"You can't stop me!" I yowled while trying to push my way to the door. My mother blocked the way with her body, shoving me back just as strongly. "I need to save Eda!".

"Think rationally, Luz," Amity cried from the side. "Belos is the strongest witch on the Isles!".

"We don't need to fight Belos, we need to free Eda! Now let me through!".

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" King jumped in as he tugged the bottom of my pant leg. "Eda's in her owl beast form. She'll rip you to shreds".

I stopped my struggling and planted my feet. My stare made everyone freeze in place.

"It's my fault Eda was captured in the first place. I have to at least try to help her! I'm going back to the emperor's palace, and none of you are going to stop me!".

With one more big shove, I rammed my way out the door. I burst into a run, but quickly slid to a halt when I felt something phase through me. With a golden glare, Amity was now right in front of me. The desperation on her face was pained, as if I just struck her.

"Then at least let me go with you this time… so I can keep you safe".

"I'm going too," my mother hollered while racing outside with a pot in her hand. King skittered out behind her.

"Me too".

"But this is going to be dangerous, like super dangerous!". As I spoke my eyes traveled to the fissure on Amity's nose. If the amulet cracked anymore, who knew what would happen to her. And what about mom and King? The former knew magic, but definitely not enough. And the latter was great at sneaking and escaping but he was defenseless if he got caught.

"It'll be dangerous for you too," Amity admitted. "But if we can't stop you, we're going with you".

"I'm not letting you face that monster on your own," my mom added, joining the two of us in our front yard. "We're coming whether you like it or not".

"Besides" King added, while the look on his face softened. He fidgeted with his claws while he spoke. "I can't speak for your mom or Amity but Eda's like family to me. We have to do whatever it takes to get her back, even if that means throwing ourselves into danger".

For a moment, a spark of admiration burned within me. I took in the presence of the young demon, my girlfriend, and my mother. Things felt like they were going to be okay. We could do this, couldn't we? We could break into the palace and free Eda if we all put our minds to it!

"We have no time to lose" I growled determinedly. From under my shirt collar I pulled out the portal key. "Let's do this!".

Into the marketplace we ran. None of us had a semblance of a plan, but we had to find a way to get inside the conformatorium. We had to make it to where Eda was locked up as soon as possible, so we could free her before the petrification at sundown!

That's when I spotted a guard strolling up the way. He could bring us there if he arrested us. But we had to commit a crime first, one that guaranteed a trip to–what?!

With the pot she had armed herself with, mami raced up to the guard and whacked him beside the head. When he turned to face his assailant, she hit him again in the torso. She then kicked him in the shin and shoved him to the ground while he was hobbling on his good foot.

"What are you gonna do about that you…you…pig!" she taunted, a hint of nervousness in her voice. She clearly wasn't used to all the delinquency. "Are you gonna arrest me?".

"You can arrest me too, cerdo (pig)". I kicked him while he was on the ground, though I doubt he felt it. I didn't want to hurt him after all. "Or are you too busy kissing the emperor's ass".

"Langedge".

"Sorry, mama".

With an enraged yowl, the guard jumped to his feet and shoved the both of us back. Though we couldn't see his face behind his long nosed gray mask, we could tell by how rigid he was we were bound to get apprehended. He drew a spell circle which lifted us off our feet and into the air. My mother at first freaked out and began to squirm but a glance at me made her at least try to calm down. Before the guard carried us to a nearby police wagon, King quickly climbed up my leg to ride on my shoulder.

"You are both under arrest for assaulting an officer" he growled before shutting the three of us in. Phasing through the wooden wall, Amity joined us.

"Really?" she deadpanned. "Your plan was getting captured?".

"We need to get to the conformatorium" I argued. "And this is a good way to get there".

"And how do you plan on escaping the guards?".

"Don't worry, Amity" I purred slickly. I pulled a few premade glyphs from my pocket. "I'll be ready for them".

We weren't too far from the conformatorium, the cart-ride lasting about fifteen minutes. Once we got close to the entrance, we all gathered in front of the barred window. Right outside was a line of petrified witches, each in a pose that showed them in agony. Some were shielding their faces with their arms while others had fallen to their knees. Eda was scarily close to sharing their fate. In fact, they had already put up a pedestal for her rocky remains.

