The market district was practically dead. Here at Eda's stand of Human Collectibles, I was bored out of my mind. I usually don't mind helping Eda sell whatever she "acquired" from my home realm — especially if it meant learning a new spell — but everything after school today has been incredibly dull. Well, I only have an hour left on my "shift," then I can meet up with Amity for our book club. If things are this quiet all day, maybe I can ask Eda to take off early if I knew where she was.

"Hey King, did Eda tell you where she went?" I asked.

The little Demon was sitting on the table like a lazy child and eating cupcakes, having me do all the work. He shoved one of the treats into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "Nope."

"Well, do you have an idea where she may have gone?"

"All she said was she was going to meet with a "high-end" client." He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Personally, I think she's storing all the shiny junk at a secret hideout." He pulls back. "And so, left us in charge to hold down the fort. And by "us," I mean you."

I let out a sigh. There had to be something I could do to stave off this boredom. I looked down and noticed the open crate of zoostle berries. Eda told me something about how they're essential for the potions she was selling, though she never told me why.

I picked one up and examined it. These zoostle berries looked not different from the blueberries Mamá and I would pick up at a farmer's market, except maybe a little bigger. They smelled just as sweet as a blueberry. "Eh, why not?" I gave in to the temptation and decided to pop it into my mouth.

"Luz, no!" The voices of both Willow and Gus shouted, causing me to drop the berry, as they ran over to me in a panic.

"Oh, hey there, Willow. Hey there, Gus." I greeted the two of them.

"You weren't gonna eat that, were you?" Gus asked.

"I was thinking about it."

"Those are zoostle berries." Willow, the plant expert, pointed out. "You can't eat them."

"Why not?" Eek-eek. I looked over to where the high-pitched sound came from and saw a three-eyed rat crawl out from a nearby hole. It snatched the berry and at it up before scurrying away. Boosh! Like that, the rodent spontaneously combusted in the middle of its getaway, leaving only a charred skeleton.

"That's why."

Dios Mio! That was a close one. "Thanks for stopping me," I told them as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"No problem, friends don't let friends eat zoostle berries," Gus said.

"Oh, before we forget, we wanted to drop these off," Willow said as she and Gus reached into their bags and pulled out two textbooks: Tonics & Remedies 101, and DIY Guide to Deadly Poisons. "Principal Bump told us you forgot to pick these up from the school's library."

"Wow, these are like the textbooks at my old school. Except better." I said. The ideas for what kind of potions I could learn to make from these books alone were enough to get me excited for my next Potions class. I displayed the books before King. "What do you think?"

The little Demon looked the other way and folded his arms as he whimpered, "They're nice, I guess."

"Is he still upset you're attending Hexside?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't like I'm going to be gone during long stretches of the day. He's afraid I'm accidentally going to get blown up or eaten alive or blown up then eaten alive."

"I think it's kind of cute that he misses you."

"And there's no need to be scared; we'll watch out for her," Gus assured King.

"Scared?" King laughed. "I'm not scared; I'm just a friend concerningly worried for her safety."

"Oh, Luz, I think you have a customer waiting." Willow pointed. I followed her finger and spotted a man holding one of the potions up to his face. Whoever he was, he had short black-blonde hair with blue eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a white shirt with a simple red tie and black suit pants and a rumpled yet fitted beige-tan trench coat.

"Can I help you find something?" I asked him.

"I'm just browsin'." The man replied with an accent.

King pointed at him and said, "Well, as the secondary proprietors of establishment, you should know…"

"Yes, yes, I know. "I break it; I buy it," right? You're not the first t'tell me that today." He looked at me. "An' ain'tcha a wee bit young t'be sellin' potions an' poisons?"

"Well, my teacher put me in charge while she's doing something else. Wait, do I need to show you a permit? Are you a cop?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like a bobby t'ya?"

A "bobby"? "Um… I don't… think so."

"Exac'ly." He continued examining at the potion in his hand. "Y'know, I think I will buy this." He reached into his pocket and flipped a coin towards me. I barely caught it in time. "Keep the change." The man said as he placed to potion in his coat pocket and walked away. I looked at the coin and saw a large gold piece; that potion was only worth a medium gold piece.

