It was the beginning of the school year at Hexside. Students greeted each other after being away for an entire summer and were ready for another semester of learning and growing as witches.
However, some decided to start the year off differently from everyone else.
"BLIGHTS!"
Emira heard the teacher behind them yell as he ran after her and Edric. The infamous Blight twins were at it again with another one of their pranks, and they laughed as they were being chased. "Didn't I tell you I'd do it?" Ed asked his sister.
"Eh. It was alright," Emira said, smiling as she rolled her eyes.
"What?! That was the best prank I came up with all month!" Edric exclaimed.
"Well, we better split up and hide from the teacher," Emira told her brother.
"Right!"
When they reached the end of the hallway, the twins quickly split up, with Ed going left and Emira going right. While the male twin continued running down the hallway, Emira saw the first down on her right and ran towards it. She opened it and quickly rushed into the room. Silently, she closed the door.
Emira placed her ear to the door and listened for the teacher. However, as she waited for him to run past her so she could leave, the Blight girl noticed how hot it was in the room she had run into. "Man, is this place a sauna or something?" She asked, wiping her brow from the sweat that was building up.
"Not quite."
Emira turned around, only to scream in terror at the sight of a tall individual with a skull mask and bat eats standing behind her with an ominous red light glowing from behind him. She was so frightened by his appearance and the hammer in his hand. Seeing this, Emira backed up against the door and drew a spell circle to defend herself.
Seeing this, the individual, who was a few inches taller than her, held up his hands. "Whoa, easy! I'm not going to hurt you!" He quickly explained. He realized he was still holding the hammer and placed it on a wooden table. "See? No hammer."
"Who are you?!" Emira asked, glaring at the person, not noticing the construction track uniform he was wearing. Not allowing her guard to go down, the green-haired witch kept her spell circle up as the teenage boy reached up and took off his skull-shaped welding mask.
"I'm a student, just like you," Warrick said, revealing himself to Emira for the first time.
For a moment, Emira looked at the handsome bat-witch before seeing the brown sleeves and legging. "Oh! Sorry about that," she said, quickly lowering her finger and dispelling the circle. "I didn't know that you were a student with the…."
"With the mask and ears?" Warrick asked with a slight smirk. "I just look scary in this. I'm actually a nice guy."
"I bet." Emira looked away awkwardly. That's when she looked around at the classroom she was in.
It wasn't like any classroom she'd ever been in, looking more like an industrial version of her father's workshop. Most of the windows were closed, and the only light source was a large, monstrous forge with teeth and a metal tongue to use as an anvil. All around them were many metal objects that ranged from weapons to tools.
"What is this place," she asked, looking around in curiosity and wonder.
"Oh, here? Well, it's my workshop," Warrick said. "Well, actually, it's one of the workshops that belongs to the Construction Track, but I've been renting it out so much that the teachers just allow me to use it whenever I want."
Emira started strolling into the workshop with her hands behind her back, looking at the inventions curiously. "Are you…making these?" She asked, smiling at the many wondrous things the bat-witch made.
Then, the eldest Blight daughter turned to the student. "Look at you, being an artist," she said teasingly.
Seeing her smile, Warrick blushed brightly and flipped down his skull-welding mask. "W-When I have free time—really, it's not that big of a deal," he said, grabbing his hammer. Walking over to the window, he opened it to allow more light into the room. "So, what are you doing in my workshop, Emira?"
Hearing the boy call her name surprised Emira. "You know my name?"
Warrick looked at her with wide eyes. "Well, yeah. You're Emira Blight—the most popular girl in our grade. You've got power, money, beauty—" He cut himself off. "Wait, that sounded weird, didn't it?"
Emira giggled at the awkward inventor. "You also forgot prankster," she said, walking up and flipping up his skull-welding mask to show his face again. "But I don't think I got your name."
"Oh! Right," Warrick said, looking down at his hands and taking off one of the interesting-looking gloves. However, as Emira looked at them, she saw they were, in reality, metal gauntlets with a smooth, glowing blue gem in the center. Having taken the gauntlet off his right hand, Warrick held out that hand with a smile. "Warrick Riley."
Smiling, Emira took his hand and shook it. Then she looked at his gauntlet. "What's with those," she asked. "They don't look like just a pair of forging gloves."
For a moment, Warrick was hesitant. Normally, he would have lied and said that they were forging gloves. But he didn't want to lie to Emira, yet revealing what they were for could lead to scrutiny and being made fun of. However, from what he's heard about Emira, the eldest Blight daughter didn't pick on people with disabilities.
"Okay, but if I tell you this, you promise not to say this to anyone," he asked her nervously.
"No," she said. Warrick glared at her, making Emira giggle and shove his shoulder. "Come on! I'm just messing with you."
"I'm serious, Emira," he said.
"Okay, okay," she said, holding up her hands.
Warrick didn't like the answer, but it was all he got. So, he sucked in a breath of air and held up his finger to make a spell circle. Emira watched from the side as Warrick slowly began to trace the line. However, looking at his face, she was shocked to see his expression contorting in pain. His other hand grabbed his chest, gritting his teeth while trying to hold in the pain as if every centimeter of the circle was agony to the bat-witch.
"GAH!" Warrick yelled, finally giving up as he fell to his knees and clenched his chest where his heart was. His eyes bulged out as he tried controlling his breathing.
"Whoa, hey! Are you okay?!" Emira asked, quickly kneeling and placing her hand on his back. Seeing his hand on his chest, the Blight girl's eyes widened.
You see, Emira had a secret. While she's a master of illusions and would graduate at the top of her Track, she has a side hobby that her mom would certainly disapprove of. Inside her room were books of medical aid and healing spells, which had become handy given how often her brother got hurt.
Emira was well-versed in healing spells and medical knowledge, and by seeing where he was grabbing, the Blight daughter realized what was wrong with Warrick.
"Your bile sac…."
"Yeah," Warrick said, struggling to regain his breathing as tears trailed down his cheeks. After regaining control of himself and wiping away the tears, Warrick stood up, with Emira helping him. "Congenital Bile Sac Disease. There's a lot of blockage in it. So much so that I can't use magic like everyone else."
"Warrick, I…I'm sorry," Emira said, looking at the student with sympathy.
"It's okay. That's why I made these gauntlets before starting my first year of Hexside," Warrick said, placing his gauntlet back in his hand. "They allow me to draw out my magic without hurting myself."
"Wait, you invented those when you were just fourteen?" Emira asked with wide eyes, looking at him in shock.
"Yeah, and ever since then, I've been inventing new gadgets," Warrick said. Wanting to show Emira some of his projects, he grabbed what appeared to be an old-fashioned diving suit helmet. "Like this! With it, people can dive into the boiling waters without getting burnt. It's not quite finished yet. Need to figure out how to keep the wearer from being cooked alive."
"What's this one," Emira asked, looking up at a giant metal statue of a knight.
"That's a project I've been working on for Bump. He wanted more security for the school. So, I promised him a set of new guards. The only problem is that, well, they can't take a hit," he said, chuckling nervously. "...it's not quite finished yet."
A moment later, Warrick was showing Emira a steampunk-style wand. "This learning wand will carry a larger battery storage and be rechargeable!" he said, unplugging it from its port. "It's not quite finished yet, but once I figure out how to make it not explode, it'll be ready."
Then, he presented Emira with a cloak. "This isn't really something special," he said, wrapping it around his body. Making it disappear and having his head appear to be floating. "It's supposed to be a cloak that can turn anyone that wears it invisible."
"Not special?!" Emira yelled incredulously before snatching the cloak away from him. "Do you know how many pranks you can pull with it?"
