The Plight of Amity Blight

Amity sat on the couch in the foyer of the Blight Mansion, doing her best not to fidget and failing – her legs kicked back and forth slightly in the space between the couch and coffee table. Her usual smirking demeanor was replaced with a stoic face, betrayed only by the worry in her golden eyes.

           She perked up when she heard a knock at the door and rushed to open it. She skidded to a halt short of the door, bit her lower lip, and peered out the peephole.

           Standing on the front porch was a scowling Willow, constantly checking around and behind her for something unknown. Amity’s face lit up with relief and she took a breath to calm herself. She replaced the stoic face and opened the door.

           “Ah, you made it,” Amity said coolly.

           Willow shot her a hard look. “What do you want, Amity? Is this some sort of prank?” she asked.

           “No, it’s not a prank.” Amity gave an exasperated groan. “Just… come inside, alright?”

           Willow’s hardened look didn’t abate as she stepped inside, and she whirled around when Amity shut the door behind them. The skinnier witch set a hand on the door’s smooth wooden surface and steeled herself for what was to come.

           “Why did you ask me to come here on my own?” Willow demanded.

           “I wanted to talk to you.” Amity turned to her, a soft, genuine smile on her face. “Like we used to.”

           “’Like we used to?’” Willow wrinkled her nose. “Amity, if you haven’t noticed, you’ve been nothing but a bully to Gus and me ever since we got to Hexside.”

           “I know, and I’m… I’m sorry, alright?” Amity breathed a sigh. “You were the only friend I had who didn’t care about status or power or anything like that, a real friend. And… I miss the fun we had together.” Amity offered her a hand, the smile warming further. Willow looked between it and its owner. “What do you say? Let’s let bygones be bygones.”

           Willow’s frown only hardened and she slapped the hand away. “So, what? You can shock me with a joke spell or something? I’m not falling for it, Amity.”

           “It’s not a prank! Please, I just want us to be friends again,” Amity pleaded. She offered her hand again. “This isn’t some joke, I promise.”

           She winced as Willow started to laugh, but then her pupils shrunk when it started to change. It became a booming laugh, reverberating around the room and inside Amity’s skull. She clutched her ears against the noise and fell to her knees.

           All at once, the sunny day shifted to the darkness of night. Silver light shone in through the windows in the sun’s place, and the laughing Willow before Amity melted into shadows.

           Amity watched on in horror as the shadows retreated, and in their place floated in a dark blue mist that swirled this way and that. It took shape before Amity, its equine shadow falling over her as she looked up to it in horror.

           “Thou cowardly whelp, using dreams for the courage thou lackest. For thy sins thou must pay a mortal tax!” boomed the shadowy figure. “Prepare thyself: thy nightmares arrive soon, for thou have incurred the wrath of Nightmare Moon!”

           Amity screamed as the silver light consumed her, whiting out the existence of the dream.

******

           “I’m heading to the market, Luz,” Eda said as she walked to the door with her staff. “I need to pick up some groceries, and maybe pick a few pockets as well.”

           She picked King up from his seat on the couch and set him on her shoulder. “My kingly seat!” he cheered. The Owl Lady rolled her eyes at him with a smirk.

           “You two have fun,” Luz said, scrolling through her phone’s cracked screen.

           “Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.” Eda pointed an accusing finger at her. “No animating the house or chasing demons, got it?”

           “I promise,” Luz said, holding up her right hand. Eda raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Come on, you’re telling me you can’t trust this?” She batted her eyelashes as she put on the most adorable face she could, eyes sparkling for added effect.

           “You know, she has a point,” King remarked to Eda. The witch rolled her eyes again.

           “Alright, how about this: you sit and behave, and I mean behave, and I’ll teach you another spell when I get back,” Eda offered.

           Luz gasped, puffing up her cheeks with her hands. “You promise?”

           “Promise.” Eda smirked as she opened the door, glaring at Hooty. “And you better keep an eye on her too, you understand? No trouble.”

