Rectification

Chapter 2

The moon was already hanging high in the sky by the time Amity returned to the Owl House. She'd sprinted nearly the whole way, out of breath and practically shaking to tell Eda what had happened. If anyone could help Amity understand what this strange key was for, it was Eda, right?

She skidded to a halt at the front door and rapped a few sharp knocks on it. Please let her still be here, she pleaded silently. Please let her-

"HOOT?"

Amity drew her wrist sharply away from the door and suppressed a groan of exasperation. "Oh. I forgot you would be here too."

Hooty fixed Amity with his strange, beady stare. "Luz's mean girlfriend?" he asked. "What are you doing here? Didn't you hear that Luz already left? Hoot hoot!"

"I was there, Hooty," Amity snapped. She elected to pay no mind to the fact that Hooty calling Luz Amity's girlfriend only made the wound more painful.

"It really is too bad that she's gone. She was my only friend. She never beat me up."

Amity ignored Hooty's blatant cry for sympathy. "Is Eda here?"

"She and Lilith and your nicer siblings never left! They came back here an hour ago, muttering about Luz and how much fun it will be to console you now that she's gone."

The key seemed to be burning a hole in Amity's pocket. "I need to talk to her."

"I'll let you in if you tell me the magic wooord!" Hooty sang. "I'll give you a hint, it starts with I and ends with love Hooty!"

"That's three words, you idiot! Just let me in."

"Say please."

Amity clenched her fists at her side to avoid lashing out at the strange owl-tube. " Please?"

"I knew you had some good in you." Hooty allowed the door to swing open. "Have fun with your reminiscing, hoot hoot!"

Without so much as a thank-you to Hooty, Amity barged through the doorway and into the house.

Hooty'd warned her that Luz's farewell entourage had convened here, but it was still strange to see them all together in one place so soon after Luz's departure. It was especially odd to see Edric and Emira looking so somber as they sat off to the side. Ed was slumped on the floor, leaning against the coffee table, Em sitting hunched over next to him. King, usually so keen to greet visitors, was nowhere to be seen, and Eda and Lilith were seated together on the couch, heads bent together and speaking quietly. Amity could make out a few of their whispers before they noticed she was there.

"The spell's too difficult to try again," Eda was saying. "And we've got no way to communicate with her. We don't know if she'd even see that the portal reactivated."

Amity couldn't stand to hear anything about how unlikely it was that she'd see Luz again, so she chose that moment to interrupt. "Hi," she broke in.

The four of them glanced up at Amity simeotaneously. Em was the first to break the beat of silence. "Amity?"

Even Em must've been beating herself up over this if she wasn't calling Amity her stupid nickname.

"Sorry I disappeared," Amity said awkwardly. "I... needed some time to think."

"I understand." Eda rose from her spot on the couch and approached the young witch. Amity couldn't resist the instinct to duck in and give Eda a hug, and to her surprise, the Owl Lady reciprocated.

"I miss her too," Eda murmured. "We all do."

For a moment Amity was caught up in the sorrowful atmosphere of the room, and she let herself relax for the moment in the comfort of her family's presence. But then she remembered the key weighing heavy in the pocket of her tunic, and she stepped away from Eda. "I found something," she blurted. "Near... near the Grom tree." She decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to mention the exact methods of attaining the key, at least not yet. Neither of the adults would be likely to believe that Grom's promposal wasn't a trap but rather just a very risky and potentially world-endangering bargain.