Lilith Clawthorne, a member of the Emperor's Coven, and the elite of the coven. For years now she has tried to wrangle in her sister, Edalyn, to join the Emperor's Coven alongside her, all so that Emperor Belos could finally cure the curse that her sister was under. But all her attempts and trying to sway her sister into joining had come up fruitless, she even resorted to force, but it seemed that – despite the curse – Eda was still as strong as ever. After their game of Grudgby, she promised Eda that their next meeting would end with Eda joining the coven, one way or another.
However, the "Capture Eda" edict from the Emperor had been put on pause due to the random disappearances going on around the island. While she was thankful for the distraction, it was troubling, nonetheless. Witches were disappearing at random around the Boiling Isles, ranging from young to old, the victims had no affiliation with each other, they weren't even acquaintances. What's worse, they didn't even have a suspect, the magic traces that they found at the abduction sites were strange, it was unlike the magic they used, it was practically foreign. No suspects, and no clues, nothing to go on, they couldn't even narrow their protection detail because the victims were chosen at random.
But that was on the backburner for right now, as Lilith had come to answer the call of her dear sister. She had intercepted a message from Eda, requesting to meet up and talk about the Emperor's Coven. Lilith had to admit, despite all this mystery, she was giddy at the idea that her sister had finally, possibly, changed her mind. The green-eyed witch waited in the spot that Eda requested, out in the forest where no one would see them.
Just then, a crack of lightning went off right beside her, exploding the ground before Lilith and forcing her to conjure a shield to protect herself. When the dust cleared, Lilith saw her sister, eyes aglow with magical power as a golden aura raged around the infamous Owl Lady.
"Sister…what is the meaning of this?!" Lilith demanded.
"Just when I thought you had tried everything, this is going too far, Lily!" Eda stated.
Eda's staff, which rested in her left hand, glowed brighter, resonating with her power.
"What are you talking about?!"
"Don't play dumb!" Eda dashed towards Lilith. The Coven witch summoned her white raven staff and brought it up just in time to block Eda's strike, creating a shockwave of energy that forced the trees near them to be uprooted. "You had Luz kidnapped, didn't you?! Admit it!"
"Luz? Wait, do you mean that human girl?!" Lilith asked.
A burst of magical energy forced them to break apart, allowing Eda to draw a magic circle and fire off a magical energy blast straight for her sister. Lilith saw the attack and quickly raised another shield to block the beam, but at the last second, the beam split three ways and struck the barrier from three different sides. Eda slammed the butt of her staff against the ground and sent a surge of energy underneath it, and right under Lilith's shield. Lilith realized too late what her sister was up to, and only managed a thin shield layer before the underground blast erupted below her and threw her in the air.
Eda drew another circle and made three large owl heads rise from the ground. The owl heads snaked up into the air and wrapped themselves around Lilith completely binding her. The Owl Lady flew into the air until she was eye level with Lilith. "No more games, Lily, tell me where your cronies took Luz and I promise I won't turn you inside out!"
"Listen to me, Edalyn, I didn't do anything to your human!" Lilith confessed.
"Really? Willing to stake your life on it?" Eda asked as she drew another magic circle and placed her hand through it. "You know what kind of spell this is, right?"
"The 'Speak Truth' spell. An extreme lie detecting spell that compels you to tell the truth, or pay the price…"
"Lie once, you'll get a painful shock through the arm, and it'll make you answer with the truth. Lie twice, and you'll be hurting so bad you'll wish you were dead, and also make you tell the truth. And if you lie a third time…"
"I confess the lie I was trying to hide before I die. I'm well aware of the stakes."
Eda narrowed her gaze. "So, take my hand, unless you do know something and are afraid of dying?" The owl heads released Lilith's hands just enough for her to reach out and take Eda's hand. As she did that, the owl head hovered over her still bound wrist, opening its beak and lightly clamping down on it. "If you try and draw a circle, I'll have that take off your hand."
"You're really serious, aren't you sister?"