           “Alright, sheesh,” Hooty grumbled. “Go hoot hoot already.”

           “Bye Luz!’ King said, before Eda closed the door behind them and took off. Luz waved back, then slumped onto the couch with a sigh.

           “Well, now what am I going to do?” she asked herself. “I can’t mess with anything in the house if I want that spell lesson. But without King, what am I going to do?” She pouted.

           “Hey, I’m here too, hoot hoot!” Hooty called. “Wait, who goes there? Oh, it’s you two again—ow!”

           Hooty was interrupted by knocking at the door. Luz jumped to her feet and over to the door, flinging it open.

           “Hey Luz,” Gus said, holding up a hand in greetings. Willow, beside him, gave a slight wave. “We saw Eda heading off and we were wondering if we could hang out.”

           “Hey, no,” Hooty protested. “Eda said no funny business, hoot hoot.”

           “We aren’t going to cause any problems, Mr. Hooty, we promise,” Willow said, holding up a hand.

           Hooty rolled his eyes. “That’s what they all say.”                      

           Luz squealed and snared both of them in a hug. “You guys are such lifesavers! I was just wondering what I was going to do! Come in, come in!”

           She all but dragged them inside, and with a huff, Hooty shut the door behind them, grumbling to himself.

           “So, what’s new at Hexside?” Luz asked, plopping back onto the couch. Willow sat next to her while Gus sat on the floor. They both seemed worried.

           “Well, Amity didn’t show up for classes today,” Willow said, looking at the floor. “It’s really not like her.”

           “Maybe she was sick or something,” Luz said with an indifferent shrug. “Even ‘top students’ get sick, right? Or is there something different here?”

           “No, Amity always comes to school, even when she’s sick. That’s how most of us wound up with hopping cough last year,” Gus said with a frown. “For her to not show up, it has to be something worse than being sick.”

           “Well, who cares, right? She’s a total jerk to us all the time,” Luz remarked. “So what if she missed school for one day? It means she sure isn’t bullying you guys.”

           Willow sighed softly, her hands resting in her lap. Luz took noticed and her gaze softened. “Oh, right. You two used to be friends…”

           “I’m worried about her, Luz. Even if she’s been mean to us, and said mean things, and done mean things,” Willow said, looking up to her.

           “Well… I got nothing better to do until Eda gets back. Maybe we can run over to her house real quick and see,” Luz offered with a shrug.

           Willow’s expression brightened up, while Gus frowned. Then he noticed Willow’s cheerfulness and gave a tired sigh. “Fine,” he said. “We can go check.”

           “Awesome!” Luz sprung to her feet, striking a triumphant pose. “Away to Blight Manor, excelsior!”

           And with that, she all but burst through the front door, slamming Hooty face first into the side of the house. “Excelsior!” Willow and Gus cheered as they ran after her.

           “Hey, Gus? What does ‘excelsior’ mean?” Willow asked.

           Gus shrugged. “Must be human for ‘let’s go!’” he replied.

           Meanwhile, Hooty grumbled as he swung back. “Hey!” he called after them. “Eda said no funny business! Oh… no one gives a hoot what I say.” Bitterly, he slammed the door shut, contemplating what he was going to tell Eda.

******

           Luz and her friends peeked in the front window of Blight Manor, surprised to see numerous witches gathered in the front foyer of the house. Their chatter could be heard from outside, but couldn’t be deciphered.

           “It must be something serious, I’ve never seen so many spellcasters since the Covention,” Gus whispered.

           “I wish we could hear what they were saying,” Willow whispered.

           Luz brightened up and turned to Gus. “Can you conjure up a glass?” she asked quietly.

           Gus nodded, drawing a blue circle in the air and holding out his hand. A simple drinking glass fell into his palm and he offered it to Luz. “What are you going to do with that?” he asked.

           “It’s a trick I saw on television once,” Luz replied, placing the rim of the glass flat against the wall and pressing her ear to the bottom. She shut her eyes to focus in.