Warrick rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess. It's not quite…."
"...finished yet, is it?" Emira asked, finishing his sentence for him. She giggled at the blush that formed on his face. The girl didn't know what she was feeling, but Emira felt something in her heart when she saw the blushing face of the bat-witch. It made him look extra cute.
"Emira Blight, retort the Principal's office immediately!" Yelled Principal Bump on the intercom.
Sad that she wouldn't spend more time with her new friend, Emira sighed and placed the cloak down. "Looks like I have to go," she said, rubbing her arm. "Thanks for the tour. Everything was incredible!"
Warrick watched as she walked to the door, sad to see her go too. "W-Will I see you again?" He asked.
Emira looked back at the bat-witch and stared at him for a moment. Then, she smiled at him with a blush. "Sure! I'll come around whenever I can," she said.
With that promise made, Emira opened the workshop door and walked away. It would not be the last time she'd enter the workshop. Nor would her feelings for Warrick remain as just wanting to be friends.
{Play music: Into the Badlands theme}
As the portal gate opens and the camera zooms in on it, Booker and Luz are seen to be in the sky. They opened their eyes, only to realize they were falling, which caused them to freak out before something zoomed past them and caught them. Booker and Luz opened their eyes, with Luz behind Booker and holding his arm while Booker held onto the staff to stay on. The two kids saw they were saved by Eda, who smirked at the duo as they flew to her house on her Palisman staff.
The door where Hooty was opened up as Luz and Booker stepped outside, with Luz twirling and posing with Eda's staff while Booker drew his Dragon's Bite sword he got recently and did his own pose. But then Eda took her staff back with an amused grin while Luz gave a sheepish smile, and Booker looked somewhat amused, too. King popped up in front of them in a pose.
A Boiling Isle mural was seen briefly as Gus, Willow, and Amity were seen before it burned away to show King commanding an army of stuffed toys, which all fell on him. The scene burned away again, showing Booker standing under a spotlight with grief written on his face as the fire was seen all around him. Silhouettes appear as they take the shape of a man with pointed ears, a human woman, and six children with slightly pointy ears. The fire consumed them.
Now Booker and Luz were on Eda's staff, with Luz riding up front like she was driving and Booker standing behind like he was surfing on a surfboard. They zoom down the Boiling Isles, past many friends and foes alike, until Eda and King join in on the ride... then they hang on for dear life as a massive, monstrous worm-like monster, mouth wide open, lunges at them. Everyone, minus Booker, screamed in horror. The latter looked brave and defiant towards the monster, and he pointed his sword towards it.
Then the scene changes back to the Owl House, where it's nighttime, and stars twinkle in the sky as the four are on the roof and looking up into the sky. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of light as Booker's hands glow, and a glyph-like symbol appears on the back of his hands.
He grinned and slammed his hands together, causing light magic to burst from his hands. That's when the title appeared.
The Seventh Son
Chapter Fourteen:
"Emira and the Bat Witch"
Fast forward to the present. Emira kept her promise to the bat witch. She visited the workshop every day, and the two would hang out. Warrick would show the girl-haired witch a new invention that he was working on and how it was supposed to work. Though, he would always admit that he wasn't finished with it. Even if he had nothing new to show her, it didn't matter to Emira. They would just talk about each other's day and Emira's problems at home. More specifically, her strained relationship with her parents.
However, she noticed that Warrick often skipped lunch to work on his projects. So, she started packing an extra lunch for him.
As she and her siblings walked down the dirt road toward the school, Emira carried Warrick's lunch bag in both hands, smiling at it while holding it with great care.
"Oh, sweet. You brought my lunch," Edric said, reaching out to grab the bag. However, Emira slapped his hand. "Owie."
"This isn't for you, Ed. It's for Warrick," she said.
Looking up from her book, Amity raised her sister's eyebrow. "You mean that guy you keep seeing? Is he boyfriend?"
Her question made Emira's cheeks flush with embarrassment. "No more than Booker is your boyfriend, mittens."
"They're not! I mean, she's not! I mean, he's not!" Amity's face turned red after fumbling with her words. Luz and Amity had confessed their hidden feeling for Booker to each other during the battle with Grom and became his Grom queens. Realistically, the three of them should be dating now. And Amity wanted to date both Booker and Luz. However, what happened at night was something so new to her. The idea of being in a relationship with another, much less two people, was so alien to her that she didn't know how it would work out.
Quickly recomposing herself, Amity said with closed eyes, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh look, there's Booker and Luz." Ed pointed off to Amity's right.
Amity looked. "Really?"
"Ha! Made you look."
Emira slapped him on the back of his head. "Knock it off, Ed. It's not like you don't have an interest," she said, smirking as she saw her twin's cheeks flushing red. No doubt thinking about Roswell. "But can we all agree that we tell Mom none of this? The last thing we need is her trying to ruin our happiness for hers."
"Seconded!" Amity and Edric said unanimously. They knew their mother would never approve of any of their respective interests. Booker and Luz were humans, and Booker was a wanted person with an enormous bounty on his head that Odalia wouldn't hesitate to get. Roswell didn't come from a family with any status, which, of course, would never be approved by their mother.
Their mother was the reason why the Blight kids never talked about their interests when in their house. The last thing they wanted was for Odalia to ruin their hopes of a relationship with them.
The three remained silent as they walked down the school's stone pathway. As they approached the entrance, Emira saw Warrick walking up the stairs.
"Gotta go," Emira quickly said and ran towards the bat witch. "Warrick!"
The boy turned around and smiled when he saw the beautiful witch running over to him. "Emira, good morning," he said happily.
Just before she could start a conversation with the bat witch, Emira was cut off when Principal Bump and another man approached the two teenagers. "Ah! There he is, Mister Holmes," he said to the other man.
When Warrick looked at him, he was stunned. The man standing beside Bump was a fashionable, handsome witch with wavy blonde hair and remarkably straight and shiny teeth.
"So, this is the brilliant young inventor I've been hearing so much about," he said with a charming smile. Holmes then extended his hand for Warrick to shake. "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is—"
"Oh, I know who you are! You're the inventor, Holmes!" Warrick grinned a big smile as he grasped Holmes' hand and shook it. Surprising the man as he looked at the bat witch. "I'm a big fan of your work, sir."
Emira stood on the sideline, watching in confusion as the man laughed and said, "Well, that certainly saves time on introductions. And time saved is time that can go into innovation. That's what I always say."
"But, what are you doing here?" Warrick looked at Holmes in confusion as he released his hand.
That's when Bump stepped in to explain. "It would appear that your project in the school's Craft Fair has caught the attention of Mr. Holmes," he said.
The project he was referring to was Warrick's automaton, which he had made for Bump and completed just for the Craft Fair. The principal was impressed with the incredible work done by the bat witch, and it wasn't just him, it would seem. The visitors to the fair and the news were amazed by the automaton, which was shown all over the Isles through the Crystal Ball news.
"So much so that he had to come and meet you," Bump said with pride for his student.
"R-Really?" Warrick asked, stunned.
"Indeed. I was absolutely amazed by your work." Holmes spoke admiringly and approached one of the two automatons stationed at the school's entrance. "The attention to detail, the craftsmanship! They all came together to create the perfect blend of magic and machinery. Though I'm sure there's so much more that you have to offer."
"Oh, so much, sir," Warrick said with eagerness. "I can show them to you if you'd like."
"We'll do it during lunchtime, Mr. Holmes," Bump said.
"Sounds wonderful! I look forward to seeing this bright young man's creations," Holmes said with a charming smile before following Bump. Leaving Warrick with the oldest sister of the Blight family.
