Chapter 10

That night, Amity couldn't sleep, tossing and turning, her mind a jumble of worry. She was still scared that Bootstilla meant harm, even if her friend said she had sent him to guard them.

But the stories had painted Bootstilla as a bounty hunter who didn't care about others and was not only good at her job, but she was also powerful, especially since any magic that was used had no effect on her. One time, a teacher at Amity's school had vanished after it had been found that he was purposely failing students to send them to detention, which hadn't set well with a lot of parents.

The police went to arrest him, but he had vanished, but two weeks later, he showed up at the police station, begging to be protected from Bootstilla, who had captured him and scared him. He had said that no magic affected her and she was powerful herself. Well, rumors had spread that day and Odalia would tell her children that if they weren't good, then they'd be taken away by Bootstilla.

Amity finally got up and quickly got dressed, picking up Ghost, who gave a meow of question. "Sorry, Ghost," she whispered. "But I need to make sure Bootstilla isn't nearby. She's dangerous and I need to protect my family."

The cat nodded and the two headed outside. Turning to the woods, Amity walked with sure steps, having a feeling she'd find the bounty hunter soon.

Bootstilla was sitting near the fire while Calabaza was doing a quick patrol. Batty was with him and as the bounty hunter placed another log on the fire, she paused, her sharp ears picking up that someone was coming her way and she knew it wasn't Calabaza. Sitting back on her log, she waited patiently before she sensed the young woman nearby. "Pretty bold of you to come find me, witchlet, considering you know the stories," she said aloud.

Amity was about to call up an Abomination when something grabbed her, making her yelp in shock as she was lifted into the air by a vine. Quickly, the vine tightened, restraining her and making her gasp as the wind was knocked out of her. She looked at the bounty hunter, but saw the young woman's face was confused before she looked behind Amity and her eyes widened.

"Nabo?" Bootstilla asked, surprised.

"I'll take care of this one, Little Pumpkin," a deep voice behind Amity said and she struggled hard.

"Let me go!" She demanded.

Hands grabbed her head firmly, but also gently as she saw what looked like another pumpkin-headed scarecrow looking at her. Fog poured out of his mouth and Amity watched as it surrounded the area before he looked at her and his eyes glowed bright, the glow seeming to get brighter.

Amity felt herself getting tired. "No," she said, struggling to get free of the vine, which loosened, but her struggles became weaker the more she looked into the pumpkin-headed scarecrow's eyes, which were now glowing purple. "What...are you...doing to me?" She asked, feeling like she was about to fall asleep.

"Taking your anxiousness and anger away," he answered, his deep voice seeming to echo slightly. "It's keeping you awake when you need sleep."

"No," she said softly, struggling to keep her eyes open, but a hand covered in soft leather reached forward and covered her eyes.

"Let go of that anxiousness and anger, Little Lavender," he said, his voice taking an encouraging tone that was both soft and gentle, reminding her of her father. She was unable to fight back the call of sleep any longer and closed her eyes. As she fell asleep, the vine moved, acting like a bed for her before another vine wrapped around like a cocoon, leaving the area near Amity's face open so she could still breathe, but the cocoon kept her snug as a bug in a rug.

The pumpkin-headed being beside her smiled. "Looks like I still got it," he said, sitting on a nearby rock. "Son? Little Pumpkin?"

Both Bootstilla and Calabaza came out and went up to him. "What did you do, Nabo?" The former asked curiously.

"I just helped her fall asleep," he said. "I removed her negative feelings as I made her look into my eyes. I then used my hypnosis to help her sleep."

"Like you used to do for me after I had nightmares?" Bootstilla asked.

Nabo smiled. "Yes," he said before sighing. "Is this one the daughter of that Odalia lady?"

"Yes," Calabaza said before looking curious. "Why?"

"Because that crazy woman called me and said she had a job for me," the other said.

"She called you?" Bootstilla asked, now looking worried. "Are you the fourth bounty hunter that was hired then?"

"Possibly," Nabo said. "There were others?"

"Two others besides Blossom, Dad," Calabaza said. "We caught them yesterday."

"Good," the elder scarecrow said with a nod.

Bootstilla looked over at Amity, who was sleeping peacefully. "She came out here looking for me, no doubt because of my reputation," she said, an understanding look on her face. "But I guess she didn't count on you showing up and surprising her, Nabo."

"We'll help her see that the rumors are a bit exaggerated, Little Pumpkin," Nabo said reassuringly.

"Well, there's not totally exaggerated, Dad," Calabaza said. "Blossom is quite the bounty hunter."

"I learned from the best," the young woman said, smiling at Nabo. "From someone who took me under his wing when I needed shelter."

Nabo chuckled and nodded. "Get some sleep, you two," he said, calling up two vines for them. "I'll keep watch."

Calabaza and Bootstilla laid down on a vine each, smaller vines cocooning them in a blanket of warmth, just like how Nabo used to do for them so long ago. Both fell asleep instantly and Nabo kept watch, seeing Ghost jump up on the vine where Amity was and laying beside her. Batty himself hung upside down on the vine beside his owner, the night becoming quiet again.

As the morning sun lit up the area, Amity stirred, opening her eyes and gasping as she was wrapped up in vines and the same scarecrow that had trapped her was beside her, only now, she could see he had a face made from cloth and was dressed in cowboy attire much like Calabaza. "Good morning, Little Lavender," the scarecrow said in a deep voice before waving a hand, making the vines cocooning her vanish. "You feel better?"

She looked around, seeing Ghost nearby with Calabaza. She looked back at the scarecrow beside her. "Who are you and...what did you do to me last night?" She asked.

