The Surprises Keep on Coming
"This is how we are going to proceed," Lilith informed the group, then looked at Eda. "Edalyn, since you are familiar with this, you lead us. If it gets too difficult, I will take over."
The wild witch nodded and then looked at Raine.
"And what do you plan to do, Rainestorm?" Eda asked curiously.
The bard grinned as they placed their violin on their shoulder.
"I will be using a bard spell to create an air cushion," Raine explained, striking a chord with their bowstring. "That way, if something like what you told us happens, I can soften the fall."
Lilith nodded, impressed with the bard's thinking. "That's a wise decision, Raine Whispers." She looked at her sister with a serious expression. "Let us begin."
Eda nodded and looked at Camila. The witch saw how nervous the human was and offered her a smile.
"Don't worry, squirt," Eda assured the human. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you."
Camila still looked doubtful but quickly steeled her nerves the best she could. Eda's smile grew ever so slightly before she looked at her sister and partner. Words weren't needed between the three, and they started.
Raine played a soft melody, covering the area in their magic. Camila watched in wonder as the air around them seemed to thicken and curiously pressed the air in front of her. She giggled when she felt something like soft cotton.
Eda and Raine smiled at this before the wild witch got to work; she created a spell circle about the size of a coin and, after a quick breath, pointed the circle at the human.
The spell flew at Camila and pressed itself against her forehead. Eda inhaled a quick breath and created another spell, this one about the length of her extended hand. Besides the wild witch, Lilith created a spell circle of her own, roughly the same size as Eda's, and held a small bottle behind her circle.
Eda took another breath, held it for about 10 seconds, and exhaled slowly, pulling her spell circle back slowly.
Everyone watched as a wisp of purple magic came from the circle on Camilia's forehead and towards Eda's spell circle.
Raine kept their eyes on the wisp as it slowly traveled through the air; so far, things were going smoothly. Things changed, however, when the wisp touched the Eda's spell circle.
The wisp suddenly thickened and began to violently thrashed about. Eda groaned as she felt the strain immediately and grabbed the hand holding the spell circle by the wrist. She gritted her teeth and widened her stance for more support as she felt the pull on the wisp increase.
Lilith and Raine watched as Eda began to sweat and struggled to hold her ground.
"Edalyn!" Lilith called to her sister, "Let's switch!"
Lilith moved to replace Eda, but Eda stopped her with a fierce glare.
"N-No!" Eda groaned out stubbornly. "If I can power through this, it will get easier!"
Lilith scowled at her sister, planning on reprimanding Eda, when the wisp suddenly got more violent and whipped against Eda's spell circle, causing her to scream out in pain. Raine's eyes widened, and they considered abandoning their spell to hurry to their girlfriend's side.
The bard was about to stop their spell when they heard Camila cry out and looked at the human. Raine gritted their teeth when they saw the child in just as much pain as their girlfriend.
No, Raine realized Camila was in a bit more pain than Eda. They didn't miss the glow coming from the child's chest, either.
They filed this new development into the back of their mind and changed the song they were playing, going from a soft, inviting melody to a soothing rhythm.
The air around the four quickly changed, going from a cushioning feeling to a soothing vibe. Eda and Camila felt some of the tension leave them, and Eda refocused her efforts to create this new echo.
Lilith watched as Eda continued with her spell. Despite Raine's spell taking away some of the pain, she could see her sister was struggling.
"Eda!" Lilith called to her sister. "You have done enough! I am taking over!"
Eda gave her sister a defiant look, and Lilith growled at her sister's pigheadedness. She took a second to ensure everything lined up correctly and then shoulder-checked Eda hard.
With a groan, Eda was knocked to the ground as Lilith took her place and commandeered her spell. The Coven lieutenant gritted her teeth and set her feet as she felt how powerful the spell was.
Even with Raine's spell soothing her body, Lilith's arm was already stressed to the point where it felt like it would break at any time. Still, the lieutenant soldiered on.
Soon, the wisp detached from Camila and made its way to Lilith. The wisp thrashed as it was absorbed into Lilith's spell circle. Lilith barely had time to bottle the echo before her spell circle pulsed.
"RAINE!" Eda shouted. "CHANGE YOUR SPELL BACK!"
The bard barely managed to change their spell back to the previous one when a powerful shockwave exploded out from Lilith's spell circle. The four screamed as they were blown off their feet. Thankfully, Raine's spell cushioned their fall, so they didn't suffer any major injuries.