"What lovely statues" my mother murmured sarcastically, unaware of their origin.

"Those aren't just statues," Amity explained. "Those are witches who've been turned to stone".

"Turned to stone? What did they do to deserve a fate like that?".

"They didn't choose a coven. Belos claims the titan calls for the death of everyone who doesn't submit to one".

I paid no mind to the conversation, nor the petrified witches on display. My eyes were on a poster with the head coveness in the center. Lilith. She was the reason this was all happening. She'd pay for cursing her sister! And if Eda was petrified, I would stop at nothing until Lilith was just as dead as she was!

"The owl lady's student has been apprehended, along with a few others" I heard the guard shout once the cart stopped.

"The owl lady's student?" A familiar voice echoed. "Very good. I've waited so long to have my revenge. I'll make sure you have a front row seat to Eda's petrification".

Warden Wrath expected to see me when he opened the doors. What he got instead was a bunch of brambles launching towards his face. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, his tendril-like arms tangled with the brush now wrapped around his face. From behind me, my mother leaped for the unexpecting guard next to him. She whacked him with the pot in her hands, then pinned him to the ground with her foot.

With a giant tug, the warden ripped the branches off of him and threw them to the side. He jerked, preparing to strike me back, but was stopped by Amity flying in front of him. The hurt in the greenette's eyes made Wrath ache. He was frozen in place by grief.

"Amity? Is that really you?".

"Please, Warden. You know Eda doesn't deserve this".

"Of course she does! She's a wild witch, a criminal who's been running from the law for way too long!".

"I thought you liked her" I argued, thinking back to the moment we had first met. He had cornered Eda, King, and I in this very conformatorium. He begged the owl lady to go out with him, fell on his knees and everything! "Or was that proposal for nothing?".

From the pause the warden took, I could tell he remembered his botched proposal as well. A growl rose from his throat as that memory turned sour. She rejected him, and then freed his prisoners who then beat him up. That night was not a good memory of the owl lady, just a good reminder of her betrayal.

Yet the warden stepped to the side.

"Eda's in the holding cell in the dungeon" he said after signing out his anger. I shoved a piece of paper and a pen into his tentacles.

"Draw me a map".

Once he'd finished, my mom, King, and I raced up the hallway as fast as we could. But Amity strayed behind for a moment. She couldn't leave without asking the warden a question that had been on her mind the moment she saw him.

"How's Braxus?".

"He misses you" he answered somberly.

Amity faltered for a moment before responding, "Tell Braxus I miss him too".

As we traversed the hallways, an entire troop of guards rushed towards us. I prepared to attack but Amity beat me to it. The spirit had sensed I was in danger and had grown violently restless. With an extreme boost of power, she burst down the hallway like a raging fire and struck each guard down with a powerful blow. The soldiers all wriggled in pain on the ground while the rest of us ran past them without any hesitancy.

What was only a few moments felt like an eternity, but we finally made it to the giant doors leading to the dungeon. They were chained up by a golden lock that easily fell and shattered with a single ice glyph.

"King. Keep watch" I commanded. He nodded with a quiet "weh".

In the back corner chained to a slab on the ground, a horrifying beast with white fur, long ears, and giant gray wings laid on its stomach in wait. I began to creep up to her with a light spell in hand, but my mother grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

"You can't just walk up to that thing" she whispered, fear making her voice waver.

"Let me go, Luz," Amity suggested. "She can't hurt me when the amulet's back here".

The spirit walked slowly, her footsteps not making noise since her feet didn't touch the ground. She called out to Eda and gave her calming words of encouragement, like "you're alright" and "it's okay", alerting the beast to her presence in the softest way possible. She got pretty close to the creature. She could practically reach out and touch it if she chose to, but instead she just kept speaking.

The beast's ear flicked a bunch as she decided how to feel about our company. She rose to her feet, before exploding into a claw filled fury. Eda wildly spun around, baring her sharp fangs, and raked Amity with her huge talons. It didn't hurt her, but the ghost still flinched. I could tell by the way she tensed she wanted to back up, but she fought her instincts. She then summoned a fire and shoved it towards the owl beast.