"Who was that?" Emira asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Holmes, one of the greatest inventors of the Boiling Isles!" Warrick said with a big grin, never before feeling so excited in his life. He then gasped, realizing that he couldn't let Holmes see his workshops in the messy condition it was in. "I've got to clean the workshop. I've got to go!"
"Wait!" However, it was too late for Emira to stop and give him the lunch she had made. The bat witch had already run into the school to go to his workshop. She sighed, sad that she couldn't give him the lunch she had made.
For Emira, it was another day of learning magic, surviving crazy teachers, and thinking about Warrick Riley. As time passed and she learned more about him, Erima felt her feelings for the bat witch deepen. He wasn't like many of the other witches at school. Brilliant would be an understatement, and she was amazed by his skills. Their dance during Grom only made her admiration for him grow. The way Warrick looked into her eyes, the feeling of his arm and hand holding her, stirred Emira's emotions.
However, on her way to the workshop that Warrick was using, Emira stopped when she heard something inside. Her pointed ears overheard a conversation going on. "And this…isn't quite finished, but when it's down, it'll protect people from the boiling rains." That was Warrick's voice. Hearing him prompted Emira to stop and listen in on the conversation. "I call it…the rain shield!"
Approaching the door and peeking in on the conversation, Emira saw Warrick talking to Holmes, the man she had seen earlier in the day. The brilliant bat witch presented what appeared to be an umbrella with metal panels instead of soft fabrics.
"Fascinating, and is this all of your creations?" The famous inventor asked with a hand on his chin, seemingly invested in knowing more about Warrick's inventions.
Warrick said, "Well, not all of them." The bat witch then pulled out the gloves he'd been using for years to help control his magic. Seeing the gloves made Holmes' eyes widen as Warrick handed them to him. "These were the first real inventions I made. For as long as I can remember, I've suffered from Congenital Bile Sac Disease. It's why I made these. They allow me to draw out my magic and amplify it to a level that would be normal for someone my age."
Emira smiled admirably at the bat witch, still amazed by the unbelievable amount of talent Warrick had. And from the look on Holmes' face, the inventor thought the same thing. "Spectacular! To make something like this is phenomenal!" He said with a grin on his face, examining the gloves. Holmes then looked at the student. "Mr. Riley, if it's possible, would you be able to replicate your gloves?"
The question surprised the young inventor. "I-I'd have to start from scratch. I've made so many improvements to the gloves over the years that the original blueprints aren't even valid anymore," Warrick said, scratching behind his bat ear.
Holmes handed back the gloves to the bat witch. "Tell you what, if you can recreate these gloves and a new blueprint, then after your graduation, I'll offer you an apprenticeship at my company. Many people like you are suffering from your condition and do not have your brilliant mind. These gloves can help them, that is if you are willing to put in the effort?"
Hearing the offer made Warrick's jaw drop. He looked at the man he idolized with a look of wonder. "Really? You mean it, Mr. Holmes?!" He asked in a mixture of shock and excitement.
"Young minds like yours need to be nurtured to become the future. And I can tell you that your future is going to be brighter than any student I've seen at any school. Think about it," Holmes said, patting Warrick's shoulder, before turning to walk out of the room.
Emira hid behind the door when it swung open to avoid getting caught. She waited as Holmes exited the workshop and went down the hallway. Luckily, he left in the opposite direction of the eldest Blight daughter. Seeing her chance, Emira quickly slipped inside the room.
"Hey, you," Emira said teasingly, holding the lunch behind her back.
Hearing her voice made Warrick turn around and smile. "'Emira, you wouldn't believe what happened!" he said loud, aptly overjoyed. The bat witch took the green-haired girl by surprise when he rushed over to Emira, grabbed her, picked her up, and spun her around. Making Emira blush and look at him with embarrassment.
"W-Whoa, batty, I heard everything!" Emira said, making her friend stop and place her down as his face flushed red in embarrassment.
"Oh, uh, sorry. Wait, were you spying on me?" He gave the troublemaker a faux look of offense.
Emira played along and placed her hand on her chest. "Me? Spy? I don't know what you are talking about." She said before the two of them started laughing together. "So, you're really going to remake your gloves?"
"Emira, this is a huge opportunity for me. Holmes is one of the Boiling Isles' greatest inventors," Warrick said, walking over to his workbench. He picked up a seemingly normal-looking pen and uncapped it. Then, the bat witch drew a drawing of a pen in the air in front of him. "He invented the light pen, the bottomless handbag, and even the flying rug. Not only that, but the gloves could help so many other people besides myself."
Emira smiled and leaned on the workbench. "Well, why don't I help you make the new glove," she asked.
Her offer surprised the bat witch, and he looked at her in shock. He'd had a crush on this girl for as long as he'd known her. Not only was Emira very beautiful, but brilliant and kind. Warrick considered himself extremely lucky when he started hanging out with her after Emira ran into his workshop. And now, she wanted to offer help with something that had nothing to do with her. "Really? You really want to help me?" He asked, still surprised.
His surprise turned to confusion when she held up the lunch bag she'd brought him. "I've been helping by keeping you fed. Why stop there," Emira asked, giggling. This made Warrick blush with embarrassment as he took the bag. "So, what's the first plan of action?"
"Well, I'd have to take mine apart," Warrick said.
"Wait, what?"
"Emira, I've made so many modifications to the gloves that they aren't even the same as when I first made them," the bat witch said, placing the gloves on the table. "I'd have to take them apart completely, find out what I used, find all new components, and then put it together."
Hearing this, Emira tried thinking about what she could do. It is true. She didn't have the same level of intellect or building abilities as Warrick. However, perhaps all she needed to do was to get him the parts, and Warrick would take over from there. That's when she smiled as an idea formed in her head.
"I think I have an idea," Emira said, gaining Warrick's attention.
"You want us to do what?" Booker asked, standing beside Luz, Amity, and Edric.
"Please help me help Warrick make another pair of his magic gloves," said Emira with her hands together. After school, the oldest Blight daughter knew her sister would be at her crush's house, so she dragged Ed along and followed them. After being let in by Hooty, who creeped her out, Emira began explaining what was going on with Warrick before she got around to asking them for assistance.
"What's the catch?" Edric asked.
"Come on, Ed. She's your sister," Luz said.
"Yeah, but this isn't for herself. It's for her interest." Edric countered, crossing his arms.
"Interest?" Booker asked, raising an eyebrow.
"First, you have someone you're interested in, then it becomes a crush," Amity said.
"Aw~ you have a crush?" Luz gushed, thinking how cute it was that Emira had a crush and was trying to help him. "Now we've got to help him!"
"Okay, first, it's not a crush," Emira quickly said.
"Then it's love," Booker said, smirking.
"Yes—NO! First, its interest, then its crush, then its love." Emira explained with a bright red blush on her face, much like how Amity blushed.
"Right, so what can we do to help your interest?" Booker asked, raising an eyebrow. "None of us here are exactly Jimmy Neutron."
"All we have to do is gather everything he needs, and Warrick can put it all together," Emira explained to her siblings and Amity's friends. She then smiled, nervous about her pleas being rejected. "So, what do you say? Can you please help Warrick? Please?"
Remaining silent, Booker looked at Luz. She smiled brightly and nodded. The Seventh Son then looked at Amity, and the youngest Blight shrugged with a smile of her own. He then turned back to Emira. "Eh, sure? Why not? It's the weekend."
Happy to see her sister and friends onboard, Emira turned her attention to her twin brother. Edric was staring at her with his arms crossed as if inspecting her. The truth was, even though he wouldn't admit it, Ed was concerned about his sister becoming close to the bat witch.