"Wow." King began. "For a guy that dresses like a hobo, he's a good tipper."

"At least we got one customer today," I said, looking on the bright side.

"Speaking of customers, there's a new iscream shop in town that Willow, and I were thinking of going to later," Gus explained. "We were wondering if you wanted to join us after you're done here."

"Thanks, but I have to decline. I'm gonna be hanging out with Amity later."

Both Willow and Gus blinked at me. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" The former asked. "It sounded like you said you were going to hang out with Amity later."

"I did."

"Okay, but why?" Gus asked; he and Willow equally dumbfounded.

"Well, Amity and I have been bonding recently…"

"And when she means bonding, she means getting thrown into many life-threatening situations together." King interrupted.

"… And I realized she isn't so bad when you get to know her."

"I did get to know her," Willow said with a bitter undercurrent.

I rubbed my head's side, realizing I probably didn't use the best choice of words. "I just meant that under her shallow exterior, she's a pretty cool person."

"We are talking about the same Amity, right?" Gus asked.

"I know she's said and done mean things before, but what I'm saying about her now is the truth."

"Well, if she's a good friend to you like you say she is, then…" Willow paused for a moment with a small smile. "Then, we're happy for you."

Well, that felt like a ton of weight got lifted off my shoulders. "Thank you. It's a relief to hear that."

"No problem, we'll try the iscream shop another day."

"You shouldn't let me stop you from doing that."

"Are you sure?" Gus asked.

"I'm positive."

"Okay, then I guess we'll let you get back to work." Gus and Willow began walking away from the stand, waving goodbye. "See you at school tomorrow."

"Later, guys." I waved back. That went smoother than I thought.

"Oh, I want iscream, too!" King said as he hopped off the table and followed behind my two friends.

(~~~~)

Eda huffed as she finally returned to the stand; there were still five minutes left until we closed the shop up. She was muttering something about "Goblins" and "stingy" and something about comparing them to giraffes but stopped as soon as she saw me. "Hey, kid. How much did we rake in today?" She asked. She looked around and noticed I was the only one here. "And where's King?"

"He went to get ice cream with Willow and Gus," I explained before taking out and showing her the large gold piece. "And we only had one customer today. He just wanted a potion."

"One customer?" Eda took the coin. "I swear, no one appreciates the time and effort Owlbert, and I put in to obtain these rare and exciting oddities from the Human Realm." Eda folded her arms. Hoot. The palisman came to life and flew onto his master's shoulder, imitating her. "Okay, stand back; I'm packing up for the day."

I picked up my backpack from the table and stood behind Eda. She drew a circle in the air, and from it, a blue fog puffed out and enveloped the stand. Once it cleared away, the Human Collectibles shop was reduced to doll-house sized miniatures. Owlbert flew in and picked it up, dropping it in Eda's satchel before re-attaching himself to her staff.

"So, unless you need me for something else, I'm gonna go meet up with Amity at the library," I told Eda.

"Oh right, you two are gonna be discussing that book you both seem to love so much," Eda remembered.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." I lied, trying to play it cool. "We're just going there to study. We're not having a secret book club or anything. Hehe."

"Whatever." The older Witch responded as she hopped onto her staff, levitating a foot off the ground. "Just don't forget to bring King home after your flowery "study session" with your girlfriend."

"Don't worry, I…" I stammered at the last part. "What?" My whole face reddened with embarrassment. "She… She's not my girlfriend!"

"Relax, I meant it platonically." Eda snickered as she flew out of Bonesborough. "Later!"

"Right, that's all she just meant." I put my backpack on the ground and unzipped it. "It's just two friends talking about…" I looked in and couldn't see my Good Witch Azura book. I dumped the contents of my pack onto the street. I had my Hexside books and other school supplies, my phone, my notepad for drawing glyphs, my assortment of pencils, but not the book I was supposed to have. "Oh, no." I must've left it at the Owl House.

