"Look at you," My older sister purred. The look in her fervent gold eyes was different from usual. There was a sort of arrogance in them, a show-offish daring gleam. "Aren't you cute".
Emira moved my head around and looked me over, as if we hadn't lived in the same house our entire life. Great. She didn't recognize me either.
"Calm down everyone. She's clearly got no clue who I am".
"Of course, I know who you are!" I snarled as I shoved her hand away from me. "You're one of the most obnoxious witches I've ever had the misfortune of being around!".
That just made the older teen laugh more.
"You're a feisty one, huh? Just more proof you don't know who you're messing with".
"I'm not scared of you, and I'm not going to be scared of you!". My growl was low but strong. My ears flattened as I flashed my fangs at the illusionist.
Emira hmmed before asking, "What's your name, sweetheart?".
I paused. She didn't know who I was, so claiming that I was a Blight would've clearly made me sound nuts. But would she know my first name? It made sense that if she didn't know me she wouldn't know my name, but this world was so backwards she just may have. It was better not to risk it.
"Uh…Just call me…Hecate?".
That name made my sister's…not my sister…I didn't know anymore… Emira's ears perked up. She might not have known the name Amity, but Hecate was familiar to her.
The normal Emira wouldn't have ever reacted like that. She wouldn't be caught dead with an Azura book! The witch in front of me couldn't have been the same person.
"Well…Hecate, I'm Emira". She offered me her hand to shake but I simply glared at it. "And I'm the strongest witch in this building, teachers included".
"I highly doubt that".
"No, she is," Edric croaked. The entire time he hung from my side like I was a life preserver. "They say she could rival the head covenness in a few years".
"Thank you, dumbass, but I can speak for myself".
"Why are you acting so mean all of a sudden?". My voice began to raise the angrier I got. "He's your brother for titan's sake!".
"He's a moron who wouldn't know work if it bit him in the ass".
"And you're a vile piece of griffin shit! I hope you don't treat your sister like this". It slipped out, honestly. I didn't realize I'd made a mistake until I saw Emira's shocked reaction. The Emira in my world had a sister, but I had no idea if this weird version of Emira did.
She took a moment to gawk into my bright golden eyes before her stare moved to the tiny bit of auburn peaking past my lavender hair. She then let her face drop into an apathetic frown.
"You're not fooling anyone. You're not the Blight of Bonesburrow. She's been dead for years''.
"The…what? I have no clue who or what you're talking about?".
"Good". Emira subtly sneered while she spoke. "It's best we all forget that prophecy existed".
The hateful witch turned her back to me. She began walking to class, but she kept her pace slow for a minute so I could hear what she said next.
"See you around, sister".
I took a deep breath out while watching her leave. I don't think I'd ever been happier to see Emira walk away from me, and that's saying something.
"That was really stupid" Edric murmured after turning his attention back to me. "I mean thank you, but that was really stupid".
"I don't get it" I huffed. "How can she think it's okay to treat anyone like that".
"Because everyone's too afraid to tell her she can't".
"And what makes Emira so scary?".
"She's a decent illusionist," my brother began. "But it's the way she uses her magic that's got everyone so anxious, even though she'll only fight who she considers powerful enough to rival her".
"Really?" I prodded with a grimace. That sort of self-confidence was eerily familiar.
"Yeah. This one time she was supposed to fight the human that used to hang around the owl lady, but she told the head coveness "no" right to her face. And Miss Lilith canceled the fight!".
"Luz" I whispered in shock. Don't think I'd forgotten what Boscha said about her, that she was begging in the marketplace because she had lost Eda.
"You know her?" Edric questioned.
"I do," I hurriedly admitted. "But I haven't seen her in a bit. How is she?".
"I'm not sure. Ever since the owl lady was petrified, she's been trapped here. She's in the market a lot, begging for food. I try to give her some whenever I see her, but most people just ignore her. I'm…honestly worried about her, but not because she's starving".
"She blames herself for what happened to Eda, doesn't she?" my voice cracked along with my heart. I could only imagine the pain the human was feeling.
"I'm not sure. I've asked Agustus about it, since he visits her whenever he can, but he says she doesn't like to talk about it".
Worry welled inside me. It felt like I had a bunch of live fairies in my stomach, trying to gnaw their way out. All the unsurety gave me an itch that could only be satisfied by seeing Luz myself. I didn't know what I'd find at the owl house, but I knew I had to know.
