Chapter Text
Just like the road trips Camila remembered taking with her family once upon a time, the one the Owl House gang (plus Amity) took to the moors of the Right Pectoralis Plains took a lot more planning and preparation than initially thought. So, it was exactly one week from the day Barbatos had told her and Eda about the hidden lab that the eight of them finally stepped off a Blight family airship (graciously donated by her daughter’s darling girlfriend) and into…
“Eda! Lilith! This place is amazing!” Masha breathed, as they spun around, trying to take in everything.
And, honestly, it was. The place the Clawthorne sisters had directed them to was nothing short of an honest-to-God Roman-style villa set right where the gently rolling plains started to rise into the mysterious misty moors where Emperor Belos’ lab was supposedly hidden.
“And you’re sure tus padres won’t be here?” Camila asked, helping offload some of the luggage.
“Given the grime and mold on the windows, I don’t think anyone’s been here in ages, mom,” Vee said, the basilisk trying to peer through one of the small stained glass windows on the door of the closest building.
“Yeah, this place is nasty,” King said as he scrambled up to sit on the disguised basilisk’s shoulder.
“Indeed,” Lilith answered as she stepped off the airship’s ramp. “After Eda … left home, mother and father didn’t see much use in going on family vacations anymore and let our family’s old villa sit vacant.”
Eda grumbled in annoyance. “Yeah, well, you jetted off to The Good Ideas Coven, mom became obsessed with trying to ‘cure’ me, and dad, well…” she trailed off and both sisters stared at the ground.
“Have you… have you tried talking to Queen Rinseri about… that, yet?” Lilith asked.
Eda shook her head. “Nah. I’m waiting for the right time, y’know.”
The one-armed witch nodded. “I understand. There are some things you don’t like to think about.”
A tense silence hung over the group for a few moments.
Camila clapped her hands, bringing everyone’s attention away from the sisters. “So, uh, Eda, Lilith? Why don’t you tell us about tu familia’s villa? Anything we should know about? Like, weird spells or enchantments we need to look out for, or…?”
The Owl Lady gave the human woman a grateful smile. “Nah, nothing like that, Cami. Sure, there’s a few wards to help keep bandits and wild animals away, but those are only on the outer walls. As long as either me or Lily are with someone, they shouldn’t activate.”
Lilith rubbed her chin in thought. “It has been about thirty years… I should probably go over them, just to make sure they’re functioning correctly.”
“Want a hand, Lily?” Eda asked.
“No, thanks, Eda,” the dark-haired witch answered. “In fact, I should probably do so now.” She raised her injured arm. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be much help getting things unloaded. It shouldn’t take too long.” She grabbed her Palisman and marched outside the compound, fingers already twirling spell circles.
Camila watched the injured witch walk away, a deep sigh escaping her lips.
“Something on your mind, mami?” Luz asked, hefting one of the trunks they’d brought one-handed.
“Maybe…” the woman answered. “Luz, do you remember when your tia Robin came back from the Middle East, after she lost her leg to that IED?”
“Sort of,” the girl answered. “I remember that she kept insisting that she was fine and then had that big breakdown during the big trip for abuelo Rodrigo’s 90th birthday.” She paused. “Wait… do you think that Lilith is doing the same thing? Insisting she’s fine when she’s actually hurting really bad inside?”
“Maybe,” Camila mused. “Or maybe I’m reading too much into some things…” She sighed again. “Vamos. These bags won’t move themselves.”
The next morning was unexpectedly chilly, and Luz had woken up to see the entire estate shrouded in swirling mists. They’d cleared up as the sun rose higher, and by the time everyone else had woken up and gotten breakfast, the mist had retreated to the nearby highlands.
It was now late morning, and all eight of them were gathered around a table in one of the rooms on the eastern side of the villa while Eda projected an illusory map of the moorland on the table.
Well, seven of them had gathered around the table. King, instead, chose to stand on the table, towering over the map like a tiny god watching over his lands.
The nearby moor was roughly football-shaped, and about a dozen dots were scattered across it. It ran roughly northeast to southwest, with the villa on the western side. What looked like a swamp or marsh lay a few miles to the north.
“Well, unless anything has changed since the last time either of us were here,” Lilith began, gesturing at the map, “there shouldn’t be too many places to actually look. This is the largest moorland in the area, and it’s only about 30 square miles. There are a few ruins, mostly of old shrines or tombs for our ancestors.”
Amity glanced up at the two older witches. “Wait, if your family is buried out here, does that mean the Clawthorne family owns this moor?”
“Only in the most technical sense,” Eda replied. “No one’s really lived out this way for probably a hundred years. The only reason no-one else has tried to claim or buy this off us is because the land sucks.”