Okay, this isn't a big deal. I'll just run home, grab it, and head to the library as fast as possible. I packed up everything into my bag and sprinted to the forest that Bonesborough from the Owl House. This is one of those moments where I wished I could send texts to scrolls through my cellphone; let Amity know I might be a few minutes late.

(~~~~)

I approached the edge of the forest and searched for the shortcut to the Owl House that Eda showed me a few days back. It should be located near a patch of blue kourmories; I remember her telling me. I probably should've asked her what blue kourmories looked like, but maybe I'll recognize them when I see them. They have blue in their name.

"Luz?" I turned to my left and saw Amity approach me. She was in her more casual light grey top and heeled boots. She was giving me a curious look.

"Oh, hey, Amity." I greeted her, trying to play it cool. "I thought you'd be at the library already."

"I took the long way around the forest. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just… um…" I examined the flora around me and quickly grabbed a long, navy blue flower. "I was just picking some blue kourmories."

Amity's expression was deadpan. "Those are easplory weeds."

"Oh, so they are." Amity folded her arms and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Okay, I forgot to grab my book for tonight." I turned back to the forest and was about to dash in. "I'll just make a quick stop to the Owl House and…"

"No!" The shout came so suddenly that I almost lost my footing. I turned back to her and saw the worry in her face. It was like she was terrified at the thought of me going into the woods. She blinked twice, and her composure returned to normal. "I mean, you don't have to do that." She removed and unzipped her backpack to reveal Good Witch Azura volumes one through four. "I bought the others."

"But volume five completes the story," I argued as an excuse. "It had so many satisfying payoffs that plots started back in the first one. I won't take long getting it; you can head to the library." With that said, I sprinted into the forest.

"Luz, wait…"

I don't know what's going on with Amity, but something is bothering her. I noticed it when I first saw her at school, but I didn't bring it up because I wanted to respect her privacy. After the first period, I saw her come out of the bathroom, and she was shaking like she saw a ghost or something. I tried asking her about it, but she just told me it was none of my business. Whatever is going on with her, she needs a friend. And as her friend, I want her first day at our "secret" book club to be the best time she's had.

I spotted a patch of flowers that looked like sky-blue roses to my right, in front of a winding path. Those must be the blue kourmories. My sneakers skidded across the dirt as I tried making a sharp left turn. "Woah!" Thud. But I just ended up falling on my face. "Ow. That looked cooler in my head."

"Luz!" Amity called out as she rushed over to me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her as I hopped to my feet.

"That's good. Let's just get out of here and head to the library." Amity was even jumpier than before. "We don't even need to talk about book five." She clenched her left arm and looked around as if expecting something terrible to happen any second now.

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

"What are you talking about? Nothing's going on with me."

"No, something is. I saw it at Hexside and am seeing it again now." I tried reaching for her hand to comfort her. "If something's bothering you, you can talk to me."

But she pulled back. "No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't! I don't even know what's happening, so I doubt you would."

"What's happening?" Achoo! Amity and I turned to a rustling bush, the former stepped back and looked just about ready to cast her Fireball spell. "Who's there?" I took a step close

"Luz, be careful," Amity told me.

I leaned and squinted my eyes; it was partially obscured, but I thought I recognized a familiar-looking skull. "King?"

Achoo! The little Demon shot out from the bush. "Whatever's on that bush, it's killing my nose." He said in a stuffy voice.

Behind him, I caught view of "Willow? Gus?"

The two friends stepped out from behind the bush. "Oh… Hey there… Luz." Gus said, trying to act as casual as possible; while Willow looked away from me in shame.

"What are they doing here?" Amity asked, her formerly shaken stance replaced with an annoyed one as she walked next to me.

"Were you guys spying on us?" I asked.

Achoo! "They were spying on you?" King gasped at Willow and Gus with obviously faux surprise. "Shame on you both."

"You were the one who suggested it." Gus reminded him, who I believe.

"Oh yeah, throw me under the water-bug bus."

"Why were you spying on us?" I asked again.

Willow turned to face me. "We… I…" She corrected herself. "I wanted to see it for myself."