Edric took a step, beginning his trek to class, but he instantly stopped and cried out in pain. His hands shot straight for his lower back.
"Here" I said while drawing a spell circle. From a small pod hooked to my belt, a splash of abomination matter tightly twisted into a cane. For a little extra flare, I added a bat wrapped in its wings at the top.
"For me?" the older witch asked as I handed it towards him.
"Don't mention it". The anxiety in my voice broke through my confidence. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on Luz".
"Alright" Edric smiled. "Thanks again, Hecate".
I took a few moments to watch my brother hobble away, to see if the cane helped him any, then I burst into a run towards the entrance.
Once outside, I tried to summon Ghost, only to find she was gone! She mustn't have made the jump to Hexide with me! Titan dammit! Yet another thing I had to worry about!
No…There was no use being worried about Ghost. She was a strong cat who could take care of herself. I had to save all my worry for Luz.
After a quick run to the marketplace (which would've been even faster if I had a staff), I dove into the woods and raced to the clearing the owl house was nestled in. Before I had a chance to spot him, Hooty was right in my face. His feathers were rustled as he uncharacteristically hissed at me.
"Who are you?! If you're here to take the rest of my family away, I'll tear you to pieces, hoot hoot!".
"Relax, Hooty" I soothed. I reached into one of the many bags hanging from my arms and pulled out some cream filled cockroaches, which I knew were the bird's favorite. "I'm a friend".
The worm-like house demon instantly popped back to his old self. He yanked the treat from my hand and began to crunch on it absentmindedly.
"May I come in?". Hooty said nothing. He only enthusiastically nodded as he opened the door.
Inside the owl house looked downright horrid. As always, there was a bunch of human junk scattered everywhere, but it was covered in layers of dust and cobwebs. Hell, the entire house was covered in dust, even the couch that King was currently laying on.
The dark furred demon was curled up in the corner, his skull tightly nestled in his claw filled paw. He didn't look too thin, but exhaustion radiated from him like heat. His yellow eye peaked open before he jumped up in surprise with a "weh". His tail ruffled defensively like an angry cat.
"Don't worry. I'm here to help" I reassured as I slowly approached him.
"Help?" the little demon echoed.
"Someone at Hexide told me you and Luz were pretty hungry, so I figured I'd bring over some food".
"But how did you find us? We're in a hidden part of the woods".
"Lucky guess" I laughed nervously while digging through another bag. "Now would you like some fairy puffs? Or maybe some bacon wrapped eye balls?".
Once he saw the many snacks I had to offer, his suspicion dropped. He stared at them hungrily, the temptation being much stronger than the little guy could handle.
"Can I have both?".
"Of course. I figured you'd want both anyways" I chuckled. "Now where's Luz? I'm sure she would like a nice griffin egg omelet".
King sank at the mention of his friend's name. He swallowed his sadness along with the fairy puff he had in his mouth.
"Is she okay?" I questioned while my friendly smile disappeared. I knew the answer, yet I wanted details.
"She didn't get out of her sleep sack this morning. She looks…really, really, bad".
I sighed out the ache building up in my chest, before murmuring an "okay" to myself.
"I'll go see if I can get her to come downstairs" I hmmed.
"I don't know…" King mumbled unsurely.
"I'll be careful," I promised. "Besides, it sounds like she needs to eat as soon as possible".
When I opened the door to her room, I was expecting to see a grim sight. But what I saw was much worse than all the horrible scenarios spinning in my head. Just like King had said, Luz was lying limp in her sleep cocoon. Her caramel skin clung onto her meatless bones, and her dark scruffy hair was tangled like vines. She looked like she was long dead, just a body left to rot, but she was still alive. I could tell from the tiny movements her chest made when she breathed in and out.
"Luz" I murmured after I sat down beside her. She jolted awake, alarm shooting through her like a small shock of magic.
"Who are you?" she rasped. "How did you get past Hooty?".
"With snacks" I hushed. "I brought you some food too".
"You did?". For a moment Luz remembered how hungry she was. But then the sadness haunting her pushed its way back to the front of her mind before she could fully sit up.
"That's very nice of you but…I don't really think I deserve it".
"Why wouldn't you?" I questioned, though I already knew why. This world's Eda wasn't saved before she was petrified, and her guilt and grief had merged into one foul beast.
"You've heard of the owl lady, right. Well, I did something stupid, thinking I could help her, but instead it got her petrified".