Lilith made a noncommittal noise. “In any case, that means that there are very few places for Belos to have hidden this lab of his. Most of the ground is relatively flat and the only thing that grows here are short grasses, so any entrances should be fairly easy to detect, either with Oracle magic or just eyesight.”
Luz hummed in thought, carefully looking at the map. “Wait, didn’t you say there were more moors out here? Shouldn’t we be looking at those too?”
A flick of Eda’s wrist caused the map to zoom out, revealing a whole slew of other moors in the surrounding area, most further to the west. “Yeah, but the other moors are even smaller. The largest is only a couple square miles, and land around is even worse than here. Which means that Belos would have a hell of a time transporting the supplies to build his lab.”
Lilith’s expression soured. “Plus, from what he revealed to me, he was very close to our family at the time, so he could, theoretically, have used this villa as a base for moving his supplies further in.”
Vee’s eyes widened and she shrank back into herself. “W-w-wait, Belos…lived here? In this house? Wh-what if he…?”
“Impossible,” Lilith said, reaching up to adjust some nonexistent glasses before stopping herself. “If Belos’ lab was here, Eda and I would have found it decades ago. We used to come here on family trips when we were younger, remember? We probably searched over every square inch of this place twenty times over searching for hidden treasures.”
“Besides, even if they were friends, I doubt Evelyn and Caleb would’ve allowed Belos to put his creepy-ass lab directly on Clawthorne grounds,” Eda added. “Ol’ Hornhead probably did it in secret.”
Mami reached over and pulled the disguised basilisk into a side hug. “Don’t worry, mija. We’re safe here. Eda and Lilith wouldn’t have asked you and me to come here if they thought it was dangerous, right?”
Eda nodded. “Totally. If I’d thought for half a second either of you would be unsafe here, I would’ve told you two to stay back at the Owl House with Hooty.”
Eventually, Vee took in a deep breath. “Right, right, sorry. It’s just… I’ve heard Belos did so many bad things… a-and that whole thing with the basilisks…”
Lilith smiled. “Don’t worry. Since we freed them, the basilisks are doing quite well down on the Knee. The Resistance won’t let Belos hurt them any more.”
Vee smiled at the dark-haired witch.
Luz cleared her throat. “Uh, so what are we gonna need to look for? Like, how big does the entrance need to be?”
“It’d have to be at least large enough for a grown witch to enter without too much trouble,” Lilith answered. “And it would have to be flat, clear, and thin enough to be either transformed into a door or opened like one. Otherwise the construction magic won’t work.”
“What about wildlife?” Masha asked. “Anything we need to keep an eye out for?”
Eda shrugged. “Eh, just some small birds, mostly. Nothing too dangerous.” She paused in thought. “Well, sometimes a beast demon will wander up here from the plains looking for food, but most of those tend to leave quickly since there’s no water. Except for the swamp, but that’s all nasty and mucky. Plus the insects there are the size of your head.”
Masha pointed to the marsh. “Well, is there anything in the swamp? Maybe he hid it there.”
“Yeah, if I were an evil dictator, I’d totally put a hidden lab in the swamp with the giant insects!” King said.
The sisters looked at each, holding a silent conversation with just their eyes.
Finally, Eda looked back to the group. “Well, Castle Clawthorne is there. But it’s been ruins for centuries.”
“Your ancestors built a castle in the middle of a swamp?” Mami asked.
“Yes, it is just as stupid as you think,” Lilith responded dryly. “The one there is technically the fourth castle they built out here. The first one reportedly sank into the swamp. The second one also sank.”
Eda snickered. “The third one had the bad luck of burning down and falling over before sinking into the damn swamp.”
“Well, maybe we should scout it out, just in case?” Luz asked.
“No,” Lilith said definitively. “It’s far too dangerous, even for the two of you with your powers, what with the traps and beasts. Besides, generations of Clawthornes have most likely gone over every square inch of the castle. If there was a hidden lab there, it would have been found long ago.”
“And, like I said, I don’t think any Clawthornes would have let Belos build his lab on their property,” Eda added. “And there’s more of the wards around the castle, so it’d be pretty hard to build a whole ass lab there in secret.”
“Unless they allowed him to…” Lilith said morosely.
“Don’t even think about that, Lily,” Eda said. “Even if they did, Belos probably manipulated them the same way he did you.”
Luz cleared her throat. “So, uh, how are we gonna go about searching for the lab?”
Lilith gave a small shake of her head before answering. “Well, first we’ll need to do some aerial reconnaissance. Eda and I can handle that on our Palismans.”
“Actually,” Eda interrupted. “I can do that in my harpy form. Those wings aren’t just for show, y’know. Would give one or two of the kids the chance to follow on Owlbert, too.”
Lilith rubbed her chin as she thought. “And I could carry another on Mike…”
“And with five of us, we could probably split up,” Masha offered. “Get this done a lot quicker.”