"It's okay. It's only us" she hushed. The owl beast's dark black eyes turned golden as the pupils in them shrunk. The snarling and gruffs quieted while the creature stilled.

"Amity?" Eda questioned before her gaze found me. "Luz?! No, no, no! You guys can't be here!".

"We're here to save you" I pressed, walking forwards now that the coast was clear. I placed a glyph onto the chain around Eda's neck, but the paper instantly turned to ashes. I tried again, and again, and it wasn't working! Why wasn't it working?!

At the same time, Amity used a fire spell of her own, yet it was destroyed whenever it touched the chains. She tried a few times, but then defeatedly shook her head.

"We're not powerful enough".

"You need to leave, now!" Eda bayed as she shoved me away with her freakishly large hand.

"No!" I spat like an angry snake. "We're not leaving without you! We're going to save you! I just need to–".

"Luz!" Eda barked even louder. She grabbed both my shoulders as a way to ground me. "No matter how stupid they are, I still broke Belos's laws. And sure, I was able to run for a little bit, but I knew this day's been coming for a while now. I can't run anymore, kid. You gotta let me go".

"Bullshit!" Amity snapped from beside me. Anger welled in her shining eyes while she curled her hands up into fists. "I'm tired of you telling me to just accept you're going to die, that's not how it works! Take it from someone who's died before. You have time to fight for your life until the very end of it. It's not too late for you, Eda, not until you're actually dead!".

"I know you're upset, but I'm not going to escape no matter what any of you do. But you still can. Now go, before the guards capture you too!".

"I'm not leaving till I free you or you actually die!".

"Don't you have any other ghost powers?" my mom said while finally joining us. Though it wasn't as strong, she shared our desperation. "Can you make Eda phase through the bars…or…or maybe possess a guard and make them free her".

"That…" Amity began to say frustratedly before she took a minute to think about it. "That last one might work".

Just then, the slab Eda was standing on began to rise towards a hole in the ceiling. The chains around her neck multiplied, morphing into the bars of a magical cage. Panic shot through my veins, launching me towards my mentor. I desperately tried to grab her, but she shoved me away right before she was out of reach.

"Go!" she hollered out again.

Amity was internally panicking too, but that panic just fueled her determination. She grabbed onto the amulet around my neck and yanked so hard the chain snapped in two. With a giant heave, she tossed the stone into Eda's cage. The owl lady, in her surprise, had nearly dropped it back down, but after some fumbling, she finally got a good grasp. Amity turned to me one last time, to plant a kiss on my forehead. Then she shouted at Eda to give the command.

She had no choice but to listen. "Amity, cower".

I could only stare helplessly as Eda and the amulet faded from view. I tearfully fell to my knees. My legs felt weak; my EVERYTHING felt weak! I'd failed once again, and this time I'd put Amity in danger. Who knew what would happen to them? Who knew if there was any way to get to them now? Did I just blow our last chance? Would both of them be petrified?!

"Luz?" my mother cried while taking a step back. She pulled her pan out ready to strike.

I turned to find the head coveness standing in the doorway with King squirming in her grasp. I can't even describe the amount of pure ire I had felt in that moment. It made my stomach churn, made my heartbeat go haywire. I saw nothing but red, felt nothing but my fiery hatred. She was the one who captured Eda, and she had cursed her for god's sake! We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for her!

"You'll pay for this!" I screamed before releasing a war-cry.

As I leapt towards Lilith, I shared the owl beast's ferocity. The glyph in my hand did not turn to fire, or barrage of brambles. My wrath had made it nothing but a burst of energy that careened towards my foe. The witch blocked it with a simple wave of her staff, though while she did, my mother crashed into her side and rammed her pot into her forehead. Blood trickled from the spot, leaving a small red puddle on the floor.

Lilith kicked my mother off her with a flip as she jumped back onto her feet. Not even a second passed before the witch was slammed into the wall by my ice glyph, which she then shattered with a spell circle she drew with her foot. Before I could summon another spell, she rushed to me and held me down to the ground by the side of my face.

"Let me talk!" She growled while struggling to keep me still.

"Why should I? If anyone deserves to be petrified it's you!". I jerked my head up and bashed it into Lilith's face. She stumbled backwards as she held her bleeding nose, but she didn't summon another attack. She stood there for a moment, and then…

"You're right. I should be in Edalyn's place". I don't think either of us humans expected that.

