"So, what's the plan, again?" Luz asked as she sat beside me on the couch. She stared at me expectantly, her vivid brown eyes cutting deep into my soul. They were filled with so much desperation, yet also flooded with hope.
"First things first." I answered while slightly leaning closer. We both peered down at the list I'd meticulously jotted down over the past hour. "You need to learn your second spell. Which means we need to go back to the knee".
"But she already went to the knee," King argued from Luz's lap. "And nothing happened".
"Nothing happened because I didn't try," Luz admitted, her voice slightly wavering. The black fur on King's back rose as he started to realize his mistake "I didn't listen to Eda".
"Don't worry" I soothed while placing a hand on the human's back. "I know how you can discover a new glyph".
"You do?".
"Eda wanted you to pay close attention to the isles, because that's where your magic comes from" I explained. "All we need to do is find the right spot at the right time of night–".
"Right time of night?" Luz repeated unsurely.
"Trust me, Luz. It's got to be at night".
For a second, Luz said nothing, but then she gave me a determined smile and nodded. "Alright. I have nothing to lose anyways".
I let out a small sigh of relief. It was a bit concerning that Luz instantly trusted this random stranger that just waltzed into her home out of nowhere, the words "nothing to lose" being especially scary. But her trust would make helping her a lot easier, and I knew that if any actual threat came, I would be ready for them. Besides, I had no home in this strange place. Perhaps Luz would agree to let me stay.
"HOOTY HOOT!" Sweet titan, no.
"What do you want, Hooty?" I growled while my ears fell flat.
"Guess who's here".
Luz jumped a little in surprise. Was she expecting someone? But the only person she said she knew outside the owl house was–
"Gus! Is it really lunch time already?".
"Time flies when you're planning, I guess" I replied while Hooty opened the door.
A familiar dark-skinned witch made his way into the living room. He didn't notice me at first, his gaze quickly scouring the tons of junk surrounding us, but when he finally did, he froze.
"You have company" the younger witch said while he gawked.
"Yep. She sorta just walked in and started feeding everyone" Luz chuckled. "Gus, this is Hecate. And Hecate, this is my friend Gus".
"It's nice to meet you" I greeted politely.
"You're the one who challenged Emira!" Gus shouted in response.
"You what?!".
"Edric fell and Emira was shouting at him as usual". Gus pointed at me, his grayish blue eyes wide in excitement. "She told Emira to back off and drove her away!".
"Wow" Luz gasped with her mouth hung open in awe. "You must be really brave".
"Brave" I scoffed with a roll of my eyes, before adding. "I don't remember seeing you there, Gus".
"I didn't see it happen, but everyone's been talking about it. You punched Boscha in the nose and told Emira you weren't scared of her. And then you just disappeared!".
"I was in a hurry to get here. Edric told me about Luz, and I came here to help her". As I spoke, I discreetly wrung my hands. My nerves were as sharp as daggers, tender like spider beef.
I was nothing but a mystery in this world, a stranger who suspiciously knew things she shouldn't and knew witches who have never met her before. It would be a matter of time until the truth came out, and Titan knew what would happen next. Would people even believe me? And if they did, would that hinder me from helping everyone? I couldn't just give Luz the answer to finding glyphs or tell Willow and Gus to be friends cause they were friends in my world. They needed to work all this out themselves.
Luckily, Gus didn't press the matter too far.
"Ditching class to go see a criminal" he hmmed before laughing, "I thought I was the only one''.
"Well, I usually don't, but I felt this was emergent". I uneasily laughed back.
"Me and Hecate are going to the knee later on" Luz jumped in. "Do you wanna come?".
"Why are you going to the knee?".
"So, Luz can learn the ice glyph—Ah!". I flinched as I brought both of my hands to my mouth. Titandammit! I didn't mean to say what type of glyph it was! That was Luz's job to find out at the knee!
"There's an ice glyph? Are there any more you know? How do you draw them?".
"Luz!" I called, bringing her rambling to a stop. "I can't tell you that".
"Why not?".
"Because…I don't know how to draw them. I just know how y- my friend found them". I hated to lie, especially to Luz, but I had to.
Luz sunk in dejection, yet still kept her urgency.
"But you know how to find them?" she pressed.
"That's why I know a perfect spot on the knee. That's where my friend found it".