"You tried to steal the healing hat, and Lilith captured you" I sighed, struggling to keep the growl in my throat down. It was bad enough she embarrassed me in front of everyone in order to get back at her sister, but then she nearly got Luz killed.
"How did you know?". Luz's beautiful brown eyes widened in amazement. Despite her despondency, her fascination with the demon realm could never be killed.
"Er…magic?".
"Makes sense". Luz's voice sunk into a murmur. "Then you know what happened afterwards".
"You went to break her free, and you fought Belos. But…you lost".
"I had no chance! I only know a stupid light spell!".
"What?!" I couldn't help but gasp. "But didn't Eda ever take you to the knee?".
"She did but….Well, I thought her way of teaching was too weird, and I didn't listen to her! If I'd known what would happen to her later…". Luz's words got stuck in the lump of grief in her throat. Tears began to form in her tired sunken eyes.
"Then you angered the slither beast"I went on slowly.
"No". The human's confusion gave her a moment away from her sorrow. "I barely saw the slither beast".
So Eda was never captured. But that meant…
"Luz, was anyone else with you on the knee?".
"It was just Eda and me. Why?".
I thought back to our trip that fateful day. Luz angered the slitherbeast by using my training wand, and she said she learned her second spell when I trapped her in the magical cage. The Luz in my world never would've learned that spell had we not run into each other!
No one knew who I was in this world, not my siblings or girlfriend. Did that mean there was no Amity there before me?
"Okay" I said with a deep breath. "No worries. You can learn a second spell and make it into Hexide. There you would be surrounded by friends and get at least one meal a day".
"No!" Luz yowled with all of her might. "Me wanting to learn magic is what got Eda killed! Had I never stayed here she would've never been captured! She'd still be alive!".
I was about to give the human a big speech about how she shouldn't blame herself for Belos hurting others, but I stopped myself. No matter what I said, it wouldn't extinguish Luz's guilt.
"That wasn't your fault, Luz" I began sternly. "But even if it was, you've got to keep going. She'd want you to, because she cared about you".
"But she can't care about me NOW! SHE'S DEAD!".
"Eda will forever be Eda, alive or not! Which means she'll always be your mentor and you'll always be her apprentice. You were following in Eda's footsteps, now it's up to you to continue them!".
"But what if I'm not good enough…" she sniveled before a sob finally broke through. "What if I just screw up again, like I always do!".
I let out a soft shush while pulling the starved teen into my arms. She nestled into me, my arm being soaked in her tears.
"Luz, you're already worth it. That's why we all care about you".
I didn't know if it was for minutes, or for an hour, but we both sat in silence for a little while. Luz's trembling slowly stilled over time. Her hics and sniffs grew fewer and far between. Finally, I slightly leaned away from the human, so I could look into her now raw red eyes.
"How about I get you some food? Does griffin eggs sound good?".
"U'huh" she whimpered. Her hold on me tightened when I first tried to move, but then she let me go.
As shaky as a new-born deer, Luz climbed onto her feet. I offered the poor human my arm, but she was determined to walk on her own. Her first few steps were slow, she seemed scared to put what little weight she had on each foot, but soon she was able to walk to the hallway and down the stairs.
"Luz" King cried as soon as he saw her. "You're up".
"I couldn't lay in bed all day," she replied encouragingly. "I need to get something to eat".
With a simple spell circle, an abomination golem rose from the ground. I wordlessly ordered it to grab a pan and start frying up some griffin eggs. I didn't need to ask Luz how she wanted them. As her awesome girlfriend, I knew how she liked her breakfast.
"So…" Luz drawled "I don't think I've caught your name yet".
"Yeah," King pipped in. "Who are you?".
"You can call me Hecate". Though I knew another me didn't exist there, I still stuck with my alias. It would make things less confusing for me.
"Hecate?". The light flashed back into Luz's eyes as excitement flowed through her. "You're an Azura fan?! You get those here?!".
"Yeah, but no one else I know is one". That wasn't entirely a lie. "You're the first fan I've ever talked to".
"What's your favorite scene?".
"The climax of book four, though Malingale's flashback in book five is a close second".
"You're a Malingale stand, huh?".
"Guilty as charged".
"And where are you from?" King continued. "I don't think I've seen you around Bonesburrow before".
"I'm…new here". That wasn't a lie either. "I've come here from the ribs".
"And why's that?".
"Lay off her, King" Luz joshingly chided. "It's not like she's a spy for the emperor's coven…right?".
