To Desire Blood Where It Flows Not, Part 2
To Desire Blood Where It Flows Not
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Vee
Vee woke up in Camila’s bed that morning, a bit stiff but otherwise well-rested. She could’ve slept in her room with Amity, Willow, and Song, but she wanted to give them space. Camila was sleeping soundly on her side of the bed. Giving a small stretch, Vee decided to go downstairs to begin some semblance of breakfast so that they could hit Gravesfield early. Vee remembered the conversation they had last night.
“Vee, we’re going to need to see Masha. They could point us in a potential direction,” Amity had said.
“Oh-okay. They’re almost finished working at the museum, so we’ll have to see them tomorrow,” Vee had told her. Masha was indeed finishing up their tenure at the Gravesfield Museum and was going to start college in Rhode Island after the year was over. Early admissions, they had said. Vee hadn’t decided on a school yet, but she was definitely inclined to go near where Masha was going.
“So we’ll wake up early tomorrow?” Gus asked.
“No, there's no need for that, but not too late,” Vee said. None of them were going to be useful if they where tired, and she knew that Amity and Camila were already going to be sleepingless.
Once Vee got downstairs, she found, to her surprise, that Song was already there, sitting at the table reading- mierda, The Good Witch Azura.
“Good morning, Song!” Vee said, slithering past her to the pantry.
“I suppose. I didn’t sleep,” Song murmured, turning a page.
“Like you couldn’t?” Vee asked, curious.
“No, I can’t. I tried,” Song said.
“Huh… that doesn’t seem right,” Vee said, slithering over to Song, forgetting about her food. Song snapped the book shut and gave Vee a smile.
“It’s a bit weird, yeah. But at least I had time to make my illusion stronger and to read this weird book!” Song said. Vee decided to shelve the conversation about no sleep for later. She was more interested in Song’s reaction to Luz’s favorite book in the world.
“What did you think of it” Vee asked.
“It was okay, but I don’t have much context for how books are supposed to be written,” Song said, placing the book gently on the table.
“Oh, yea… it’s a pretty good book,” Vee said.
“Is everyone else going to wake up soon?” Song asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, uh, dunno. But people should be down here soon,” Vee said.. As soon as she said that, Amity rushed down, bags under her eyes and hair in a messy ponytail. Vee wondered if she’d even slept at all last night.
“Vee, the others will be up and ready soon. You ready?” Amity asked, speeding to the pantry and pulling out several bowls and a box of cereal.
“Sure, Ames, I can be ready,” Vee told her, grabbing her own special box of magically infused cereal. (Thank you, Hunter, for that idea.) Sure enough, after Amity got the place setting all ready, Gus, Willow, Hunter, and Camila all came down, ready to get going.
“Amity, Mija, let me cook something. It will make sure you're nice and energized for the day,” Camila said.
“No, we need to get going,” Amity insisted, her attention turning to the closed Azura book on the table. She then turned to Song and began interrogating her on Azura book one. Vee didn’t need to be an empath to tell that Amity was disappointed by Song’s lukewarm reaction to the book. While they were all eating, the window by the sink swung open and Owlbert flew in, perching himself on Amity’s shoulders, hooting at her all the while.
“What?” Amity questioned, looking at the palisman. She then turned to Camila and sent Owlbert flying toward her.
“Eda says she needs you, Mom,” Amity told her. “Needs your input on something concerning Song.”
“Pero, I need to stay here! Help you guys find Caleb's journal!” Camila complained. Owlbert gave a couple of hoots on her shoulder, and Camila sighed.
“If Eda says I can be more helpful to them on the isles, then… then I should go?” Camila said uncertainly. It seemed to Vee she was more interested in helping search gravefield.
“Si mami, yo creo que si,” Vee said.
“Okay, then I will go to the Isles. Vee, cuidalos porfavor!” Camila said. She and Song then shared a brief moment of eye contact before Camila gave her a hug.
“Take care of yourself too, Song,” Camila said with a smile before she followed Owlbert out the door. Amity then turned to the group and started talking.
“Okay, so Song, Vee, and I are going to speak to Masha about the journal,” She said before turning to Hunter. “Do you think you can look around all the places that involved the Wittebanes? So that we can track every lead?”
“Sure, but there's only a few of spots. Town square, graveyard, and the old witch hunters lodge,” Hunter listed off.
“Good, you take Wils and Gus to check those places out,” Amity told him. Hunter nodded and then pulled his team into a huddle. Amity then looked at Song and Vee and gave them a quick nod.
“Let's get going,” She told them.
Vee shifted into her human form and grabbed the car key and her license. The three of them then walked to the car and were off.
