The Witch Among Humans

Chapter 19: The Bout - Part 1

Eda opened her eyes, moaning as her head cracked from moving it. Normally, that was super satisfying.

But she knew that now wasn't the time to think about that.

Eda whirled her head around, trying to get a read on the place she was in. It seemed like an office building, based on the large amount of desks and computers in secluded sections. Ugh, desk jobs.

But for some reason, they were all piled together in one corner of the room.

"H-Hello, miss. Are you awake?" A young voice asked.

Eda turned sharply, noticing that she was tied to what appeared to be two school students. One was a girl with glasses, and one was a small boy with his head turned to her.

"Um... yes." After a moment, she continued.  I'm Eda. Nice to meet you, I guess."

"Gus. A pleasure."

"How are the greetings coming along?" A male voice asked. Eda and the boy turned to see their capture, who Eda began snarling at. The Golden Guard sat on one of the chairs, facing the tied up group. "Tough crowd, huh."

He kept his nervousness in check, fully ready for whatever came at him. The older lady had put up a fight, and he would probably wake up with a bruise on his arm the next day. The other two seemed slightly younger but with a similar passion.

The girl simply looked away, as if ignoring him would make this all into a dream... or something.

Eda stomped her foot. "Let us go! We didn't do anything to you. Directly." She whispered that last part.

Gus turned to the girl. They seemed to be friends. "Come on, Willow. Aren't you gonna say something, too?"

"No."

Hunter felt the bags under his eyes, deciding that he didn't have the patience for any tricks. He walked over to his captives, lowering himself to eye level.

"Look, I'll be blunt. I know that all three of you know the wild witch. In case you don't know, her name is Luz Noceda."

Gus and Willow had a look of shock on their faces. Great. They know Luz. Come to think of it, their names line up with what Luz told me.

"Whether you believe it or not, the witch is a wanted criminal, who I'm going to bring in. My goal is to get her to come along without a fight. What happens to you is up to her. And for your sakes, I hope she makes the right choice."

Eda began growling, which he responded to by placing a hand on her mouth. he quickly retracted it when the woman bit with her teeth.

"Was that really necessary?" Hunter asked. Eda's expression made it clear that she didn't care if it wasn't.

There was a creak of the door, causing Hunter to turn around quickly. He immediately got his staff ready, prepared for anything.

"This is low, even for you." Luz stated. She had her backpack on her back, hidden within her cape, and her hands were balled into fists.

Hunter, now embracing the Golden side of himself, chuckled. "Well, I do what I can."

Luz got a good look at exactly what was happening. She noticed Eda tied with a rope, but there were two others with her. She gaped a bit: why were Gus and Willow here?

Gus had noticed her, and was giving a painful smile, but Willow continued to stare at a wall. She barely moved.

Golden Guard followed Luz's gaze. "You should really be more careful about wrapping other people into your schemes. Especially when I know what you look like. Trailing you all was simple, really."