In the past, Ed has had to watch his sister get her heart broken on more than one occasion by the people she dated. Most weren't even her choice. Their mother set up those dates. She wanted to use the twins to expand the family's sphere of influence further. None of them went great, infuriating Odalia. But while Edric wasn't too heartbroken by the dates, as they usually agreed to stay friends, Emira was a different story. Too many times, Edric had seen his twin coming home, crying herself to sleep.
And yet, Warrick was so much different from all those other boys. He didn't come from a wealthy family. Had no penny to his name and yet had a mind that could be ignited by the passion of creation and the need to better the world. Warrick was the first boy Emira really liked. More than liked. He was good to her.
"You really like him, don't you?" He asked, looking at her with a serious yet sympathetic expression.
Emira didn't say anything. She just looked at her brother. However, just her eyes were enough to tell the twin brother what he needed to know.
He sighed and smiled. "Alright, so what's the first step?"
[Play music: It's No Good by Depeche Mode]
The next day, the Blights trio came to the Owl House. When the door opened, Booker and Luz saw that Warrick was with them, wearing his casual clothes. The bat witch smiled shyly at the human and hybrid as he waved. Booker and Luz smiled and waved them to come inside.
Once inside, Warrick laid out the newly drawn-up blueprint off his gloves, now dubbed the Spell Gauntlets. Having taken the original ones apart, the bat witch drew the parts down, noting what to change and improve. Warrick explained to the others that he needed certain materials to keep the wearer's hands safe and a special potion to stabilize magical energy output. However, Warrick used a pair of amplifying stones he found as a child for the original gauntlets.
Booker, Luz, and Amity would get the materials while Edric stayed at the house with Warrick and Emira. They will make the potion to replace the amplifying stones in the new glove. This was done because of the Emperor Coven's restriction on these stones. Luckily, Warrick had created a potion equation to act as a substitute.
With the list they were given, Booker, Luz, and Amity were on their way to the market. Luckily, the tanner shop was right next to the metal dealer. Booker walked up to the tanner, and Luz approached the dealer. Both kids handed them their list, and both business owners looked at one another before walking into the back of their stands to gather the orders.
Upon returning, they placed the items on the counters and told the two best friends the price. Both of which were very high. Booker and Luz felt their eyes almost pop out of their heads, only to realize they had no money. Which didn't go unnoticed by Amity, who sighed at the idiots she was in love with. That's when she pulled out her snail credit card. Booker and Luz looked sheepish and embarrassed.
Upon returning to the Owl House, the trio saw the older teens gathered around the fireplace. A fire was going, and Edric was cooking a black cauldron filled with a boiling blue potion.
After putting back on his gloves, Warrick started getting to work. Cranking his knuckles, he walked over to the table where the trio had placed the parts. Taking a deep breath, the bat witch drew a large spell circle, and his eyes started glowing orange. All the parts started glowing before rising into the air. Using his fingers, Warrick commanded the materials.
First, he took the sheets of leather. Using his magic, Warrick cut them into the shape of hands and bonded the two together by their edges. Creating the leather glove part of the gauntlet.
Now, it was time to place the armor pieces on the glove. The metal plates were cut seamlessly, fused, and attached to the glove. The others around him watched with amazement as the metal plates were bolted to the glove, and wires and tubes were connected until it all came together to create a more advanced version of the gloves Warrick had initially invented for himself.
With the Spell Gauntlet finished, Warrick brought the device over to the cauldron. Opening the small glass dome on the back of the gauntlet, Warrick took a spoon and scooped out some of the potion. Gently, he poured it into the glove and closed the glass lid, powering it.
[Song stops here]
"So, did we do it?" Edric asked, looking at the Spell Gauntlet with wide eyes.
"Only one way to find out," Warrick said with a grin on his face.
"You can try it out on me," Hooty said, getting in the bat witch's face. Freaking the young man out.
"Hooty, get the hell out of here!" Booker yelled.
"Aw…" Hooty sadly retreated outside.
Returning to the newly made Spell Gauntlet, Warrick removed his right glove. Slipping on the Spell Gauntlet, Warrick wiggled his fingers and balled his hand into a fist. "Flexibility is good," he said.
A moment later, they were outside, with Warrick standing in front of the others. Taking a deep breath, the bat witch drew a spell circle.
In an instant, a giant statue of himself in the pose he did rose out of the ground. Made entirely out of mud and dirt, it was double his size.
"Whoa…." Booker at the statue in amazement as a grin spread across his face. Warrick matched his expression, seeing that his Spell Gauntlets worked spectacularly.
"It works!" Emira caught him off when she jumped on his back and hugged him. Warrick laughed as the others came over to his side, congratulating him.
Two days later, Monday came. Once again, the Blight kids were on their way to Hexside, going down their usual route. Edric was checking his scroll while Amity was reading a book. Emira had another lunch made for Warrick. However, there was something off about her. Usually, she was happy to be carrying her crush's lunch, as it meant having a chance to talk to him and hang out. However, Emira was troubled, and it only took a glance from her sister to see that.
"Em, are you okay?" She asked, placing her hand on Emira's arm and nudging her.
Emira snapped out of it and looked at her sister in confusion. "Huh? Oh, did you say something?"
"Thinking about Warrick," Edric asked, looking at his sister with a smirk.
"Actually…" Emira licked her dry lips before continuing. "I've been looking into Holmes."
"The guy Warrick wants to impress?" Amity looked confused.
"Yeah, I wanted to know more about him. So far, all I've gathered is that he's part of the Construction Coven. He's invented many things and is nearing the rank where he'll be able to succeed Mason, the head of the coven," Emira said, going over all that she's been able to uncover about the man. It all was pretty standard from what the green-haired witch saw.
"Okay, so what's got you all worked up?" Amity asked, wondering.
Emira looked at the ground and remained silent for a moment. "Honestly, I think of mom."
Amity and Ed looked at one another. "As in…"
"The way Holmes acted around Warrick. The way he talked to him. It's all the same as how mom is, like he's…superior and confident. Like he's in control of everything and everyone. Holmes gives off the same energy as Mom. He's only trying to please people to gain something from them."
"And you think that he's using Warrick?" Amity asked, becoming concerned. "Why would he do that?"
"I'm not sure," Emira said as the three siblings started walking down the stone path of the school, passing by the coven banners. "I just want Warrick to…careful…" she trailed off when glancing at the school. Amity and Edric stopped and looked at their sister in confusion.
There was a red object up near the school window.
Emira used her illusion magic to summon a telescope. Looking through it, she was surprised to see it was a red flying rug. "Wonder what that's all about," Emira said, seeing it under an open window. "Wait…that's Warrick's workshop."
Emira quickly walked through the school towards the workshop, followed by Amity and Edric. They didn't know what was going on, but the eldest sister said she had a bad feeling, like something in her gut was telling her that something wasn't right.
"Emira, what's going on?" Amity asked.
"I don't know," Emira said.
"So what's got you worried," Edric asked.
"I don't know, but something's not right," Emira told the two of them as they approached the door.
KA-BOOM!
The Blight kids were blown off their feet when an explosion suddenly blasted a large hole in the wall where the door was. Sending it flying into a role of lockers as nearby students screamed in shock and fear.
Emira groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head. "You guys okay? Amity?" She asked, going into big sister mode and crawling to her.
"I-I'm fine," Amity said, standing with the help of Emira.
Edric groaned as he stood up. "What happened?
"I don't…." The words in Emira's mouth died when she turned her head towards the smoldering door. There, slumped up against the door on the ground, was Warrick. His body was smoking, and the explosion nearly burned his clothes away. He was groaning and moaning in pain, meaning he was still alive.
