A/N: I forgot to mention this, but to those wondering, Bootstilla isn't a witch. She's a human bounty hunter who goes back and forth between the two realms just as Luz and her friends do. The reason she has a palisman will be revealed soon.


Chapter 8

Mila and Solana tiptoed into their mothers' room, both trying to be quiet as it was the middle of the night. Ghost and String Bean woke up and looked at the two girls, who had expressions of fear on their faces. The cat palisman immediately got up and went to Amity, gently pawing at her hand. String Bean went over and nuzzled her face against Luz's face.

The brown-haired woman stirred. "String Bean," she said with a quiet groan. "It's not morning yet."

Amity woke up and looked at Ghost. "Ghost? What is it?" She asked.

"Mommy?"

The purple-haired woman jumped with a gasp and Luz woke up with a start at that, quickly turning on the light on the nightstand and seeing their two daughters looking up at them. "Girls? You two okay?" The brown-haired woman asked, sitting up more and patting the spot beside her to encourage the girls to sit on the bed.

Solana helped Mila up on the bed before climbing up on the bed. Amity sat up too. "You girls can't sleep?" She asked gently.

Mila bit her lip. "I had a bad dream," she whimpered.

"Me too," Solana said softly.

"Oh, mijas," Luz said sympathetically, holding her arms open for a hug. The two little girls immediately went up to her, hugging her and tears fell from their eyes. "It's okay. Mommy and Mama are here," the brown-haired woman cooed soothingly.

Amity nodded. "Ghost and String Bean are here too," she said as the palismans came up to them.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Luz asked.

Solana nodded. "I dreamed I was back in the orphanage and couldn't find you, Mommy, or Mila," she said.

"I was outside and I couldn't find our home," Mila whimpered. "I heard footsteps behind me and I ran, calling out for you, Mommy, and Solana."

Amity decided to check something. "You girls stay here with Mama and I'll go get you a drink of water, okay?" She said, getting up and heading out.

She first headed to Solana's room and called up her magic, looking around to see if anything was amiss. The window was secured and everything was fine, but to be sure, she sent an Abomination in to double check. She did the same for Mila's room.

Both Abominations reported that the rooms were secure, to which Amity sighed in relief. "Okay," she said. "The dreams must have been from past experiences or past memories."

Still, she didn't like that her daughters had such terrifying nightmares. She went to the kitchen to get them both a cup of water. As she was filling the cups, she happened to glance up and see a bat hanging from the top of the window screen. "Oh, hello there," she said quietly before leaving the kitchen with the water, not seeing the little bat move away until it reached the window where Amity and Luz's room was.

Mila and Solana looked up as Amity came in. "Here you girls go," she said, smiling. "And don't worry. There's no nightmares or monsters in your rooms. The Abominations checked."

The girls nodded before Mila looked at both her mothers. "Can we stay here with you? Please?" She pleaded.

Luz smiled, recalling how she'd do the same thing when she was younger and was scared to go back to sleep at night. Solana looked hopeful too, to which Amity looked at Luz. "What do you think, Batata?" She asked.

"I think the bed's big enough for all four of us, Sweet Potato," the brown-haired woman said.

Mila giggled and drank the rest of her water and Solana followed suit, the family of four soon snuggled under the covers and Luz turned off the light beside the bed as String Bean and Ghost went back to their sleep spots, everyone falling asleep again.

The little bat watched for a moment before flying away, flying back to a clearing that was deep in the woods. In that clearing, Bootstilla had a fire going and was roasting some bratwurst. Her sharp ears picked up the sound of flapping wings and she heard a familiar squeak, glancing up to see Batty had returned.

Smiling, the bounty hunter held up her hand and the palisman landed on her hand, his clawed feet grasping onto the glove Bootstilla wore on her left hand. "How was your patrol?" She asked.

Batty squeaked in reply, to which the bounty hunter listened and nodded, smiling as Batty told her about Luz and Amity comforting the two little girls. "Sounds like they are good moms," she said.

She gave the palisman one of the bratwurst and he went to town on it, eating it up eagerly. She ate the other one, falling into thought. Odalia had made it sound like her daughter was keeping her from visiting her grandchildren, but Bootstilla remembered the rumors that Odalia would do anything to get her way.

Batty squeaked and Bootstilla shook her head. "It's too early to make that conclusion," she said. "Though my gut is saying that she was lying."

She got up after she finished her bratwurst and saw that Batty was done with his. Putting out the fire, the clearing soon looked like no one had even been there. She placed Batty on her shoulder. "See if you can interact with the girls," she said. "Since their moms have palismans, I'm curious to know how the girls interact with palismans."

