In the early morning of the next day, at the secret and mystery house known only as the Owl House, Luz had a dream. Well, it wasn't so much of a dream, but more of her remembering the events that led up to her and Booker getting sent to a magical yet terrifying world. Suddenly, she woke up with a startled gasp. She quickly sat up and looked around her surroundings. Seeing that she wasn't at home or at summer camp, Booker was sleeping in his own sleeping bag, and King was there sleeping on her bed. Luz realized that it was all real. They were now in another world filled with magic, and they were about to become witch apprentices.
"It wasn't a dream!" she exclaimed with a big smile. Getting up, she crawled on all fours to Booker, who was sprawled on the floor and in a sleeping bag with just one leg in the covers. She poked his nose a couple of times to watch him up. "Booker, come on! It's time to get up."
Booker groaned groggily before smacking his lips, his eyes still closed. "Butch? Is that you?" he asked in a tired voice.
Thinking that was one of the boys in the orphanage, Luz decided to have some fun with her best friend. She smiled cheekily and rocked her head from left to right.
"Maybe~"
Booker responded, barely bothering to open his eyes and not registering that it was Luz's voice he was hearing.
"Butch, if you don't have a good reason for trying to wake me up, you better start running, fatass."
Luz looked a little taken aback, as she certainly wasn't expecting that kind of response. Actually, now that she thought about it, wasn't Freddy one of the boys that bullied Booker? Shaking her head, she placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him.
"Booker, it's me, Luz!" she exclaimed, excited to start the day. "Come on, it's time to start our training."
Hearing his crush's name, Booker sprang up with wide eyes. Wondering just how she was able to get into the orphanage this early in the morning. But when he looked around the room that he was sleeping in and looked down at Dragon's Bite, which was lying on the floor next to him, he started to remember what had happened yesterday. He then noticed King, who was still sleeping on Luz's sleeping bag.
He then turned to Luz, who smiled that cute smile he loved. "We're really here, aren't we," he asked.
"Yeah! We're actually here!" Luz jumped up with glee as Booker rubbed the back of his head. She cheered as her best friend stood up with her, cheering with her less enthusiastically but still as happy to be there. As Booker reached down and grabbed Dragon's Bite, Luz walked over to the window and opened it to look out at the horizon. "Good morning, terrifying fantasy world!"
"Good morning," said a random, green sea monster with multiple eyes before sinking back down into the ocean.
"Ugh." Luz reeled back with a slight shudder.
"You say something, Luz?" Booker asked, picking up his clothes.
"Uh, no," Luz said, slowly closing the window, not even sure what the monster was doing.
"Well, I'm going to head into the bathroom and get dressed," he said, tucking his clothes and sword under his arm. "I'll give you some privacy in here."
Booker then turned and walked towards the door, but not before scratching King on the back. King hummed in disappointment as Booker stopped.
Exiting the room, Booker walked all over the house to find a bathroom before coming across a door that had a 'Ladies' sign on it, with a green sticky note under that said 'and King'. He opened the door and immediately ducked his head when two owls came flying out of it. He stared the way they went before slowly entering the room and closing the door.
"I know she's the Owl Lady, but does she have to have so many owls?" the blonde boy asked as he backed away from the door.
He did not know that Hooty was right behind him.
"I know, right!" he said.
Booker turned and screamed when he saw him, instinctively punching him in the face. This made Hooty yell in pain before moving his head back to the window he had come in from.
"I was just wishing you a good morning." He then squeezed his head back out before returning to his position on the door. "Jeez! Hoot! Ow!"
"Sorry, Hooty." He called out to the owl. After putting on his clothes and strapping Dragon's Bite to his back, Booker brushed his teeth and then exited the bathroom. Luz was standing outside, waiting for him with an excited grin on her face.
"This is it, old buddy," she said to Booker. She then opened her book to a page that had Azura and placed it in front of her face. "It's our first day on the Boiling Isles as Witch Apprentices!"
Booker smiled and pushed the book down from her face. Being greeted with her grinning face and sparkling eyes. "But first, we've got to get some food before getting started," he said, placing his hands in his lizard-sweater pockets.
"Right! I'll brush my teeth, and you will go find us something to eat," Luz said. Booker nodded, and the two fist-bumped before walking away from each other.
He walked downstairs into the kitchen, and Booker looked around before seeing the refrigerator off to his left.
"Alright, Eda. What do you have to eat?" Booker asked no one in particular and went to check out the fridge.
When opening the door, Booker's face was immediately grabbed by four octopus tentacles. The blonde screamed as he was pulled towards the open fridge but held onto both sides to stop himself from being further pulled in. The strength of the tentacles was strong. However, Booker was able to save himself by lifting up his legs and placing them on the edge of the fridge. He then grabbed Dragon's Bite and cut off one of the tentacles. The creature then lets out an unearthly squeal as it lets go of Booker.
Booker fell on his ass and looked at the open fridge again. "Oh, cool, there's eggs!" He said, smiling when he saw the carton of eggs.
Then, a black witch hat was placed on his head, obscuring his vision. He didn't even need to know who placed it there.
"Luz, what is this?"
"She has witchy clothes!"
Booker turned around and lifted up his new hat. He saw Luz dressed in a black witch's robe and her own hat. She even had a name tag that said, 'Hello, My Name Is: Witch Apprentice LUZ'.
Booker smiled and stood up. "You really look the part, Luz," he said, placing his hat down on the table. "But where's my name tag?"
"Right here!" Luz handed him his name tag.
Booker saw that it said 'Witch Apprentice BOOKER'.
"Now, come on! Eda should be waking up!" She grabbed Booker's hand and dragged him over to the base of the stairs.
The two of them waited for Eda to come down the stairs. Booker had his arms crossed while Luz looked like she was barely holding in her excitement. After hearing the toilet flush, that excitement only increased. Eventually, Eda finally came down the stairs, wearing a plum sweater with amber cuffs, a stained, long violet nightgown, and light yellow bunny slippers.
"Good morning, Eda the Owl Lady. We are ready for our first day of Witch and Wizard Apprenticeship," Luz said, fist-bumping the air.
"So, what's the first lesson, teach?" Booker asked, playing it cool while being very eager on the inside.
"Ugh!" Eda scoffed as she shook her hands, sending off small spiders. She then cleaned out her ear and flicked a spider she'd got away before asking, "Who the hell are you two, again?
Luz's cheerfulness fell apart as her smile was lost. "Huh?" As Booker and her nametags fell on the floor, Booker glared at the witch.
"Are you fucking serious!?" Booker exclaimed, his face twitching a little before realizing she wasn't a morning person. Something that he can relate to.
However, he was back to being a little upset when Eda walked past them to the kitchen.
"Um, hello? Remember us? Luz, the girl that wanted to be a witch?" Booker gestured to his best friend before pointing to himself. But when Eda didn't respond, Booker became even more irritated. "Well, what about me? Booker? Booker Bridges? Son of Malcolm Bridges, your best friend? We saved your ass from Warden Wrath, and you promised that you'd teach us about magic, right? Yesterday?"
After filling a mug with a red liquid, Eda turned back to the kids. "Kiddies," she mumbled, raising the mug, "lay off the details. I haven't even had my cup of apple blood yet."