"WARRICK!"
"E-Em?" Warrick groaned as she rushed over to him.
"Oh, my Titan, Warrick!" Emira cried out in panic as she placed her hands on his chest. Drawing a spell circle, she placed her hands on the burns he had and started trying to heal him. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay."
As students gathered around to see what happened, Bump came rushing over to assess the damage. Pushing his way through the crowd of kids, he saw Warrick and his injuries before rushing over. Kneeling on the other side of the injured boy's body, he asked, "How did this happen?"
"There was an explosion," Emira said, her magic healing the burns. Bump turned his head and looked into the room.
However, strangely, nothing was destroyed. Besides the wall the door was at, everything else was where it was supposed to be. The only thing that was out of the ordinary.
"This may not have been an accident," he said.
"Are you saying that Warrick was attacked?" Amity asked as Booker and Luz came over and stood with her.
"At this moment, we can't be for certain," Bump said, placing a hand on his chin and pondering.
Hearing the possibility of the explosion not being an accident, Emira gasped and looked at the principal. "There was a flying carpet outside the workshop window," she said, graining the principal's attention. "My siblings and I saw it but didn't see the driver. Just knew that they were up at Warrick's window."
Bump didn't like that, and it only meant that there were more insidious intentions for the explosion to happen. But why and who were the big questions? Warrick was alive yet unconscious, and there was no telling if the person who did this would attack him again.
Drawing a spell circle, Bump summoned a microphone with bat wings and grabbed it. "Attention, Hexside. This is your principal speaking." He said, his voice projecting over the intercoms of the school. "There's been an explosion. The school will be closed until the foreseeable future to allow a full-scale invention to commence."
The students all started muttering, surprised by the principal's decision. Bump turned to Emira and said, "I'll contact his parents to let them know what happened, but until we get the situation under control, he'll need to be somewhere safe."
"Our parents wouldn't allow it," Amity said, upset she couldn't help the bat witch.
"Don't worry!" Luz spoke as she wrapped her arm around Amity's neck. Making the poor witch's face turn red like a tomato. "We know the perfect place."
When Warrick started to wake up, he felt his body aching from the explosion. However, as the bat witch lay down on whatever soft surface he was on, the boy felt something softly slapping his face and something sitting on his chest. When he opened his eyes, Warrick was met with the sight of King staring down at him.
"Bap!" The little demon slapped him in the face.
"Please stop that," Warrick said, frowning at him.
"Fine. HEY, he's awake!" he called out. "Bap!" For good measure, he bopped Warrick again. Then the demon ran off, giggling.
Warrick groaned as he sat on the couch, seeing he was back inside the Owl House. "Warrick!" Hearing Emira's voice, he turned to see her running towards him.
"Em…" Warrick was cut off when Emira grabbed him and hugged him tightly. Making him blush brightly. "E-Em, what's going on?"
"What do you think, you dummy?! I'm hugging you because I thought you could've been dead," Emira said, blushing as she tried to hold back the tears as she pulled away and punched him in the shoulder. Warrick winced and held his arm, laughing sheepishly.
"Could have been, but I'm not," Warrick said.
"Well, look who's up." The two teenagers turned to see Eda walking into the room with a smirk on her lips. Booker, Luz, and Emira's siblings came out from behind her and approached the couch Warrick was on. "You know, when I decided to send you kids to school, I was expecting you two to be bored out of your minds. But to have someone try and kill you?"
"Eda, not now," Booker said as he and the others gathered around Warrick. "How's it going, man? You feel better?"
"Could be better. So, what happened," Warrick asked, gaining confused looks from everyone.
"We were hoping that you could tell us," Edric said. "You were the one the guy was trying to kill."
Now, it was Warrick's turn to be confused. He looked at Emira, then at the three younger students. "What," he asked. "Someone was trying to kill me. Why?"
"Let's start at the beginning," Booker said, wanting to hear everything that happened. "What did you do this morning when you got to the school?"
Warrick shrugged and said, "I went to the workshop. It's the safest place to keep my works and projects, so I was going to store the Spell Gauntlet there. That's when…" he trailed off, with his memory becoming clearer. And with each second returning to his mind, the more he started to become confused. "He was there."
"Who?" Luz asked.
"Mr. Holmes. He was waiting for me. I sent him a letter yesterday, letting him know that we finished the gauntlet," Warrick said, his voice becoming shaky. More and more memories of the event started to surface. Creating more anxiety for the bat witch. "He wanted to try on the glove. Joking that it fit him. I-I offered that we could go outside and test it…I went to the door and…he…."
Emira's eyes widened in shock and horror. "Holmes attacked you."
Warrick shook his head in his state of disbelief. "I…I don't understand! I-I did what he wanted me to do! Why would Holmes attack me?"
"Wait," Eda spoke up, interrupting the kids as she looked at them with an expression of recognition. "Holmes?"
Her question got the kids' attention, with Booker asking, "You know him?"
"Yeah, but people who weren't fooled by his charm and wit used to call him 'Copycat' Holmes," Eda said with a bitter expression. "The guy would always copy other people's projects and answers but made it so that you wouldn't notice at first glance. And if he was caught, then he would have just lied and charmed his way out of getting in trouble. Got me in trouble after making the principal think I plagiarized his essay."
"So wait, this guy cheats his way to graduating and then becomes a brilliant inventor? How the hell does that work," Booker asked.
Warrick wondered the same thing. It was absolutely outrageous. No way Holmes should have been able to go from plagiarist to inventing everything he had claimed to have created. "It shouldn't," he said. The bat witch was looking at his lap, shocked by what had happened. "That still doesn't explain why he would attack me!"
The conversation was interrupted when a crow started cawing. Realizing it was him, Edric pulled out his crow phone and answered, all while everyone looked at him with annoyed faces. "Hello? Oh, hey, Roswell," he said, perking up. However, that smile went away and formed a look of confusion. "What's…huh? Turn on the news?"
Hearing that, Booker turned to the crystal ball sitting over the firepit. He quickly grabbed it, and Warrick used his magic to form a pedestal in the living. Booker placed it on it and used the remote to turn it on to the news.
The crystal screen turned on, and Gus's father, Perry, appeared. The man was a news reporter currently standing with a crowd of people behind him. They were all facing a large, elaborate stage. "Good evening, Boiling Isles! Perry Porter here, coming to you live with shocking development that no one saw coming!" He said with a smile on his face. " Five years after his last great invention, world-famous inventor Holmes is about to unveil his latest invention. Right here in the heart of Bonesborough!"
"What?" Warrick asked, looking at the crystal ball in confusion. "When did he announce that?"
The bat witch and the others watched as the man he idolized strolled on stage, smiling brightly with that picture-perfect smile. The crowd clapped for him, excited to see what he had to present. "I hope you all forgive me for my long absence, but I was in the work of something truly revolutionary. Something that would change the way we use magic forever!" He announced, throwing his hands in the air as the crowd cheered.
"Well, ain't he humble," Luz said, crossing her arms, looking at the man with disdain. Booker and Amity nodded in agreement.
"My friends, we are not created equal. Some of us have greater magical abilities than others, while others are left in the dust. And no matter how much you want to catch up to the competition, you'll never get there. But now, that will change!"
"Heh, what? You've got some magic amplifier?" Eda asked with a snide smirk.
However, when she said that, Warrick's face dropped as a horrible feeling started to set in. Holmes came to the school the day after Warrick told him he'd finished the Spell Gauntlet. He came, tried on the glove, and then attacked Warrick. Warrick only had enough time to defend himself from the blast. Thanks to his bat ears, he reacted fast enough to use his magic to form a small wall. Bump sent everyone home, but because Warrick was out of action, he couldn't have told the principal about Holmes' actions.