"See what for… Wait, are you talking about me hanging with Amity? I thought you weren't bothered by this."

"We're not," Willow replied defensively. "Or… We're trying not to be… It's just…"

"Wow, I never pegged you for being the jealous type "Half-a-Witch." Amity snidely remarked.

"Amity…" I snapped at her.

"Oh, some angsty teenage drama," King said with some enthusiasm. "I gotta sit down for this."

Willow's expression toughened as she walked up to her former friend. "I don't know what game you're playing Luz with, but if you hurt her…"

"Contrary to what you think, I'm not playing Luz." Amity came back with. "And I think you owe her a little bit of trust, considering how much she's willing to give to you."

"You're the last person I want talking to me about trust." The ground began shaking, and the bush behind moved on its own. Gus and I looked at each other, realizing what's happening.

"Okay." Gus and I got in-between Amity and Willow. "Why don't we just calm down before we all do something hasty."

"Fine by me," Amity said. "She's not even worth wasting any more words on."

"Luz says you're a cool person, but I don't see it," Willow replied. "All I see is the same selfish bully, and I don't think you're ever going to change."

"Whatever, "Half-a-Witch." I don't care what you think about me. And I…" Gurrrraahrowl! Amity's expression changed with the widening of her eyes and seemingly froze.

"And what? What were you going to say?" Willow asked as her tone became more aggressive, her eyes almost turning completely green. We all watched Amity as her breathing became more rapid.

"Amity, are you okay?" I asked. Her lip quivered as she tried saying something but could only make incoherent noises. She lifted a shaking finger and pointed at something.

We all turned to where Amity was pointing. Gurrrraahrowl! Several pairs of eyes — all glowing violet — deep within the wood and began to lurch closer to us. I eventually got a better look at them and saw they were a pack of drooling two-headed hounds. There were about a dozen from what I could count. And they all looked as if they were prepared to make us their next meal. King, Gus, Willow, and I all backed up slowly.

"Um, nice doggies. Nice doggies." I said to try and come off as non-threatening. Gurrrraahrowl!

"Run…" I looked back at Amity, who was shaking worse than any of us. "Run!"

Without giving a thought to question it, we all made a break for it, deeper into the woods. Owooooah! The lead beast howled, and its rabid followers gave chase. King jumped onto and crawled into my backpack as we sprinted for dear life. We leaped over roots, dashed past vines, made sharp and drastic turns. We nearly tripped several times as we kept distancing ourselves from the monsters. Owooooah! But they weren't giving up the hunt.

As we continued to run, Gus quickly drew a circle while on the move; it expanded until it enveloped himself, Willow, Amity, King, and I. After that, duplicates of ourselves sprinted in the other direction. "Over there!" Gus shouted as he led us to a bush to hide behind.

The hounds turned their attention to the illusions and began chasing them. "Wow, you're getting better at that." I complimented him.

"Thanks."

"Let's get moving while they're…" Willow began just as Amity and Gus's illusions were pounced on and vanished into thin air. The hounds stopped and looked around, confused about what happened. Their confusion only lasted until they saw King's illusions, and I disappear on their own. "Distracted." Owooooah! It was strange. They seemed to be more interested in Willow, Amity, and Gus than King or me. But why?

"What are those things?" I whispered, hoping one of my friends would give me an answer.

"I don't know," Gus whispered back.

"I've never seen anything like them," King added in.

A freaked-out Amity had her hands over her mouth as she whispered to herself; it was too quiet for me or the others to make out. I've never seen Amity this terrified before; she looked as if she was about to break into tears. "Amity…" I reached over to touch her shoulder.

Gurrrraahrowl! "Ah!" We all screamed as one of the beast's dual heads popped out of the bush with front claws and heads first. I felt a deep pain spread across my hand. Did that thing bite me? Its jaws continued to snap at us, and now, the others realized where we were hiding. They turned around and snarled at their deceivers.

"No!" King screamed as he hugged the back of my head as the predators closed in on us, the drool from their mouths withering the grass beneath their paws. "One of you do something! I'm too cute to die like this! I haven't even conquered the world yet!"