"Why did you do all this?" I asked a little more delicately. "Why did you hurt your own sister?".

"The cursing her part was due to my greed. The rest of it, capturing her and bringing her to Belos, was me trying to heal her".

"Heal her?" I echoed. "You thought Belos would heal her?".

"When we were young girls, Edalyn and I were as close as we could be. We did everything together, including training to join the emperor's coven. But when we went to tryouts, there was only one spot open. I know Edalyn would be chosen over me, so…".

"You cursed her".

"I thought it would only last a day, but…if something wasn't done to heal her it would ruin her whole life. That's when Belos came in. He promised to heal her so we could both be in the emperor's coven together, but he lied". Lilith's ice blue eyes couldn't stay on me any longer. They fell to the ground, then closed all together. "I want to help you rescue Edalyn".

"And how do I know that's not a lie?".

Lilith summoned a large spell circle. From the middle of it a long staff and a wooden owl appeared.

"Owlbert" I cheered in relief as he flew into my arms. "You're okay!".

"Follow me, human. I will bring you to the lift to the stage. You should find Edalyn there".

She did exactly as she promised. Down a long hallway with giant pillars, there was a slab just like the one Eda was chained to. I stopped right in front of it, as fresh memories made my heart ache. This was my last chance, my FINAL last chance. We either saved Eda, or she died.

I took a step forward but instantly stopped when Lilith, King, and my mother all cried out in alarm. Red fleshy tendrils had sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around them. They were pulled into the darkness that, with the flash of two flames, revealed a horrifying sight. A very tall, masked man with golden antlers sticking from the top of it, sat idly on a throne made of giant teeth and jaw bones. He had on a white cloak with armor and was holding a white staff with a red sphere on top instead of a palisman.

"Oh Lilith" he sighed to the witch dangling next to him in feigned disappointment. "How did I know you'd choose your family over me?".

"No!". I tried to run forwards, but two fleshy hands grabbed my feet and yanked me down to the ground. Both Lilith and King were carried away by guards, back towards the very lift we were just standing in front of. They weren't going up to the stage, were they? My struggling got a lot stronger.

"Not so fast. I want a word with you, human".

"Let my friends go or pay the price!" I yowled, about to slam Eda's staff on the ground.

"Oh no, human. Break free from my grasp and it will be you paying a price". As he spoke, the tendril around my mother grew tighter. She grimaced in pain and went rigid.

"Fine" I barked, silently praying it wouldn't grow any tighter. "What do you want?".

"Don't be angry. I am but a humble messenger of the Titan" Belos hmmed as he rose from his throne. "And the Titan thinks the owl lady needs to die, or at least he did until you showed up".

The emperor closed the space between us and placed his hand under my chin. He pulled my gaze to his hidden face, fastening my attention to his words. "You want to save your precious mentor? Then give me the portal to the human realm".

"But…but my home…".

"Oh please. You probably think I'm going to invade the humans, but I promise you the Titan's will is not so boorish".

"Don't do it, Mija. You—". My mother's cries turned to choking as the tendril around her reached her mouth.

"Tick tock human. You've got a mother and a mentor to save".

From above I could hear Eda's screeches in pain. The ceiling under her rumbled, painting quite the violent picture in my head. I saw her writhing, her talons. now made of stone, clashing at the ground below as her final attempt to bash her way free. I almost wished that she would succeed in making the palace cave. The rubble would crush me before I was forced to make a decision.

"Human". All of a sudden, Belos's voice grew more urgent. "If you don't give me the portal your mother and mentor will die!".

Tiny bits of the ceiling dropped to my feet. The rumbling grew stronger and Eda's screeching grew louder. I could hear someone shouting in dismay, and…was that cheering?! Oh god, the crowd was cheering for Eda's demise!

"Human!" Belos had to yell over the chaotic sounds from outside. "Give me the portal!".

"Okay!" I howled. I grabbed the key around my neck and pressed the eye in the middle. That summoned a circle on the floor. The familiar mystical suitcase appeared from inside of it.