“Not a bad idea,” Lilith agreed. “The sooner we find the lab, the more time we’ll have to do a thorough search. Tease out anything and everything Belos left there. Perhaps even things he’s forgotten about.”
“And what about the rest of us?” Mami asked. “Do you want us to do anything?”
“Yeah,” Eda said, leaning back in her chair. “Relax. Just think of this as a vacation!”
“Indeed. You and Victoria went through a horrifying experience with the attack on the Human Realm,” Lilith added, “and then were thrust into an unfamiliar world in the midst of a civil war. Add in the fact that we’ve been so focused the last two weeks on our financial state…”
“You’ve been goin’ pretty non-stop, Cami,” Eda finished. “While I’m glad for the help, I think it’s time you focus on you.”
Mami sighed. “Well… It would be nice to take a moment for myself and Vee. Find some time to calm down from the rollercoaster we’ve been on…”
“That’s the spirit!” Eda gave Mami a warm smile.
“But will we be okay, staying here, while the rest of you are out searching?” Vee asked.
“Don’t worry,” Lilith answered. “The wards here will suffice for your protection, at least against a beast. This area is fairly isolated, so no witches or demons should come out this far.”
“Yeah! And I’ll be here too! So if anyone tries to break in, I’ll save you with my new moves!” King punched the air a few times, but when he tried to do a kick, he ended up overbalancing and falling over.
“Gracias, Reycito,” Mami laughed. “Vee and I feel much safer with you around.”
“Well, this is another bust,” Amity groused, pulling the Cloak of Caelum tighter around herself to ward off the evening chill.
It had been three days of searching the moorlands behind the Clawthorne villa. So far the two groups had found five possible spots where Belos could have hidden his lab – three small depressions in the ground, an old tomb of Eda and Lilith’s twenty-times-great grandfather, and one of the old shrines that dotted the area. So far, there was no sign of the lab, though Lilith did take some notes on the tomb and grave goods her ancestor was buried with.
And now she and Lilith were investigating another small shrine in the fading light. It was really no more than a stone altar covered with some ancient ashes and … very disturbing stains. The leering dire goat skull on the front didn’t help matters any.
But what mattered is that there was virtually no way for Belos to have hidden anything in or under the “shrine”. Still, the two of them investigated it through all sorts of Oracle magic, the one-armed witch even taking the time to teach Amity a few new tricks to allow her to see into the infrared and ultraviolet spectra. But there was nothing but solid rock as far as either could see.
It was weirdly nice, spending time with Lilith and talking about magic. The sorcerer had even told the witch about her battle with Grometheus.
But what wasn’t nice was the nothing they were finding. Even using Oracle magic to try and see into the ground they couldn’t find anything. At least Lilith was having fun investigating the altar. Currently the dark-haired woman was using a small knife to scrape samples of the stains off to investigate later, once she was back at the Owl House.
Lilith stood up and resheathed the knife. “Well, maybe Eda, Luz, and Masha are having better luck. Besides, I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. And I’m going to be analyzing these samples for weeks! It’ll be so exciting!” She giggled, an enormous smile brightening her face.
Amity stared at the older witch. Lilith Clawthorne, former head of the Emperor’s Coven and the most serious witch she’d ever known, had just giggled like a witchling. In fact, Amity was pretty sure she’d never seen Lilith this happy … well, ever! She was so different from the woman who’d used her own student to cheat in a duel against her sister! It was honestly like she was a different witch altogether.
Although, I’m not the same witch I was just a few months ago, am I? Luz is truly amazing, she changes everyone she meets, just by being herself.
The witch shook her head and started walking back to Amity. “But that will have to wait. It’s getting pretty late and we’re pretty far out. I think we should head back to the villa.”
Amity smiled at the woman. “Agreed. Hey, do you wanna hear what I did for my end of semester test in Abominations?”
Lilith smiled back. “I’d be delighted, Amity.”
“Well, this is another bust,” Masha groused.
They crossed their arms carefully, trying to look as grumpy as possible while not overbalancing on Owlbert’s staff, which both they and Luz were perched on.
Sometimes I really envy Luz’s spider powers. Even in my orichalcum form, it would suck falling all that way.
The enby stared at the cliff face in the fading evening light. They, Luz, and Eda – currently in her harpy form and floating nearby like the world’s largest hummingbird - had stopped to investigate it since it was the only spot on the cliff that looked large and flat enough for a person to have put a door - the rest of the cliff was too rugged or covered in either the tough purplish grasses that blanketed the rest of the moor or one of the few scraggly, hard trees. It didn’t look like there was a door here, and, since it was a few hundred feet from both the top of the cliff and the ground, the enby couldn’t imagine anyone hauling any sort of lab equipment here. The Owl Lady had even scanned it with her magic and found nothing.