"You screwed with Luz, you bet your ass I'm serious," Eda warned.
Lilith grasped Eda's hand, activating the spell.
"Okay, let's test it out. When did you stop wetting the bed?"
"EDALYN!" Lilith balked.
"C'mon, Sis, it's just a simple question," said Eda.
"An embarrassing one! Why of all things would you ask me that?!"
"One to get a rise out of you, and to make sure it's working." The ring around their joined hands started to hum. "You better answer soon, Lily, or else."
Lilith growled in frustration, her face burned with anger and embarrassment, but she needed to get this over with. "Fine, I didn't stop until I was ten! Alright?!"
The ring went silent.
"Heh, good, it works. Now, onto the serious matter. Did you kidnap Luz?"
"No, I did not kidnap the human girl."
Eda looked at the ring, there was no reaction.
"Okay, did any of your little cronies do it on your behalf?"
"No, the Emperor has actually suspended operations with your capture in order for us to focus on the kidnappings."
Eda watched the ring, and yet again, there was no reaction. "Holy crap, you really are telling the truth…"
Lilith shot her sister an annoyed glare. "Yes, I am!"
Eda released Lilith's hand and dismissed the owl heads, allowing Lilith to fall back to the ground and land on her rear. The Owl Lady floated softly back to forest floor and ran her hand through her gray locks. "No…dammit…no…!"
"What is the meaning of all this?!" Lilith asked as she stood back up.
"Luz has been kidnapped! And my only lead was you!"
"Wait, kidnapped? Like the others?! How long ago?!" Lilith asked.
Eda shook her head. "A few minutes ago, she was taken right in front of one of her friends–!"
"And there's a witness!" Lilith rushed to Eda and grabbed her by her blouse. "Take me to them!"
Eda and Lilith flew to the Blight Manor, upon touching down, Eda groaned in disgust. She knew of the Blights, they were one of the many prominent witch families on the Isles, also, she went to school with them. But right now, she needed to push all that to the side, Luz was priority one. The Clawthorne sisters walked through the many Emperor's Coven sentries that were currently investigating the area, trying to find any leads they could. The sisters walked into Blight Manor where Eda found the young Blight girl, Amity, flanked by her twin siblings. She looked miserable.
Amity looked up and her eyes went wide at the sight of the sisters, she quickly tried to spring to feet, only to stumble forward. Thankfully, her siblings were able to catch her before she was able to kiss the floor. "Ms. Eda, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I couldn't protect her! I…I…!"
Lilith approached Amity and knelt in front of her, she then placed her left hand on Amity's shoulder and said, "Please calm down, Ms. Blight. Edalyn doesn't blame you."
"Ya darn right I don't," said Eda as she stood behind her sister. "After what I saw during Grom Night, I know better than anyone that you and Luz probably put up one hell of a fight."
Amity managed to calm down as she sat back in the chair that they had brought out to her. "We did…We used all we had, but it wasn't enough…those things…they were stronger than they looked…"
Lilith returned to her standing height and asked, "Do you remember what they looked like? Please, Ms. Blight, you're the first eye witness we have that can properly ID these demons."
Amity drew a magic circle with her left hand, she then widened the circle and focused her thoughts on the events of earlier, which wasn't hard at all. Soon the memories of what happened began to play out, showing how both teens fought valiantly to combat the unknown demons, when the demons came into view, Amity paused the memory and allowed the Clawthorne sisters to see the creatures that had abducted Luz.
"The hell are those things?" Eda asked.
"Not like any demon I've ever seen, or read about," said Lilith.
"Oh, what is all this commotion about?"
Eda narrowed her gaze as she followed the sound of that annoying voice. She remembered it from her days at Hexside, and lo and behold, there they were, descending the stairs and wearing expressions as if they were just interrupted by solicitors. Odalia Blight, the matriarch of the Blight household, she wore a white vest with crystal ball images over a purple blouse, a pair of dark gray pants, and a pink gemstone that hung around her neck. She also had green hair and a pair of crystal blue eyes. Next to her was her husband, Alador Blight, he looked overworked and tired, as if it was his default look. He wore a dark gray lab coat, with light gray all of which was coated in Abomination sludge. He had brown hair and yellow eyes, and atop his head was a pair of googles.
