The sound of claws scraping against the walls should've been concerning, yet it was something I learned to live with. It took me quite a while during my stay at the owl house to get used to the nocturnal company, but now their scurrying around was just a normal noise of the night.
On one hand, that was a good thing. I slept a lot more soundly than when I first arrived in the demon realm. On the other hand, it meant I always let my guard down at night.
It was already too late when I had finally realized someone broke into my room. I opened my tired sleep-filled eyes to find two pairs of golden eyes staring back at me. As I jumped in fright, one of the intruders leapt towards me and hid my holler with their hand. The other crouched down beside me.
"Relax, Luz" she hushed. "It's only us".
I did as the older witch said. Once my initial panic wore off, I was able to get a better look at my two visitors. They were both very similar in size and shared a lot of the same physical features. The only difference I was able to spot in the dark was the length of their hair. One had a long braid hanging from her head like a rope, while the other's was much shorter.
"Edric? Emira? How the hell did you get past Hooty?". It was a valid question. That house demon was overly-observant, to the point where it got scary sometimes. If he wasn't then the emperor's coven would've captured Eda long before I became her apprentice.
"We didn't," the former shrugged while flicking his ear towards the stain-glass window behind me.
I took a quick peek outside of it. Hooty was slightly stretched out from his door, happily blabbing to the very two witches in front of me. He spoke a mile a minute, his excitement of finally having someone willing to sit and listen to his boring stories flowing from him like water.
"Illusions. Right". I turned back to the twins, quickly catching their worry like a cold. "What's wrong? Is Amity alright?".
I knew that's why they were here. When I had left their home earlier that evening, their little sister was in bad shape. I had hoped that she just needed a little time, that her sudden self-loathing would melt away. But I knew from the moment I stepped outside the manor that that wasn't the case.
"We were hoping she was here with you," Emira admitted. "Her and mom got into a fight tonight at dinner".
"As if Amity wasn't sad enough" I groaned. "What did her oh so loving mother say this time?".
"She basically threatened you" Edric answered hesitantly. "And Mittens lost it!".
"She left the manor in the middle of dinner," his twin added. "And she hasn't come back yet".
The news left a lump of fear in my throat. The flood gates in my mind instantly opened and I drowned in my thoughts. Amity was alone?! After the evening she had with the photo and her mom she needed someone there to comfort her! But instead, she was forced to wrestle her guilt by herself!
And that was just the beginning. Ever since the grudgby match against Bosca, the owl house had become a safe place for her. Where else would she have gone? Or, better yet, what cut her journey here short?
"Have you checked the library?" I asked as I clutched onto the only part of me not being suffocated by dread.
"We called Malphus right before he locked up for the night" Emira sighed. "She wasn't in her hideout or anywhere else he looked".
"Maybe she's at Willow or Gus's place". Edric rose back up as he spoke. "Can you get a hold of them? We don't know Gus's contact info and I doubt Willow would answer the crystal ball if we tried calling her".
"Great idea!" I shouted while jumping up twice as fast. The sleeping bag under me slid, sending me right back onto my back. I scrambled like a turtle flipping itself over, kicking my sleep cocoon away from me.
"We'll be in the living room," Emira said with a wince. Before the two siblings even turned towards the stairs, I pushed past them and bolted to the kitchen below us.
On the counter, our crystal ball sat temporarily dormant. With a few taps it lit to life, patiently waiting for a command.
"Call Willow and Gus" I ordered. The mystical communicator didn't do anything.
"Call WILLOW and GUS" I repeated. It still just sat there.
"CALL WILLOW AND GUS!" I snapped while stamping my foot.
Finally, the crystal ball heard my request and did what it was told. After a few moments both witchlings popped up on screen…ball...whatever.
You could clearly tell both of them had just woken up. Willow's raven hair had been ruffled up by her pillows and her glasses-less eyes squinted so much she could hardly see. Gus had dark rings around his sleep filled blue eyes. He rubbed at him as he fought to keep them open.
"Sorry to wake you, but there's an emergency".
"An emergency?" Willow yawned.
"Well, unless Amity is with one of you guys?".
"She's not with me," Gus answered, his growing alarm snuffing his grogginess. "I'm not even sure she knows where I live".
"She's not with me, either" Willow added, just as worried. "Why? Did something happen?".
"The twins just woke me up saying that she left the manor at supper time and never came home. She's not here and they said they checked the library already" I explained in a rush.
"Have you checked the woods?" Willow suggested.
"Not all of it" Edric replied while peeking his head in. "Only the strip from here to the manor".
"Then that's the next place we should look," I concluded. "I'll go wake up Eda".
"I'll be over as soon as I can" Willow remarked. She whistled for her palisman Clover before her face disappeared from the crystal ball.
"Dito," Gus quickly added before he hung up too.
I flew back up the stairs, skipping one or two here and there. My pounding on my mentor's door matched my racing heartbeat.
"Eda!" I yowled. "Wake up! Quick!".
"You better be dying" the older witch grumbled after opening the door. King joined the two of us in the hallway from the edge of my sleeping bag. It was a wonder that the twin's arrival didn't wake him up until now.
"What's going on?" he yawned. "I demand to know why I've been disturbed from my slumber".
"Amity's gone missing! We need to find her before she gets hurt or WORSE!".
"What do you mean, Amity's missing?" Eda rasped while cracking her stiff back. "Have you checked–".
"We've checked EVERYWHERE, but we can't find her! She's out there somewhere, all alone!".
"It's alright, kiddo. We'll find her". The older witch called for Owlbert, who was flying beside her in seconds. "Call Willow and Goops".
"I already have".
"Good. Take them and look around the forest near the owl house. And bring a bunch of glyphs with you. There are things in the woods that would eat you in a heartbeat".