The three witches and one human stayed where they were as they tried to get their bearings. They didn't even notice when Hooty slithered into the backyard, a rare look of concern on his face.
"Is everyone okay?" the house demon asked in concern.
Lilith was the first to recover; she got onto her hands and knees, blinking a few times as her eyes began to focus. She slowly looked around and saw the others coming around. Except for Camila, the human still looked unconscious.
"Camila!" Raine exclaimed when they saw the state the human was in.
The bard crawled to the girl and checked her. Lilith watched as relief washed over their sister's partner, and she took that as a good sign. With the matter settled, the coven lieutenant turned her attention to her sister.
"Edayln, why didn't you warn us about how much backlash creating the echo would cause," Lilith reprimanded her sister.
"Hey," Eda retorted, getting defensive, "It didn't have that much kick when I made my echo!"
This caught Lilith and Raine off guard, and the Emperor's Coven member looked at the human. Camila was stirring, and Lilith decided not to waste time arguing with her sister.
The lieutenant looked at the echo in her hand for a moment and then looked back at her sister.
"Once the child has recovered, I would like to get a body scan," the elder Clawthrone told her sister.
Eda gave her sister a suspicious look. Lilith sighed when she saw the look.
"You probably didn't see, but when we were creating the echo, there was a light shining from the child's chest," Lilith explained calmly.
Eda looked back at Camila, who had awakened and was getting her bearings. Looking back at her sister, she wasn't sold on what she heard. Thankfully, Lilith had some backup in this matter.
"Eda," Raine piped in, "Lilith's right. I saw the light, too."
The wild witch looked at her partner and stared deeply into their eyes. Eda couldn't find any doubt in Raine's eyes and sighed. She looked at Camila for a second and then turned her attention to Lilith.
"Okay, you can scan the squirt," Eda replied reluctantly, leveling a small glare at her sister. "But I'm going to be there with you."
Lilith nodded and looked at the human child, gauging her. Camila appeared fully recovered, but the coven lieutenant noticed how nervous Camila suddenly looked. Eda also noticed the human's state and walked up to her.
"Don't worry, squirt," the wild witch said reassuringly, "This spell wouldn't knock you for a loop like the last one."
Camila stared at Eda for a second and slowly looked at Raine. The bard saw the nervousness in the human's eyes, and they got the idea of what was on her mind.
"If you're uncomfortable with me seeing you in your birthday suit, I will wait outside," Raine assured the human.
Camila kept her eyes on Raine for a second and then looked at Eda. She slowly nodded, and Eda held out her hand as she smiled. The human took the witch's hand, and Ed helped Camila to her feet.
Then, the human and two witches entered the Owl House with Raine watching them.
"Say," Hooty suddenly said, getting in Raine's face. "What to hear about what I did before I landed here?"
Raine looked at the house demon with their eyes and then screamed, "On second thought, I will check in with the Bard Coven! I did leave suddenly a few days ago! BYYEEE!"
The talented bard then bolted from the area with such speed that it was a wonder why they didn't leave a dust cloud in their wake.
(SC)
"...Titan!" was all Lilith could think about saying after seeing the human's bare skin.
Eda was in just as much shock as her sister. Then again, who wouldn't be when someone saw four gruesome scars on a child's rib cage?
"Edalyn?" Lilith asked calmly, looking at her sister. "How could you have not known about these scars?"
The wild witch tried to shake off her shock and looked at her sister with a weak glare.
"Hey," Eda argued weakly, "The squirt's a big girl. She can dress herself."
Lilith shook her head but couldn't find fault with her sister's logic. Instead, she looked back at the human and couldn't help but stare at the scars.
After entering the house, Lilith had Camila dress down to her underwear to make the scanning easier. That's when they discovered the scars.
Lilith frowned as she studied the scars more thoroughly. The wounds ran across the human's ribs and had jagged edges. What bothered Lilith most about the scars were the wounds themselves.
The lieutenant's behavior didn't go unnoticed by her younger sister.
"What's on your noggle, Lily?" Eda asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
Lilith's eyes lingered on Camila's scars for a second, and then she looked at her sister.
"It's not important at the time," the Coven Lieutenant informed her sister and looked at Camila. "Now, please lay down on the couch."
Eda looked at her sister skeptically for a second, sighed, and turned her attention to the human.
Camila looked uncertainly at the wild witch, and Eda offered her a reassuring smile. The human hesitantly went over and climbed onto the couch. Lilith walked over to the couch as she made a spell circle.
The Coven lieutenant brought her spell circle over the human and held both hands out. She spread her arms wide, and her circle expanded until it was the length of Camila's body.
