Melody's Whispers (discontinued for a rewrite)

Entering the Darkness

I watched Hooty beat up the coven guards... and Aunt Lilith. They'd been at our door all morning. I wiped my hair back into a messy ponytail with a yawn. I did promise Ma I'd go to school.
    "Ooh! Magic 'shhetti!" Luz reached for the cauldron Ma had been watching over all morning.
    "hey!" Ma slapped Luz's hand way with the wooden spoon used to stir. "That 'sghetti is witch's wool. It repels powerful spells, every witch worth their salt has a cloak made of this stuff!" Luz's eyes lit up, holding onto every one of Ma's words.
    "I'm worth salt... I want cloak!" Ma snatched the cauldron from Luz's reach.
    "easy, kid. With the Emperor's goons at my doorstep, I need this for protection." Ma turned to watch out the window again. "They've really stepped up their attacks lately." She wasn't wrong. Leaving the area of Hooty's protection and reach started to bring on a certain anxiety.
    "I think I finally underway the Emperor wants you so badly," Luz said. "He's got the hots for you, doesn't he?" I raised my eyebrow at Luz's notion. Ma shot finger guns at her with a smirk before going serious again.
    "But no. Emperor Belos wants to control all wild magic through his coven system. He ordered our capture years ago because we refuse to fall in line." I sat myself down taking up the half cold tea I had left on the old side table. "The only thing that can slow me down is my curse, and that hasn't bothered me in weeks!" I sat back as the feathers burst from her arms. "Uh oh!" I scrambled from the chair looking for her elixir stash.

I don't particularly enjoy being chased by that thing, the Owl Beast is faster than me. The first elixir wasn't doing anything. I knew it wasn't working on her curse like it should. I didn't exactly know to what extent. Luz and I ducked behind the couch for a moment together catching our breath.
    "Why isn't the elixir working?" Luz panted.
    "I'd say the curse has built a tolerance to it," I replied watching the beast stomp upstairs. "She's got a massive stash in her room. The owl beast has a tendency to go up there, I think it likes her nest. Hold it down with your plant glyphs, I'll get as many elixirs down her throat as I can without getting my face torn off. Sound like a plan?" Luz wasn't keen on the way I'd phrased that but it was the best I could do with it the time I had. We snuck up the stairs silently I took the lead, I had a much greater chance of holding the Owl Beast back if it jumped us. "Gimme a moment to distract her." Luz nodded at me as I snuck into Ma's room. With a magic circle, I blinded it with my light. "Luz now!" Her vines held the beast down enough to pour an absurd amount of elixir down her throat. Her body finally started to shrink down back to normal.
    "Oh, thanks for this," Ma sighed in relief, taking the empty bottle from my hands. As she stood up she kicked the pile of empty bottles I'd used. "And... all those..."
    "Your gem is still dark," I told her. Luz backed me up.
    "Ah no it's not! You're nuts!" I crossed my arms at Ma who, in that moment I'd realised had been wearing a scarf all morning to hide her gem.
    "really, Ma? You're hiding how bad the curse is getting. It's getting worse isn't it?" I growled at her. Ma lowered her head at me.
    "you're right... it's taking more elixir to turn me back and more magic to keep the curse from rearing it's feathery head." Ma didn't sound particularly optimistic about this.
    "What happens if you use up all your magic?" Luz asked, "Do you... Do you die?!"
    "No! jeez, you're morbid," Ma told her, hands on her hips. "I just kinda, sorta, turn into the owl beast forever. Ah it's a fate much worse than death if you think about it too much." Ma laughed nervously.
    "Jeez, Ma... you make it sound like it's nothing." I sighed taking her scarf from over her shoulders. "Go rest, you're making it hard for me to want to go to school." I left Luz with Ma to pack up my bag.

I chewed at my nails, watching Luz's class board the carriage. They were going on a field trip to the Emperor's castle. I couldn't fathom what possessed Luz to agree to going on this trip. Barely making it down the halls, Ed jumped me, hanging his arm around my shoulders.
    "Mel! You're back!" he cheered. "Class is so boring without you!" I smiled lightly at him.
    "Hey Ed. Sorry, I haven't been well." I looked around us expecting Em to be there. "Where's Em?" Ed turned his head down slightly with a sigh.
    "Stayed home today. Migraine, she tells me." My shoulders slumped hearing it. "Hey at least I'm not alone now! Amity didn't even come to school today! She's stuck in bed with that leg injury!" I raised my eyebrow at Ed.
    "was your plan to combat being alone is to hang out with Amity?" Ed chuckled nervously at me. "That's sad Blight. Come on. We have spelling class first up, right? Don't wanna be late for that one."