           The chatter was more discernible, but too intermingled to make out who was saying what:

           “…I’ve never seen a case like this…”

           “…Hasn’t been a… in a hundred years!”

           “…Please, we must keep this quiet…”

           “…Let her get some rest in her room…”

           Luz pulled away with a frown and the glass vanished in a puff of smoke. She rubbed her chin in thought.

           “Well?” Willow asked. “What is it?”

           “Something serious. I couldn’t hear what, but they were saying it hasn’t happened before for a hundred years,” Luz replied. Willow and Gus both gasped. “They said Amity was resting in her room, so for now, at least she’s alive.”

           “That’s a relief. Follow me, I know where her room is.” Willow left the bushes, crouched under the windows as to not be seen and slid around the side of the house. Gus and Luz glanced at one another and followed her.

           “How do you know where her room is?” Gus asked, the trio standing up once they were out of sight towards the back of the house.

           Willow blushed lightly. “I slept over once when we were kids, Amity’s idea,” she said. Her gaze turned to the upper windows. “Unless she moved rooms since then, that one’s hers.” She pointed it out.

           “How do we get to it?”

           “With magic, silly,” Luz said, turning to Willow, who nodded.

           Her hand glowed green and she knelt down to touch the ground. A trio of vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around their waists, lifting them up to the second story window. Luz tried it, and it slid open. The vine deposited the trio inside before sinking back into the ground.

           The room was dark and quiet, the chatter downstairs hardly a murmur. They approached the bed and gasped at the sight: Amity lay on the bed, arms out from her sides, her eyes glowing a pale blue and mysterious runes of a similar glowing color on her forehead.

           “What’s happened to her?” Luz asked, covering her mouth.

           Willow frowned with concentration as she looked around the room. She noticed a chalk circle and some partially melted candles on its circumference. Kneeling down, she took a sniff of their faint fragrance and gasped.

           “She’s been possessed!” she hissed.

           “Possessed?” Gus and Luz exclaimed, before clamping a hand over the others’ mouth.

           “That’s what those witches downstairs think anyway,” Willow said, standing up and dusting off her tunic. “That’s a possession release circle.” She looked from it to Amity, the worry on her face returning. “But… it didn’t work.”

           “That must be some possession,” Gus said with a whistle of appreciation. “If all those spellcasters couldn’t break it…”

           “Then we’re not just dealing with some possession demon or ghost.” Willow gulped.

           “Do you… want to fill me in on what’s worse than possession by a demon or a ghost then?” Luz asked quietly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

           “Do humans have gods, Luz?” Gus asked, looking to Amity with concern, particularly her eyes.

           “Yeah, why?”

           “So do we,” Willow said, sitting on the edge of Amity’s bed and looking to her as well. “And I think I recognize the color of that magic…”

           “The moon goddess,” she and Gus said at the same time.

           “The moon goddess?” Luz asked.

           “She’s a powerful deity who lives in the moon. Not only does she grant her lunar power once a year, she’s supposed to benevolently patrol dreams and defend against nightmares.” Willow swallowed. “And… if you’re bad… she causes nightmares.”

           “What could she have done to make the moon goddess do this?” Luz asked, sitting on the bed and leaning over Amity to get a look at the glowing script on her forehead.

           “Careful, Luz!” Gus said. Instantly, Luz all but flung herself back like an agile cat. “If you make physical contact with a possessed person, their possession passes onto you.”

           “That is not how possessions work where I’m from,” Luz remarked, but kept had hands shied away from Amity. “So, wait… if we get possessed too, couldn’t we see what the moon goddess is up to?”

           “Well, yeah. We’d be trapped in Amity’s nightmares though, and stuck just like her,” Gus pointed out.

           “But we didn’t do whatever it is that caused Amity to get possessed, right? And you said this moon goddess is benevolent. So maybe she’ll let us go.”

           “Or maybe we can figure out why the moon goddess is possessing her and free Amity,” Willow said, clenching her fists with determination.

           “That too.” Luz nodded.

           “That’s crazy,” Gus said, shaking his head and crossing his arms. “We could be stuck in there trying to help her.”