"Odalia, Alador," Eda greeted in an even tone.
"Humph, the infamous 'Owl Lady', to what do we owe this unpleasant visit?" Odalia asked.
Lilith stepped in and answered, "We're currently investigating the disappearance cases that have been springing up around the Boiling Isles, and your youngest daughter here just gave us valuable information as to who or rather what is responsible for the kidnappings."
"My, that is troublesome, they came after our Amity?" A small smirk adorned Odalia's face. "I can see why; she is a talented witch after all. Most likely they wanted to extort money from us or planned to use Amity in some nefarious scheme. But it seems our daughter fended them off easily enough, even while injured."
Eda crossed her arms and glared at Odalia Blight. "For your information, they weren't after your daughter. They took her friend, Luz! And they both fought them off the best they could."
"A human? Oh, right, I recall Amity speaking about a human girl attending Hexside." Odalia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, what is Principal Bump thinking? A fine institute like Hexside shouldn't cater to such charity cases, especially for a magicless human."
Emira and Edric were tensing up when they heard their mother bad mouth Luz, they could see that Amity was clenching her fists on her lap, doing all she could to keep herself from telling off their mother. An action all three knew would carry a consequence, but right now Amity was distraught over losing Luz, the last thing she needed was for her mother to talk like that about the person she cared about.
However, several golden circles opened around the Blight adults, with Eda having a golden ring of light hovering around her left index finger. "Say one more word about my Luz, I dare you."
"You would attack us, in our own home, in front of the Emperor's Coven?" Alador questioned.
"Get this straight, Ally, Dally, my kid just got taken away by demons no one has ever seen before, for a reason we don't know. I'm super ticked off right now and would love to unleash all this anger out on those things, but I'm so emotionally distraught, I might ACCIDENTALLY take it out on the wrong people," Eda warned.
Lilith glared at her sister and hissed, "That's enough, Edalyn, we don't have time for this!" The top witch of the Emperor's Coven drew her own magic circle and copied the image that Amity had shown them. "Thank you, Amity, now that we know what these things look like we can start canvasing for more witnesses."
"Can I help in the search?! Please, I'll do whatever I can!" Amity begged.
Lilith shook her head. "I'm afraid not, civilians shouldn't be involved in this matter."
"And besides, kid, they may not have been after you, but there's no telling if they'll change their minds and try and come after you this time around," Eda warned.
"I'd like to see them try, Blight Industries is the best in home defense, and being the owners and founders of said company, our home security is second to none," said Odalia.
"All the same, I'll put a protection detail on your home," Lilith stated.
"Very good…" Odalia looked around and still saw the circles of magic that were crackling with unreleased magical energy. "Would you please put these away?!"
Eda let out a frustrated sigh and dismissed her spell before it could fire. "You're lucky I'm more concerned with finding Luz than serving up some humility to you."
Lilith summoned one of the Coven's underlings and presented him with the captured image. "Distribute that throughout the Isles immediately and start questioning as many as you can! Someone has to have seen these creatures milling about somewhere!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the lackey responded before rushing off to do just that.
"We'll be in contact should anything else arise," said Lilith as she let herself out.
Eda followed her sister, sparing a glance over her shoulder as she saw the hopeful, yet sad expression on Amity's face. She then threw a rather nasty glance at Amity's parents before leaving the large house and walking beside her sister. She didn't know that the Blight girl cared that much about Luz, she was willing to help search despite the danger and her obviously injured leg. Before, that girl seemed to have it out for Luz, now it was like they've been best friends since forever, although Eda was wondering if there was more to it than that, but that was for another day.
"Lilith, I know we've had our…disagreements, but I want in on this," said Eda.
