Chapter 59

Luz was panicking. She lost control, Amity calmed her down, and that left Amity open for Odalia to take her over with her Oracle spirit to use as a human shield... Er, not human but... The point is Amity was on her way to Belos and it was all Luz's fault!

Just... Odalia took Amity onto a ship and flew off with her and all Luz could do was watch it happen and—

Luz was interrupted from her totally rational thoughts by Amity's dad rushing out "Alright Od—Oh... You don't need my help." He looked around. "Where's Amity?"

Luz tried to answer, but her mouth didn't work. All that came out was a terrible stammer. Instead, Hunter took charge.

"After we defeated the Emperor's Coven forces and Abomitons, Odalia exploited an opening to have her Spirit possess your daughter and used her as a hostage in order to escape with one of your airships."

Alador's expression didn't change all that much, but Luz could feel what could only be called heartbreak radiate off the man. "If only I'd been faster."

"It's not your fault," Luz said. After all, it was Luz's.

"This doesn't change anything," Hunter said. "We still need to get to the head with the master control and shut down the abomitons... And rescue the other rebels."

"And Amity!" Luz couldn't help but add.

"Yes, and Amity," Hunter agreed, "but, and I hate to say this, but we need to prioritize. If Belos told Odalia that he'd make the two of you his heirs, then that means he's still trying to use Amity to bait you into joining him. She'll be safe, at least for as long as he thinks he can still talk you over. Our priority needs to be to stop the draining spell."

"...Okay," Luz agreed reluctantly. The draining spell. The other thing that was Luz's fault. Everyone said it wasn't. King, Eda, Hunter, even the Titan but... She was interrupted from her thoughts again, this time by a meow.

Looking down, Luz saw that Ghost had been left behind and... She looked worried. Naturally, Luz picked up the cat. "Don't worry, Ghost, we're gonna save Amity," she said.

Luz didn't understand Ghost's reply, but Stirngbean helpfully translated: "Ghosty says she knows you will. She wants to know if you're okay."

"I'm fine," Luz lied. "We just need to... Odalia left before we could get the key from her, how—"

"I have that handled," Alador said. "When I realized what was happening I figured I had to do something... And then I remembered that this is a weapons factory." He raised his hand, showing off a rather large remote. "I managed to break the safe deposit box open with the bayonet from a crossbow we released a few months ago."

"Okay, okay... Does anyone have any memory tweezers?" Luz asked, suddenly remembering something.

"Not that I know of, no," Alador replied.

"Why do you want memory tweezers?" Willow asked.

"When, when Lilith and I went to the past with time pools," Luz began, "and we met... Philip, he um... Had a glyph combo that took us from near Bonesborrogh to inside the Skull," she said. "If I could remember that then we could get there now, ambush and overpower Belos, stop the draining spell, and be there before Odalia gets there with Amity but... It was a lot of glyphs in a complicated pattern and I don't remember it clearly, so if I had a memory photo I..." She should remember it, honestly. The Palismen she'd freed from inside Belos had given her all of his knowledge on magic, not just what they'd learned from their bonded witches. But... It's not all there, yet.

It was hard to explain. Simpler elemental spells, from glyphs or otherwise, just sort of flitted into her mind as she needed it, and healing, construction, and oracle spells came easy but other magics and especially more complicated glyphs were like... Popping into her head over time. Like she was absorbing it slowly.

"Well, we don't have memory tweezers," Hunter said. "And it'll take time to get them, time we don't have. Flying to the head will take time, but it's better than wasting time looking for a perfect solution. Mr. Blight, can we take the other airship?"

"Yes, but I'm coming with you," Alador insisted. "This is... Odalia is my responsibility. I spent far too long enabling her."

And so they all boarded the Airship and took off... And flew... And flew... And flew... Luz was pacing, things she could have done differently tumbling around in her mind, how... How none of this would have happened if...

"Can this thing go any faster!?" she shouted.

"No," Alador said. "This model is older than the one Odalia took. It doesn't even have an autopilot. We're not going to be able to catch up with her but... Golden Guard, are you certainthat the Emperor won't hurt Amity?"

"Belos isn't stupid," Hunter replied. "He wants Luz to go back to the human world with him and ever since the two of them beat that... That... I don't even know what that guy was if we're being honest."

"Mephisto," Luz explained. "He's a... He's what people in the human realm call a demon. A spiritual parasite that feeds on the negativity, suffering, and souls of others, as opposed to here where they're just normal people and animals. Specifically, he's a devil, which is kind of like a god but weaker, pathetic, and inherently evil and without any specific authority over anything except maybe a dimension."

"The human realm is terrifying," Gus observed.

"Yeah, kinda," Luz agreed... "Could we go faster if I did a big fire-conjuring spell to give us more thrust?"

"Yeah," Hunter quipped. "Do that and in the next few minutes, you take us all the way to the scene of the crash!"