"So, Luz isn't the only one who knows glyphs?" Gus questioned. His head tilted slightly in confusion. "How did they find the light glyph?".
"They, um, they saw it in the sky. It was in the stars".
"Oh!". Luz nodded in understanding. "That's why you wanted us to go at night".
King rose from his spot and stretched. While yawning he scratched his back then hopped down from the couch with a plop. He grabbed his little plush bunny, that looked an awful lot like one I had when I was little, by the foot and drug him into his arms. He turned to face Luz.
"You can count me out".
"Are you sure?" the human roused. "You'd get to build your own snow minions".
"I have regular minions. Besides the knee is too cold this time of year anyways" he answered, before starting to walk away. "Now c'mon, Francois. We have a nap to take".
"I'd like to go," Gus finally answered. "It'll give me a chance to practice some of my magic too".
Luz turned towards me and gave me a little elbow bump. "And maybe you can show us what you've got".
"What I got?". I couldn't help but flush. "Who says I've got anything?".
"Well, I mean that mud man you made was pretty cool". I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"You mean the abomination golem? I can do much more than that".
"Then show us tonight" Gus urged. "Say 4:30?".
"Is that the right time of night?" Luz added.
"That sounds good. 4:30 it is".
…
Snow crunched under our feet as the three of us hiked through the knee. A chilly breeze brushed up against us, but we were all too bundled up to care. I had no warmer clothes in this world, only my school uniform, but Luz and King were able to find a white faux fur coat, an old scarf, and some earmuffs inside one of the piles of garbage lying around the owl house.
Eda had done the same for Luz when they first went to the knee, so she had a furry hat and a patchy coat with fur lining the outside. Donning it saddened the poor human, the outfit being a reminder of her late mentor, but she was determined to learn her second spell in her honor. So, on she walked through the snow and ice, up to the cliff her otherworldly self had discovered the ice glyph.
Unlike the frozen air, the sight was able to give me a chill. Memories flashed in my mind. I saw the slitherbeast hovering over me, its large fang-filled maw curled in a vicious snarl. In its grasp, both my siblings squirmed in a desperate attempt to escape. I may have faced it once, but the horrible beast still shook me to my core. I silently prayed to the titan that we'd completely by-pass the creature this trip.
Stars shone above the cliff, while the snow sparkled below. Said titan rested in the distance. From where we stood you could nearly see the entire isle. Just like I thought, this was the perfect spot for Luz to connect with it.
"Okay, Luz" I began. "Go sit on that rock".
Without question, she bounded up to the large stone and idly sat down on it. I drew a spell circle into the air, spawning a larger circle of magic to form around Luz. She stared at it in awe. Her mouth slightly hung open in her own amazement. The spell wasn't even complete, and the human was already infatuated by it.
As I flicked my hand upwards, a net made of magic rose into the sky. Both Luz and Gus looked confused, but I simply smiled. Pretty soon, Luz would see the glyph in the snow and would escape her confines with it. What a perfect way for the apprentice of a criminal to learn.
"What's that for?" Gus asked as he surveyed the spell.
"The only way for Luz to get out is to find the ice glyph".
"And how do I do that?" said human called from her prison.
"Learn from the isles" is all I replied.
Luz's gaze traveled to the stars. She stared at them for a moment before looking back over at me.
"I don't see a glyph up there"
"Look harder" I answered while summoning a light spell. I let it float into the air, Luz's eyes following it to the sky. They then went wide in elation as she jumped up from her seat.
"I see it" she cheered before her joy faded like melting snow. "But I've already got that one".
"Focus on the snow. I'm sure you'll find something".
"Eda kept telling you to do weird stuff, right?" Gus added. "Try talking to it or something".
The mention of her former mentor made her heart pause. Despite her not saying anything, her ache rang clearly like bells. I could see by the way her eyes slightly shifted that memories were starting to flood back in her mind. She was drowning in them along with her remorse.
"Okay" she started, a little shaky. "Hey, isles… It's me…Luz. I…Are you sure this is what I do?".
"Just trust the isles" I tried to reassure. "It will speak to you eventually".
"Right…Just trust the isles…I would really appreciate it if you'd speak to me. You see, I'm not from around here, but I'm trying my hardest to be a good witch. I was training with the owl lady but now she's…she's gone now. It's all my fault really. I got a stupid idea and she warned me not to worry but I didn't listen. I never listened! That's why I only know one spell! And that's why she's dead!".