“Don’t be so sure,” the harpy witch answered, giving the two teens a sharp toothed smile. “Luz, you wanna try and take a crack at this?”
“Uh, sure,” Luz answered. She reached in a pocket and pulled out a purplish ring.
“What’s that?” Masha asked.
Luz worked the ring onto her finger. “Remember when I told you that I’d had a vision of you, Mami, and Vee coming to the Isles.”
“Yeah,” the enby answered.
The spider-powered girl lifted her hand to show off the gem on the ring. “Well, this is how I was able to do that. It’s the Eye of Argon; Azura made it then gave it to me in the Knee.”
Masha peered closer at the ring, noting how the gem looked almost like an eye. “Cool. How’s it do that?”
“Not sure,” Luz answered. “We think it resonates with my Spider Sense and enhances it, somehow. With it I can sort of sense the recent past and future of something. And also, like, sort of see through stuff? Not full on X-ray vision, it’s like I can… peel back the layers on stuff? Like those see-through anatomy charts in Mr. Johnson’s class.”
Masha nodded in understanding. “Cool.”
“Yeah, but it’s also super disorienting and makes everything feel weird to my Spider Sense.” Luz closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she opened them, her eyes were now a glowing purple. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Man, I really need to get me one of those magical artifacts.
The enby watched as Luz turned back to the cliff face, eyes narrowing in concentration. The girl stared for a few long seconds before blinking her eyes back to normal.
“Nope, nothing but solid rock as far as I can see.” Luz removed the ring and put it back in her pocket.
The Owl Lady sighed. “Dammit. Well, it’s getting dark soon, anyway, so we should probably head back. If I bring any of you kids back after dark Cami will kick my ass.”
Both teens laughed at that.
It was now a week after the group had arrived at the Clawthorne villa, and still no sign of Belos’ lab. They’d managed to search about two-thirds of the moorland, and no matter how many cairns, tombs, grave mounds, lone altars, small shrines, crevices, or exposed cliff faces they investigated, there wasn’t any evidence that anyone had built anything out here in the past 400 years. Luz was beginning to think that either the bastardo had hidden it better than everyone had thought, or it just wasn’t here.
She really hoped it was the first one.
Today mami had suggested they all take a break. Eda and Lilith were taking the opportunity to rethink the search plans. Masha, Vee, and King were playing a boardgame in one of the bedrooms, and Amity and Mami were currently out in the airship, the human woman having asked the witch out there to discuss ‘something private’, in Mami’s words.
Luz really hoped it wasn’t anything serious.
Meanwhile, Luz was sitting on the side of the outer wall, just enjoying the cool air. She tipped her glass back and found she was out of water.
Whelp, might as well go back inside. Maybe join in the boardgame?
She shifted, ready to hop down when something twinged at the edge of her spider sense. It felt halfway between some of the telekinesis magic she’d seen some witches use and a small storm. Frowning, the spider-enhanced human turned to look at whatever it was and saw…
Is that a… bird tornado?
Unable to decide if this was someone approaching the villa or some weird Boiling Isles weather, Luz sprang up to the top of the wall and over. Using a webline, she ziplined onto the deck of the airship, coming to a stop right beside Amity and Mami.
The mint-haired witch jumped a little at her girlfriend’s arrival. “Gah! What, Luz?”
“Mija, is something wrong?” Mami asked, hands on the steering wheel.
Wait, was Amity teaching Mami how to fly this thing? … Wait, no, more important things to think about now!
Turning to Amity, Luz asked, “Hey, Menta, does the Boiling Isles have ‘bird tornadoes’?”
“Bird … tornadoes?” the witch said haltingly. “What are you talking about?”
The human teen turned and pointed at the rapidly approaching phenomenon. “That.”
Amity stood dumbfounded for a moment. “I’ve never seen that before in my life.” Her expression darkened. “But it’s better safe than sorry. Ms. Noceda? Run inside and get Eda and Lilith. They might know what’s going on.”
Mami was already moving towards the ramp. “Got it. You two stay safe.”
“Entendio, mama,” Luz said, hopping over the railing and grabbing her staff with a webline.
Amity floated down shortly after, Cloak of Caelum over her shoulders and magic already at her fingertips.
The birdnado (or whatever it was) floated past the walls, setting down in the courtyard, a few yards in front of the superhero and sorcerer. The miniature whirlwind dissipated, revealing an older woman, probably 60s or 70s. But judging by the scars she carried, the hard set in her eyes, and the hard muscles that were visible even from this distance, Luz worried the woman’s age would be an asset instead of a hindrance.
She pointed her large hawk Palisman - whose staff looked more like a crook than, well, a staff – at the teens. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?” Her voice was hard but somehow familiar.