           “We have to try,” Willow said.

           “You know, you don’t have to come, Gus,” Luz said. She wrapped an arm around him and glanced around with a narrowed gaze. “We need a lookout, in case someone comes in here. Someone to keep the door locked and make sure no one messes with us while we’re conked out.”

           “Ooh, sounds delightful,” Gus said with a beaming grin. “I’m on the job, ma’am!” He saluted proudly, puffing out his chest.

           Luz walked over to Willow, who smiled and nodded. She rounded the bed, and at the same time, Luz took one of Amity’s hands and Willow took the other.

           And then everything went white.

******

           Luz and Willow found themselves in Blight Manor’s foyer. It was a sunny day outside, and other than the fact they remembered touching a possessed Amity, everything seemed normal.

           “Maybe you guys’ nightmares are different from human nightmares,” Luz remarked. “But this doesn’t seem like a nightmare.”

           “It is strange,” Willow agreed. She walked over and set a hand on one of the couches. “Nothing seems off either.”

           They both froze at the sound of a terrified scream and someone running for their life. A door upstairs burst open and a ragged-looking Amity burst out of one of the rooms. She whirled around to face the door, panting.

           Her skin was paler than usual, her pupils the size of pinpricks. She had bags under her eyes, sweat on her brow along with the glowing script she had had in the waking world, and her clothes had tears in them, as if torn by claws.

           “Amity!” Willow called to her.

           Amity jumped and whirled around to her. “Oh no,” she muttered. “Not another one!” She raised her voice to the ceiling. “Haven’t you done enough?”

           “What’s she talking about?” Luz asked with a frown of worry and confusion.

           All of a sudden, the upstairs door Amity had fled from and the wall around it blasted outwards. Out of the dust came a shadowy apparition that soon retook form. Luz and Willow both gasped.

           At its core, it had once been Willow, or a very close resemblance. However, it was three times Willow’s size, with its arms and legs exposed and bulky with muscles. Black streaks curled along its limbs, which ended with claws for fingers and toes. The head split in half to allow a mouth line with rows of jagged teeth. What had been Willow’s glasses were angled into a glare, and shone with a pale blue light.

           “That must be Amity’s nightmare,” Luz remarked.

           “But why does it look like me?” Willow asked.

           The Nightmare Willow roared and lunged at Amity, swiping at her with a claw. She rolled out of the way, just in time for it to smash through the bannister. Before it could get a second shot, the young witch leapt from the landing to one of the couches below.

           She rolled off the couch and crashed into a coffee table with a grunt of pain. Warily, she looked up to find she was at Luz and Willow’s feet.

           “You won’t get me,” Amity snarled, fingers clenching into fists.

           “Amity, it’s us. We aren’t nightmares,” Willow said, offering her a hand.

           “We swear. Witch’s honor or whatever,” Luz said, crossing her chest.

           Amity grumbled, then heard the Nightmare Willow roar again, cringing at the sound of more broken bannister. She got to her feet, ignoring Willow’s hand and frowned between them before settling on Luz.

           “I guess so, I’d never conjure you in my dreams,” Amity said haughtily.

           “You sure you want to be so uppity when you’re being chased by a monster?” Luz cautioned with narrowed eyes.

           Just then, the Nightmare Willow leapt from the landing and onto the couch next to the coffee table, turning it into splinters from its weight. It studied Luz and Willow for a moment before focusing on Amity, who slowly backed away from it.

           The creature roared as it attempted to crush Amity with both clawed hands. Willow and Luz pulled her out of the way and ran around the creature towards the lower hall. It snarled in frustration and chased after them.

           Skidding to a halt at a T-intersection, the creature looked left, then right, before deciding on the right path and charging away. As its footsteps grew distant, the trio cowered in a broom closet just before the intersection.

           “Alright,” Luz said quietly. “I’m starting to think this moon goddess is less than benevolent.”

           “Why are you two even here?” Amity hissed, looking through the slatted door for any sign of the monster.

