Witches Among Humans (TOH)

Chapter 27: Hexside

"No!" Her mother's voice cut her off. "No! Luz, please. Stay where you are. Don't worry about me."

Luz wanted to say more. She wanted to fight her mom on this, but she felt something pulling at her.

She looked away from the cube for just a moment and saw her body fading away. She was being pulled back.

"No, I need more time!"

She grabbed back onto the cube. The vision of her mother appeared again. "Mama, I'm being pulled back!"

"Promise me, Luz! Promise me you'll stay far away from here!" Her mother cried out. "Please!"

Luz wanted to argue, to tell her mom that she would continue to fight. But she didn't have the time. "Alright, I promise mom." Luz said dejectedly, knowing she wouldn't follow through with this promise.

Luz felt a tug at her heart. She looked down and saw her body disappearing from this plane. "Te quiero, mama."

"Luz-!" Her mother called out, but it was too late.

***

"Luz! Wake up!" 

A loud voice pierced through Luz's dreams, jolting her awake. She gasped as she sat up from the cold, hard ground, rubbing her eyes. She blinked as the light from the sun of the isles flooded her vision. It wasn't as bright as the sun on Earth, but it still hurt when you woke up to it.

Luz looked around herself as her eyes finally adjusted. Her, her friends, Amber, and Katya were camping out in the forest just on the outskirts of Hexside. 

They opted to stay out here for the rest of the night after Hunter attacked the camp. The rebellion had no way of knowing if Hunter had found the camp on his own or if the location had truly been compromised. 

Either way, they couldn't risk staying there. They quickly gathered their belongings and moved to a different location. They made sure to take Hunter with them, hoping they could free him from Belos's control.

The kids were sent ahead to finish their mission, while the others would find a new spot to set up camp. For their safety, Luz and her friends weren't told where the new camp was in case they got captured by the Emperor's Coven. Katya came along to keep an eye on the witches whose identities they had borrowed to enter Hexside, since they couldn't take them to the cave anymore.

Instead, a rebel would meet them at a certain time and place to bring them back. They agreed to meet at an old abandoned house that stood in the middle of the forest.

Luz recognized that house... some said it was haunted by the ghosts of the past. The place always had a strange coldness to it, even in the summer. And despite being abandoned for who knew how long, the boiling rains had never ruined it. It always remained there, untouched by time and nature. No one, not even the Emperor's Coven dared to demolish it in fear that the rumours were true and the ghost would curse them.

Luz scoffed at the thought. She had actually used the area near that old house as a hiding spot after her mother was taken by Belos. There was a short time before she joined the rebels when she was on her own. Since she had nowhere else to go, she stayed there, knowing no one would look for her there.

She found the place oddly soothing. The rumours didn't seem to be true. Not to her, at least. She still felt like she wasn't alone there, even though no one was ever around... Maybe it was just her imagination, or maybe there was something more...

"Hey, Luz! Get over here." Amber called over.

Luz shook the thoughts from her head as she wandered over towards her friends.