Luz smiled, shouldering her staff. “Cleaning staff. The lady who owns this place thought it could use a good dusting.”
“Nice try. Now why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re here,” the strange woman said as she spun her Palisman around, transforming it into a rather nasty-looking bastard sword which she held in a perfect first form stance, “before I show you what it’s like to face the last remaining Ti-Rin master on the Boiling Isles.”
Luz shifted into her own first form stance.
Amity brought her own hands up, lightning and fire twirling around her fingers. “We’re guests of the Clawthorne sisters. We’re searching the nearby moors for something important.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Another lie. Neither of my daughters would willingly come here.”
The main doors of the villa suddenly burst open, and Luz felt the familiar forms of Lilith and Eda come running out.
“What’s going on?” Lilith yelled as she came up beside the human. “Wait, mom!? What are you doing here?”
Luz’s mouth dropped open. “Mom!?”
The woman (apparently Ms. Clawthorne) dropped her stance slightly. “Sweet Flea?”
Eda slumped up between Amity and Luz. “Great. Just what we need. Gwendolyn, would you please stop pointing a sword at my apprentice?”
Ms. Clawthrone blinked in surprise at that. “Apprentice? My Witchlet, taking an apprentice?” She gasped, an ecstatic smile stretching her face. “Oh, Titan, I’m so proud of you, Edalyn!”
Eda merely glared at her mother. “Uh-huh. You wanna tell us why you came out all this way, Gwendolyn?”
Dismissing her Palisman, Ms. Clawthorne began walking towards the group. “Oh, come now, Edalyn. Is that any way to treat your mother? At least call me Gwen.” She glanced at the two teens. “Now then, which one of you is my daughter’s apprentice? Come now, don’t be shy.”
Luz raised her hand. “Hi. Luz Noceda, Bonesburough’s resident human, apprentice to the Owl Lady, and superhero in training.”
“Well, now. A human learning magic,” Gwen said, looking Luz over. “That’s interesting.”
Lilith stepped forward. “Mom, maybe we should head inside. There’s some things we need to discuss.”
Gwendolyn waited patiently while Eda’s girlfriend set a teapot down in the middle of the table, the human woman offering the older witch a warm smile. It’s nice Witchlet found someone after all this time, even with her condition, Gwen mused.
“Okay, Gwendolyn,” Eda said, her younger daughter slouching in one of the ancient chairs of the sitting room. “You’ve already met Luz, my apprentice, and her girlfriend, Amity Blight. Yes, of those Blights. That’s Camila, Luz’s mother, and Victoria, her other daughter.”
The three humans had claimed one of the couches, the daughters sitting on either side of their mother, while the young Blight was leaning on the armrest right by her partner.
“The other human’s Masha,” her witchlet continued. “They’re a friend of Victoria’s.”
The last human, sitting backwards in one of the chairs, gave a short wave. “‘Sup.”
“Hello, dear,” Gwen smiled back.
“And you know King,” Eda finished, pointing to the tiny demon napping next to Sweet Flea on the other couch.
Eda leaned forward. “Now, to get back to my and Lily’s question: what the hell are you doin’ here, Gwendolyn?”
Gwen kept smiling. “I could ask you two the same thing. You vowed never to come close to anything owned by our family for as long as you lived, Witchlet. And, Sweet Flea, I would think you’d have joined this rebellion, given what that nasty Belos has said about you. ‘Betraying the Titan’? Nonsense!”
Sweet Flea sighed. “Yes, well, after some revelations I’m … reevaluating my beliefs and trying to decide what to do now that I’m no longer part of the Emperor’s Coven. And I’m not sure that someone in my condition would be useful to the rebels, anyway.”
Condition? What condition? Gwen raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“But to answer your question, mom,” Lily continued, “we’re here because, supposedly, Emperor Belos once had a hidden lab out here. We’re trying to find it, and anything he may have left behind.”
“Ah! A treasure hunt,” Gwen nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been on a few of those in my day. Even got the scars to prove it!” She flexed one arm to show off a little, eliciting a groan from Eda.
“Dang, Mrs. Clawthorne, your bicep game is on point!” Masha called out, causing the other human teens to stifle giggles.
“Please, dear, call me Gwen,” Gwen replied. “Everyone does. Well, except my daughters, of course.”
Eda sighed. “We’re not here for ‘treasure’ or anything like that. We’re hoping to find something to help us beat Belos, or at least give us the rebels an edge against his forces.”
“And we’re fairly certain it’s on our old lands,” Sweet Flea added. “Belos himself told me that he knew some of our ancestors.”
“Hmmmmm. Well, sorry to say I don’t think I can help you,” Gwen shrugged. “I heard plenty of stories from my mother and grandfather, but none of them were about Belos. But, anyway, you all can just ignore me. I shouldn’t be here too long – just need to get some old family heirlooms.”