"You mean apple juice?" Luz asked, confused.
"No," Eda said before taking a sip of it. Booker knew that it was, in fact, blood when he caught a whiff of an iron smell coming from the mug.
Eda then sat down at the table. King was already sitting with a plate of eggs. But when Booker saw eyeballs in the eggs, he looked at King with a confused expression.
"Uh, whatcha eating there, King?" he asked.
"Just some scrambled eggs and eyeballs," King said, scooping some on a folk and then shoving it into his mouth. Booker and Luz looked grossed out before the little demon scooped some more and held it out to the two teenagers. "Want some?"
"Pass," Booker said after one of the eyes blinked at him.
Luz turned back to Eda and rushed over to her eagerly. "Teach us some spells," she requested/demanded, causing Booker to turn his attention back to her and the witch. "When do we get a magic staff? Were we supposed to bring my own runes?" She gasped and then grabbed onto Eda's arm. "Do you have a dangerous magical quest for me?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, kid. Being a witch doesn't happen overnight," she said after gently pushing Luz away from her. Eda then pointed at the hat on the young girl's head. "Also, you're wrapped in a bathrobe and wearing the dirtiest traffic cone I've ever seen."
Luz took off what she believed to be a witch hat and blew on it. Blowing off the dust to reveal a traffic cone with a crooked top. King laughed at her, which made Booker frown, before grabbing his traffic cone hat off the table and blowing the dust off it towards him.
As King started coughing, Booker asked Eda, "So, what you're saying is that this is going to take time, right? So what exactly do we have to do to get a staff like yours?"
"Actually, you wouldn't need one, Booker. As a seventh born, Mal never needed one, so I'm assuming that you wouldn't either," Eda said, pulling her mug away and sporting an apple-blood mustache. She pointed to the handle of Dragon's Bite sticking out from behind Booker's shoulder. "But to get you started on controlling your magic, you'll use Dragon's Bite. Its anti-magic blade, with those runes on it, will allow you to use it like a staff."
Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite and stared at the runes on the blade. He remembered summoning his magic when he killed Warden Wrath and how the ancient writing on the blade started glowing.
Eda whipped away the apple blood before turning to Luz with a quirked eyebrow. "But a magic staff, huh? You really want one?"
"More than anything," Luz said, squishing her cheeks.
Eda held out her left hand towards the hall's doorway. "Magic staff, come to me!"
Booker, Luz, and King waited with the witch in the kitchen as they heard distant clashing coming from the halls. While Eda looked proud with her eyes closed and chin up, the teenagers and the little demon stared at the doorway as things continued to break. Noticing the sounds and how long it was taking for her staff to get to her, Eda turned to face the doorway.
A moment later, the staff came flying at her, smacking her in the face. The staff nearly fell over before Eda caught it.
Booker laughed a little as Eda twirled her staff to her side. "You okay?"
"It's early," she said to him with a distant, tired expression. "Now, witches are awarded their staff from school. With me as your teacher, you'll both be taking a different approach."
"What kind of approach?" Booker asked.
Eda grabbed and dropped a big burlap sack filled with bottles in front of the kids.
"You'll have to work for it," she said with a slight smirk.
"Goddamnit."
Luz grabbed the sack and carried it as she and Booker followed Eda through the owl house. "I run a few businesses. On weekends, I offer rare human treasures that Owlbert drags over from your side of the realm," said the witch as she stopped in front of a fireplace and grabbed a toy sword from the shelf.
She pressed the button of the battery-powered toy, which lit up, and said, "I shall smite my enemies! Ages six to eleven."
Eda tossed the sword away before pointing to the sack. "But most days, I sell only the finest homemade elixirs and potions."
"So basically, in exchange for teaching us magic, we're going to be your child labor," Booker said, reaching into the bag and ruffling through it before pulling out a bottle of potion. "Helping you sell..."
He paused when he looked at the bottle and grimaced when he read the label. Luz looked at it and had the same reaction as her friend.
"Snake oil?"
"No one wants an un‐oiled snake. Follow me." Eda led the two kids upstairs and onto a balcony. From there, Booker and Luz could look out and see the same town with the large rib bone that they first arrived at when they stepped through the portal into the Demon Realm. "Today, you'll deliver packages and sell potions in that town over there, Bonesborough."
Eda pointed at the town with her staff. The winds started picking up and blew through their hair.
"The both of you'll have to be careful. I have rivals everywhere who'd love to take my business down and you along with it. Booker, you're the one with the weapon, so you'll have to protect Luz and the sack," she said with a grin. "You wanted a dangerous magical quest? Kids, you've got one."
"We won't let you down, Miss Eda," Luz said, saluting the witch. But when she turned to face Eda, she accidentally slipped the sack over the balcony's rail and dropped it.
The three of them peered over the balcony and watched as the sack crashed to the ground. The bottles inside shattered on impact.
"So…yeah, I'll also be sure to keep an eye on her," Booker said with a nervous smile, along with Luz.
"I'm sure," Eda said bluntly.
After whipping up more potions, Eda pushed the two friends to the door. "Remember, never befriend a man in sandals and always measure twice, cut once," Eda said with a cheery smile and tone.
However, her expression turned serious when she turned to Booker.
"And Booker, don't tell anyone that you're a seventh-born. Your golden hair and eyes are already a dead giveaway," she said, moving a strand of hair away from his face. "There will be many dangerous people who will want you and your powers. You can't trust anyone."
"Uh..." the boy said with blank expressions.
"Good luck!" Eda said before using her magic to close the door.
Eda walked away from the door while dusting her hands before averting her attention when she noticed King sleeping on a chest next to the window.
"I hate to interrupt your power nap, but you have to go with her." She slightly pushed King to his feet.
" What? But I just found the perfect spot. Why do I have to go?" King growled.
"You and I know that Booker will likely become a target for those who'll want his powers, and Luz will either get lost or eaten, probably both."
"No, I won't!" Luz yelled from outside the window before Booker's hand grabbed her from behind and pulled away from the window.
Eda used her magic to lower the curtains before continuing to lecture King. "And because you work for me, too, unless you want to start paying rent," she said. King grunted lowly before huffing and stomping towards the door. Opening the door, he found Booker and Luz waiting for him outside.
"Welcome to the party, King," Booker said with a smirk. King grumbled as he climbed up the boy's body to his right shoulder to ride on.
"Be back by nightfall or risk mortal peril," Eda said before slamming the door on them.
Hooty chirped at the three. "Have a nice trip."
"Ugh! Let's get this over with." King grumbled as Booker and Luz turned and started walking back into town to begin delivering and selling Eda's elixirs and potions.
"I think we're going the wrong way," King said.
"How would you know? You don't know where you're going," Booker said.
"You the one that's getting lost," King retorted.
"Well, the reason we keep getting lost is because you keep telling us where to go when you don't even know the directions to town!"
"... Shut up."
" You shut up!"
"Let's all shut up. How about that?" After King's retort, they finally arrived at the town and started their trip into Bonesboroug. The two humans were treated to the sight of creatures and monsters roaming the streets like normal, bloodthirsty citizens. Everyone and every building was of different shapes, sizes, and colors.
Luz gasped when an ugly fairy that was a mismatch of body parts fluttered past her.