"I'm Nabo," he said. "And last night, I stopped you from making a mistake. Little Pumpkin is not your enemy."

She blinked. "Little Pumpkin?" She asked.

"That's me," Bootstilla said, coming into view. "Nabo is practically a dad to me and has called me that since he took me in long ago."

Amity looked confused. "But...why?" She asked, looking confused.

The bounty hunter sighed. "Alright, let's get one thing straight," she said, looking at the young woman. "I'm not here to hurt you, Luz, or the girls and I'm certainly not here to kidnap them to bring to that crazy woman."

"Blossom knows when the person who hired her is being a fool or is desperate," Calabaza said. "She knew your mom was lying to her."

The purple-haired woman blinked. "But...you're dangerous," she said to Bootstilla. "Magic doesn't work on you."

"There's a reason for that," the bounty hunter said. "One I'll reveal later. Right now, you need to trust that I'm on your side. If you had engaged me in a fight last night, your mom would have found out where you are living."

Amity's eyes widened and she glanced around. "Don't worry," Nabo said. "My fog trick scrambled the any electrical signals, so if there were any electronic spies near, they wouldn't have found a thing."

Calabaza, seeing the young woman looked scared and worried, gently placed a hand between her shoulder blades. "Amity, breathe," he said encouragingly.

She gasped before her breathing evened out, having not realized she was holding her breath. She looked at them. "Is she really...hiring bounty hunters and...searching for us?" She asked.

"Yes," Bootstilla said. "She wants to regain the power she lost after Belos' defeat and she's lying that you're keeping her granddaughters from her."

Amity looked afraid. "How did she know about Mila and Solana? I never told her," she said.

"Just like the bounty hunters, your mom is having spies go collect not just magic, but info on you too," Nabo said.

Ghost jumped up into Amity's lab, rubbing her head against her hands and purring. Instinctively, she began petting her palisman, timing her breathing with each stroke of Ghost's fur. Ghost purred louder, making the others smile. "You and your family are safe with us, Amity," Calabaza said. "My dad and I will always be guarding the woods and around the house."

"And I'll be around making sure no other unwanted guests arrive," Bootstilla said.

Amity looked at the bounty hunter. "What do you get out of this?" She asked. "I know my mother didn't pay you much."

The black-haired woman looked at her. "I get to sleep easy knowing that someone like your mother isn't going to get those girls to use as leverage against you and Luz," she said. "Plus another reason I'm not sure you want to hear right now."

Nabo nodded. "We'll tell you, Luz, and the girls more later," he said, picking Amity up as if she was a small child and beginning to walk towards the house, carrying her. She held onto him, blinking in surprise.

"I don't understand," she said, still feeling confused.

"Take some time to process what we said," Nabo said to her gently, setting her down on the doorstep and gently nudging her towards the door. "Bootstilla will send Batty to you when we're sure it's safe that you and your family can come see us in the woods again."

She grabbed Nabo's hand. "You swear you don't mean any harm to my daughters or Luz?" She said.

"I swear, Little Lavender," he said solemnly.

"I'm not little," she said, a little put off by that.

He chuckled in amusement and ruffled her hair. "See you soon, Little Lavender," he said before vanishing into the ground much like Calabaza had done the night prior.

Amity held Ghost and looked at her. "You think we can trust them?" She asked.

Ghost meowed and rubbed her head against Amity's chin, making the young woman smile. She took a deep breath and went inside, finding Luz coming out of the bedroom. "There you are, Sweet Potato," the brown-haired woman said, hugging her. "Where have you been?"

"I went to find Bootstilla," the purple-haired woman said. "And...I met another scarecrow like Calabaza. He said his name was Nabo."

"Nabo?" Luz repeated. "That means 'turnip' in Spanish."

Amity nodded. "They said that my mother is looking for us, sending spies to gain information on us, but she doesn't know where we live. At least not yet," she said.

"Did they hurt you?" Luz asked.

"No," the purple-haired woman said. "Nabo surprised me, but...he acted like a father would to his child, almost like how my dad was with me when I was little and scared."

The brown-haired woman looked curious. "Was Ghost with you?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Did she seem uncertain of them?"

"No. She was fine with them."

Luz nodded. "I think it's safe to say that Calabaza, Nabo, and Bootstilla are on our side," she said. "Ghost wouldn't have been okay with them otherwise and if Bootstilla had wanted to kidnap our girls, she would have done so a long time ago."

"It's not adding up though," Amity admitted, looking worried. "I need to think about all this for a bit."

"I'm here if you want to talk, Sweet Potato," Luz said, giving Amity an affectionate kiss on the forehead.

Amity returned the affectionate gesture. "Thank you for being here for me, Batata," she said with a smile.

Back in the woods, the two scarecrows and bounty hunter began to get ready as they were fully prepared for Odalia to make a move to come to the human world to try and find her daughter and kidnap Mila and Solana.

But the three were determined to make sure that wouldn't happen on their watch.

And we have a new character! :) Nabo is Calabaza's father and is dressed like a cowboy, but has a cloth face with a pumpkin head like Calabaza and yes, 'nabo' means 'turnip' in Spanish. :)

Nabo can produce fog from his mouth to coat over an area much like a smokescreen, only this fog will mess with electronics. He also can hypnotize someone, but only uses this if someone is in a panic attack or is in fight mode and can't calm down. He can also call up vines to grab things or make a place to sleep.

Calabaza doesn't have any powers aside from super strength. Bootstilla's immunity to magic, along with how she met Nabo and Calabaza will be revealed in a later chapter (probably the chapter after the next one).

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418