The morning arrived gray and predictable, just like everything else in Gravesfield. Except today was different. Today was day two of my three-day countdown.
I found Luz at her locker, struggling with a jammed lock and muttering what sounded like incantations under her breath. "Come on, you rusty piece of—oh, hey!" She brightened when she saw me. "Perfect timing. I think my locker is cursed."
"Have you tried the ancient ritual of WD-40?" I asked, watching her fumble with the combination.
She laughed, that genuine sound that made my manipulation feel almost too easy. "You're so practical. I bet you'd be great at real magic. Like, systematic magic. The kind with rules and formulas."
Interesting. "What makes you think magic has rules?"
"Everything has rules, right? Even animals follows patterns if you look close enough." She finally got the locker open and books tumbled out. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Like, what if magic isn't just mysterious and unknowable? What if it's like... coding reality?"
I helped her gather her books, keeping my expression carefully neutral. She was already thinking along the right lines. "That's a fascinating theory."
"Right? I mean, look at this." She pulled out a notebook covered in doodles—geometric patterns mixed with fantasy symbols. "I've been trying to design my own spell system. Based on shapes and intentions and—" She stopped, suddenly self-conscious. "Sorry, I'm being weird again."
"Show me more at lunch?"
Her face lit up. "Really? You actually want to see?"
"I actually want to see."
Our days continued similarly nothing note worthy accured despite it being the second to last day of school.
Day three arrived with unusual weather—thick clouds that seemed to press down on Gravesfield like a heavy blanket. The air itself felt charged, electric with possibility.
Or maybe that was just me.
I'd barely slept just enough not to feel it much the next day. running through scenarios, pr more potential things that could go wrong .But as I walked to school, I felt something I rarely experienced unless it was a massive break through in my lab. anticipation.
Everything was falling into place.
Luz was at the school entrance, bouncing on her toes as she waited for me. "You feel that?" she asked as I approached.
"Feel what?"
"The air. It's like... buzzing. Like something big is about to happen." She grinned. "Maybe it's just me being excited about our final English presentation, but I swear the universe feels different today."
If only.
Our presentation went well—too well, actually. Luz had insisted we do our project on "The Hero's Journey in Modern Fantasy," and she'd thrown herself into it with typical enthusiasm. Luckily I'd managed to stop her idea of bringing snakes into the final act. She spoke passionately about ordinary people discovering extraordinary worlds, about the call to adventure, about crossing thresholds into the unknown.
The irony was almost to painful.
"Excellent work, you two," Ms. Henderson said as we finished. "Very... spirited, Luz. And your analysis of archetypal structures was quite sophisticated," she added, nodding to me.
After class, Luz was practically glowing. "Did you see how everyone was actually listening? For once they weren't looking at me like I was crazy!"
"You're not crazy," I said quietly.
She looked at me with those soft, trusting eyes. "Do you really think that moment will come?"
"I know it will." I replyed simply.
The rest of the day dragged. Math, history, lunch where Luz excitedly planned our "study session" for that final evening. She wanted to work on her spell notebook, show me more of her theories about geometric magic.
Perfect. She just needed to keep that same energy in the isles.
By the time the final bell rang As we walked toward the parking lot, lightning flickered in the distance. storm clouds had gathered overhead. Real ones this time, dark and heavy with the promise of rain.
"Wanna come over early?" Luz asked. "Mom's working late, so we can blast music and really get into the magic theory stuff without her making her 'concerned parent' face."
I nodded and walked along beside her.
The moment we got there she seemed entranced by the idea of magical powers and we even talked about the good witch a bit.One moment we were talking about spell casting, the next we were both unconscious on opposite sides of her room.
I woke first, as I always did. The digital clock on her nightstand read 6:23 AM, and pale sunlight filtered through her galaxy-print curtains. Luz was curled up against a pile of stuffed animals, still wearing yesterday's clothes, her notebook clutched to her chest like a shield.
For a moment, I just watched her sleep. She looked younger somehow.
Then I saw movement.
"Mornin'," Luz mumbled, blinking awake. She sat up slowly, her hair a disaster zone of curls. "Did we fall asleep talking about magic again?"
"Appears so."
She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I know you probably wanted to get home before—oh no." Her expression shifted to panic. "Oh no, oh no, oh no. What time is it?"
"Early. Your mom's likely not even—"
"She's definitely awake. She gets up at six for her morning routine." Luz scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over her own pajama pants. "And today's... today's the day."
"What day?"
Her face crumpled. "Camp day. Reality Check summer camp. Mom's been planning this for weeks, and I kept hoping maybe she'd change her mind, but..." She trailed off, staring at her hands.
There wasnt a possibility I could actually allow her to go to. "Summer camp?"
"Three weeks of 'normal activities' and 'age-appropriate socialization.'" She made air quotes, bitter sarcasm replacing her usual enthusiasm. "Apparently my guidance counselor thinks I need help distinguishing fantasy from reality."
"When do you leave?"
"This morning. In like, two hours." She looked up at me with those soft, trusting eyes that had now become familiar. "I'm really gonna miss you, Luke. You're the first person who ever actually listened to my ideas without looking at me like I was, I don't know."
"Maybe camp won't be so bad," I said carefully.
"Maybe." She didn't sound convinced. "I just... I feel like I'm about to lose everything that makes me who I am. Like they're going to sand down all my edges until I'm just another boring normal person."
Well will see about that.
But I couldn't say that. Instead, I helped her clean up the evidence of our impromptu sleepover and slipped out before Camila discovered I'd spent the night without permission.
---
Three Hours Later—
I stood across the street from the Noceda house, the bus stop was just around the corner directly left from there side.
The gleaming white bus sat in the driveway like a prison transport.
Luz sat on the front porch steps, her shoulders hunched in defeat, clutching something against her chest. Even from this distance, I could make out the familiar cover of *The Good Witch Azura*, volume five.
Camila stood nearby, checking her watch and speaking quietly with one of the counselors on the phone. Well quitely from where I was.
"Luz, mija, it's time," Camila called gently.
Luz responded sullenly hugging her mother and walking to the stop reaching there only two minutes go by before a small brown owl swooped down from nowhere and snatched the book right out of her hands.
"Hey!" Luz jumped , suddenly alive with indignation. "Give that back!"
The owl perched on a nearby tree branch, clutching the book in its talons. It looked directly at Luz and made a sound that seemed almost... mocking.
Then it took off, flying deeper into the woods behind her house.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Luz muttered, "That's my favorite book, you feathered thief!"
She took off after the owl, running into the treeline without hesitation.
I followed.
The owl led us on a winding chase through increasingly dense woods, always staying just barely in sight. Luz crashed through underbrush with typical determination, completely focused on her mission.
We emerged into a familiar clearing.
The old cabin sat exactly where I'd seen in the show. weathered and abandoned. But now there was something different about it. The widow panes seemed to shimmer slightly, like heat waves rising from hot asphalt.
The owl perched on the cabin's sagging roof, still clutching Luz's book.
"Okay, seriously, what is your deal?" Luz called up to it, hands on her hips. "It's just a book!"
The owl tilted its head and suddenly bolted through the cabin's doorway.
I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
"I'm about to become a very interesting missing person's case." She said quitely.
I stepped out from behind the tree where I'd been watching.
"I'll follow behind." I spoke up suddenly to Luz's shock and immediate excitement.
"Luke! Alright let go get my book back!"