Luz was forced to stop a second to breathe. She took a deep breath out and threw her head in her hand. When she looked up from them her sunken brown eyes were shimmering with tears. One slid down her cheek to her chin. It dripped onto the ground and melded into the snow. As it did the water formed a pattern.
It took her a few moments to notice it, but when she did…
"I think I see it" she shouted while poking her finger into the snow. She drew a circle then copied the pattern inside. With a little tap, a small pillar of ice rose from it. "I did it. I DID IT!".
She quickly celebrated with a small jump and an excited squeal, before drawing a giant glyph around the stone. Another jump, and she was catapulted into the air and out from the top of the cage. She flopped onto her belly deep into a nearby snowbank. The three of us had to dig to bring her back to the surface, but she soon stuck her head up and shook the snow out of her disheveled brown hair.
"I did it! I actually did it!" she cheered as she climbed onto her feet. With the strength of a large griffin, she rammed into me and locked me in her snow-covered arms. "Thank you! Thank you!".
I went rigid at her touch. Even though she wasn't my Luz, just the thought of her warm embrace made my stomach flutter like there were a ton of pixies stuck inside. I couldn't reply to her. I could only stupidly stammer.
"Now you can be in our grade!" Gus exclaimed when Luz let go.
"Finally! I can't wait to see Hexide".
"You mean you've never snuck in?" I questioned.
"No. I've only ever heard of it from Gus. Principal Bump was going to let me go there but I only knew one spell and there was no way Eda was going to let her apprentice join the baby class".
I gently bumped the human with my shoulder. "She would be proud of you".
Luz took a moment to let my words sink in. Once again, memories of her mentor flashed before her eyes. Though instead of them paining her, they made her smile.
"Yeah. She really was a great mentor" she sighed before turning towards me. "Thank you again for your help".
"Do you want to practice some of your magic?" Gus asked, his ears flattened determinedly. I challengingly smirked back at him.
"Are you saying you want to spar?" I growled eagerly.
"Only if you dare!" the illusionist shouted back.
Gus leapt away from the cage, out into the clearing. With a quick spell circle an army of copies poofed all around me. I drew one just as fast, spinning around as I did. A giant gornado of abomination sludge rose from the ground, then exploded into a bunch of shards. Despite how quickly Gus's illusions ran, they were all torn to shreds.
I sent a wave towards the real one that froze in the frosty air. But before it could crash into him, my foe leapt into the air and summoned a snow storm. The flurry of flakes made my vision almost completely useless, but I had a trick up my sleeve. The very fire spell that I had learned in this very spot made everything glow a raging pink, everything including Gus.
Abomination matter formed into a pair of spikey gloves around my hands that I used to pummel the small illusionist into the snow below. He kicked at me, shoving me off of him enough for him to slip free. Once he was, he slammed my face into the snow and sat onto my back. It was my turn to knock him off. My two gloves left my failing hands and latched onto his face.
Gus stumbled backwards and, just like that, we were both back at square one. We both readied to cast another spell, but a sharp scream sent our skirmish to a halt. Both our attentions shot to Luz who was staring up at an eyeless, white-furred beast with giant fangs. No! Not again!
Our fighting must have attracted the slitherbeast, and Luz's cry in fear had just angered it! It roared like a mighty manticore and jumped forwards, its claw filled paw reaching out for the panicking human. I slammed into her, throwing her out of the way. Against my struggling, the beast grasped onto me instead.
"Help!" I cried as the beast broke out into a sprint. Within seconds, the creature left Gus and Luz far behind. My sight of them grew smaller and smaller until red pines covered the cliff all together.
Just like the Edric and Emira in my world it carried me all the way back to its lair. It stuck me onto the rocky wall with purple muck it spat at me, then the creature lumbered off to go find seasonings to cover me in. I wriggled and squirmed as much as I could, but I didn't budge. I wasn't moving until something destroyed the gunk around me.
"Amity!". That voice nearly gave me a coronary! Luz couldn't have been here already, could she?
"Luz?" I whispered as I looked around. I couldn't see her amongst all the rocks.