"Understood!" I replied with a quick salute.
"I'll take Owlbert and look through the woods near Blight manor".
"Take the twins with you" I added quickly.
"The twins are here?".
"How did you think I knew she was missing?".
"Whatever" Eda huffed with a roll of her golden eyes. "King. You stay here just in case she shows up".
"You got it" the small horned demon mumbled sleepily.
I nearly bounded down the stairs and back into the living room. When they noticed me, both the twins silently begged me to speak. I explained to them Eda's plan before they met the witch at the bottom of the stairs. I then went outside to wait for my two friends to arrive.
As quick as they could meant only a few minutes. Willow and Gus landed in the clearing at the same time. If I would hazard a guess, they must have met up with each other during their flight here.
"Let's split up, gang" I ordered as soon as their feet hit the ground. "Gus, you go right. Willow, go left. I'll cover the area in front of us".
All three of us dove into the brush. Our cries out to Amity burst through the sounds of the forest. We left no bush unchecked, no tree unsearched. There would be no part of the woodland we hadn't combed until my girlfriend was home safe!
That's when a meowing sound caught my attention. Weaving through the dusty red bracken as quickly as they possibly could, a sleek white cat made its way up to me. My shining brown eyes went wide, though whether it was in surprise or in fear I didn't know.
"Ghost?" I asked as she rubbed her head against my leg. "What are you doing here? Where's Amity?".
Ghost mewled in response. She pawed at me urgently, as if she was trying to warn me. Yet I couldn't understand one word.
"Hold on" I told the palisman while trudging back to the pathway. "Willow! Gus!". The former poked her head from a large shrub, while the latter hopped down from a pine tree.
"Ghost!" Willow gasped. Clover left the witches shoulder, the wooden bumble bee circling the feline as she looked her over. Emiline, Gus's chameleon palisman, skittered over to Ghost as well. The three began to chatter like birds, but something Ghost said made the other two pause.
Clover turned towards Willow and began to speak with her. Whatever she said made my friend's jaw drop.
"Willow! What is she saying? What happened to Amity?!".
"She says Amity walked into this strange cave and just…disappeared!".
"Cave?" I repeated. "What cave? Ghost, can you show us?". The palisman shook her head before meowing something else to Clover.
"She says the cave disappeared too".
"It disappeared?!".
"Did you see anyone else there?" Gus jumped in. Ghost shook her head again.
"Still doesn't mean there wasn't anybody else there" Willow pressed. "An illusionist maybe".
Ghost let out another frantic meow. She stamped her forepaw while her white pelt rippled. Her tail-tip touched the ground, swishing back and forth.
"She swears no-one else was there. She would've heard or smelled them if they were, and there was no sign of a struggle".
"So, she just DISAPPEARED?!" I spat incredulously.
"We should tell Eda," Gus suggested. "Maybe she's seen this before".
"I'll send her a message on my scroll" Willow said as she summoned said scroll. "We should head back to the owl house".
"But what about the search?".
"We've looked everywhere" the plant witch sighed. "She's clearly not here anymore".
As much as I didn't want her to be, Willow was right. Between the three of us, Eda, and the twins, we'd searched the entire woods top to bottom. To look any more would just be pointless.
"Okay" I relented. "Tell Eda to meet us there".
Every step back to the owl house stabbed me like a dagger. Every moment we didn't spend searching was a moment wasted. But we had no clue where to look! All of our leads were gone!
The two illusions enduring Hooty's painfully long stories had since faded. When the house demon spotted us in the clearing, he jumped right into our faces.
"Hey, Luz, did you find your girlfriend?".
"No, Hooty" I answered dejectedly while I lightly pushed his face away. "We're still looking".
It was only a few minutes later when Eda arrived. When she walked through the door, I immediately shot up from the couch.
"Well?" I cried. My wide worried eyes tugged at her, longing for answers.
"Well, what?".
"Don't you "well, what" me! What happened to Amity?!".
"I…I don't know".
"What do you mean YOU DON'T KNOW?!". Before responding, Eda looked over at Willow and Gus and flicked her ear towards the door.
"You two should head home. Go get some sleep".
Both my friends shuffled to the door after a quick and quiet goodbye. As they slipped outside, Eda grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me back onto the sofa. It was hard to look her in the eyes. I knew what she was going to say next wouldn't be any good. It would just be even more bad news.
"No, Luz" she rasped. "I'd never heard of a disappearing cave before. But I will call Lilith and see if she knows anything. Meanwhile, the twins will tell their parents what her palisman said and they'll schedule a search party in the morning".
"But that'll take too long! Amity could be long gone by then. She already could be long gone by now!".
"I know that, but following a lead takes time and so does finding someone who's missing. You should head back to bed and try to get some sleep".
"Sleep?!" I spat like the word was rotten. "You expect me to sleep at a time like this!".
"It's better you rest now so you're ready to join the search party in the morning". When I did nothing but glare at my mentor, she curtly added, "I will wake you up if anything happens. Now go".
With a growl, I shuffled my way up the stairs. Despite how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep, not with all the worry welling inside of me. I was stuck in my sleeping bag, staring up at the ceiling instead of doing something useful. It just wasn't right!
My frustration flipped me onto my side. We were in a magical fantastical world. Why was it so damn hard to find someone?! Why wasn't there a spell that could show you where someone was?! Yeah, you had the scrying spell, but that was only for certain places.
That wasn't the only way to spy on someone in the demon realm, was it? I mean there were always the cubes in the in-between realm…that would actually work perfectly. That would show us exactly where she was, no matter where that was. But to get there, I needed to use the very same thing I needed to get home: Titans blood.
I had a very difficult decision to make. I…I…I needed to talk to Eda right away!