"Normally I would deny that request on its face, however, I fear we may need your strength and unorthodox methods." Lilith cupped her chin as she thought hard about what she saw from Amity's memory. "Given what we saw from Ms. Blight's memories, it stands to reason that these creatures might be somewhat formidable, at least in a large group. The only problem is, are these creatures acting of their own volition or is there someone else pulling their strings?"
Eda raised an eyebrow. "You thinking someone's controlling these things? Why, and for what reason are they kidnapping so many people?"
"That's what's so frustrating, there's no pattern to their kidnappings!" Lilith growled. "They've kidnapped everyone from teenagers to adults, none of them worked together, had any affiliations by family or adjacent friends, some were nobility, others were commoners, and now they took a human! If we could narrow down what the commonality is, then we could figure out what they're trying to do, if not that, then at least we could start protecting the people that they're going after!"
Eda thought hard about what would require such a large amount of people, her mind immediately turned to the worst-case scenario as she looked up into the sky. "A ritual…"
Lilith stopped walking and stared at her sister, "What?"
"A ritual, tonight's moon is the Midnight Sun, when the moon will be so bright that it looks like the sky is tinted red. In some old texts I read about the witches of old, they used to perform powerful magical rituals during the time of the Midnight Sun. The results of the ritual varied depending on the purpose of the ritual…and what you sacrificed during it…"
Lilith's eyes widened as the realization hit her. "You don't think–?!"
"I'm not saying that that's what going to happen!" Eda cut in, not wanting her sister to speak that possibility out loud. "All I'm saying is that we have to be open to the possibility that's what their after. And…IF they're using people for their ritual…it can't be anything good."
Lilith tapped the butt of her staff against the ground as she thought, she didn't like it, but if it was…
"It's a long shot, but it's better than anything I've heard so far. This won't be easy, there's too many places that a ritual of that scale could be conducted, a wide-open space, a large underground cave, or cellar…"
"Well, thankfully, we caught a break with that one. These rituals need as much exposure from the Midnight Sun as possible, so they have to be held outdoors, and in a clear space with as few obstructions as possible," Eda explained.
"That will narrow the search area, the forest clearings would be best. I'll have the Coven spread out and start searching immediately." Lilith was about to conjure something but stopped and raised a weary eyebrow at her sister. "I find it a bit disconcerting that you know a lot about such a ritual."
Eda rolled her eyes at the accusation. "I've lived with this curse for years now, Lily, I looked into anything that could help me break it."
Lilith looked a little worried. "And…did you plan on using this night to break it?"
Eda placed her hands behind her head and walked forward a bit, putting her back to her sister. "The only way for that to work would be to sacrifice the original person who cursed me. They'd be broken down, their magic and lifeforce used as a driving energy to extract the curse from my body and take it away forever." Eda then turned around and flashed her trademark toothy grin. "Unfortunately, I don't know who the hell cursed me in the first place, so that idea went down the toilet a long time ago…Sis, what's wrong, you look paler than usual?"
Lilith did look a little pale; her eyes were wide as if fear had gripped her heart. A moment later, Lilith shook her head and regained her professional expression. "Sorry, I just didn't think you were that desperate…"
"You'd be too if you were me…but enough about me, let's start that search, we have…" Eda reached into her hair and pulled out a pocket watch. "Nine hours to find Luz and those people before they do anything. So, let's get moving!"
"Right!" Both witches twirled their staffs around, making wings appear from their Palismans before taking off into the air. Unbeknownst to Eda, Lilith was still gripped with the fear of what she had spoke as a solution to her curse removal. "I will rid you of that curse…sister…I promise…"
The sound of chirping crickets echoed all around Luz, along with the rustling of the leaves. She wiggled her fingers, feeling the dirt and grass beneath her palm. Her head pounded and her body ached, she could barely remember what happened, slowly she blinked her eyes open, it was dark, but she could see the moon. It was a bright red color, and the stars were out.
