The Witch Among Humans

Chapter 4: The Deal

Eda fell to her knees, exhausted from all the running. She had no idea where the girl from before had gone to and had no hints to help out.

Maybe it was time to go back home. Finding anyone in New Haven was a task in itself.

If she were sued, then so be it.

Eda trudged back to her house. Hoping King hadn't scratched the couch again. He sometimes did that when he was left alone for too long.

Now, it would be time for dinner. She didn't feel like coming at this point... pizza would work.

She was practically drooling when she found, right outside of her door, mind you, the girl simply standing by her door.

Well, that was unexpected.

Eda walked up, attempting to be somewhat casual in her approach. The girl noticed her and gave a little wave.

"So," Eda began, "why'd you come back here. I mean, after running out like that..."

The girl spoke. "I had something to take care of. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you." She then began rubbing the back of her head. "May I come back in for a bit?"

Eda brushed pay her, opening the door and pulling the girl inside in one fail swoop.

---

"So, Luz, you... need a place to stay?"

Eda had her hand curled around a cup of tea. It seemed like she would need it to deal with this teen.

Claiming to be a witch, being trapped in this world, nor having a family to go home to; only one of those things could possibly be true.

"Yes." Luz replied. She was sitting on a chair from her living room, attempting to not squirm. She had asked about the portal key, but the lady - Eda - hadn't seen any on her after the car crash.

Eda had yet to explain what a car was in full, but it sounded similar to what she saw on the roads.

Eda sighed, clearly annoyed. "Look, kid, as... creative, as that story was, I'm not a foster home. If you need a place to stay, I'll take you to the police. Or an actual foster home. Alright?"

"But I can't stay with anyone else! Also, what do you mean by story?"

"Come on." Eda said. "Magic, witches, demons? If you need an explanation for your ear shape, don't bother, cause I'm not going to really care either way."

Luz sat with wide eyes, shocked at the claims. The fact that anyone would rebuttal so strongly surprised her.

But tales of humans included that rarely did they encounter magic. "So. There's really no magic in the human realm."

Eda took a sip from her mug, tired and hungry for her pizza. Twenty minutes had already passed.

"So how about I prove I'm not lying." Luz stated. Despite Eda's snickering, she stood up, clearing her throat. Owlbert made using magic a bit easier, but the magic itself didn't come from him.

Luz drew a glowing circle in the air, which promptly turned into a fireball. She then touched it to a round circular object in a case, which burned it to a crisp.

She saw Eda spit out whatever she had been drinking and began choking on it. Luz smirked.

She then followed up by replacing the fireball with the front from thawed ice, then a bouquet of flowers.

Finally, she made a small ball of light. This was her first spell, and it was always her favorite. Although, using a light spell in a dight rarely helped. It was more for comfort.

Eda gawked, nearly dropping the mug from her hands. King also stared, with hisctiny mouth and little paws - no.

Now was not the time to get lost in animal cuteness.

"Ahem," Luz cleared her throat, "now do you believe what I've been saying?"

After another few seconds, Eda pulled herself together. All she could say was one word. "Yes."

"Alright then. About my qurstion." Luz formally stated. She still needed her guards up, just in case. She began to lower the top half of her body. "May I please stay here for a week? Set whatever rules you want."

Eda put her hand to the bottom of her chin. So apparently, magic was real? Wow. This was surreal. And

Having magic around could be helpful in more ways than one. This could be big.

"Say, kid. I'm guessing you don't have ANYWHERE else to go?" Luz nodded her head to the left.

Eda grinned somewhat devilishly. "Alright. I could be... let's say convinced to let you stay for an undetermined amount of time- ah, forget this format talk."

Luz blinked. "Okay. What?"

She leaned back in the chair closing her eyes. "So, here's the deal. You can stay here as long as you like. All I ask in return is that you help me with chores and some trivial matters."

Luz thought it over. It was blunt, but she now had a place to stay long term. Apparently. "That's fine by me."

"Good." Eda leaned forward, holding some dirty looking crystals in her hand. "Now turn this thing to gold."

"No."

---

Luz rolled around in her new bed. It was surprisingly soft, all things considered. It seemed easier to sleep in than her old mattress.

Old mattress. She had only slept in it a day ago. In obliterated a day, her whole life was changing right in front of her, for better or worse.

More like better and worse.

Well at least the Pizza Eda had ordered tasted good.

Correction, it was probably the best food she had eaten in years! Not that her diets were awful, but the level of cheese and sauce....

Her belly was filled with a whole five slices by the end of the night.

After that, Eda gave her a quick tour of the house, and then cowed her the guest room.

It was... nice. There were a few random boxes, and the walls were completely clear of anything, but the place seemed clean.

Now, it was nearly 11, and Luz was just laying in bed. She couldn't get her mind to calm down, not entirely.  Her encounter with Emperor Belos could have gone better. At least he couldn't reach her.

But where was the key? Had it dropped somewhere in the city? Fallen into another realm?

And without it, there was no hope of getting home. She, this was a chance for a new life, but Luz works never forget her home world.

Not as long as Emperor Belos was there to terrorize those who wanted to use pure magic. She would find a way home, no matter how long it took.