Family Secrets

Willow drew a spell circle, big enough to cover the group from the rain as they wandered through the woods. Unsure on where to go now. The sky was split in two. One half night and one half day. The kids looked absolutely terrified walking through the woods.

"Wait! There's a house over there! We could stop and get some shelter from the rain!" Gus suggested. He led the way towards the house, hoping that someone was home.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Amity called, knocking on the door. Seconds later, the door swung open and out stepped a clearly worried elderly woman.

"Are you all crazy? Out here in the rain and with that Collector kid running around? Come inside, all of you." She fretted, helping each one inside.

"Thank you for helping us." Camila smiled, taking a seat. The woman walked over to the window and closed the curtains, using a spell to light a few candles. Luz stared at the woman for a few moments before finally remembering who she was.

"Wait... Gwen?"

"Luz! Is that you?"

***

"So, you're saying that the human I told you about... was actually Belos?"

"Yeah! And the only reason the day of unity happened is because... uh... well... I helped him find The Collector."

"Wait what?"

"It's a long story, so sit down. Everything needs to be said. Everyone please listen."

"As I've already said. Emperor Belos is actually a human. a witch hunter from the 1600's. His real name... is Philip Wittebane.

Almost immediately after she spoke. Luz heard a loud, angry chirping. A small, yellow cardinal flew in through another room and went straight towards her.

"Oh, hey there little angel!" Luz smiled, letting the bird perch on her finger as it kept chirping. She noticed the design of the bird, taking a small glance at Hunter. She could see the hurt look on his face and noticed Willow whispering something to Gus behind him. Gus' expression as he looked at Hunter showed Luz that he shared the same thought.

"Amity and I found his diary in the library. Well, an Echo Mouse to be exact. We began to study it together for a while. Trying to find a way I could get back home. We found out quite a lot. About Eclipse Lake, Titan's Blood and... The Collector."

"So how exactly did you help Belos... or Philip? How did you help him find The Collector?" Gwendolyn asked as the yellow cardinal began pecking at Luz's finger.

"Pancake? Where are you?" Another voice came from the doorway. Luz looked up and immediately smiled.

"You must be Eda's dad! She's said so much about you!"

"That's me! Dell Clawthorne. What are you talking about?"

"How Luz was tricked by Belos into helping him find The Collector." Hunter explained.

"Yeah, well... I guess. Lilith and I went back in time to find Philip and see if I could find a way home. And I think you can fill in the rest. We almost died! It was not fun."

"Lilith... went with you?" Dell breathed, sharing a worried glance with Gwendolyn.

"Yeah, but she's not hurt if that's what you're worried about. But while we were in the human realm we learned more about Philip."

"Like how he had a brother named Caleb who fell in love with a witch named Evelyn and he came to the boiling isles to rescue Caleb and-" the yellow cardinal chirped again and flew over to Willow, chirping and flapping his wings furiously. Hunter looked over to Dell, who he noticed whispering something to Gwendolyn.