The bat palisman nodded with a squeak before Bootstilla began walking towards the same house Batty had just patrolled. The sun was rising just as she arrived and she climbed up into a tree nearby, ready to observe the family inside. "Okay," she said to Batty, who flew off her shoulder and hovered in front of her. "Be careful," she cautioned him.

Nodding, he flew out of the tree and grasped the window screen on the kitchen window, hanging upside down and waiting patiently for someone to notice him.

Amity looked up as she thought she saw something and blinked. "Oh, the bat is still there," she said.

"What bat?" Luz asked, looking at the window and seeing him. "Aww! It's so cute!"

Mila and Solana looked curiously at it. "I thought bats only came out at night," the latter said.

"They usually do," Amity said before going up to the window and taking a closer look at the bat. "Wait, there's something unusual about him."

She opened the window and carefully lifted the screen out, holding onto it as she carefully tilted it so the bat could come inside. He did and squeaked happily, making her smile as she put the screen back and then picked him up, noticing something familiar on his foot. She gasped. "He's a palisman!" She said in surprise.

Luz was stunned. "You mean like String Bean and Ghost?" She asked before a horrifying thought filled her. "Did his owner abandon him? Or he somehow get lost from the Isles?"

The purple-haired woman noticed that the bat palisman didn't struggle as she held him. In fact, he was rubbing his head against her fingers. On a hunch, she began giving him a gentle head scratch and he squeaked happily. "I don't think he's been abandoned," she said. "He's very calm and seems quite friendly."

"Maybe his owner is nearby?" Mila asked, remembering that her mothers had told her that palismans stay close to their owners or don't go very far from them.

"Could be," Luz said, going up to Amity and giving the bat a gentle head pat. "He certainly is cute."

"Can we play with him today with Ghost and String Bean?" Solana asked hopefully.

"Okay, just remember the rules," Amity said with a smile.

"Palismans are real just like us and cannot be handled roughly," Mila said, making her mothers smile.

Bootstilla, still in the tree, watched as the two little girls and the three palismans came outside and were playing hide-and-seek. She chuckled as she watched, seeing the palismans picked rather easy hiding places so that the girls could find them. Even Batty was having fun.

Suddenly, a flap of wings was heard and something landed in the yard. Mila and Solana gasped as it looked like a woman with wings, but she looked familiar. The woman looked at them and looked relieved. "Mila. Solana, it's me," she said.

"Grandma Eda?" Solana asked.

The winged woman nodded. "Get your mothers, little ones. Quickly," Eda said urgently.

The two girls ran back inside and soon, Luz and Amity were outside, helping Eda to stand and walk as Ghost and String Bean followed. Batty followed too, listening as Eda began speaking. "Luz. Amity, it's Odalia," she said, making the purple-haired woman freeze in shock. "She's trying to regain the power she lost after Belos' defeat and the Collector setting things right."

"Oh, no," Luz said in shock.

"And that's not all," Eda said, looking worried. "Word is she is hiring bounty hunters to find your daughters and bring them to her."

"What?!" Amity exclaimed before she grew angry. She had cut ties with her mother after returning to the realm after Belos' defeat. Even her twin siblings and father had cut ties to Odalia and the woman had been quiet for quite a few years. Now she knew why.

Luz felt anger fill her too. "She's not getting my daughters," she said. "We won't let her."

Eda nodded. "But you two are going to need something to alert you if the bounty hunters are near," she said.

"How many hunters are we talking about?" Amity said.

"Word is Odalia has hired four bounty hunters in the past few days."

Batty watched as they entered the house, waiting outside patiently until he heard the door lock. As soon as he did, he flew back to the tree where Bootstilla was and she held out a hand for him to land on. "What happened?" The dark-haired girl asked.

Her palisman squeaked up at her and Bootstilla took a deep breath. "I'm not surprised, considering how eager she was to hire us," she said before falling into thought. "The Owl Lady's right that they're going to need something to alert them if the bounty hunters draw near."

She then got an idea. "Or someone," she continued, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bag. Batty nodded as he knew what his owner was thinking. "We'll wait for nightfall."

As soon as the last of the light faded and the moon was just starting to rise, Bootstilla climbed out of the tree and looked at the house before kneeling down and digging a small hole into the ground, taking out what looked like a pumpkin seed that sparkled and she planted it. "I need your help, old friend," she said softly. "I hope you get my message in time."


Who is Bootstilla talking about? We shall soon see.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418