"Well, at least I'm pitching!" Luz sedened. "We can't, I, Ugh!" she screamed, she couldn't help it. They had this big plan to fix her mistake and everything went wrong and now everyone was gonna... And Amity... Her fault, her fault, and—

Gus was next to her in an instant and led her to sit next to the... Wall? On the airship. "Luz, I know you're upset right now, but you're not helping getting all worked up like this. You wanna stop the draining spell, beat the Emperor, and save Amity?"

"...Yeah," Luz replied.

"Then you need to stay calm," Gus continued. "Come on, breathe."

Gus then walked her through some breathing exercises that... helped a little. "Thanks, Gus."

"Anytime," the young witch said. "Now, I have to ask... How well did you sleep last night?"

"Fine," she replied quickly.

"She's lying!" King interjected. "She was tossing and turning all night."

"Maybe you should take the time to get some rest," Gus suggested. "Maybe take a nap?"

"How can I sleep at a time like this?" Luz asked as she stood back up and returned to pacing.

"No, it's a good idea," Hunter observed. "You're the strongest witch here. Making sure you're well-rested could be the difference between victory and defeat."

"But—"

"No buts," Hunter interrupted. "I'm still in charge of this operation: Luz, I order you to take a nap."

"Fi~ine!" Luz whined and marked off to the back wall while grumbling. "But just for a couple minutes."

She laid down at the back of the ship and closed her eyes... And within moments suddenly felt a bit of weight in her body. Her eyes snapping open, she saw that not just Stringbean, but Ghost, Clover, Emeline, and Flapjack were all sitting on her all cuddled up and adorable and...

Turning her head she saw her friends all looking toward her conspiratorially.

"You monsters!" she declared to the assembled traitors. "You know I'm not going to be able to get up with them on me." There was no possible way she could disturb them if... She yawned. Wow, she was tired. "Alright, fine but..."

"We'll wake you if something happens," Willow reassured and Luz closed her eyes again.

TLOA

Amity was forced to see far, far too many people assembled at the head for a celebration that was really a cattle call to lead them to their deaths after the ship landed. She wasn't really paying attention as Odalia's oracle spirit forced her to smile and walk in step with the... Amity couldn't even think of a word strong enough to express her hatred for Odalia. But before Amity knew it, Odalia had whispered something to a coven scout and they'd been directed to...

They were going into the head itself. The Titan's skull. This was... Okay, she'd never been very religious, and Luz had said that the Titan doesn't care for worship but this was still hallowed ground they were trodding on.

Finally, on a stone bridge in the Skull, they came face to face with Belos, dressed in a strange blue coat, just as he threw a disc of something into the abyss below.

"Emperor Belos, sir," Odaia said in a way that managed to sound both smug and sycophantic simultaneously, "after much struggle I have managed to bring my daughter to you. The human should be following soon enough." It was then and only then that she finally released Amity from the control of her spirit.

Amity's first instinct was to run for it but... Where would she go? She'd almost certainly just get possessed again, if Belos wanted her here he'd move to capture her himself if need be, and... Her best bet for escape would be to summon Ghost and try to fly off and if that didn't work then Belos could get his hands on her and Amity would die before she let that happen.

Belos glanced at Odalia's torn sleeves before making eye contact and responding. "Thank you, Odalia, for bringing her to me. You'll be glad to know that she has a brighter future in my hands than anyone else on the isles and that you'll not live to regret this." Then the head of her staff began to glow red.

"Why thank you, Emper—what's going on!?" Odalia exclaimed in panic as she began to turn to stone, feet first. Amity was too shocked to react as Odalia began flailing and screaming in horror. "No! No, no, no! We had a deal!"

"Had, being the keyword," Belos replied. "But now it's served its purpose and so have you. Goodbye, Odalia."

The process was completed and Amity had just a second to look at her mother's horrified expression frozen in stone before Belos blasted Odalia's petrified remains to dust.

Everything she'd just witnessed caught up to Amity in an instant as she turned and vomited over the side of the bridge. Just as she recovered from thatshe was grabbed and dragged by several reddish, monster-like arms as Belos began to walk to a chamber on the far end of the skull.

"You should count yourself Lucky," Belos said. "If Luzura is smart, then you'll get to live."

TLOA

Luz was forced awake by a terrible, searing pain in her arm. She sat up, the palismen thankfully moving so she didn't have to move them and... Her sigil was acting up, lines were going all up her body front and, through the pain she felt... Drained.

She knew what was going on but part of her refused to believe it until she saw that it'd happened to Hunter and Alador as well. They hadn't gotten there in time, the draining spell went off and now everyone was going to...

"Luz!" King shouted and scurried up to her. "The, the... Are you alright?"

"No," she said. "I... We, it's too late. I'm sorry!"

"No, it's not!" King said. "We can still stop this if I free the Collector, everyone just needs to hold on a little longer."

"We're almost there," Alador grunted, clearly in pain... "Brace yourselves, the landing is going to be rough."