           “Well, we were worried about you,” Luz said, crossing her arms.

           “Why does your nightmare look like me?” Willow asked, a little kinder than Luz’s tone had been.

           “So you managed to figure it out too, huh?” Amity frowned and turned to them. “I don’t know what beef this ‘Nightmare Moon’ has with me. All she said was I had sinned or something.”

           Luz frowned at her, then perked up. “Oh, hey. I can read the writing on your forehead now,” she remarked.

           “The what on my forehead?” Amity glanced up at it.

           “Yeah. I can too,” Willow said, leaning forward and squinting. “’From Our nightmares, thou shalt have no reprieve, until thou learneth the lesson thou shalt receive.’”

           “A lesson?” Amity wrinkled her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean? I haven’t received any lesson, just that nightmare out there.” She gestured with her thumb.

           Luz and Willow both hummed together as they thought. “Well,” the former began. “Dreams have meaning to them, right? So that must mean nightmares do too…”

           “The nightmare is the lesson!” Willow realized. “Quick, Amity, why does it look like me? That must be the answer to this.”

           “I don’t know,” Amity huffed, shrugging her shoulders and looking away to maintain indifference.

           “Amity, the sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can help you get out of here,” Luz protested. They all shut up when they heard the nightmare return. They covered their mouths as it leaned in close to the door, sniffed, and continued stomping.

           “I don’t need your help,” Amity said once the coast was clear and they had removed their hands. “I can figure this out on my own.”

           “Are you sure?” Willow asked, worriedly. “It’s not too late to ask for—“

           “I said, I can figure this out on my own!” Amity snapped, causing both Willow and Luz to shrink back. Amity’s pupils shrunk when she realized there was a large shadow at the door.

           They all screamed as the creature stabbed one hands’ worth of claws through the wall next to the door, nearly spearing Luz in the head. It pulled the claws out—along with a section of the wall—and glared in at them, roaring.

           “Amity! Quick! Why does your nightmare look like this?” Luz asked frantically.

           “I don’t know!” Amity shot back, ducking as another set of claws speared through the wall on the other side of the door, before yanking away another section of the wall.

           “You have to know! This is your dreamscape!” Willow exclaimed. She let out a shriek as the nightmare reached in and grabbed her, smashing through the wooden door as it pulled her out.

           “Willow!” Amity and Luz exclaimed. The nightmare retreated, having caught at least one of its prey, disappearing down the hall towards the foyer.

           “Why couldn’t you just say why it looked like Willow?” Luz demanded. “Are you that stuck up that you can’t even help someone who used to be your friend?”

           Amity looked at her suddenly. “H-How do you know about that?” she demanded with a shaky voice. To Luz’s surprise, there were tears at the corners of her eyes.

           Luz’s hard look softened, but she still frowned at Amity. “Amity, it was Willow’s idea to come in here and try to save you. Now that… thing has her, and the only way to get her back safely is for you to learn whatever lesson it is the moon goddess made that nightmare for.”

           Amity sunk to her knees, tears trickling down her cheeks. “I don’t… I don’t know if I… can…” she muttered.

           “You’re the top student at Hexside, not to mention you’re pretty great with that abomination magic thing,” Luz said, setting a hand on her shoulder. “I know you can.”

           Amity smiled softly through the tears. “You sound like Willow… back when we were friends…” she said. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest, forehead resting against her kneecaps.

           “Why does the nightmare look like Willow?” Luz asked softly, taking a seat beside her.

           “Because… my nightmare is Willow never wanting to be my friend again, after all I’ve done to her,” Amity admitted, shutting her eyes. “It was hard to fit in at Hexside, at first. Willow was my only friend at the time… but I made a bad choice. I started acting like the popular kids, harassing and demeaning students like Willow… and then we just… weren’t friends anymore.”

           Luz sat in silence for a moment, before giving a soft encouraging smile to Amity. “I’m sure Willow still wants to be friends. She sounded like she missed you when she told me about it. Besides, what’s more important: having real friends or your popularity?”