"Now, you may feel a slight tingle," Lilith told the human, "But it is important you remain as still as possible."
Camila looked at the circle over her for a few seconds and then at Lilith, nodding. Lilith returned the gestures and then began lowering her spell circle.
Camila continued to eye the circle with growing fear but did as instructed. The circle passed over the human, and a navel blue mist was created. Lilith summoned a small bottle and, with a wave, moved the mist into the bottle.
She corked the bottle and looked at the mist. She nodded at this latest echo and looked at her sister.
"I will have Head Witch Drakus see to these echoes," Lilith informed her sister. "Now, if you all will excuse me."
Lilith was about to take her leave when Eda grabbed her shoulder.
"I see you out," The wild witch said bluntly.
Lilith could tell from her sister's tone that she wanted to discuss a few things. She nodded, and Eda looked at Camila.
"Squirt, why don't you get decent while I talk with my prissy sissy," the wild witch told the human.
Camila nodded and got off the couch. Eda watched as the human began dressing herself before she and Lilith exited through the front door.
"What do you want to talk about?" Lilith asked though part of her felt she knew what Eda was about to say.
Eda glared at her sister as she put her hands on her hips. "What with the look you gave the squirt?" she asked suspiciously.
Lilith sighed and replied, "Edalyn, don't insult mine or your intelligence. You are well-versed in magic studies. So, you are aware that modern healing techniques would make such scarring nearly impossible."
Eda's face fell slightly as she looked at the ground. She had thought that when she saw the scars and what they meant…it didn't sit well with her.
"And," Lilith added, drawing her sister's attention, "From what I heard, those cultists are well-trained in their magic. So, I highly doubt they would be sloppy enough to leave four near-identical scars on the human."
Eda let out a frustrated sigh and looked at her house. Again, she had these same thoughts when she saw the scars. Not knowing what those cultists had planned for the kid was starting to make Eda's stomach turn.
"Now, I believe I should be going," Lilith said, summoning her staff. "I will inform you of the results as soon as they are done."
The Covenn lieutenant mounted her staff and took off before Eda could say another word. Eda watched as her sister disappeared into the horizon and sighed.
"This entire thing is getting too big for my liking," the wild witch muttered, heading back into the house.
(Five hours later)
"What'cha you working on, squirt?" Eda asked as she stepped into the living room.
The human child looked up at her cave taker and smiled as she showed what she had been working on. Eda chuckled when she saw the ice glyph and turned her eyes to the table. She smiled slightly when she noticed the pile of glyph papers, and an idea hit her.
"Hey, kid, want a show?" Eda asked playfully.
Camila beamed and nodded eagerly. Eda felt her heart warm at the sight and took a step away from the table. She created three spell circles, and light orbs emerged from them. Camila stared up in awe at the orbs, and Eda grinned as she created two more circles.
A belt with a pouch came out of one of the spell circles as Camila's papers became covered in Eda's magic. The papers lifted from the table and spread out, forming a circle in front of the Wild Witch.
Eda spun her hands in front of her, and the paper moved clockwise. She spun around on her right heel, and the paper flowed around her in a marvelous display. She stopped and, seeing the kid completely captivated, grinned.
She slammed her right fist into her left palm, and Camila's papers flew into the pouch. The human clapped excitedly as the belt landed on the table. Eda bowed in a hammy way.
"Thank you, thank you," Eda said dramatically. "I will be here all week."
Eda straightened up and saw that Camila wasn't clapping anymore. Instead, the human was staring at one of the light orbs in a familiar way.
Before Eda could ask anything, Camila took a blank paper and got to work. Like before, it took a while for Camila to get whatever she saw down on paper, and Eda took a seat next to the couch as she studied the new glyph.
This new glyph remained Eda of a bow with an arrow being knotted, and the arrowhead had a circle in it.
Eda looked at the human child and watched as Camila slowly brought her finger down. Black lightning shot from the human's finger and hit the paper. The paper disintegrated as a light orb was created, stunning the witch and human.
"Well, I'll be darn," Eda said in awe. "There's more than one of these things."
Before anyone could dive further into this new development, there was a knock at the door. Eda frowned as she stood up.
"That can't be Lily already?" the wild watched wonder as she walked over to the door. Her mood immediately soured when she opened it and saw who it was. "Great, it's you."
(G Corner)
This may be cruel, but with this chapter done, I will be putting this story and my "Legend Ride Again" story on hold so I can focus on finishing my "Noceda-Clawthorne" series.