"Hey, it's rude to stare," King said, drawing Booker and Luz's attention to him.
"I've only seen places like this in my dreams. It's incredible. And Booker and I are the only humans here?" she asked the demon on Booker's shoulder.
"Haven't seen any others," King said with a shrug.
"Wow! There must be a reason for that, right?" Luz asked, turning to Booker. "Booker, you must be wondering why we're here, right?"
"Of course I have," Booker said, nodding his head. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, Luz, but it keeps me up at night."
Both Luz and King stared at Booker strangely, and he stared at them in silence.
"...What?! I mean, why are we out here, on the Boiling Isles?" Luz was quick to correct him, placing the sack on the ground.
"Oh. Uh... yeah." Booker looked down, feeling extremely awkward.
"What was all that stuff about God?" Luz asked.
"Uh...hm? Nothing." He shook his head.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Seriously, though, why are we here? I'm more than certain that you're here because you're a Seven—"
Booker quickly slapped his hand over her mouth before she finished that sentence and looked around. Luckily, no one was around to listen in on them. "Remember what Eda said about me? Don't go saying about me being a you-know-what," he whispered to her before stepping back.
"But that just proves my point. You're here because you're special." Luz then placed a hand on her chest. "What if I—Luz Noceda, average teen, actually had..." she then gasped and spread her arms out as she exclaimed, "...a predetermined path of greatness?! Just. Like. Azura!"
Booker sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose. Here we go again. Luz was fangirling again. "Luz, that's just a book. It's meant to be read by teenagers like you and me who are looking for an escape from their mediocre and terrible lives."
"Yeah. And did Azura's path to greatness involve her delivering boil cream?" King asked sarcastically as he pulled out a bottle of the boil cream.
"Today, I'm delivering packages, but tomorrow, I'll be earning the respect of everyone on the Boiling Isles with my magical prowess," Luz exclaimed confidently.
"Ha! Good luck," King said, looking at their surroundings. "The Boiling Isles is nothing but a cesspool of despair."
"It can't be that bad," Booker scoffed, brushing off the little demon.
Oh, it was bad. It was really bad.
As they were delivering the potions, Booker and Luz quickly found out that her idea of the Boiling Isles as a magical place filled with delight was shattered. Instead of wanting to buy the potions, all they wanted to do was eat them, or they were simply told to back off. All the while, Booker was trying not to let his anger get the better of him and beat any of them who tried to eat them. However, he didn't want to bring attention to himself and make Eda angry by scaring away her customers.
"I know I've had enough delight for one day," King said, eating a "notdog", a hotdog made of bugs and other strange things.
"Well, this is complete bullshit," Booker commented, grabbing one of the elixirs. "We haven't sold a single one of these things. And everyone here is just trying to eat us or is just plain rude."
He dropped the sack just as Luz was fishing out her book from the sack. Booker looked at her and noticed her sad expression.
"What's the matter, Luz?"
"I thought being the only human in a magical world would make me special," Luz said
Booker wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But it's also important to remember that life isn't like the books that we read. We came to this world by accident."
"But your dad was from here, and you're capable of being a powerful wizard, like Dominic," she said, opening the book to a page showing Dominic seeing his potential to become a Dark One. She then flipped to a page showing Azura receiving a quest. "But what about me? At this point, Azura had already been sent on an enchanted quest. Where's my quest‐granting wizard?"
"Sorry to break it to you, Luz, but no one here is that well‐dressed," King said, pointing to the notdog vendor, who was a green blob with eyes and a brain wearing a ball cap.
Booker gave him a glare that said stop being a dick to his crush.
"Look, it's been a rough day. Let's just deliver this last package and go home," he said, standing up and holding out his hand to her.
Luz looked up at him as he smiled down at her reassuringly. Smiling back, the girl put her book back into the sack and grabbed his hand. Booker pulled her up, and Luz picked up the sack of potions and elixirs. King then hopped back on Booker's shoulder, and the two teenagers proceeded to go down a dark alleyway. They continued walking until they came up to a tarp at the end of it.
"Maybe this world isn't what I thought it was—," Luz said before Booker pulled the tarp back, and the two friends froze and gasped.
"...Holy shit!" Booker muttered under his breath.
In front of them was a large and beautiful castle that looked like it was ripped straight out of a fantasy book. Beams of sunlight shone down on the castle through the clouds above, giving the fantastic building a shining presentation that could only have been replicated in movies and TV shows.
Booker and Luz walked towards the large doors of the castle and looked at a golden doorbell. Luz, beaming happily and her spirits lifting, rang the bell. Suddenly, the large doors started opening. Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite as the doors swung slowly open completely. He could feel an eerie coldness emanating from inside.
He lowered his sword as King said, "Big houses always belong to big whackjobs. Let's kick the package inside and get outta here."
However, Luz ignored him and started walking into the castle. "Hello?" Booker followed after her but didn't sheath his sword.
"Hey, what are you doing?" King protested.
Suddenly, the doors closed behind them, making the little demon yelp. Booker looked behind them at the closed doors while Luz continued on ahead.
"No turning back now," he said before running to catch up with Luz. Together, the two walked into a large room. "Hello! Anyone?!"
But no one answered, making the two friends look at one another. "W-We're delivering a package from Miss Eda, the Owl Lady," Luz said.
Just then, candles/torches began to light up around the room. Bringing light to the darkened interior and allowing Booker, Luz, and King to see what was going on around them. To their amazement, they were standing inside a large library with hundreds of books filled with magical text, history, and stories. On the other side of the room was a look set of stairs that led up to a third floor. On that third floor was a large portrait of who was likely the owner of the castle displayed on the wall above a large doorway.
Showing what had to be the most stereotypical wizard Booker had ever seen. The man looked exactly like Yen Sid from Fantasia , only instead of a blue robe with a hat that had stars on it, it was purple with stairs on the robe. The man had a large bread and mustache, tanned skin, glasses, red eyes, and pointed eyes.
But then, the real-life wizard made his presence known to the two apprentices when he walked from the doorway.
Luz gasped and became giddy. "Today just got good," she squealed in amazement as the wizard began walking down the steps. "Magical wizard!"
"Weird old man in jim‐jams."
"Yeah, I smell a trap." Booker agreed with the little demon. Even though this wizard looked friendly, his cynical nature couldn't help but feel like there was something else going on. "Are you the owner of this place?"
"Indeed I am, wandering travelers. I was in my oscillarium, reading the stars," the wizard said as he reached the bottom of the stairs, stroking his bread. "And who might you be, with eyes full of curiosity?"
"We're here to deliver these to you," Booker said, grabbing Luz's sack and throwing it down towards the wizard's feet. "Now, we'll be going."
He grabbed Luz's hand and was about to pull her along to the exit. However, the wizard walked up to them.
"Young lady, dareth I say, I sense something unique about you," he said. Booker definitely didn't trust this guy, and the feeling that he was setting off caused alarms to go off in his head. The wizard stepped back and drew a magic circle, summoning three chairs and a small table that had tea and snacks on it. "Please, won't you join me for tea?"
Luz gasped. "Okay," she said in her happy tone.
She was about to pull away from Booker when she yanked her hand back, stopping her.
"Luz, we need to leave. We've dropped off the package; now let's get back to Eda," Booker said, gazing at the wizard with suspicion.