Sweet Flea swallowed nervously. “Mom, why do you need to suddenly get our family heirlooms? And which ones?”
The elder witch laughed. “Oh, don’t worry yourself, Sweet Flea! It’s just some old jewelry from great-great-whatever-grandmother Evelyn! My new guru Wartlop says he needs them to pay for some special ingredients for a special project we’ve been working on.”
Lily’s mouth fell open and she shot up to her full height. “Mom! That jewelry is hundreds of years old! It’s … They’re part of our family’s heritage! Not to mention a window into a history that no one's really studied because Belos forbade it! And you’re just going to sell them!?”
Gwen reached up to put a reassuring hand on her eldest’s shoulder. “Come now, Sweet Flea. Nobody’s really even looked at those things in centuries. And now they’re going to a much better cause!”
Sweet Flea barely kept a growl out of her voice. “And what cause is that, mother?”
Gwen smiled widely. “Why, curing your sister, of course!”
The room fell dead silent after that. At least until Eda started guffawing, nearly falling out of her chair.
“Uh, Mrs. Clawthorne… Gwen,” Camila started. “Uh, Eda doesn’t really need any help with her .. curse.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes. She has her ‘potions’. But really, who knows what those dreadful covens put in those things. That’s why I never joined one.” She shook her wrists, proudly displaying their lack of coven mark.
Eda’s laughter subsided. “Yeah, that’s not what she meant.” She slowly stood up. “See, turns out I’m not cursed after all. The ‘Owl Beast’?” She pointed at her head. “She’s not a ‘beast’ at all. Her name’s Rinseri, and she used to be a queen before getting stuck in a book and then magicked into me.” She frowned and sighed. “And, I hate to admit this, but you were actually right about those potions. They were really made to keep her powered down, and were actually poisoning me as a side effect. That’s why I went gray so early.” She shook her hair. “Once I stopped taking them, my real color started coming back in.”
Gwen looked closer and saw that about ten percent of her younger daughter’s mane was now it’s normal bright orange. “That’s wonderful, dear! See what happens when you listen to your mother?”
Eda just grumbled.
“Now then, what about your transformations?” Gwen asked. “I’d hate for you to accidentally…”
“Yeah, no,” Eda interrupted. “Like I said, Rinseri isn’t a ‘beast’, she’s a person. We can actually talk now, so I won’t transform unless I want to, or if I’m, like, knocked out and close to dying and she needs to take over.”
Lily let out a nervous cough. “Well, mom, since you don’t need to worry about Edalyn any more, I assume you’re going back home?”
Gwen sighed. “Yes, I guess so. I wouldn’t want to get in your way while you search for this lab of Belos’.”
Suddenly, Eda’s girlfriend spoke up after being silent for so long. “Nonsense, Gwen. Vee, King, and I stay behind at the villa while the others search. You could at least stay for dinner and leave tomorrow. At least you won’t have wasted the trip.”
Gwen thought for a second. “Hmmm. Well, I’m sure Hawksley will want to rest after our trip here. And it has been a while since I was last at the villa… Maybe great-grandmother Evelyn’s jewels aren’t the only thing our family left here.”
Vee waved as Ms. Lilith and Luz went off to search for Belos’ lab. Ms. Eda, Masha, and Amity had left an hour ago since they were going to investigate the southernmost parts of the moorlands.
Last night had been … tense, to say the least. Ms. Gwen’s arrival yesterday had thrown Ms. Eda and Ms. Lilith off. Ms. Lilith had ranted for over two hours when she found out her mother had been going on treasure hunts and selling off the treasures for years to a series of what Mom had called ‘Snake Oil Salesmen’ – and then had to explain that that was a bad thing on Earth.
Vee wondered why humans thought having an unoiled snake would be bad.
After Ms. Lilith had gone to the room she’d claimed to lie down, Ms. Gwen had begun fussing over Ms. Eda – asking her how she’d been eating, how she’d been sleeping, if she was seeing anyone, etc. The basilisk felt a little sorry for Ms. Eda, and the gray-and-orange-haired witch had eventually transformed into her harpy form and flown off until evening.
After that, the elder witch had started peppering the rest of them with questions – what was the Human Realm like, what exactly was a superhero, how did the four of them get here, how did Luz and Amity meet…
It was exhausting and Vee felt even more sympathy for Ms. Eda. Also Vee got the odd feeling that Ms. Gwen thought that Mom and Ms. Eda were dating.
I … honestly don’t know how I feel about that. Maybe I should talk to Luz?
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the basilisk went back inside. Maybe King would be awake and up for playing a game?