"Wha…I'm…outside? Amity…did I…" Suddenly her memories came flashing back, walking with Amity to her home, getting ambushed by those strange demons, and finally getting dragged down into a portal before blacking out. "AMITY!"
Luz shot up, scrambling to her feet as she tried to get an idea of what was going on. From what she could tell, she was in a clearing, Luz could make out the shadowy silhouettes of the trees in the distance, but scarcely anything else, mostly because her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dim light of the moon. Luz was about to start running, she didn't know where it would lead her, but it was better than here, however, she stopped before she could start when she noticed several glowing orange eyes peering at her. She turned around and saw that there were more of those eyes, surrounding her in a huge circle. Whatever those demons were planning, they did not want her to leave the circle, and with those arm cannons and spears, Luz knew she wouldn't get close enough to do anything.
An idea popped into her head as Luz quickly rummaged through her pockets and gulped. "Oh no…they took all my glyph papers…" Her Thorn Vault idea was quickly dashed before it could begin. Luz huddled down to the ground and checked her sleeves, she smiled when she felt a slip of paper still tucked away under her left sleeve. "Please be the plant glyph, please be the plant glyph!" Luz removed the paper and frowned a little. "Oh, the fire glyph. Okay, I can work with that…" Luz took another look around and kept it folded in her right hand. Better save it if I see an opening, then I'll use it.
Luz took another look up into the sky, something was off about all of this. Especially that moon, it seemed as if it was getting brighter by the second. Luz felt around her pockets again and found that her cellphone was still there, if she whipped it out now, she feared that the demons might shoot at her thinking she was casting a spell. So, she thought better against taking it out.
The situation wasn't good, she wasn't as familiar with all parts of the Boiling Isles yet, and due to that, she could be anywhere, so even if she decided to make a break for it, she could end up at the coast rather than civilization, and if that wasn't bad enough, there were still the numerous monsters and other demonic creatures that roamed the forests to avoid as well. But she had to stay positive, Luz had gotten out of bad scrapes before, and she had every confidence that she'd get out of this one too.
That ominous feeling returned; the air felt heavy as if a presence was bearing down its will upon her. Luz quickly looked up again and saw that the moon was inching closer to the center of sky and growing brighter as a result. Before she knew it, Luz witnessed a magical spectacle that few would ever get to see. When the moon was perfectly centered in the sky, it flashed a bright dark crimson and turned the entire sky blood red. That light shined down upon the land and immediately Luz could tell something was wrong. Now that the area was lit up, she could see the golem demons clearly, beating the butts of their spears against the ground in a rhythmic pattern.
Beneath Luz shined a bright purple color, that same glow spreading across until it stopped at the edge of where the golem demons stood. Luz could see several other people from where she was standing, all of them now getting up out of shock at what was going on. The young Latina didn't get the chance to see who exactly the other people were before another feeling overcame her. Pain, it wracked her entire body, then something else. Cracks, like glass breaking, appeared on her body. The fissures glowed a brighter shade of purple as they spread across her body, making Luz panic.
A heavy feeling pressed down on her heart as she fell to her knees, eyes going blank as the world around her drifted into shadows…
"God she's weird as all hell."
"W-What?"
"I know right? You'd think schools would have a weirdness acceptance level or something, bet they wish they did after she came here."
Luz looked around in the darkness, trying to find the owners of those voices.
"She turned her eyelids inside out at a cheer tryout! Who does something that gross?!"
"I'll tell ya, Luz Noceda, that's who!"
Laughter began to echo in the darkness, but soon that darkness was replaced by the familiar faces of her school back on Earth. All of them laughed, the faculty and adults in Luz's life all just looked at her with silent contempt, their judging eyes speaking more than words ever could. Luz began to run, but no matter how far she ran, the voices were still there, getting louder and louder.
"Freak!"
"Weirdo!"
"Nerd!"
"Different!"
"Too different!"
Luz tripped on nothing and fell to the nonexistent ground; she got to her knees and placed her hands on her ears to try and drown out their voices. "I am different! Why's that such a bad thing?!"