"Yeah, now let's scram! These kinds of wizards are just old people with glitter in their pockets," King said.
Just to prove his point, the wizard reached into his pocket and pulled out some glitter before dropping it to the floor.
"I don't trust him."
"But the stars on his robe are sparkling. And look, there's a baby fox in his beard." Luz gushed. And just as she said, there was indeed a baby fox resting in the locks of the old man's beard. "Plus, I see scones on the table."
"Where!?" King jumped off Booker's shoulder and rushed towards the table, jumping up on it and starting to dig into the snacks.
"We'd love to join you for tea." Luz was then the one pulling Booker as she walked over to the chairs. But when Booker pulled back, she turned to see him scowling at her. "Come on, Booker, it's fine. We'll just have some tea and then be gone."
Booker gazed at her for a while until her eyes began to waver into a puppy-eyed expression. Booker looked away and stared at the wizard. He didn't trust him, and even instinct in his body was telling him not to stay in the same room any longer. However, he sighed.
"Fine," he said.
Luz gasped happily before pulling him into a hug. Booker blushed and nervously laughed as she nuzzled his neck. "Thank you so much!"
When she let go, she led him over to a chair. Booker sat down but didn't sheath his sword. He placed it on his lap and picked up a cup of tea. But he didn't take a sip and instead started talking to the wizard. Booker then looked to his left and saw various kinds of potions on the table behind him.
"So, you sell potions too, Mr. Wizard?" He asked the wizard with a raised eyebrow.
"Please, call me Adegast. And, yes, I run a small business," Adegast replied. Booker raised an eyebrow, noting how huge the place was.
"Yeah, small."
King piped up after finishing off one of the plates of food. All the food was gone, having been eaten by the little demon. "You should run a small business of more scones into my mouth. Hiyoooo!"
"I'm surprised to see you here. It was my understanding that Eda delivered the packages herself," Adegast said to Luz and Booker.
"It's kind of a long story," Booker said, placing down the tea. "We came to this world by accident, and Eda's been kind enough to let us live with her."
"Now we're kinda, sorta, her apprentices," Luz finished with a smile.
"Oh! And how are you finding the experience so far?" The wizard asked, stroking his bread.
"Enlightening," Booker retorted.
However, when Luz didn't answer right away with her usual excitement to learn about magic, he turned his head. Watching as her smile slowly drained away into a somber expression as she sighed. "Well, actually, when I decided to stay in this magical world, I thought I was meant for something special. But Eda thinks I'm meant for chores, and I'm afraid I came to the wrong place."
She then felt a hand on her shoulder and saw it was Booker's. But when she looked at him, smiling at her comfortingly, trying to cheer her up, Luz looked away.
Booker's attention was then brought back to Adegast when he stood with a smile. Booker knew that kind of smile all too well. It was a fake smile. "Well, I have a quest—"
She quickly stood up from her chair and dropped her teacup, which shattered on the floor. "A quest?!" Luz exclaimed happily when she cut him off.
Adegast chuckled.
"You didn't let me finish. I have a question," he said, making Luz slightly slump when she realized she had jumped the gun. Would you like to go on a quest?"
"Yes!" Luz yelled.
"Wait, what?!" Booker asked as he stood up. Completely bewildered. "Just like that?! You're just giving us a quest to go on?"
"Indeed I am," said the wizard as he pulled out a scroll from his beard. It was perfectly rolled up and tied up and had a red insignia on it. "And I might have just the thing for you two."
He unrolled it in front of the two teenagers.
"The prophecy speaks of a young human girl who will claim the Celestial Staff and free this world from an ancient evil," he said. "Perhaps thou has come here for a reason."
Booker's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the quest. "Yeah," he said with half caution, half sarcasm. "And that so-called 'evil' will turn out to be related to her. Come on, you really think we're going to buy this crap?"
"Perhaps I have," Luz said as she touched the map.
Booker's eyes widened. "Are you fucking kidding me, Luz?!" He exclaimed, but she didn't pay him any attention. Too sucked in by the thought of going on this quest and living out her fantasy.
"Should you believe yourself worthy to attempt this quest..." Adegast said as he started walking away, and the girl followed him.
"So worthy." She said, eyeing the map.
"Luz!" Booker yelled again as King climbed upon his shoulder.
"...you need to know the road is dark and perilous," Adegast continued as he put his hands behind his back. But he and Luz ignored Booker, who ran over and caught up with them.
"Love peril. Big fan of peril," Luz said.
"This is crazy, Luz," Booker said loudly, trying to get her attention. "We just came to deliver the potions."
"And only the Chosen One can pull the staff from its post," Adegast finished. Seeing that they weren't going to be listening to him, Booker looked around something to get their attention.
That made Luz stop with wide eyes. "Chosen one..."
Suddenly, there was a loud metallic bang that echoed throughout the room. Booker had used Dragon's Bite and hit its flat side against a suit of armor. A moment later, the armor fell apart onto the floor. Finally, Luz and Adegast should be able to turn and look at him.
"Okay, wait. Stop. Just stop, beardy!" he growled, pointing the magical sword at the wizard.
Adegast looked a little surprised. "Um, what is it, young man?"
"What is it? What is it? First of all, we were just supposed to deliver the potions to you. Then you suddenly invited us in and randomly gave us a dangerous quest. And now, after all of that, you're asking me, 'What is it?'!"
"Booker, don't be rude," Luz whispered to him with a disappointing frown.
"Look, we appreciate the tea and sacks and the random quest that you've given us, but just take the potions because we have to go!" He said to Adegast, grabbing Luz's hand.
"Yes, we have to go," Luz said, rolling up the scroll and throwing up her fists. "And pack for this enchanted quest! I'm in."
"WHAT?!"
"Wonderful!" Adegast said happily.
After returning to the owl house, Luz immediately darted past Booker. When he tried to stop her, he rushed up to their closet/room. When he entered the room, Booker found that she had already begun to pack her things. Preparing to go on her quest.
"So, King, Booker, what kind of Chosen One should I be?" she asked after she had sheathed the toy sword in a scabbard that fit.
King yawned as he prepared to take a nap in Luz's rolled-up sleeping bag. "Huh? What?"
Luz then grabbed her Azura and the Dark One book and held it up to the right side of her head. "Should I be full of optimism and goodness, like the Good Witch Azura?" She asked before moving the book to the left side of her head. "Or should I be like a bad girl Chosen One, with black nail polish and a mysteriously withdrawn attitude?"
She then returned to her fangirl self when she made the book talk with a weird voice. "'I act like I don't care, but I secretly do.'"
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Booker asked, concerned.
"Of course I am. I just feel it in my gut that I'm destined to be here for a reason," Luz said with determination and a clenched fist. "Also, Booker, can I borrow Dragon's Bite?"
"No, you may not borrow Dragon's Bite because you're not going on that quest!" Booker said with a stern glare.
"What?! Why?" Luz asked, looking at Booker with a shocked expression.
"Think about it. A complete stranger you've never met before wants you to go on a quest to retrieve a staff. Aren't you the least bit suspicious?" Booker asked.