Nor could he tell the principal about the glove.
"He didn't…." He whispered, unable to believe the possibility.
"And so, Boiling Isles, I give you… the Spell Gauntlet!"
Warrick's heart sank when Holmes pulled it out. The very same invention that the bat witch created. He watched with growing horror and anger as the thief slipped his hand into the glove. Holmes then took out a flower and drew a spell circle. Instantly, that flower became an immense arch of shiny crystal flowers that formed behind Holmes. He smiled as everyone cheered uproariously for the man, believing he had created the invention.
Everyone who knew differently was horrified and furious.
"That weasel!" Luz shouted in a fury, glaring at Holmes. "He stole the glove!"
"And soon, I promise you that the Spell Gauntlet can be in your hands. Increasing a witch's powers five times! And, with the blessing of the Emperor, the covens will be armed with this technology to fight wild witches. So, what do you say, Building Isles? Are you ready to experience power like never before?!"
While the crowd cheered in the crystal ball, Warrick's fists clenched with fury. "Those weren't what the gauntlet was for! They were supposed to help witches like me. People that needed help. Not an ego boost." He growled, glaring at the man who took away his invention for his own gain. "And Holmes wants to turn my invention into a weapon ."
"We've got to tell the Emperor's Coven!" Emira said, wanting the man to pay for what he did.
"And tell them what? That one of the best members of the Construction Coven took something that wasn't his? With no evidence? They'd likely sweep it all under the rug and just tell you there's nothing they can do," Eda said.
"Especially if it means getting their hands on a new weapon," Booker said.
"So we're supposed to let him get away with it?" Amity asked, incredulous.
"It's not like we can just take it back." Edric shrugged.
Warrick hated to admit it, but the Blight boy was right. They had no evidence to prove that Holmes stole the glove. His coven would have backed him up and vouched for him. And it wasn't like he put his name on the glove.
However, he did put it on the blueprint.
"Actually, I think we can trap him," Warrick said, getting everyone's attention. "The blueprint was folded up and placed in one of my books. When I came to school, I first placed the book in my locker."
"How would that trap him?" Emira asked with her arms behind her back.
Warrick grinned at her. "He doesn't know how to make the formula for the potion," he said. "Holmes can't do anything with the gauntlet without that formula. Meaning he'll have to come back to the school to try and find it."
At that moment, the kids realized what he was talking about. Holmes couldn't mass produce the Spell Gauntlet without that formula. He'd have to return to the sense of the crime. And that's when they'll take him down.
By the time night came, Hexside had guards all over the school grounds. Bump had reported the incident to the authorities, and it was up to the Emperor's Coven to investigate. They were unable to find anything, so the detectives decided to wait until tomorrow to finish investigating the case. However, they believe that it was just another case of a Construction Track student blowing themselves up.
The guards were patrolling the front of the school when one of them saw a flying carpet flying towards him. Holmes was standing on it.
"Sorry, Mr. Holmes. This area's been cordoned off," the guard said, holding up a hand as the fraud inventor landed before him.
"The Emperor's Coven has sent me to oversee the investigation," he said with a smile. "I happened to be quite close to the student that was killed."
"Oh, he's not dead," said the scout, much to the murderous fraud's surprise. "He was only injured and is expected to make a full recovery."
"...That's great," Holmes said, making a mental note to track down Warrick and finish the job. "But I'll need to begin my investigation.
"I don't know. This is the first time I've heard about this," the scout said dutifully.
"I can assure you, my friend, I know exactly what I'm doing. Now, how about you and the rest of your friends get a good night's rest," said Holmes with his charming smile as he placed his hand on the scout's shoulder.
"Steve can use some shut-eye!" said one of the guards, Steve.
The scout sighed and waved to his fellow scouts. "Alright, guys. Pack it up."
The Coven Scouts started walking away, leaving the fraud inventor alone. Now alone with no one to distract him or learn of his intentions, Holmes flew 'his' flying carpet up to the open window of the workshop.
Jumping into the room through the window, Holmes walked across it, looking for any place that would have the blueprints. He needed those plans to remake the potion. Opening a drawer, he started digging through the tools inside, wanting to see if the brat had hidden them.
"Looking for this?"
"Ah!" Holmes yelled in startled surprise as he turned around. His surprise grew when he saw Warrick Riley standing behind him. Glaring at the man who attacked him while holding up the folded-up blueprint. "My word, M-Mr. Riley. Y…You're alive! Praise the Titan. It's a miracle."
"Oh, I'm sure it is." Warrick slipped the blueprints into his pocket and then slipped on his gloves. "So, we're going to have a little talk about what happened," he said, wiggling his fingers in the gloves. "Oh, and don't even think about doing the same thing again. You might ruin the blueprints."
Trapped and cornered, Holmes had no other option. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he calmed down, stood straight, and asked, "Fine, what do you want to know?"
"I looked up to you," Warrick said to his idol. "Your inventions helped change society and improved people's lives. That's why I made the Spell Gauntlet."
"And the Boiling Isles are grateful to you for your contribution," Holmes said smugly.
"No. You took it for your own gain," said the bat witch, pointing at the man. "After you tried to murder me!"
"I-It's not like that," Holmes said nervously. It was as if the single change to his claim threw him off his game. "My boy, what happened was only an accident."
"So why run away from the scene," Warrick questioned. "Why not call for help?"
"That's what I was doing!"
"If you really were, then what was that big show you threw," Warrick asked.
Holmes gulped. "Oh…you saw."
"Of course. It's hard not to." Warrick scoffed incredulously. "Holme's new 'revolutionary' invention. Your Spell Gauntlet, which could magnify a witch's power. And even wanted to provide it to the Emperor's Coven, turning it into weapons!"
Holmes looked as though he understood and said something that made Warrick question everything he thought he knew about the man. "I see. This is about your cut, right," he asked. "How about this? 20% of the money the gloves make, and a position as my apprentice. Huh, what do you say?"
Warrick looked at the fraudulent witch in absolute silence, glaring at Holmes in disgust and disbelief. "You're unreal."
"What," Holmes asked, clueless about what he was saying. "It's a generous offer."
"You tried to kill me, stole my work, claiming it as your own, and think I want anything to do with you?" Asked the bat witch. "You can't be serious! What about all that stuff you said about nurturing young minds?"
"Oh, but it's true."
Warrick threw his hands up. "Oh yes, stealing other people's inventions nurtures so many good young minds. Couldn't just make something that wasn't copied or stolen from anyone."
"My boy, use your head. You think I would have been able to rise the rank and gain the fame and fortune I have if I made anything," Holmes asked, his voice growing louder and more frustrated as he tried moving to the side. However, Warrick stopped him by forming a wall from the ground. Blocking his escape.
"What are you talking about? You're one of the greatest inventors of all time. One of the construction coven's best members. Why would…." Warrick trailed off. His eyes widened as the realization of what he had just discovered kicked in. "What was the first invention you ever made?"
Confused, Holmes nonetheless answered the question. "T-That was the light pen."
"And when was that?"
Holmes placed a hand on his chin. "That would be 20 years now."
"Now let me ask you this." Warrick glared at the man before him with burning-hot rage. "Who was the real inventor you murdered?!"
For a moment, there was no reaction from the man. Holmes stared at Warrick with an icy cold scowl. "Bump was right about being a bright lad," he said with such contempt.
"You're a fraud. Murdering real geniuses and taking their works for your glory," Warrick growled, his eyes glowing in the room's darkness. "You've lied about everything. Is there anything that you actually made?"