"Definitely not" I huffed with a roll of my eyes. "I used to want to be a scout, but now I know they aren't as cool as everyone makes them out to be".
"Tell me about it!" the human snarled, her voice darkening like the sky at dusk. A tremor of fear ran up my spine. I'd never seen Luz so full of malice before. It seemed almost unnatural. "If only I knew more than one spell. I would have torn Lilith and Kikimora apart!".
"Speaking of which, what happened to Lilith? Doesn't she live here with you?".
"Lilith was petrified along with Eda" King explained despite the painful memories flashing before his eyes. "I would've been too if Luz didn't stop Kikimora in time".
"How'd you do that with only a light spell?". Luz grimaced at my question, a storm of emotions welling deep inside of her.
"I snuck up behind her and put my hands around her throat. As soon as she figured out, she couldn't wiggle free she stopped the petrification".
"And the portal? What happened to that?".
"It was destroyed," Luz admitted. What little energy she had drained from her in seconds. "Bellos tried to steal it from me, and I used it to block one of his attacks. I…I had no choice! I would've been killed if I hadn't–".
"Luz" I cried. I held the teen's shoulder in an attempt to ground her. "What matters is you're safe now".
"Hardly. I have no way of making money and everything I can actually stomach here has gone up in price. If it weren't for Gus and a few people in the marketplace, I would've starved to death by now and King would be all alone".
"What about Willow? Hasn't she been able to help lately?".
Luz blankly stared at me for a moment before asking, "Who's that?".
"What?".
"Willow. Who's Willow?".
"You've never met Willow?". Titan, my head was spinning so much I needed to sit down. "But you've met Gus?".
"I met him at the marketplace. He was so excited to meet an actual human he nearly had a heart attack". The smile the younger witch had brought Luz was short lived. A bittersweet feeling hung in the air like cobwebs. "He's always wanted to join the human appreciation club at his school, but he doesn't think the other students would like him very much. He says he doesn't really trust anyone there".
"Not even Willow," I sighed.
A frustrated growl rumbled in my throat. This world was just too weird! Emira hated Edric, Eda and Lilith were gone, Gus and Willow had never met, nothing was as it should've been! Why did everything suck here?! What was going on?!
Well, Luz wasn't able to fight off Belos because she never learned the other glyphs. And she hadn't learned her second spell because there was no Amity in this world there to trap her with a cage spell. Could that be why everything else was so wrong?
I shook my head as I internally chided myself. Stop being ridiculous! I wasn't THAT important!
"Are you okay?". I broke out of my thoughts to find both King and Luz staring at me.
"Yeah, I'm fine" I lied while swallowing my concern. "Everything is going to be fine. I'll introduce you and Gus to Willow, and I'll help you build a new portal".
"We can make another portal!" Luz gasped. "How?!".
"We just need to get Philip's diary and–". A thought struck me like a powerful spell. "You still have the key, don't you?!".
Luz pulled the small brown key from behind her shirt. Seeing the eye in the middle without any cracks brought back the breath that was taken away a moment ago.
"Great! That'll make it a whole lot easier to build a new portal".
With a groan, the abomination golem I had summoned placed a plate on the counter in front of Luz. The poor human stared at the food on it hungrily, yet hesitancy made her freeze.
"It won't make you sick," I prodded. When she didn't move, I added a calm "trust me".
That was enough to make her take a small bite. There was a small moment of still, then a relieved smile fell on Luz's face. She took another much bigger bite before taking a drink of the milk sitting beside her.
"That has to be the best omelet I've ever tasted".
"It can't be that good" King hmphed before Luz shoved a forkful into his mouth. His yellow eyes went wide, and his fluffy tail began to wag.
"Do you want one too?" I chuckled.
"Yeff pleafe" he answered, his mouth still full. With a big gulp, he swallowed his bite before continuing. "Why are you helping us?".
I needed a moment to think. I knew why I was helping them of course. My love for Luz was stronger than the titan himself. But I couldn't tell this version of Luz and King that. They had just met me.
"Because I know what it's like to feel alone, to feel like the entire isle's against you. For a while it seemed like the only one who cared about how I was doing was me. Then someone came along who wanted to help me, despite how awful I was towards them. They saved my life, figuratively and literally". I stared deeply into Luz's bright brown eyes, my earnest making me feel both as light as a feather and as strong as stone. "I'm going to help you, Luz. Just like y–er that person helped me".
"Really?" she gasped in awe. Tears began to well in her eyes as she held back her relief.
"I promise. I will get you home".