"But this is my chance to get a magic staff finally," Luz said, flipping through the pages of her book to the image of Azura retrieving her staff. "Just how Aruza got her staff—"
"But she didn't go on a quest to retrieve her staff. She had to earn it," Booker said, taking the book from Luz. He flipped it to a page showing Azura and Dominic battling the wizard. "And haven't you forgotten that the wizard only sent them on that quest to get to the witch?"
"But maybe things will be different!" Luz adamantly said, grabbing her book from her friend. She then glared at her friend with a hint of jealousy. "Why can't you just be happy for me?! You're already half-witch and the son of a great! You're destined to be a great witch, but what about me?"
"What?" asked Booker, confused about where this was coming from. "Luz, what are you—"
"Ugh! Why can't you just let me have this?" Luz yelled at her friend. "I thought you were my friend!"
The argument was put on hold when Eda entered the room, holding a severed blue monster hand by the bone. "The sound of friends fighting summoned me," she said, walking over to them with a raised eyebrow and rubbing her free hand with the monster's hand. "Where is it? Show me the fight! I'm not too late for the beginning, right?"
"Not now, Eda," Booker snapped.
"Whoa! What's with you two?" Eda asked, pointing at the two kids with the hand's finger. The witch rested the monster's hand on her shoulder when she noticed the things Luz was packing. "Wait, what's going on?"
"Eda, tell Luz how dumb wizards are," King said as he jumped off Luz's sleeping bag and onto Booker's shoulder.
"Ugh! Wizards are the worst. Never trust a man in casual drapery wearing scandals," Eda said while waving around the hand like it was her own. "Why?"
"One of your wizard clients was really weird. He kept yammering on about a quest he wanted Luz to go on," Booker explained, expressing his concern for what Luz was getting herself into. "He even gave her a map."
"Yeah, and he told Luz... she was a... she was a Chosen One!" King tried to hold it in, but he fell off Booker's shoulder and started laughing on the ground.
"Wait, wait, Luz?" Eda snickered, joining in on the laughter.
Booker looked at Luz, and his crush started to become really embarrassed. Flustering, she tried to hide her face behind the book. Seeing his friend looking down with embarrassment, Booker glared at Eda and King.
"Okay, back off, you two! This is serious!"
Getting back up after falling down on her back from laughing hysterically, Eda walked over to them. "Fine, let me see this map."
Luz handed her the map, and the witch took a moment to look it over, wondering if it was genuine, given all this nonsense about her female appearance being a chosen one.
"Welp, I can honestly say…" Eda paused for dramatic effect. "Booker's right, Luz."
"What?" Luz asked, looking more depressed.
"You didn't think this was real, did you? This map is bunk. There's no lake with a Celestial Staff on the Boiling Isles. I would have stolen it ages ago," Eda said.
Luz looked down at the ground with a sad expression. Booker tried to comfort her by placing a hand on her shoulder. With a somewhat sympathetic look, Eda handed her back the map.
"Ah, don't worry," she said. "A couple more months here, and you won't look like such a mark."
Luz pushed Booker's hand off her shoulder. "Can I have some time alone?"
Eda shrugged her shoulders as King and Booker followed her out of the room. But before leaving, Booker stopped and looked back at Luz. "Luz?"
But she didn't respond and just rubbed her hand on the map. Booker sighed and closed the door behind him.
Booker walked down the stairs to the living room where King and Eda were. The demon had climbed onto the couch and was getting ready to take another nap. "Finally! All that mean‐spirited laughter made me sleepy," he said, resting his head on a pillow.
Suddenly, Booker smacked him in the back of the head.
"OW!"
"Shut up, you little bastard," Booker said, scolding King for his and Eda's attitude to his best friend. "Even if Luz had taken a fake map and was told a lie, you and Eda shouldn't have laughed at her."
"Ugh, fine, I'm sorry," Eda said, acting like a teenager as she stood in front of them. "Speaking of which, you said that the wizard was one of my clients?"
"Yes. Now go away," King said, snuggling back into his pillow.
"He seemed like he knew you," Booker said, setting the sheathed Dragon's Bite down against the couch's armrest and then sitting on said armrest with his arms crossed. "He kept asking us about our training, and then when Luz explained that she was hoping for a quest, he just gave it to her."
That got Eda thinking for a moment, and she sat down on the couch with a hand under her chin. "I don't know him that well. And I don't trust this itch he's scratching in Luz," she told Booker.
"Me neither. Luz never fit in anywhere back home, just like me. But she has always been so determined to be who she wants to be, even if the world is trying to bring her down," Booker said, looking down. He couldn't really say the same thing for himself. He was so grounded with the idea that he would never be anything special, unlike her, that he still didn't really know how to feel about being a half-witch or a seventh son.
"Less talky, more nappy," King said with his eyes closed.
Booker frowned at King before sighing. He was still troubled by Adegast, but he was also a little confused by Luz's words when they were arguing. It hurt when she questioned their friendship, but he was also confused by her outburst at him about being a Seventh Son. It was almost like she was jealous of the fact that he was something special, and she was.
He got up, walked back up the stairs, and approached their door. He knocked on it and waited for a response.
"Luz? Are you in there?"
But there was no response.
"Luz, I just wanna talk."
Again, no answer. Booker opened the door and gasped.
Luz was gone. All of her things were gone. And the window was open.
"Eda! Luz is gone!" He called down the hallway to the witch.
He climbed through the window and carefully walked out onto the round roof.
"LUZ! LUZ! Fuck, she's too far to hear me." He then got down on his hands and knees and looked down over the edge. "Hey, Hooty! Have you seen where Luz went!?"
Hooty then stretched his head up to Booker. "Hoot, hoot. If you want the answer that you seek, solve my riddle within a week—" He stopped when Booker drew out Dragon's Bite.
"Hooty, I swear to God, if you do not tell me right now, I'M GONNA TEAR YOU DOWN BRICK BY BRICK!" Booker yelled in absolute anger. Stabbing his sword into the roof just to prove his point.
"Ow! Okay, okay. She went into the forest towards Bonesborough. Sheesh!" Hooty said before retreating back to the front door of the house. "Hoot!"
"What?! Why would she...oh, you stupid fangirl," Booker groaned in annoyance.
He jumped down from the roof onto the ground and started running towards town. But before he got far, Eda floated down on her magic staff with King.
"Get on!" Eda yelled, gesturing for him to climb aboard. "We're going to have a talk with this 'Adegast'."
When they reached the town, Eda floated the staff down onto the ground near where they found the alleyway. Booker quickly got off and started running for the path that led to the castle with King on his shoulder and Eda following behind them. Something was definitely wrong, as they couldn't find the shiny castle from the sky.
Entering the alleyway, Booker slowed down, drew Dragon's Bite from his back, and approached the tarp-covered entrance.
"Are you sure this is the way?" Eda asked without her staff.
"This is where we met the scones," King said, perched on Booker's shoulder.
"King!" Booker snapped.
"I mean, the wizard ." He corrected himself.
Booker shook his head and found the entrance with the tarp still covering it. He marched towards it with a determined look on his face before grabbing the tarp and ripping it down.
But when he laid his eyes on the castle, the Seventh Son gasped in shock and horror.
The once bright and shiny castle has what could only be described as being hundreds of years older than when he and King were there the last time. No longer was the sun's light shining down on it with heavenly effects. Instead, the sky was the normal, gloomy, bright colors of the Demon Realm. The castle's structure was in complete shambles. Walls were falling apart, and some of the roofs had caved in. It looked as though no one had lived in the castle for decades.