"As a matter of fact, there is. And one that you know so well. Holmes, 'the greatest inventor of the Boiling Isles.'" Holmes proclaimed, spreading his arms out in a display of narcissistic showmanship. "Young witches such as yourself hear my name and the wonderful things I put my name. Filling your heads with dreams and desires to become like me. It's true; I'm not an inventor. But my name holds power! And with that comes money, fame, and the ability to become the Construction Coven's shining star. Taking the toys of smart brats like yourself is just compensation for me inspiring your young minds. It's a shame you couldn't just let well enough alone. You could have lived longer if you had just stayed out of my business!"
Holmes' mask had finally slipped away, and his true colors were fully displayed. He laughed manically, thinking that Warrick would take what he'd heard and learned to the grave.
However, to the man's surprise, Warrick started laughing at him. "Huh? What's so funny?" He demanded to know.
After laughing, Warrick stopped momentarily to collect himself before explaining himself. "Sorry, I just couldn't help it." He giggled to himself. "Before today, if someone were to tell me that you were a crazy psychopath and a fraud, I would have laughed in their face. But to be this stupid? What do you think, Emira?"
Suddenly, the green-haired witch girl appeared beside Warrick with her arms crossed. "Yeah, this guy's clearly an idiot," she said.
"What the fuck…who's this?" Holmes asked, startled by Emira's appearance.
"Oh, Holmes. I'd like you to meet someone that I'm very fond of." Warrick said, looping an arm around Emira's side as she placed her head on his shoulder. "This is the lovely Emira Blight."
Holmes glared at the girl who was the child of his biggest rival. "Blight…you mean one of Alador's brats?"
"And might I say she has quite a brilliant mind of her own?"
"Aw, you're a sweetheart," Emira said, looking at the fraud witch. "You see, Holmes, me and my brother, Edric, are the proud owners of a pranking channel. And I've got a feeling that our viewership will skyrocket, no thanks to you."
Holmes gritted his teeth. "And why's that?"
"Well, rarely would anyone be able to expose a man who has lied to everyone and murdered others, all within one video. And I just so happened to do it…." Emira gave Holmes a mischievous grin as her scroll flowed up to her level, with the screen facing him. " …live ."
For a moment, Holmes didn't know what she meant. It didn't register with him until he looked closely at the screen.
The red dot was blinking.
His face turned white.
"YOU WERE RECORDING ME!?" Every witch heard his outburst on every scroll and crystal ball on the Boiling Isles. When the recording first started, Emira and Edric's followers believed they were getting another funny video. However, they never could have imagined hearing a confession to fraudulently and murder from Holmes. Word spread, and everyone with a social media tuned in to see the drama playing out in Hexside.
"Livestreaming, actually," Emira said with a smirk with her hands behind her back. "Come on! It's just a prank, bro."
"You-You brats!" Holmes shouted. "How long—how long has that been on?!"
"From the start. Everyone heard every word," Warrick said.
Holmes's face dropped. "What? no…"
"Now, I'm going to give you one chance," Warrick said, holding his hand out. "Give me the Spell Gauntlet.'
The face on Holmes turned from shock to fury. The vein over his eyebrows was popping as he glared murderously at the two young witches. "You…You little rats! YOU RUINED ME!" He screamed, drawing a giant spell circle and firing a giant ball of fire at the kids.
"Look out!" Emira tackled Warrick out of the way, knocking him and herself to the ground. The fireball flew over their heads and slammed into the wall. Obliterating it in a blaze. "Let's go!"
Grabbing the bat witch's hand, she and Warrick rushed to the open window and jumped outside. Landing on the flying rug. Warrick grabbed the front corners and took control of the flying device. Quickly racing away from the murderous man before another fireball blasted the wall.
"Where's your twin and the others?" Warrick shouted over the wind rushing.
"They should be here!" Emira responded.
Suddenly, a tall spike appeared from the ground below and shot up. Stabbing through the rug and stopping both witches from escaping. Warrick and Emira were thrown forward and sent falling. Warrick quickly used his magic to construct a slide from the stone path. Holding each other, they slid down the slide and came to a safe stop.
Still holding each other, Emira and Warrick giggled nervously and blushed.
The moment was interrupted when another explosion occurred at the school. They turned their heads only to be shocked and frightened. Floating out the Hexside with his eyes glowing, Holmes used his magnified magic to tear apart the side of the school and commanded the stone and building materials to form around him. Warrick and Emira got to their feet, and each took a step back as the fraud formed a giant version of himself with a glowing orange mouth and eyes.
"It didn't have to end this way, child. But now I'll have to silence you!" Holmes said with a sinister smile.
"Not today!"
"Huh?" Holmes turned in the direction of the voice. Only to get hit in the face by a fireball, making him cry in pain.
And it came from Booker, who flew past the head of the stone giant with angelic wings on his back. He used his magical powers to create an illusion of wings to fly. "Wooooo! I've got wings!" he cheered with a grin of glee.
Holmes growled in anger and was about to attempt swinging his hand at the Seventh Son. However, he was blasted in the back by a yellow blast of energy blasted him in the back. Making him stumble a bit. "That's for my essay!" Eda yelled, flying with her nephew.
"You'll pay!" Holmes shouted, swatting at the two like they were flies.
Warrick and Emira watched from the ground until her siblings and Luz ran over to them. "Sis! Are you okay?" Edric asked, worried about his twin sister.
"I'm fine. Now, let's take this bastard down!" Emira exclaimed with a daring grin.
"You read my mind," Edric said with a smile.
"I am your sister," said the young woman. Together, the twins formed one large spell circle.
The twins created two large glowing blue chains that wrapped around the stone giant's shoulders and torso. Holmes growled as he grabbed the chains and tried pulling them off, Giving Booker a chance to strike. Dive bombing towards the back of Holmes' neck, Booker clapped his hands and activated the power spell.
With a warcry, he punched the giant with all his might. Destroying most of the giant construct's neck and upper back as Holmes yelled in agony. He fell to his knees and hands.
"Ha!" Booker yelled, grinning at his work as he flew above the giant. However, Holmes drew a spell circle, and the witch restored his destroyed neck and back. "Uh oh."
Glaring at the Seventh Son over his shoulder, Holmes cast another spell and shot stone spikes out of his back at Booker. Forcing him to fly around in the air to avoid them. With the chains still around him, Holmes started standing up. Pulling against the chains, pulling him to the ground.
"Uh, no, you don't! Let's go, Amity!" Luz said.
"Right!" Together, the two girls rushed at the giant.
"Eda!" Luz called out to her mentor. The Owl Lady came down and grabbed Luz's hand. Pulling her up on her staff and flying off.
Meanwhile, Amity drew two spell circles and formed two giant hands made from Abomination clay, sprouting from the ground. She took command of them and grabbed onto Holmes' ankle. Preventing him from moving.
With his legs secure, Eda flew across the ground to the man's left side. Low enough to allow Luz to place and activate serval plant glyphs. The vines shout from the ground and wrap around his wrist.
"What? No!" Holmes yelled, about to grab the vines with his other arm. However, that's when Booker used his light magic to form a sword made of hard light. He swung down on Holme's right arm. Cutting it at the shoulder and shocking the fraud. "No!"
"This is the end, Holmes!" Warrick yelled and drew a spell circle, using earth magic to lift three large boulders from the ground and float around him. He then launched them toward the knees of the giant.
On impact, the boulders smashed and cracked his stone knees. Yet he was still standing.
Warrick reached into his pocket and pulled out a power glyph. He slapped it on the back of his neck and drew another spell circle. Launching himself into the air with his earth magic.