"Because different puts a burden on all those around you."
Luz looked up and gasped, floating before her was a large metallic looking owl creature. It reminded Luz of one those pictures of the Snow Owls, with their regal looking frame and large white wings. However, this owl had glass-like yellow eyes, black beak and talons, silver plate feathers, and colored white. At any other time, Luz would see this giant bird as a good thing, but for some reason, she only felt fear upon seeing it.
"You're different, Luz, that's all there is to it. And because of that, no one will ever accept you."
"T-That's not true!" Luz countered. "My friends, Willow, Gus, Eda, King, and Amity, they accept me!"
The giant owl covered its beak with its left wing and gave a condescending giggle. "Oh, you poor delusional thing, do you hear yourself? You had to go to another world just make friends. And even in a world filled with demons, witches, and magic, you're still the odd, weird, freaky human girl. If anything, you're a novelty to them, at some point, your weirdness will be more annoying than charming."
"STOP IT! They don't think that!"
"And you're the expert on how we think?" the voice of Willow echoed.
Luz turned around and saw the glasses wearing witch standing there and smiling sweetly at her. The Latina hurriedly rushed to her friend and hugged her tight. "Willow! You're here, I'm so glad you are!"
Willow hugged Luz back and said, "Of course I am, I don't want to leave my favorite little human alone. I'd mess out on all the funny things you do."
"Y-Yeah, I do some silly stuff now and again," she agreed.
"Yeah, but honestly I'd wish you turn it down. Really, Luz, you can get a bit annoying, like REALLY annoying."
"Uh…o-okay, I-I can try and tone it down if that's what you'd like," Luz offered.
Willow gently parted from Luz and patted her on the head. "Eh, no problem, I'll only have to put up with it until you have to go back home. I won't lie, you've helped me out a lot, I'm actually popular now! So, I think you should hang around me a little less, I mean, after all, you're the one who got me involved in that stupid Grudgby match without even asking me."
"Uh…well…'
"Oh, and there was that time you broke Owlbert and almost got us eaten by the Bat Queen."
"I just…"
"Made me relive some painful memories about Amity that I wished were still buried."
"Yeah, she's a disaster," the voice of Gus added.
Luz looked to her left and saw the young Illusion Track witch standing there as he shook his head at her. "Gus…?"
"I mean, I'm just a little disappointed that my first human was someone like you. I've researched a whole bunch of human stuff, and I was hoping I'd get to meet a human who was…well…less you, I guess. Maybe someone like a human from these 'mag-a-zeens'." Gus pulled out a magazine that read "Normal Teens" on it.
"I can honestly say having you around has been like having a constent headache," the voice of Amity echoed.
Luz turned to her right and walked towards the green haired witch. "A-Amity…I-I know we had a rocky start but…"
Amity scoffed. "Rocky? You humiliated me, not once, but twice! In front of the Abomination Track class, and then in front of a stadium filled with people! Oh, and then you go and snoop in my diary?! I don't know what to think of you, honestly, I don't. I panic around you because I'm constantly wondering if you're going to do something to mess me up! And surprise, surprise, you got me injured! What's next, my arms? Maybe you're gunning for top witch and wanted take out the competition!"
"NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT AT ALL! I would never want to hurt you, Amity!" Luz argued.
Amity pointed to the cast around her leg. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
"I…I…" Luz felt tears streaming down her face as her legs shook.
The huge owl crept closer to her, its head looming over Luz as it spoke again, "And what about your poor mother? She thinks you're away at a camp, a camp that's supposed to make you into a normal girl. You know she's disappointed in you, wishing she had a daughter that gave her less stress, she's already raising you on her own, and you're only adding to her burdens. What do you think she'll say when she learns the truth?"
The images of her friends disappeared, and Luz's mother appeared before her. "Aye, Mija, I can't believe you lied to me for three whole months! I try and I try, and you keep doing this to me!"