No luck. The tiny demon had already found a sunbeam and was sound asleep. Sighing, Vee climbed up the stairs, trying to find something - anything - to do. While the first few days here had been relaxing, every day after had been soooooooooo boring. Mom had busied herself by cleaning the rooms the seven of them had been using and fixing meals for everyone, and was now actually starting to relax, even starting on a book series that Ms. Eda had recommended. But Vee had nothing to do except for the few times King was awake, so she’d taken to wandering the grounds, looking at all the other rooms and trying to see if there was anything interesting in them. She hadn’t found anything so far, but the thought kept Vee from going insane from the boredom.
Once she got upstairs, Vee noticed that the lights were on in one of the rooms down the hall. Walking over, she peeked in and saw Ms. Gwen searching through an old trunk, muttering to herself.
“Uh, Ms. Gwen? Do you… need any help?” the disguised basilisk asked cautiously.
“Hm?” the elder witch looked up. “Oh, Victoria! I’d figured you’d be off with the others, searching for that lab.”
“Oh, no. I’m … not like Luz or Masha,” Vee answered. “So, I stay here with Mom and King.”
The brown-haired woman laughed. “Oh, I understand. Not everyone’s suited to the adventurer’s lifestyle!”
Vee walked into the room, looking into the trunk Ms. Gwen was searching. It was full of old scrolls and papers. More papers, as well as a book, were strewn across a table nearby. “So, what are you doing?” she asked.
Ms. Gwen turned back to the trunk. “Oh, just looking at all the various letters great-great-grandma Evelyn left. Seeing if there’s any truth to her working with Belos.”
“You don’t believe the story Ms. Lilith told?” Vee asked.
“I don’t believe Belos,” Ms. Gwen corrected the girl. “I never trusted that man. Always going on about being ‘the one true way to connect with the Titan’. Bah! In a way, I’m glad my Sweet Flea finally escaped his clutches.”
“I actually think she is, too,” Vee said. “She’s been … really happy these past few weeks. She even helped Luz and her friends with some of their final exams last week.”
Ms. Gwen smiled. “Oh, that’s wonderful! I always knew Lily was meant for something more than that horrid Emperor’s Coven.” She smiled smugly. “I knew I was right to not trust this so-called ‘Titan-given’ Coven system! First, none of them could explain what was happening to my Witchlet, then I find out they tried to poison her!” She nodded to herself.
Vee cleared her throat. “So, uh, do you need any help? Mom’s reading right now and King’s napping, so…”
“You’re bored out of your teenage mind?” the elder witch finished.
Vee groaned. “Uggggggggh! I never thought staying at a country villa in another world would be so boring! Normally I’d watch TV or surf the Internet, or at least do homework, but…”
Ms. Gwen laughed again. “Ah. I didn’t realize how I’d missed the sounds of teenage drama. Not since Eda and Lily were here has the phrase ‘I’m so bored’ been said in this place.”
The basilisk giggled.
“Well, I don’t need any help here,” Ms. Gwen continued. “But, if you’re up for it, I do have a few questions about the Human Realm. I’ve always wanted to visit there.”
“Because of your human ancestors?” Vee asked.
“What?” The short-haired witch stared at her in confusion.
Vee slapped her forehead in frustration. “Aye! I guess Ms. Lilith didn’t tell you that part. Yeah, apparently Belos knew both Evelyn and her husband, Caleb, a human. He… may have met them on Earth? Er, the Human Realm.”
The elder witch tapped her chin in thought. “Well, now that you mention it, our family’s always had strange names – Caleb, Lilith, George… It makes sense if those names came from the Human Realm… Hmmmmmm….”
Ms. Gwen stepped over to the table and picked up the book. “You know, I was reading Evelyn’s diary just a little while ago, and she mentioned that her husband had a brother, Philip. It says that he made a lab in the old castle – he was obsessed with researching something she called ‘green devils’. Whatever those are.” She turned back to the basilisk. “Maybe that’s what you’ve all been searching for? Perhaps your source simply got it wro–Victoria, dear, is something wrong?”
Vee just stared at the brown-haired witch, her jaw open. Green Devils? But that’s what Belos calls the Skrulls! How? Is he- No, that’s impossible. But–? Her heart raced, and the basilisk swallowed thickly. “Ms. Gwen, is there a way for you to call your daughters and the others back? I… I think we need to tell everyone about this diary.”
Eda’s jaw hung open and she just stared at Vee as the disguised basilisk finished talking. “No,” she finally said, “no, that’s not possible. Humans don’t live that long.”
Everyone had gathered back in the sitting room after Gwendolyn’s rather urgent summons. While she’d hoped the woman had actually found something to aid in the search, she never expected… this.
Luz cleared her throat. “Actually, there are several mutants and mutates whose healing factors make them super long-lived. Maybe Philip was - is - a mutant?”