For a while, they drove in silence, Vee focusing on the road with Amity and Song just looking out the windows. That was until they pulled onto the main street of Gravesfield, and Amity turned back to look at Song.
“Hey, we’re getting close to the museum, can you throw your illusion on?” Amity asked. Song twirled her claw, and her illusion dripped over her body. Vee realized that despite knowing that Song was extremely tall, she could only view her as being not much taller than herself. Though if she focused, she could see Song’s illusion for its true height.
“I’m going to go in first,” Vee told her friends.
“Why?” Amity asked.
“Because Masha thinks Luz is dead. I can explain it to them quickly so they can help us.”
“Makes sense,” Song murmured.
“What are we going to do if Masha doesn’t know anything?” Amity asked. Vee thought for a moment. Her partner knew everything about Gravefield and even had wanted to apprentice under Lilith to learn about the boiling isles. That didn’t end up working out. Lilith wasn’t in a good headspace to take on an apprentice, but still, Vee knew Masha. She knew they’d come through.
“They’ll know. They know everything about this town, and if Caleb Wittebane left something behind here, they’ll know about it,” Vee assured them.
They all went back to quiet after that, with Vee pulling into the parking lot of the museum. She got out first to look around.
“No one here!” She told Amity, who shot out of the car, grabbed Song, and walked them to them museum enterance. Vee followed them, sneaking her way to the front before opening the door.
“Vee!” Masha called from the desk, putting down their phone. “Yesterday’s date was totally awesome, girl! You really pulled out all the sto….” Masha's mouth hung open as she saw Song duck into the museum, looking curiously at all the artifacts.
Masha didn’t skip a beat. “Vee, babe. She’s supposed to be dead,” Masha said, pointing at Song.
“She got better?” Vee chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.
“Normally, that answer wouldn’t be enough, but who knows with that magic of yours,” Masha said, shaking their head. They got up from behind the desk and walked over to Vee, giving her a peck on the cheek before standing in front of Song and Amity.
“What do I need to know?” Masha asked, eyes flicking between Amity and Vee. Amity looked at Vee, who nodded.
“Well, Mash. Luz came back from the dead, except she’s missing her memories and soul, and she goes by Song now-” Song gave a little wave to Masha, who returned it back. “We know where Luz’s memories are, except they’re in a pocket dimension that only a specific, very dead Titan can reach….” Vee paused to take a breath, “And we think that the journal of Caleb Wittebane might help us find a way into the pocket dimension,” she finished.
“The Void,” Song corrected, looking annoyed.
“Yeah, the Void,” Vee agreed.
“Okay, lemme check in our logs,” Masha said, walking back to the computer at the desk. Vee was about to make her comment about it, but Amity beat her to it.
“You’re taking this with stride,” Amity quipped.
“Sure, why not?” Masha asked, typing at the computer. Amity looked surprised, if not a bit relieved, that she didn’t have to explain anything again.
“How come?” Song asked curiously. Masha paused, taking time to get a good look at Song before going back to their computer.
“Well, I learned my girlfriend is a shapeshifting basilisk from another world where you all live on a decomposing carcass. Reviving the dead, sure, why not- AHA- goddess dammit!” Masha groaned. “Vee, babe, literally, if you came an hour earlier!”
“Wait, you have it?!” Vee and Amity screamed, trying to pull the moniter towards them. Masha defended, pulling the screen towards themself whilst pushing the others way.
“No, we don’t have it! ” they groaned, scrolling down the screen. “Says here that it's been on tour for the last five years before it came back here for a while, and then we donated it to a museum up in Salem.”
“What!?” Amity screeched, “And we miss- agh- You- what?”
“Ames, don’t get mad at them,” Song said, “We can just go get it back, right?”
“It’s gonna be a bit harder than that,” Masha sighed as they began typing into the computer. “They just left Gravefield. It’s a regular old car 'cause the stuff they got is kinda meh,” they said, turning the computer around. On-screen was a tattered old book that read Caleb Wittebane on it, but it was chained together with a lock.
“Where would they be right now?” Amity asked, looking at the computer.
“Eh, they prob just hit the highway,” Masha said, kicking their legs up onto the table. “If you’re quick, you can get them,” they said, looking at Amity.
“Mash, what?” Vee asked, looking at her partner.
“Well, I’m assuming you need that journal to help Song, and they’re not gonna just let you take it…” Masha trailed off as Vee turned to look at Amity.
“Are you considering this? Robbing a museum?” Vee asked Amity.
“It’s not at the museum yet, hermana!” Song chimed in. Amity shrugged and turned to Song.