           “You don’t get it, Luz. I don’t know what hierarchies humans have, but here on the Boiling Isles, status means a lot. If you’re top student, you’re supposed to act like one. If you want to be in the Emperor’s Coven, you have to give it your best and not let anyone lesser slow you down,” Amity explained.

           Luz looked away with a sigh. “Doesn’t sound too different from where I’m from, actually. Except the coven part. But, if you’re supposed to be the top student, you shouldn’t just act like you’re better than everyone.” Amity frowned at her. “Even if you are more talented in magic than some,” Luz quickly added. “That doesn’t mean you have to treat others like they’re less.”

           “But, the Emperor’s Coven…”

           “Listen, from what I heard at the Covention, the Emperor’s Coven is supposed to help people. They’re not just the best at what they do, they help others through their talents. Just like you need to help Willow.”

           Amity stared at the floor for a moment before rising to her feet. Luz followed, watching her curiously.

           “If anything I just said gets out, I will find a way to turn you into an abomination,” Amity said icily, fists clenched.

           “I promise it won’t, witch’s promise,” Luz said, holding up both hands with a sheepish grin.

           Amity huffed a sigh and was about to march down the hall when a familiar shadow towered over them. She and Luz looked up to find the Nightmare Willow before them, Willow in her clutches.

           “Amity…” she said, stunned, before she gave a startled yelp as she was dropped.

           The nightmare melted into shadows and the world around them turned white, turning into a featureless void.

           Amity hurried over and helped Willow up, looking at her worriedly. “You… you heard everything I said… didn’t you?” Willow nodded, smiling softly. Amity practically fell into her, crying and hugging her tightly. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

           “It’s alright,” Willow said, hugging her back.

           “N-No, it isn’t,” Amity snapped, pushing back so she could look at her. “What I did wasn’t right. I’m sorry I acted like such a jerk to you and Gus… and the human too, I guess.” Luz pouted. “Do… do you still want to be friends?”

           Willow smiled and nodded, pulling Amity back into a hug. “Of course.”

           Luz watched with tear eyes, even sniffling, as the friends hugged. Then she grew concerned as she looked past them. “Uh, guys?”

           Amity frowned at her while Willow looked behind her and gasped. This drew Amity’s attention and her eyes widened.

           A large mass of dark blue mist swirled in from nowhere, turning into a large cloud-like shape with glaring, glowing eyes in its midst. “Amity Blight!” the same mist as before boomed, echoing through the void. “Hast thou learned thy lesson?”

           Willow released Amity, who walked up to the cloud with a stoic look on her face, betrayed by some errant tears. “I have.”

           “And what has thou learned?”

           Amity looked back at Willow and Luz. The former nodded encouragingly while the latter gave her a thumb’s up. She turned to the cloud, standing at attention as if she were to give a speech. She tucked her hands behind her back.

           “Being the best doesn’t mean being better than everyone else. It means being good at something… and if you really try to, helping others with the talents that you have. That’s what being the best means,” she spoke.

           The cloud was silent for a moment, before its eyes narrowed. “Very good,” it rumbled at a quieter volume. “Thy punishment has concluded. Thou mayest go with thy friends.”

           The cloud grew in size until it dissipated in a faint mist that hung around them. From where the cloud had first appeared, a swirling vortex of glowing blue light formed.

           “That must be the way out,” Willow said. She walked over and offered Amity her hand. The witch looked at it, then at Willow’s smiling face, before smiling and nodding. Amity took her hand and walked towards the light.

           “Anyone ever say you smell like flowers, dirt, and cut grass?” she asked.

           Willow scrunched up her nose. “Well, you have said I smelled like compost before.”

           “I lied,” Amity said with a sigh. “You… kinda smell like a garden, actually.”

           Luz smiled after them, hands on her hips from a job well done. She was about to leave when some paler mist caught her attention as it swirled past her. She turned to find that it was taking shape.