"Stay back!" Willow shouted as her eyes radiated green energy, and all the plant life around us began to grow larger and shoot out vines. The whipped over to the hounds, ensnaring and lifting them into the air. Whump! Whump! Whump! The creatures were slammed against the ground and the trees repeatedly. Whump! Whump! Whump! But just like how their slobber shriveled the grass earlier, it was beginning to do the same to the vines. Willow's eyes returned to normal. "Those vines won't keep them busy for long!"

The five of us all took a few steps back. "Luz…" Gus was asking me something, but I was too busy examining my hand to hear him. I swear, I felt a bite, but there were no teeth marks. "Luz!" I was snapped back to the present as I turned to Gus. "You don't happen to know any other spells from Eda, do you?"

If we had some snow, I could cast the Ice Pillar spell I learned. In other words, "Sorry, but I have nothing. What about you, Amity?" Amity was still shaken up that I doubt she heard Gus at all. "Amity…" I tried to get her attention.

Gurrrraahrowl! The vines have become deteriorated to the point where the creatures could slice and bite through them with ease and fall to the ground. The beasts got up and began to advance on us slowly. We kept backing up until we bumped right into a tree. We were surrounded. There was no place for us to make a run for it without getting bitten or slashed. Cold sweat trickled down the backs of our necks. Was this the end of the line?

The hound in the lead leaped at us with hungry jaws. I raised my arms to shield myself, even though I knew it wouldn't do me much good. Boosh! A bright orange blast came out of nowhere and struck the creature right in the chest. It hit the ground and tumbled a few feet away before it was reduced to ashes before our very eyes.

"Eda?" I guessed. It had to be her; my teacher probably sensed I was in danger and came to our rescue. Even though the list was short, I knew of no other witch that could cast such a Fireball spell that powerful.

The hounds turned their attention from us and the woods where a faint orange light grew closer, snarling in preparation for another attack. A feeling of relief washed over me and the others knowing that the Owl Lady, the self-proclaimed "most powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles," was here to save them. And better that she showed up late than never. Even Amity's shaking began to cease.

But as the Fireball's owner stepped closer, I got a more precise view and saw it wasn't who I thought it was. It was Him.

"Who's that, guy?" Amity asked.

"It's the hobo-looking guy from the market!" King shouted. "Hey! Hobo-looking guy! Throw another Fireball at them!"

Gurrrraahrowl! The remaining hounds growled at the man, showing their fangs and at snarling at the stranger, but he remained unfazed as he dispersed the fire in his hand. Owooooah! The new leaders of the beasts howled, and they all charged at the man. He remained calm as he reached into his trench coat and threw around white flakes into the air. From where I was standing, they looked like grains of rice.

"Ignis horum uerum percutere revertar unde venerunt!" The man spoke, which was followed by the rice becoming set ablaze and shot towards the hounds. Bwoom! Bwoom! Bwoom! The flaming rice explodes upon contact with the creatures, and they are all reduced to ash, just like the one hit with the Fireball.

Amity, Willow, Gus, and I were left speechless. This man just cast a spell without drawing a circle or a glyph, which goes against everything we've been taught about magic. "Is it safe now?" King asked, sticking his head out from behind and looking around.

"Wait, I recognize ye from somewhere." The man spoke to us. He pulled out two things from his coat's pocket and brought them to his mouth — a cigarette and lighter from what I could tell. "Right, Ya're the ones from the market. What the bloody 'eck are ya doin' out'ere, eh? Didn't ye mums ever tell ye t'never wander out late in the woods?"

"Thank you for saving us, Mister," I told him. "And you see, we were just…" I felt nauseous suddenly. My vision became blurry, and I felt myself swerving from side to side.

"Are ye alright there?" The man asked, removing the cigarette from his lips.

"Luz, what's wrong?" Willow asked.

"I… I…" I could barely get out the rest of my words; everything was getting dimmer. "I don't feel so…"

"Luz!" That was the last thing I heard before everything went dark and silent.