“I guess we have a car to rob,” She said matter-of-factly. Vee groaned and plopped down on Masha’s desk.
“Okay, well, I live here. I’m not going to rob the car, but you two can,” Vee told them.
“That’s fair, but while we do that, can you go round up the others? I didn’t think it was gonna be this quick to find it,” Amity told Vee. It did surprise Vee that they didn’t have to search far for Caleb's journal. At least they were lucky enough that it hadn’t been eaten by an Echomouse.
“Okay, Amity, I’ll go grab Hunter and the others,” Vee said. She then bent down and gave Masha a quick kiss before heading out the door with Amity and Song.
“Don’t break too many laws!” Masha yelled as Song closed the door. Vee sighed and looked at Amity and Song.
“How are you two gonna catch up? Staffs are fast, but I’m not sure they’re that fast,” Vee asked, remembering the hectic day after she got her driver's license.
“Don’t worry, Vee, I got us!” Song said, and before Vee could react, the illusion dripped off. Song stood tall, her massive wings completely extended. She scooped up Amity, who made a little squeak in protest, and before Vee knew it, they were gone.
Vee sighed and walked back to the car. She sure hoped no one in Gravesfield decided to look up today.
To Desire Blood Where It Flows Not
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Amity
Amity squirmed in Song's arms as much as she could, but she found the Half-Titan to be too strong.
“Oye, Amity! I can catch up with this ‘car’ thing, pero-” Song started, turning to look Amity in the eyes. Amity squeaked a little when she saw the immensely cute fanged grin that Song gave her.
“The wind is telling me directions, but I need you to stop moving so I can listen!” Song told her. Amity just nodded and buried her face into Song’s fur (Dear Titan, it was soft) as they started speeding up.
“Do you have a plan?” Song asked over the wind. Amity peaked out from Song's fur to see that they were flying over Gravesfield.
“Find the car, and use some sorta illusion to stop them?” Amity suggested.
“That sounds good! Let’s do that!”
They began to speed up even more until Amity decided to take another peek at the ground. They were flying over some empty road in the woods when Amity saw it. A lonesome beige car chugging along the road.
“Is that it?” Amity asked.
“The wind says so,” Song told her as she sped up to get in front of the car. Amity was when plastered against Song's chest as they dove to the ground, the air whistling around them. In the blink of an eye, they were on the ground, Amity still in Song’s arms as they looked at the approaching vehicle. Amity watched their reflections get bigger on the Car’s windshield, the drivers swerving in an attempt to miss them.
“Song! Let me go! Let me stop them!” Amity yelled, trying to get again to squirm out of capture.
“Shh, Batata. I got this,” Song smiled, giving Amity a pat on the head.
Then it was like the world was silent. Amity looked around in slow motion. The trees were still, and the wind was silent. The animals all held their breath. Even the leaves falling off the trees decided to stop at that moment. Then it all came back at once.
“STOP”
A small but noticeable shockwave came from Song’s mouth, and Amity immediately seized, stopping everything. Her eyes were glued open, and she stopped breathing. The wind froze in its tracks, and all the animals, even the crickets, stopped their movements. Amity watched as the car stopped swerving and slowed down right in front of them, and she felt Song put her on the ground, giving her a little tap on the forehead. Amity choked back to life, hugging her chest as she sucked in air to breath.
“Sorry, I didn’t think that’d be so powerful!” She chuckled, putting her claws on her hips.
“What in Titan's name was that?” Amity heaved, looking up at Song.
“Hmm, my voice, I think,” She shrugged, looking back at the car, “I’m sure you’ve heard King’s voice before. His might be a little less refined, though,” She said absent-mindedly.
Amity shook her head and started to stumble over to the car. “You!-” Amity wheezed, still catching her breath and noticing how sore she suddenly felt. “You are going to explain everything you can do when we get back to Mom's house!” Amity yelled, peering inside the car to see if the occupants were okay. They were unconscious, but at least they were breathing.
“And never use that power again,” Amity finished, taking one more deep breath.
“Hey, I’m just trying to help!” Song argued as she walked over to the car.
Amity shook her head as she limped around to the back of the car. She tried pulling the trunk open, but it was locked. Uncorking her hip flask, she moved some of the Abomination goo into the lock and then twisted the makeshift key to open it. The trunk opened with a click to reveal some cases of items. Amity shuffled through them for a second, Song looming behind her until she found what she was looking for. Inside a protective case was the journal of Caleb Wittebane, old, brown, and tattered. Its embroidered letters were dull and barely legible, but the most concerning thing was the chain and lock sealing the book.
Amity recognized it and hoped to Titan that Hunter could open it, as the book was locked with a blood seal.