           Unlike the dark, foreboding mist, this mist was of lighter blue, and seemed to have a nebulous part that formed a mane as the mist took equine shape. A sharp horn made of a thin funnel of mist protruded from the forehead, and a pair of misty wings flared open along its back.

           One semi-solid, the mist opened glowing eyes, pale blue in color. “Thou art human,” the mist said.

           Luz nodded reluctantly. “And you must be the moon goddess,” she replied. “You look a lot nicer when you’re not trying to kill us.”

           The misty creature gave a soft smile. “It has been many of my moons since a human has stepped foot in this, or any realm,” the mist said. “What is thy name?”

           “Luz, Luz Noceda.” She relaxed a little.

           “Thou mayest call Us, Luna,” the mist said. “I bid thee safe passage back to the Demon Realm, and a word of caution: thy presence shall cause a great disturbance in the time to come.”

           “I had a feeling it might.” Luz rubbed a forearm sheepishly and smiled. “Thank you, Luna. Safe passage to you too, I guess.”

           She waved to the horned Pegasus as she walked through the vortex. The second it shut, the world was bathed in black.

******

           Luz gasped awake and nearly fell over if it wasn’t for Gus catching her. Willow stood on the other side of the bed, while Amity sat upright on her bed.

“You alright?” he asked. “You were possessed for a little longer.”

           “Yeah, I’m fine,” Luz said, holding her head. She turned to Amity. “How are you feeling?”

           “Not possessed,” Amity replied, sliding out of bed with an indifferent look. It softened when she looked to Willow and sighed. “Thank you, for saving me.”

           “It’s what friends do,” Willow said with a warm smile.

Amity smiled softly at it, then frowned as she turned to the others. “I’ll head downstairs and tell them I’m free.”

Willow set a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “I’ll go with you.” Amity blinked in surprise at her. “They… aren’t going to buy you broke free from the moon goddess on your own.”

“You’re probably right.” Amity looked to Luz and Gus. “You two had better go, before someone catches you here.”

Willow once again offered Amity her hand, who nodded and took it. Luz and Gus watched them walk to the door, unlock it, and head downstairs together. The murmuring below was broken by gasps and startled exclamations.

“That’s our cue to bounce,” Luz said, turning to the window. She walked over to it before she remembered they were on the second floor. “Oh. Right.”

“Should we jump?” Gus offered. “It’s a pretty long way down.”

“We don’t have much of a choice. I have to get back to the Owl House before Eda gets back.”

Reluctantly, Luz climbed out the window and hopped down, followed by Gus.

******

Eda was counting the snails in a coin purse she had “found” in some other person’s pocket when her ear perked up in the direction of chattering. King, who was licking a lollipop he had stolen from a kid, looked down at her.

“Something up?” he asked.

The Owl Lady shushed him and backed against the wall, listening in on the conversation two creatures nearby were having.

“Did you hear? The Blight’s daughter got possessed by the moon goddess herself!”

“What? No way! The moon goddess hasn’t possessed someone in a century.”

“I’m telling ya: a hundred spellcasters couldn’t get her out of it.”

“Think she’ll be out of it soon?”

“Who knows? But the Blight family sure is paying plenty for those who’ll try.” Eda’s eyebrows raised.

“Psst, Eda,” King whispered. “Why are we listening?”

“Could be potential money, that’s why,” Eda hissed back, then shrunk against the wall more as a third person ran over to join them.

“Guys! Guys!” he said. “The Blight girl’s cured!”

“What? No way!”

“It is, I was just there: she snapped out of it like it was nothing. Apparently her half-witch friend with the plants helped her.”

A huff. “So much for free snails.”

“Half-witch with the plants?” Eda wrinkled her nose.

“That sounds like Luz’s friend with the glasses,” King said.

“Something tells me Luz is behind all of this. Only one way to find out.” Eda tapped her staff on the ground, waking the owl.

“How’s that?” King hopped off her shoulder and onto the staff as Eda saddled up.

“Let’s go home and ask her.”

And with that, the Owl Lady took flight, back to the Owl House as the full moon overhead began to rise with its skull-like face.