"Amity" she called again, this time much quieter. With that, I could finally locate where the voice was coming from: a puddle of melted snow pooled on the edge below my feet. Sitting in the middle was Luz's reflection but it was not the Luz I had seen just a few minutes prior. This one had a lot more meat on her bones and wasn't in a coat and hat.
"Luz?" I said again, completely baffled. "Are you…Are you MY Luz?".
"Yes, hermosa (beautiful)" she cooed. "It's me".
"But how?" I asked while something clicked in my mind. Wasn't Luz only a reflection when she visited her mom last? "Sweet titan, Luz. Please tell me you didn't".
"What are you doing?". The human then noticed the sounds of the slitherbeast grunting in the distance. "Was that the slitherbeast?!".
"Quiet" I shushed. "Luz. It's a very long story".
"No need. We're coming to get you".
"You can't. I'm not exactly in your world right now".
"What do you mean you're not in this world?" Luz whisper-shouted. I took a minute to sigh out my rising fear.
"When I went out for my walk, I found a cave out in the middle of the woods".
"We know. Ghost told us you went in, and the cave disappeared". Ghost was safe? Thank titan.
"It took me to Hexide, but it wasn't the Hexide in our world. Nobody knew who I was, not even Edric and Emira. And everyone is scared of Emira here for some reason and Edric can barely walk. Gus and Willow don't know each other and you…".
"It's a wonderful life" Luz loudly said, before shushing herself.
"I wouldn't say so," I replied. "Luz you're doing the worst of all".
"No. No. No. "It's a Wonderful Life" is a Christmas movie from my world about a man who tries to jump off a bridge".
"Still not seeing the wonderful part".
"An angel saves him and shows him a world where he'd never been born. Everything was awful and he learned something about Christmas and bells and whatever".
"You think that's why everything is so awful?" I said, tangled in my disbelief. "But you can't tell me all of this happened because no-one ever met me. Luz, Eda was petrified in this world".
That information struck Luz like a lightning spell, but she quickly rebounded. "It has to be Amity. This magic cave has to be "it's a wonderful life"-ing you".
"So…how do I get home?".
"I…I don't know…but now we know what's going on!".
Luz's reflection suddenly began to be drug backwards. She grabbed at the rope wrapped around her, her teeth gritted in a pained grimace. Even with all her pulling and tugging, she couldn't stop. She got farther and farther away from the puddle each second.
"No!" she snapped in an agonized cry. "I'm not ready! Just give me a few more minutes!".
"Luz!". I could keep my voice down no longer. "Luz, no matter what happens, I'll always love you!".
"I love you too! Te quiero mucho, hermosa (I love you so much, beautiful). We will find a way to bring you back! You're going to be fine, I promise!". Luz's reflection finally faded away, leaving me alone with the slitherbeast again. Or, at least, I thought I was alone, but a moment later the slitherbeast came rushing by chasing a handful of Gus's clones.
The Luz of this world popped her head from behind a rock, using a skull to cover her face. She climbed up to me and drew an ice glyph into the goop with a jagged stone. When she tapped it, the muck froze then shattered into a million pieces.
"Who were you talking–".
"We need to get moving" I barked. "Let's go, Gus!".
From below, the real Gus shot towards the exit. Luz and I followed, keeping close to giant stones to hide ourselves. All three of us didn't stop running until we were far from the slitherbeast's cave.
"I…" Gus huffed and puffed. "Can't believe we just did that! That was insane!".
"I know right!" Luz joined in, quite out of breath herself. Her legs trembled, followed by the rest of her after a few seconds. Now that her adrenaline was wearing off, Luz's body was once again reminded of how weak it really was.
The human nearly fell to her knees, but I was there to hold her up. She leaned against me heavily and held onto my arm like it was driftwood in the boiling sea.
"Woah. I'm getting a little dizzy" she said woozily.
"Let's get you back to the owl house" I suggested.
This would've been the perfect time to have a palisman, but mine was back in my world. And, when I asked Gus about his palisman Emiline, he just plainly stared at me in confusion. It would be a very long walk.
With a simple spell circle, an abomination golem rose from the ground and scooped Luz into its arms. It began marching forwards with Gus close behind it, but I stayed behind for a moment. I looked backwards at the Slitherbeast's lair, Luz's reflection in that puddle stuck on my mind.
"Te quiero, mi bata (I love you sweet potato) I hope to see you again soon".