Claws of Truth

The Search Begins

"Follow her." Commanded Emperor Belos.

The beakless coven member nodded and glided backwards, becoming engulfed by the shadows.

"Sir! Sir, Lord Belos, sir!" Came a panicked cry from the hallway, from where Peckall bounded into the throne room. "The owl tube won't shut up, and has countered every spell we hit him with!" He heaved out, huffing and puffing with his hands on his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath.

Belos cupped a hand over his forehead and shook his head disappointedly. "Then go find a new spell to use."

Peckall opened his mouth to say something, then quickly shut it, nodded, and took off in the direction of the library.

"She may be untrustworthy, and a thorn in my side, but at least Lily isn't a fool like the rest of these halfwit cretans." Belos muttered. He paused, then hummed inquisitively, drumming his fingers on his throne.

"Wait. So, like- like an animal or something?" Boscha questioned. Her brows were scrunched together trying to tease out the puzzling phrase Amity presented her.

"I mean, that's not exactly what I thought of- but, yeah. That's pretty much what they're doing. And we have no idea what the Emperor's Coven wants, only that they're going to farther lengths to get Luz and Eda than they ever had before." Amity could not take it any longer, confined to sitting in a chair talking about the Emperor's Coven tracking Luz. And Eda. She began pacing around the room.

"Okayyy..." Boscha drug out. "So, what do you want from me then? I can't fight against those guys. They're the most powerful witches on the isles. I'd get torn to shreds before I could even raise my finger to cast a spell. And I'm a great witch."

It was not at all surprising that Boscha's cocky attitude still managed to persist despite the gravity of the situation.

Amity groaned. "I'm not going to ask you to jump in and help Willow, Gus and I beat down the highest ranking coven-"

"Those losers are going to help you?" Boscha scoffed.

Amity narrowed her eyes at Boscha. They've been over this before.

"Oh, right." Boscha backpedaled. She awkwardly cleared her throat. "Why are you taking those two fully capable witches with you?"

Amity sighed. While she appreciated the effort Boscha put in to correct herself, it shouldn't be that hard to not call people losers anymore. They were seniors now, after all. Adults. This type of childish bullying should be behind them. Amity somehow managed to push past her bubbling frustration and bit her tongue to avoid the argument.

"Well, while you may only see them as losers," Amity emphasized, getting only avoidant eye contact from Boscha. Okay, maybe she wasn't completely biting her tongue like she should be. "They're some of the most powerful and cunning witches that Hexside has to offer."

Boscha stayed silent, her eyes darting between Amity and various objects scattered throughout her room.

"Look," Amity said, finally grabbing Boscha's full attention, "these coven guys are nothing to screw around with. And I know Luz is safer with Eda than with us, but I can't just sit by and watch her get hunted down like a rabid slitherbeast! They're going to find her. They're going to make sure she never sees the light of day again! And I- I just- I..."

Amity's arms managed to wrap themselves around her torso. Tight. She could feel the stinging coming from her eyes; not all that strange considering how worked up she just got herself. The moment she felt tears begin to well, she turned away from Boscha, trying her best to inconspicuously wipe them away, and failing.