And he was telling the truth. The best way Luz could describe it was that the 'You're gonna pee yourself' sensation that came from sudden steep drops coupled with the adrenaline from the landing almost distracted her from the pain of the draining spell. Almost.

Willow helped Hunter stand, and Luz used her staff to support herself, but Alador refused any help. Disembarking from the now noticeably damaged ship, the group was met with a pavilion full of abomitons and passed-out witches. The abomitons reacted to their presence by moving to attack, but Alador put himself between the abomitons and the witchlings and used his remote to deactivate them. "Go..." He grunted out. "I'll handle this... Stop Belos, save Amity and... Luz?" He said while looking Luz in the eye. "Please tell Amity that I love her."

Reluctantly, the children moved, flying up into the Titan's skull through his eyes... Luz saw on the raised dias in the center of the pavilion the coven heads and a few other witches passed out... Including Eda who... 'Focus Luz!' she yelled at herself in her head. She could... Stop Belos, find the Collector. Then everything will be just fine and she can apologize for getting everyone else hurt... And if they fail, well... She'll be dead along with everyone else and she can apologize to them on the Other Side... Assuming she didn't even up getting sent to the Bad Place for her part in all of this.

Inside the Titan's skull was some kind of stone bridge. Luz was so distracted by her total rational thoughts and the pain of the draining spell that she didn't even notice the pile of powdered stone in the middle of it until she'd trodded through it. On the far side was, of course, the room where the Collector's mirror had first been. Going through the door, the room had clearly been converted into some kind of workshop. Floating at the far end was the portal door, standing next to it looking pleased with himself, and in a corner restrained with monster arms was—

"Amity!" Luz shouted. She... Probably shouldn't have done it, but almost on reflex Luz raised her hand and with a spell circle undid Belo's spell, freeing Amity who with inhuman speed ran and embraced Luz.

"Luz, I... He killed her." Amity said.

"What?"

"My Mom," she said, "as soon as she brought me here he petrified her and blasted her to dust."

Luz very discretely tried to scrape the bottoms of her shoes on the ground. "Okay, it's gonna be okay, I..." Looking over Amity's shoulder at the portal, Luz started to form the beginning of a plan. "I need you to do something for me," she whispered into Amity's ear as she turned to put Amity behind everyone else and snuck her phone into Amity's pocket.

Then, and only then, did she turn back to Belos. "Okay, you win," she said with exasperation. "There's nothing we can do to stop this, just..." Her friends looked surprised but seemed to catch on that she was trying to play him pretty quickly.

In the corner of her eye, Luz saw Amity begin to text on her phone only for King to motion for Amity to crouch down. She did so, he whispered something to her, she whispered something back, and then he quickly scurried off back the way they came.

Belos didn't seem to notice. "It's so good to see that you're finally listening to reason, Luzura."

"Right," Luz said trying not to show how sick she felt saying that. "You want me to come back to the human realm with you, and... That's the only way I can get out of here without dying to the draining spell. But the thing is, I'd ratherdie than leave my friends behind. If you want me to come with you, we need to bring them, too."

"Out of the question," Belos insisted with a hint of anger.

"Is it?" Luz said. "You were already going to spare one witch. What are a few more? Besides, it'd be good for you, too."

"How so?" Belos asked with bitter sarcasm.

"Well, for one... The human realm has changed a lot since you were there last," Luz began. "Fashion and culture, art and science... Nobody dressed like that anymore, for starters," she gestured to his coat. "You're going to need a guide, someone who can translate for you and explain how things work now and, well, that means it's in your best interest to keep me willing to cooperate." Belos glared. "And for two... Do you have any idea how crazy this would all sound? You're really gonna go back and claim to be a man who went missing nearly four centuries ago, that you got lost in a demon dimension, that you're somehow alive after all this time, and you killed all of the witches too... What, protect humans? After all you've done, you're going to want credit for it... To be like, the Emperor of Witch Hunters, right?"

"The Witch Hunter General," Belos insisted.

"Which means you need someone to back up your story," Luz said, "and you need living proof."

"The Blight girl will be more than sufficient to prove the existence of this perdition," Belos replied.

"No, she's not," Luz said. "Since you've been gone there has been a surge in people who are born... Different. Strange talents, weird appearances... One witch could be dismissed as a mutant, you'd need a good couple of them to convince anyone." Belos didn't respond, and Luz was running out of arguments... When she remembered what he'd said about her and Caleb when she and Hunter were in his mind. She stumbled a bit, which was only half faked, and in doing so let the small ponytail she had growing out flop over her shoulder. She then looked back up at Belos, made eye contact, and in a pained and desperate voice begged "Please, Phillip."

Belos glared at her for a moment, but then his expression softened. "Twist my arm, why don't you," he said gently. "I cannot vouch for your safety if you are not all on your absolutely best behavior," he said to her friends, then withdrew the portal key from inside his coat and walked to the door. "It's been so long since I've seen my home," he said as he placed the key in the lock and opened the door.

Then someone on the other side of the door punched Belos in the face, making him stumble back, and several people began to swarm through.