the twins smiled at Luz, and Edric said, "See we told you to follow your heart… guano, I did it again. I'm sorry Luz, I promise it's not on purpose. Em, you talk. I'll just stand here looking dashing, as always." That made all three girls laugh.
"It's ok Ed. I know what you meant, and you're right. I never should have doubted." Suddenly the air got heavy, and Luz's slit eyes started to burn with purple fire, "If I find out that either of you or that woman hurt my Amity again though… there won't be enough ashes left to blow in the wind. Am I clear?" Edric and Emira paled, and took a step back while nodding. Suddenly everything snapped back to normal like it never happened, "Thanks you two. I knew I could trust you." Luz gives Amity a kiss on her hand before dashing away.
Once she was gone from sight, Emira looked at Amity, "Is that normal? Damn, Mittens that was…"
"Hot. I know. My Luz is so protective and loving. If she's a dragon… then I'm her treasure, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Now come on you two… I'm guessing tonights going to be rough since Luz broke the cursed oracle stone Mom gave me." Amity started walking away at a calm pace leaving the twins shell shocked.
Together they screamed, "That thing was cursed!?"
Author Notes- Spoilers the actual chance of the surgery working was 5% for Luz, but for anyone else it would have never worked. I'll get to why in a later chapter, but ya the surgery shouldn't have worked.The reptiles having differently structured hearts is true. They have three chambers. For the record, yes Hypox is based on a fusion of two teachers (AP Anatomy, and Chemistry) I had. Both were great, but it was no secret that one had a flask for 'stress'. I know because 'I was one of the best and most stressful students she's had', her words not mine. Boscha is somehow kinda worse in this story, and I didn't even plan that. Go figure. Fun fact: human realm booze is stronger than anything the Isles has, meaning Apple blood is about as rough as hard lemonade. I think that does it for now, Shine on beautiful readers. Shine on.