"I…I'm sorry Mami…" Luz apologized, her eyes wide with contrition.
Camila Noceda pinched the bridge of her nose as she let out a heavy sigh. "Luz…I…sometimes I wonder if it would've been better to put you up for adoption."
The cracks from earlier multiplied quickly across Luz's body, some of them traveling up her face. "You…You don't mean that…! Mami, you don't mean that! ¡Se que me amas (I know you love me)!"
Camila said nothing as she turned her back and disappeared, leaving Luz alone, falling to her knees as she wept openly. The giant owl spread its wings and slowly began to encircle Luz.
"That's it…embrace the despair. Because, you see Luz, this is all that awaits you. Your future of always not fitting in, going against the grain, that's all that it brings you. Despair is in your future, just accept it."
The cracks on her body spread out more and more as the sound they made got louder, a small part chipped away and showed a purple light emanating from within Luz. Despite the lack of a mouth, the large metallic owl smiled on the inside.
"All you have to do is give in, and I promise you won't feel bad anymore."
Giving in did sound good, maybe then she'd never have to feel out of place, annoy people, or be a burden to those she cares about…
…
…
…
"No…"
"What was that?"
"You just want me to give up, to stop believing?" Luz asked rhetorically. "That's not who I am."
The cracks on Luz's body began to recede, causing the giant owl to back away. "What is this?!"
Luz stood up and looked up into the glowing eyes of the metallic owl. "If I just gave up then I wouldn't have found this crazy, dangerous, wonderful world!" The cracks were mending quicker. "My friends don't believe that, I refuse to believe it! Do you know why?!"
"STOP IT!" the owl shouted as it spread its wings and released a pressure wave.
Luz didn't back down as she continued to glare up at the owl. "Yeah, I know all those things about myself, and sometimes I do wonder if they'll think I'm annoying! But I'll always be there for them, just like they are for me! And my mother, she will always love me!" the chip on her chest was then sealed, leaving Luz's body completely free of the cracks. "I won't fall into any kind of despair! Because–!"
A bright light shined from Luz that engulfed the darkness and the giant owl.
The crimson light of the Midnight Sun ended, the sky returned to its normal coloring, and Luz was the only one still standing among the giant ring of purple light. Luz collapsed onto the ground unconscious, but still alive. The golem demons all looked to each other, perplexed about why the human girl was still there. Regardless, they had their orders. The few that were closest to Luz started to advance, polearms at the ready to skewer the young Latina alive.
"I can't let you do that."
The golem demons stopped when they heard the voice, but before they could figure out from which direction that voice came, the sound of blaster fire was heard right after that. Several streaks of silver flew out, weaving through the air before all ten streaks hit ten of the golem demons at once, sending them spiraling to the ground as sparks flew off their bodies. A figure emerged from the shadows, ruby red crystals shined in the shadows, the only thing that was able to be made out, at least by human eyes. The unknown figure's left hand shined with a ruby ring, and then a glow came from a gun-like weapon in their right hand. The figure placed the ring near the glowing object in his right hand and made the weapon activate.
} FIRE! SHOOTING STRIKE! {
The golem demons were about to get up, but the figure jumped over them and landed where Luz was, turning around, the figure pointed their weapon at the ten golem demons and pulled the trigger. A stream of intense flames roared out and struck all ten at once, causing a powerful explosion to erupt and briefly chased the shadows away. Luz managed to regain enough of her consciousness to view the person who was standing next to her. They wore a black robe-like armor, a silver helmet with a ruby red visor, and a in their right hand was a gun weapon, that was all she could see before knocking out again.
The unknown savior glanced down at the young girl and regarded her. "It's amazing that she survived, it means that there's hope for this world." The hero gazed into the distance and saw more of the golem demons were heading this way. "Better get you out of here and pray that someone trustworthy finds you."
The hero hurriedly picked up Luz around her waist and slung her over their back. Before the hero left, the hero pointed their gun towards the oncoming demon golems and fired off several shots, putting them down. The hero fired more shots at some oncoming demon golems that were in their way, once dealt with, they disappeared into the tree line.