Right as I handed him the portal, the ceiling gave way. With giant flaming wings, Eda dove towards Belos and pinned him to the ground by his throat. Through the ferocious roar she let out, I could barely hear the words it shouted out. "Stay away from my Luz!".

"My Luz", golden glowing eyes, pink fire? That wasn't just Eda. It was Amity too. She had possessed Eda's body and used her protective ghostly strength to break free!

The tendril holding my mother captive went limp, dropping her onto Amity's back. Lilith and King were there to greet her, holding on tightly to the beast's long white fur. Belos growled as he summoned an army of fleshy hands to peel Amity off of him, which the creature destroyed with fiery swipes. The freezing wind from the giant hole in the palace spread the flames everywhere, engulfing both the dictator and the portal with him.

"Luz" Amity cried. "We need to go!".

"But the portal!". I tried to move closer to the fire, preparing to run in and get it back, but Amity's fang filled jaw latched onto me. The beast jumped into the air, the fire growing smaller and smaller in my sight. At the very corner of my eye, I swear I saw Belos's eyeless gaze glare at me in between the flickering of the flames. With it he gave me a silent promise.

"This isn't over".

As we flew over the gathering crowd, their cheering got louder, but I couldn't hear them. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears and the sound of a million thoughts crashing into each other over and over again. It was gone. My only way home was destroyed by the burst of fire that had freed my mother and mentor. Belos was right. I did pay a price.

I lost track of where I was until Amity landed at the owl house. Once we were on solid ground, the spirit gave Eda back control of the owl beast, stepping out of her body like it was a costume. Eda instantly fell to the ground and began to pant. Whatever energy she had a moment ago had left with the ghost. Lilith, King, and my mom all slid down Eda's wing, each landing on the ground with a small thud. The former locked eyes with her sister, her gaze full of remorse.

"I should've done this a long time ago" she murmured as she touched her forehead to Eda's. "With this spell declared, let the pain be shared".

A flash of white lifted the two sister's into the air. Eda's fur and feather shed away until she was once again a witch, while Lilith grew a sickly pallor and much more feeble. The spell delicately dropped them back onto the ground. They took a moment to sink in what happened before their gazes left one another.

"How are you feeling?" Amity questioned.

"I don't know. One moment I'm in a cage and the next I'm at home".

"Miss Blight". Lilith approached her former apprentice and looked the ghost over. "I must say I didn't expect to see you again".

"Yep. It's a…It's a very long story".

"Can somebody tell the story of what the hell just happened first?" Eda gruffed impatiently. "What did you do to me, kid".

"I possessed you, just like Camila suggested".

"I didn't suggest you possess EDA, but it worked out okay, right Mija?".

I didn't answer. Instead, all my focus was on the stars. A ball of light is what started all this. It was what this pain was all for. My mother and I were stuck on the isles because a single light spell tricked me into thinking I'd be anything better than a screw up.

"Mija?" my mother said again. I felt her put her hand on the top of my back, but I couldn't see her. My eyes were too flooded with tears.

"I'm so sorry" I choked through hics and sniffs.

"No," Lilith pressed. "This was bound to happen eventually. But if it weren't for you, human, things could've ended much worse".

"But…but…mom, now you're stuck here. I lost the portal".

"I know," she hushed. "But it will all be okay, right?".

"I don't…I don't know!".

Just as she did with the owl beast, Amity slowly strode to my side. She grabbed both of my hands and turned me to face her. The warmth radiating off of her rivaled the sun itself.

"Luz. We can fix this together.". When I didn't say anything, she went on. "Say it, Luz".

"We can fix this together" I mumbled as the memories from that night in the library resurfaced.

"Louder, Luz!".

"We can fix this together!" I shouted, my voice ringing through the night sky.

"Exactly. Now let's all go inside. We need to adjust our sleeping arrangement".

"Actually" I squeaked. "Would it be okay if we sat out here for a little while?".

Answering silently, Amity sat down and looked up at the sky. My mom followed her lead and did the same, then Lilith and Eda. I joined them after soaking in their presence for a few moments. In the silence my thoughts fought to make their way out of my mind but the warmth of my friends, my family, pushed them all back.

I didn't know what the future held. I couldn't promise anyone that things would be alright. But right now, they were. Eda was safe. My mom was safe. We were all safe, if only for a little while.