"Whoa! It wasn't like this before," King said as Booker started walking towards the ruined castle. Eda moved to walk beside her male apprentice.
"I feel like I'm in a Dark Souls game," Booker said to no one in particular.
He and Eda opened the doors together and saw that the library was in complete shambles. The paint was ripping and falling apart, bookshelves were collapsing, and debris was shattered on the floor and upper floors.
"I don't like this," Eda said as they walked into the library.
But before they began investigating, there was a sudden metallic sound coming from a corner of the room. One of the sets of armor in the room came to life. It had in its hands a large halberd. This weapon consisted of an ax blade topped with a spike mounted on a long staff.
"I really don't like this," Eda said, summoning her staff.
The knight rushed at Booker and Eda and swung its weapon in a wide arching sweep. Booker jumped and rolled out of the way before rushing through the armor. The helmet looked at him and swung down at him. King jumped off Booker's shoulder as the Seventh Son blocked the attack by raising his sword over his head. But he jumped out of the way when it swept at him again.
Eda joined the fight by launching fireballs at the living armor, knocking it back but not defeating it. When its back was turned to Booker, he got up and rushed the knight. With a wide swing, he chopped off the helmet. But he was knocked back when it hit him in the chest, making him slam against a railing.
Booker groaned in pain as the knight advanced towards him. But before it could attack, Eda's magic brought down a large boulder on the knight, crushing the armor completely.
"Is it over," King asked, poking his head out from behind his hiding place.
As the little demon ran over to climb back on Booker's shoulder, the Seventh Son stood back up. Eda walked over to them with several pieces of paper in her hands.
"What the hell was that?" Booker asked the witch. "You ever seen anything like that before?"
"It's a very basic possession spell. But I've found something very interesting," Ed said, handing Booker the papers in her right hand.
Sheathing Dragon's Bite, Booker grabbed the papers and looked at them. His eyes widened in shock. They were all maps very similar to the map that Adegast had given Luz. That's when his hand started to glow again. And just like yesterday, the magic/transmutation circle appeared on both of his hands.
His magic activated something else on the maps he was holding. Displaying blue glowing writing and a line that had a path going through each of the maps.
The Chosen One
The PATH WILL only APPEAR To The WORTHY
"Eda, what is this?" Booker asked, looking up at his witch master.
"It's an off-brand invisible ink message that only appears in the sunlight," Eda said, looking across the ground.
Booker looked down and saw more of the scrolls. Luz must have been near the window, and when it revealed the message, she must have realized that she really was a chosen one. That's why she went on the quest.
"How do we find her?!" Booker asked worriedly, holding up the maps. "They're all so different."
"I can pick up her scent," King said, pointing to himself. He then hopped down onto the ground. "Don't worry; there's no mistaking her smell—like lemons and young, naive confidence."
King got on all fours and started sniffing the ground. Eda and Booker watch him as he does his work. Booker was becoming increasingly worried about his secret crush.
After a moment, King lifted his head. "I've got her!"
"Son of a bitch," Eda said in annoyance.
They had been traveling through the forest on Eda's staff, and the further they went into the forest, the more they noticed the area around them changing. The bright colors of the trees faded away as the clouds above them began to grow darker.
Now, they were standing at the entrance of a ruined village, the state of which was the same as the castle that belonged to 'Adegast,' if not worse. Veins went through the houses and homes. Crates and barrels were smashed or on their sides, spilling out their contents. To Booker, it looked as if the village had been abandoned for years. Something bad had happened.
"Are you sure she came here?" Booker asked King as the little demon sniffed the ground.
"Positive," King said, jumping back on Booker's shoulder.
Booker looked around before spotting something. In a water fountain covered in large veins, there was a body. It looked like an anthropic car with a scarf and mittens, but its eyes were strange.
He walked over to the fountain, and as he got closer, Booker saw it wasn't a dead body but a puppet.
Eda walked past him and knelt down in front of the fountain. She then hit the cat by flicking its head with her finger.
"Hey! Wake up, you," she demanded before grabbing the puppet. "What have you done with Luz? What's your endgame?"
"To find your pupil and still your wrath, look ahead and follow the path," the cat said in a disoriented, squeaky voice.
Booker growled in anger before snatching the puppet from Eda, pulling out Dragon's Bite, and holding the blade to its neck.
"I've had enough of this crap!" Booker yelled in anger. All of his worrying about his friend's safety and the thought that someone had tricked her in order to harm her made his fury known. "Tell us where Luz is, or I serve to God I'll kill you, puppet!"
"To find your friend, follow the path, and you shall see," said the cat puppet. It then started cackling as it crumbled and shriveled up in Booker's hand, turning into dust that flew away with the wind.
"Aaahh! The cat man melted!" King screamed.
Eda sighed as she stood. "It's a trap. They want me to follow Luz."
"But who?" Booker asked, wiping the dust off his pants. He then gasped in shock as a startling realization hit him. "This is just like in the book. The wizard used Aruza and Dominic to get to the witch, which means Adegast is just like that wizard."
"That's just it, Booker," Eda said, turning to him with a serious expression. "This isn't the work of a wizard." Booker looked confused and frightened before she began to explain. "I know this guy. He's no wizard. He's what you'd call a puppeteer, a demon who specializes in scamming and manipulating people. He's trying to use Luz to get to me."
"Then we have to do something! She could be in danger!" Booker said desperately.
"Yeah, but could that somehow involve us not going in the direction of the trap?" King asked.
"If you can think of a better plan, I'd love to hear it," Eda said, summoning her staff.
Luz was having the time of her life.
When she had first set out on this quest, she was optimistic as the call to adventure cried out to her. And the journey was everything that she had expected it to be. First, she came across a magical town of talking cats and met Nethrath Bladestrife, the teen prince of Angstmore. So she was not only traveling with a hunky teen prince but one that also had a vengeful backstory. Then they came across more jolly comrades like Chris the old cat that guarded the bridge. That's how she got Nethrath to become shirtless, as he gave it to her as a cloak.
Now, they walked into a clearing between the trees that loomed over them. Joining them was a tiny little fairy princess. "Thank you for inviting me to your feast, Princess. All your food was so tiny and cute," Luz complimented the prince. On her left finger was a ring that Chris had given her.
The princess then used her magic to summon gold and green bracelets. "For you, Chosen One," she said, placing the bracelets in Luz's hands, who then slipped them onto her left wrist.
"Thank you," she said to the princess before turning to her companions. "You've all been so kind and thoughtful."
She then skipped up into the air with joy. This was truly everything she's ever asked for.
"I hope this quest never ends!"
"Your quest will soon come to an end, for the staff you seek is around the bend," Chris pipped up.
Well, that ruined Luz's magical fantasy moment, and she looked a little annoyed. "Thanks for ruining the mood, Chris," she said, slumping her shoulders.
"Go on, Chosen One. The Celestial Staff is yours. You've earned it," said Nethrath, beckoning for Luz to continue forward.
Luz smiled at everyone before turning and heading off to get the staff. Behind her, everyone who had helped her waved their goodbyes.