(A couple of minutes earlier)
Eda and Lilith flew over the skies of the Boling Isles, and as Eda instructed, they kept their patrol around the wooded areas. Both sisters watched the sky as the moon was getting closer and closer into position, and still there was no sign of anyone.
"We'll find her, Edalyn," said Lilith.
"Lily don't try and lie to me. The odds are slim to none…but thanks." Eda's face then contorted with anger. "One way or another, I'm going to make the person responsible for this pay!"
Both witches stopped in the air and watched as the moon finally reached its apex and lit up the sky a bright red. They quickly scanned the area, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. Thirty seconds passed and still nothing, they whipped their heads back and forth and that's when Eda spotted it. A violet glow was emanating from a clearing a few yards away.
"THERE!" Eda called out.
Lilith quickly got in Eda's flight path and said, "Hold on, we can't just go rushing in!"
Eda looked at the light again and growled. "Screw this!"
The Owl Lady weaved around her sister and headed in that direction, prompting Lilith to follow after her. Unfortunately, by the time they got close the Midnight Sun ended, and the purple light faded away.
"No! No, no, no, no!" Eda cried out as they landed close to where the light was. "It was around here, wasn't it?!"
Lilith looked around, and said, "It might be further ahead!"
Eda nodded and the two sisters proceeded forward, staffs at the ready in case they were about to be attacked. As they moved through the trees they heard a rustling sound up ahead, both witches drew magic circles in the air, preparing to do battle with whatever may come. From the thicket of bushes ahead of them burst out a figure, they could barely make out his outfit, but there was one thing that they could see.
"LUZ!" Eda cried out as she aimed her staff at the stranger. "Let her go right now!"
The stranger looked to the two witches, more specifically at Eda and asked, "You know this girl? If you do, then please, take her somewhere safe!"
"Hold on," Lilith ordered. "We're here to investigate the mass kidnappings that have gone on around this Isles, and now we see you with one of the kidnapped victims! You had better start explaining!"
The stranger looked down in thought. "I knew it, so that's what they were doing…but, who's commanding them?" The stranger's body seemed to flicker, he looked at his left hand and saw it happen again. "Not good, I don't have much time left. You two, I'm trusting that you'll take care of her!" The stranger put Luz down on the ground and turned his back to them.
"Hey! Don't move!" Lilith warned. "You're coming with us to answer some questions, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!"
Eda's spell circle shined brighter as she added, "Please say the hard way."
"You don't have much time! I'll hold them off!" Suddenly, the sound of more rustling caught their attention. The stranger brought up his weapon and said, "They're getting closer! GO NOW!"
"What about the other victims?!"
"If they were there, then they're all gone, and she was the only one to survive," said the stranger.
Eda looked at Luz, worry creeping into her heart as she let the stranger's words sink in, she was right, whatever ritual they were conducting, it was meant to use Luz as a sacrifice. Yet somehow, she survived, Eda quickly moved forward and picked Luz up, she then turned to her sister and said, "Lily, we're leaving!"
"We can't just go! We need to arrest him and find the others!" Lilith stated.
"We don't have time for this! I'm taking Luz to the Healers Coven, who knows what they did to her! And you!" Eda glared at the stranger. "You better pray that Luz says you were the one who saved her, 'cause if she doesn't, you're gonna wish you were never born!"
The stranger nodded and went back into the bushes, the sounds of blaster fire and explosions soon followed as a battle raged on the other side. Lilith looked to where the stranger went, and the back to Eda, the Coven witch growled as she fired a needle of blue light straight for a tree. When Eda looked at her, she said, "It's a spell beacon, it'll allow me to find this area again! Now let's hurry!"
With little else said, the Clawthorne sisters mounted their staffs and took off into the air, with Luz resting unconsciously in Eda's arms. The Owl Lady held her apprentice close and whispered, "It's gonna be okay, kid. It'll be okay."