“I doubt that, Luz,” Lily said, her hand moving up to her nonexistent glasses again. “I saw Belos’ face multiple times. He looks far too much like a witch to have ever been a human. Besides, he ‘bled’ that disgusting green ooze when you injured him. And I know for a fact that humans bleed red just like witches do, thanks to that incident with the kitchen knife.”
Masha blushed. “Told you that I’m a disaster in the kitchen.”
Eda cleared her throat. “Regardless, there’s no way Belos is human. He’s some sort of witch or demon or - or some sort of monster pretending to be one. Hell, maybe he’s one of those Skrulls and just went crazy or something.”
Lily nodded. “Agreed. What’s more likely is that Belos and Philip met somehow without Evelyn or Caleb knowing, and Belos got his insane ideas for ‘saving’ Earth from his human friend. Maybe that’s why he didn’t have a direct location for the lab – Philip never told him. Maybe Belos had to do the same thing we were – searching every nook and cranny on the moorlands before realizing it was in the castle the entire time.”
Amity, who had looked deep in thought until now, spoke up. “I… Okay, I’m sorry, but I have to ask this – You guys are just accepting that Evelyn’s husband was a human? Even thought that would make you all at least partially human?”
Eda shrugged. “Why not? Ain’t no rule that says witches and humans can’t have babies.”
Lily nodded again. “In fact, that may explain why Eda and I are obsessed, at least in our own ways, with Earth and humanity.”
“It doesn’t surprise me. We Clawthornes have always been eccentric,” Gwendolyn added. “And I think it makes us all the more unique!”
Eda leaned closer and gave the younger witch a sly smile. “And, yes, Miss Priss, that means that you and lover-girl over there can one day have your very own half-witch, half-human, half-spider baby crawling all over the walls and ceilings.”
Amity’s face flushed red. “I-I-I- I wasn’t thinking about that. I-I-I was just wondering why you could accept that without proof, b-but not Belos and Philip being the same person.”
Lilith swallowed hard. “Mostly, because I don’t want to believe that I’m in any way related to that madman. So unless I see hard, physical proof that Philip and Belos are the same, I will continue to believe they aren’t. Mostly for my own sanity.”
The other two Clawthornes mumbled their agreement.
Cami cleared her throat. “Maybe we should get back to Vee and Gwen’s discovery? Even if Belos and Philip were just colleagues, this lab does seem the best lead we’ve gotten. Eda, Lilith, how dangerous is el castillo? You said there were traps, ¿verdad? And, Lilith, you said that you weren’t sure that Luz and Masha would be safe, even with their powers? What about la bestias?”
Eda sighed. “Cami’s right. This is our best bet. We’re rapidly running out of places to search on the moor.”
Lily frowned. “And I was exaggerating, but only slightly. If we are going to search the castle for Philip’s lab, we’re going to need to be on our toes. The traps there will take you off guard – I still have several scars from a rather nasty saw trap – and the beasts who live in the swamp will not hesitate to attack anyone they see. Plus the castle itself is very unstable. The five of us – Eda, myself, Luz, Amity, and Masha – will need to work together to find the lab. Plus, there’s no telling what’s inside.”
Masha raised their hand. “Hey, quick question: Did that diary say anything about where in the castle Phil built his hidey-hole?”
Gwendolyn shook her head. “Sadly, no. Both Victoria and I pored over it while everyone flew back. There’s just the one mention of Philip building it – in fact, he’s only mentioned a few times in the whole diary. It’s almost like he disappeared from Evelyn and Caleb’s life.”
The enby snapped their fingers. “Damn. So much for the easy solution.”
“You do bring up a good point, though,” Lilith said. “There are only a few areas that are stable enough to explore. The guard room, the kitchens, the…” Her and Eda’s eyes lit up at the same time.
“The library!” the sisters said simultaneously.
“The … library?” Luz asked.
“Remember that spell book I told you about? The one with the teleport spell?” Eda asked. “Well, the library’s where we found it – or at least the secret room it was hidden in. And that’s where we found those saw traps! We didn’t go any further because Lily got injured, but…”
“But that is the most logical place to build a hidden lab,” Lily continued. “Plus it’s in the most stable, and largest, part of the ruins. And it’s thematically appropriate.” She paused. “Still, it’s going to be dangerous. The trees are too thick for us to fly in, so we’ll have to walk most of the way to the castle – hopefully avoiding the beasts. Once there, we’ll need to cross several hundred feet of floors and walkways that were rotting 30 years ago.”
“And then there’s the traps themselves, plus whatever’s hiding in the lab…” Eda said.
“Sounds like this is gonna be an all day thing,” Luz said.
“Yeah,” Eda sighed. “We should probably do this tomorrow. Make sure we’ve got enough daylight to at least get to the castle.”
“Alright!” Masha clapped their hands, smiling. “Tomorrow, the Secrets of Castle Clawthorne!”