After walking for a while, birds twitted over her head, and Luz gasped as she reached her destination and, with it, her prize. She had reached the legendary lake, and in the middle of it, on a platform on the lake, stood the Celestial staff on a pedestal.
She marveled at the sight of the staff, which looked exactly like Azura's. Luz walked towards the staff before stopping in front of the lake. Just when she was about to swim, the water started glowing brightly, and bubbles started to rise up.
Then, the ground started rumbling before a stone pathway to the staff rose up from the depths, connecting the path to the staff.
Luz smiled brightly. "I knew this world wasn't all gloom and doom like Eda and King said. There is wonder here! Booker may be a half-witch and a Seventh Son, but I... I think I came here for a reason," Luz said, twirling around.
She walked down the pathway to the glowing staff, entranced by its glow. Stopping in front of it, she basked in its light, which tempted her to come closer.
"Okay, this is it. This is the moment of truth," Luz said, reaching out to grab the staff.
When she wrapped her fingers around it, intense magic burst from the staff, swirling around her and making ripples in the water. She then pulled the staff free from its platform and held it up high.
"Yes! I am the Chosen One! I knew it! I always suspected there was a reason nobody understood my wacky antics back at home. Well, maybe, except Booker, but now, I have concrete proof!" Luz laughed in triumph. She knew that they didn't come here by accident. She knew there had to be something to her that made her special. Sure, she felt bad about being jealous of Booker being a half-witch, but now she could be equal to him. Now, they were both destined for greatness!
Or, so it seemed. The joy she felt disappeared just as the staff did when it suddenly turned into dust in her hands.
"No!" She gasped, trying to grab it in vain.
And then it got worse. First, the flowers and plants around her withered and decayed. The lake water drained from the area. Everything around her just seemed to die. The trees lost their colors as their leaves blew away and crumbled in the wind, leaving the trees bare and lifeless like the abandoned ruins she now stood in.
The magic was gone, and Luz felt despair fill her heart as a big fog surrounded the young girl, making it hard to see the exit. "What's going on?" she whimpered and pulled out her toy sword.
"Luz, the human." Said a familiar voice behind her.
She turned around to see Adegast walking out of the fog with a smile.
"Magical wizard?" She asked, greatly confused.
"Your hubris has failed you, Witch Apprentice," Adegast yelled out, his voice changing drastically. All while his body went limp, and a dark figure started to appear behind the wizard's puppet.
The wizard's body was moved out of the way, and Adegast's true form was revealed as a large, light-mauve octopus-like monster with both tentacles and arms. He had yellow teeth with revealing gums and black scleras with yellow iris and black pupils. One of his tentacles was holding up the wizard's body.
As the monster cackled maniacally, Luz backed away in horror. Then, spots on the floor around her started crumbling and cracking before the people that Luz thought were her friends came up. All of them were revealed to be puppets with blank stares while being manipulated by the large tentacles.
"Okay, Luz. Don't panic. This is classic Chosen One biz," Luz said, trying to be brave.
However, the reality was that she was scared. This wasn't what she wanted her quest to be like.
"You just have to rescue everybody and defeat the final boss," she said, still clinging to the fantasy that she was still destined for greatness. "Just like you do with Booker—"
"I AM EVERYBODY!" Adegast yelled in a dark and harsh tone, scaring Luz as his wizard puppet got right up in her face. "You stupid bitch, don't you see? I'm no wizard. And you're no Chosen One. I've tricked you."
Luz's eyes widened as he laughed evilly. "What?"
She then noticed her cape was starting to rise into the air before it suddenly wrapped around her body like a rope. The bracelets became handcuffs, and the ring became a restraint for her fingers.
"No! I'm betrayed by my cool accessories," Luz said, fully realizing the mess she'd gotten herself into—all because this jerk had to play with her desires. Luz glared at the demon. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Your mentor has been stealing customers from my potions business for years. She must be destroyed."
"Does everybody have a beef with Eda here?" Luz asked the other puppets, who nodded their heads and expressed their agreement.
"And you lured her right into my trap, all because you wanted to think you were special," he said, a wicked smile appearing on his face. "Just like your friend, who's going to be a double bonus for me!"
Luz's eyes widened in terror. "Booker..." She glared back at Adegast and demanded, "Why would you want Booker?"
"Not a lot of people will know what he is, but I do! He is a Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a being who is told to have powers beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Stronger than the emperor himself! After I kill him and take that power for myself, I'll be unstoppable!" Adegast proclaimed, raising his arms into the air with an evil cackle.
"Don't you dare touch him!" Luz screamed in fury, trying to get up to her feet to attack Adegast. But she was pulled back down to the ground when the bounds around her arms and finger suddenly became too heavy for the young girl.
"And it'll all be because of you!"
Luz looked down at the ground as her whole body went numb. The reality of this fake quest had hit her. This was all just a trap to get Eda. She's only here because she had a false hope of being a chosen one. Adegast was right. She wasn't special. And now Booker was going to be in danger, all because she got jealous of him. She didn't know why she became jealous. She's never one to get jealous about someone being something she's not. But Luz was so desperate to have a purpose in this world that she let her ambitions get the better of her.
"The joke's on you because Eda isn't stupid enough to fall for your trap," Luz yelled at him.
"Adegast!" a familiar voice yelled out from behind the trees.
"Oh, hijo de puta!" Luz cursed in Spanish.
Eda, Booker, and King swooped down onto the path before getting off of the magic staff. Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite and glared at Adegast. "Let go of Luz right now, you ugly calamari motherfuck!" He yelled, fuming with anger.
"Eda, I have you now!" Adegast said as more puppets, including Eda and King, popped out of the ground. Booker jumped back in time to dodge the tentacle.
One of the puppets tried to grab him, but he cut their limb off. Adegast screamed in pain before growling in anger.
"Last chance! Release Luz, Adegast!" Booker yelled, pointing Dragon's Bite at the monster.
"I didn't have to be a part of this!" King yelled as he struggled to free himself.
"Oh, she can leave if she wants to, Seventh Son. But I sense she wants a real fantasy," he said with an evil smile before one of his puppets let out a purple fog around Luz.
"NO!" Booker yelled and rushed over to her. However, he stopped when the same suit of knight armor that had attacked him and Eda in the castle appeared from the ground. Kicking him in the chest hard and sending the teenage boy on his back.
When he got back up, he glared at Adegast in anger. "What are you doing to her?" he barked in a dark tone.
"Right now, what she wants."
When Luz opened her eyes, she wasn't in her bounds. She didn't know where she was. Everything was so black. There was nothing. But then everyone that she had met on her journey appeared around her.
"Stay with us, Luz. Stay with Adegast. We need you here. You could be our Chosen One," Nevareth said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, you can eat our tiny foods forever," said the fairy princess.
"Luz, why would you want to live in a world where people laugh at you?" Nevareth said as a shadow covered the top part of his face.
Booker grunted as he blocked another swing by the knight at his head. His sweater had cuts from when he wasn't able to block or dodge, and some of those cuts had a small amount of blood dripping from them.
"LUZ! DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!"
"It is beautiful here," said Luz as the puppet of the princess floated behind her.
"Luz!" Eda yelled as she tried to break free.
"And you guys think I'm special," Luz said with a sad smile.