"Take THIS!"
POW!
With the magic of the power glyph, Warrick delivered a powerful punch to his face, cracking Holme's stone face and breaking his knees apart, making Holmes fall onto the ground.
With the villain down, everyone gathered around the head of the giant Holmes. Eda landed with Luz, and Booker landed with his wings poofing away.
"Now, will you surrender peacefully, or will we have to get rough?" The Seventh Son asked, punching his palm.
Holmes growled, enraged. "After you brats and the Owl Lady ruined all of my hard work? Never!" With his fingers still free, the fraud drew another spell circle and slammed his hand on the ground.
Suddenly, the ground around the kids and Eda's feet became unstable and began to shake before suddenly caving in and collapsing.
Everyone was on the ground when the dust settled, groaning in pain. Emira was lying on her chest when she lifted herself to her elbows. All of a sudden, her body poofed in blue smoke. However, she was still there.
Wondering what had just happened, Emira realized that the concealment stone on the chest of her shirt had broken. Revealing her true appearance. Her hair was down and unkempt, and she had acne spots on her face. Her beauty mark also vanished.
Sitting up, she saw everyone else on the ground in pain. Then Emira saw Warrick trying to stand up. However, to her horror, Holme's giant stone hand reached into the pit they were all in and plucked Warrick out of it.
"No!" Emira shouted and rushed to grab him. However, she tripped and fell to the ground.
Warrick struggled to break out of Holmes' stone grip as the fraudulent witch held his body tightly. His giant stone body was restoring itself, returning him to full strength. "I may not have my fame and glory anymore, but I still have the power of your invention, Mr. Riley," the man said smugly. "And for that, I will give you a painless death."
Holmes raised his free hand into the air. Ready to finish the bat witch once and for all.
Emira's eyes widened, and her pupils shrunk.
Warrick turned his head away when he saw Holmes bring his hand down, waiting for the end.
However, it didn't come.
Opening his eyes, Warrick gasped in awe and amazement.
Stopping Holme's giant stone hand was an even larger glowing hand made of blue energy. Made by none other than Emira Blight.
With her teeth gritted in righteous rage, Emira's eyes were glowing the same blue as the illusion she made as she glared hatefully at the man who was about to kill the boy she liked. Her hand was glowing as well, with the illusion copying her gesture.
As she stood up, everyone else looked at her with wide eyes. Amity and Edric were the most shocked. They knew that out of the three of them, Emira was the most powerful, even though she didn't usually show it often. However, this was beyond anything they had ever seen their sister do.
Emira stood up and pulled her arm out to the side. The hand copied her movement, ripping the arm away from the giant's body. Holmes yelled in pain as he let Warrick go.
Warrick yelled as he fell to the ground. Luckily, he was saved by Emira's giant illusion hand. However, that's when something extraordinary happened. From the hand, an arm started to form. From that arm came a pair of shoulders, chest, torso, head, and another arm and hand
Within half a minute, Emira had used her illusion magic to form a gigantic version of her upper body. It towered over the stone giant as she glared down at him.
Warrick looked at her in amazement, while Holmes looked scared.
"Stay…away…from MY Warrick!" Emira yelled through her illusion as she raised her hand over her head and swung down. Holmes couldn't do anything to stop her.
Emira karate-chopped his stone giant into half. Creating a massive explosion that could be seen for miles before everything returned to normal.
Holmes was lying on the ground with the two cut halves of his giant body. Battered, bruised, and burnt, his eyes were completely white as he remained unconscious. The Spell Gauntlet crumbled into pieces.
Emira's giant illusion set Warrick down on the ground before dissipating in a puff of blue smoke. No longer having to keep up a massive illusion, the Blight girl groaned and nearly fell over if her brother and sister didn't catch her. "Easy, sis. We got you," Edric said as the others gathered around.
"Emira!" Warrick called down, scared that she had hurt herself performing that powerful spell. He quickly used his earth magic to lift the ground under them and bring them back to the surface. "Is she okay?"
Emira groaned and opened her eyes to smile at Warrick. "Hey, batty. Sorry for not looking my best." She attempted to stand on her own.
However, when the green-haired young woman fell forward, Warrick was there to catch her. She looked at him with wide eyes as he looked at her. Then, the bat witch smiled at his crush. "Actually, I think you look better like this. It's the real you," he said, and the love birds hugged one another.
Eda quickly made herself scared before the scouts that were initially guarding the school came back. They brought along with them an airship to take the barely alive Holmes into custody. Two guards placed him on a stretcher and carried his body onto the airship.
"So, that's it? The Spell Gauntlet is gone, and so is the blueprint?" The guard that was initially in charge asked the kids.
"Sorry, fellas. Must have both been destroyed in the fight," Warrick said.
"Well, can't you just remake it?"
Warrick thought for a moment. "Nope, sorry. I don't think that would be wise to do," he said, shaking his head.
"You can't? Or you wouldn't?"
"Does it make a difference," Warrick asked. "That glove was meant to help people, not to give witches a magic boost."
The scout groaned. "Man, Lilith's gonna castrate us for this," he said.
"At least we stopped the bad guy," said Booker, wearing his beanie and contacts. "You know, your guy's job."
"You know, you kids are definitely lucky. To be able to take on a superpowered witch like that? It's amazing," the scout said, looking back at Holmes being loaded into the airship.
"Yeah, she's extraordinary." Warrick gave Emira a smirk and wrapped an arm around her waist, making her smile grow as she blushed brightly.
"Whatever. You're free to go. If we need you, we'll know where to find you." The scout turned around and walked away. Getting on the airship as if lifted off the ground and flew away. Leaving the kids alone, with Hexside still a wreck.
"Man, Bump's gonna have a heart attack when he sees the school like this," Luz said.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Booker said. The group turned and started walking away from the school. "So, did the blueprints really get destroyed?"
Warrick reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded-up blueprint paper. He drew a spell circle, and the paper went up in flames. "It is now," he said.
"Sorry you made that glove for nothing, Warrick," Booker said. "If the Emperor's Coven comes after you, just let me know. I'll get you to some good people that can hide you."
"Thanks. I'll make more in the future—after I graduate. But thank you all for your help," Warrick said to the other with gratitude. "I never would have been able to stop Holmes alone."
Emira then took him by surprise by walking up and kissing him. "Anytime, batty," she said, grasping the hands of her new boyfriend.
"Aw~!" Luz said with twinkling eyes.
"It's about time," Edric said, crossing his arms and nodding in approval. Amity nudged him with her shoulder.
"We should be getting home," Amity said, smiling at Booker and Luz. "Good night, you two."
"Night, Ams," Booker bid the girl farewell as he and Luz took off into the woods. The Blight siblings walked with Warrick, with Emira holding the bat witch's hand. Their fingers intertwined.
In the woods, Eda was waiting as she leaned against a tree. "Feels weird not being the main characters of this adventure, huh?" she asked jokingly.
"Eh, things will return to normal in the next adventure," Booker said, climbing onto the staff with Luz and Eda. Together, they flew off in the direction of home.
However, unbeknownst to the heroes, a white raven was soaring high up in the sky. It had shaggy feathers, a dark gray beak and legs, beady yellow eyes, and a pale yellow underbelly. And there was a curved line between the eyes on their forehead.
The raven circled above where Eda, Booker, and Luz were. Then, it flew off, going east. The bird flew about a mile before descending towards a cliff where a woman awaited it.
It landed on the top of a staff. Its owner gently petted its head. Lilith chuckled as a smile curled on her lips. "Oh, Edalyn. You never could hide forever from me," she said.