Witches Among Humans (TOH)

Chapter 24: Witches Duel

Luz sat in the makeshift safe house looking at her phone, worried for her friends. It had been a week since she had gone into hiding, after escaping from the Golden Guard and his coven scouts. She had been out keeping an eye on the city every so often, using her magic to disguise herself. It was the only way that Eda ever let her leave the place. She hadn't seen any sign of the Golden Guard or any of his minions since. She would like to think they had gone back to the Emperor's Castle and given up on their hunt, but she knew that wasn't the case. She suspected they were plotting something big.

Eda had refused to let Luz go back to school, scared that would leave her vulnerable to an ambush. That also meant she hadn't seen her friends or girlfriend the whole time. She missed them terribly. The only form of communication she had with them was her phone, but Eda and Lilith had convinced her not to contact them too much. They were right. She feared if they knew what was going on they'd want to help and that would put themselves in harms way. She had told them that she was fine, and that her and Eda were staying with Lilith for an undermined amount of time to rekindle their sisterly relationship. She told them she wouldn't have her phone on her most of the time, as they were busy with bonding activities.

She hadn't texted them since.

She felt a pang of guilt and loneliness as she looked at her phone. She wanted to hear their voices. She wanted to see their faces. She wanted to hug them and tell them how much she loved them.

Even if her friends didn't think she had her phone on her, they texted her constant updates about their daily lives. They told her about their classes, clubs, and adventures. They told her about their jokes, their secrets, their dreams. They told her they missed her and how much they cared for her. Amity stated that she was excited for Luz's eventual return.

She opened up Amity's contact, wondering if it was worth the risk to text one message. She wanted to respond to Amity's latest message. The message came through late last night, when Luz was asleep. It said that she missed Luz more than anything, and she couldn't wait to see her again. She reminded Luz she still owed her a real date, one where they could hold hands and kiss without fear.

Luz smiled as she read that message. She felt a warm feeling in her chest, a feeling that only Amity could give her. She so badly wanted to type in that she loved her and that she'd see her soon. She wanted to tell her where she was, but she couldn't.

Luz put her phone down. Reading her friends messages just made her miss them more...

She looked up towards the pile of sleepy animals that had made themselves comfortable on the couch. On one of her outings to look for any guards or scouts, she had popped by her home to bring Owlbert and Hooty back to the hideout as well. She knew they would miss her and Eda, and she also wanted some company in this lonely place.

Luz laid down on the couch, petting her little Stringbean who was on the top of the pile. The tiny snake-like creature curled up in her hand and made a purring sound. Luz smiled softly and felt a bit of comfort from her palisman.

Eda was helping Lilith in the kitchen, preparing a dinner. She looked over to her witch, knowing how hard everything must have been for her. She hated having to confine Luz to the secret lab/ safe house, but there wasn't much of a choice. They didn't exactly know when the Golden Guard would come back, nor with how many scouts to capture her. They had to be careful and vigilant.

She knew Luz would fight them, but at least this way they wouldn't be able to take them all by surprise again like last time. That had been a close call. If it wasn't for King suddenly having magic, it would have ended up a lot worse. They still had no answers for what had happened that day. King had displayed no signs since. So, with everything else going on, they decided to leave that discussion for later.