Seeing that he had to break Luz out of Adegast's spell, Booker dodged the knight's attack when it thrust its weapon at him. Jumping to the right and then running behind the suit of armor. He then swung down and cut the tentacle, controlling the armor off. Adegast screamed in pain as the armor fell apart on the stone path.
As the puppets started to surround and drew closer to her, Luz suddenly yelled. "But it's not real!"
Booker suddenly emerged from the darkness and landed behind her. He swung his sword in a wide arch that made all the puppets move back. The fog around them disappeared. Luz stood up and grabbed her toy sword.
"Are you okay?" Booker asked worriedly over his shoulder.
"I'm good," Luz said while glaring at Adegast. Booker turned and stood next to his best friend. Both of them are ready for battle. "I am a Witch's Apprentice. And I'm gonna earn my magic stuff the hard way. I believed you, Magic Man. Now feel my wrath!"
Luz yelled a battle cry as she rushed at the wizard puppet before stabbing into his chest. Adegast screamed in pain as his puppet and the top of his tentacle fell off. Luckily, it was enough to free Eda and King from their bindings. King crawled onto Booker's shoulder as Eda picked up her staff.
"Let's give this guy a taste of reality," Booker said with a grin.
Adegast growled in anger and sent every last puppet he had to attack Booker and Luz. Eda quickly took out most of the cat puppets by shooting a large column of fire at them. Incinerating the tentacles and making the puppetmaster scream in even more pain.
Booker dodged Chris as Luz killed the fairy princess. He then cut off the head of the raggedy cat, causing it to fall onto the floor with the tentacle that controlled it.
Booker then heard Nevareth screaming as he charged at Booker. He swung down at the Seventh Son, but Booker dodged the attack and then parried the next one. The two then locked blades.
"Don't know why, pretty boy, but you piss me off a lot!" He yelled, not knowing that the puppet was flirting with Luz.
He then stabbed the teen prince in the chest.
"AH! My flawless pecs!" The puppet screamed before Booker pulled out the sword and cut him in half. Blood squirting out of the severed tentacle.
Suddenly and without warning, a tentacle arm flung out and grabbed King from behind. Booker gasped as the demon yanked King off his shoulder.
"King!" he yelled in shock.
"Back off! Or the dog gets it!" Adegast said as his last cat puppet held King hostage.
"I am not a—!" King's protest was silenced when Adegast wrapped his tentacle around his mouth.
Eda and Luz dropped their sword and staff, raising their hands up.
Booker, however, kept Dragon's Bite in his hands. He grabbed the sword's handle with both hands and raised it over his head, smiling confidently.
"I'll do it," Adegast said. "I'll kill—"
Booker threw the sword with all his might at Adegast. Dragon's Bite spun around like a windmill as Adegast stared at it in shock. Unable to do anything to stop the blade when it impaled the giant squid monster in the head.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Adegast started screaming in agony as blood shot out of his head.
King was released from the tentacle. Luz caught him, and the group watched as he stumbled back and forth before starting to fall off the side of the path.
"Oh no!" Booker yelled, trying to reach out for his sword.
Suddenly, the sword magically dislocated its blade from the monster's head and zoomed back to Booker. Startling the teenager as it returned to his hand.
"Okay…didn't know it could do that," he said.
Adegast's corpse fell over the stone path of the ruins and fell down onto the empty lake. His body landed with a loud thud as blood leaked out onto the ground.
Booker, Luz, Eda, and King stared down at the dead puppeteer demon for a moment before Eda said, with her hands on her hips. "Well, that's the last time I take an outside referral."
The Seventh Son then turned to his best friend as she turned away to look at where the staff used to be. "Luz, are you okay?"
"Yes... No, not really. I'm so confused," she said as she held King in her arms. "This place—this world—is nothing like I imagined."
Luz then worked up the courage to face her best friend.
"Booker, I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you and never trusted that wizard. You were right. He isn't mystical or magical. He's just a big, slimy jerk. You were only looking out for me. I was just...jealous of you."
"Jealous?" Booker asked, a little taken aback, making Luz frown. "Luz, why would you be..." When he paused, he realized why she felt that way. "Oh..."
"Adegast said that you were a Seventh Son of a Seventh Son," she said.
"Well, yeah," Booker said. "I'm my dad's seventh son, and he…"
"No, I mean, he said that was someone who was supposed to be this great and powerful being," Luz said, shocking Booker and the others. "More power than anything to have existed."
"That's the first time I've heard about this," Eda said with a hand on her hip. "I know that Mal was powerful when we were growing up, but this…"
"That's why I mean." Luz then looked away with an ashamed expression. "I guess I felt like you were living your own fantasy without me."
Booker looked sadly at her before putting on a sad smile. "Luz, I never asked to be like this, and...if things were different, I would have wanted you to be a Seventh Daughter," he admitted, and Luz looked at him with wide eyes filled with shock.
But then he looked down sadly.
"But...that would have meant that you would have gone through the same things I went through when I lost my family."
"Booker..." Luz muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. But he smiled and grabbed her hand with his.
"But you are special in your own unique way, Luz. You just have to find your own path to being a witch," Booker said sincerely.
Luz smiled, tears coming out of her eyes before hugging her best friend.
"Well, if you two love birds are down, come with me. I got something to show you," Eda said as she beckoned the two humans onto her staff.
After they climbed onto her staff, Eda flew all four of them away from the empty lake of the fake quest. Both Booker and Luz had blindfolds over their eyes as they felt themselves going higher and higher into the air. When she reached the destination, Eda stopped the staff and looked back at her human apprentices with a smile.
"Okay, you can look," she said.
Booker and Luz untied their blinds and opened their eyes. They laid their sights on something so beautiful that they gasped in unison. "Whoa!"
There before them, as the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, were the massive skeletal remains of a dead titan. The skeleton was lying on its back with its right leg bent to have its knee up high in the air. Both arms were spread out, and islands formed on and around the massive remains.
"Is that...?" Booker tried asking but couldn't finish his sentence.
"The bones of the isles," Eda said as the two kids took in the awe-inspiring sight of the skeleton. "Up close, the isles can be slimy—"
"And very stinky," King added, interrupting Eda.
"And gross. But if you look at it from a different perspective..." Eda looked up at the sky, prompting Booker and Luz to do the same. The stars were beginning to appear, with a blue shooting star streaking across the sky over the titan's horned skull.
"It's beautiful," Luz said.
"Yeah," Booker added as King climbed onto his lap and started to sleep.
"Eda, how did you know that wizard was lying?" Luz asked the Owl Lady.
Eda looked away a bit while looking at Luz and Booker from the corner of her eyes. "Look, kid; everyone wants to believe they're 'chosen'. But if we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. I don't know anything about this Seventh Son business, but Booker's right about one thing: you need to choose your own path." Eda said, smiling at Luz.
Luz smiled before looking up at Eda. "Does that mean you'll give me a magic staff of my own?"
"Not yet. But... someday." Eda said as she continued watching the sunset.
Luz looked away for a moment to look up at the sky with her before something caught her attention. It was Booker's golden blonde hair, flowing in the wind as he continued to stare up at the sky. Her smile then returned as she stared at him, while her cheeks slightly blushed when she remembered all he'd done for her. Looking back up at the sky, she scooted closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.