It's been two days since Booker and Luz snuck into Hexside with the help of their new friends, Willow and Gus. It was fun until Booker was caught, and they had to make a run for it. Now, the human and half-witch were banned from ever entering Hexside. Even so, they sparked an instant friendship with Willow and Gus, even if Gus would obsess about the things the humans did and what 'human items' they had.
On this day, as the sky darkened with storm clouds, Booker and his crush were brought to the living by the King. Apparently, he had something important for them. However, something happened, and the two couldn't help themselves.
Luz turned on her phone's camera and pointed it at Booker, who was sitting next to her. "And…action!"
"I'm Booker Bridges, and we've just stumbled across a most fearsome creature," he said with an Austrian accent. "A legendary monster caught on camera for the first time."
"Indeed," Luz said, but in a British accent. She then turned the camera towards King and closed in on one of his eyes. "This most fearsome creature is known as the king of demons." She then zoomed out to show King trying to tear a sock that was stuck on his bony snout. "Facing his natural enemy, the ducky sock."
"Only one winner will emerge from this clash of titans," Booker chuckled as Luz giggled with him, enjoying their little friend struggling to get off the sock with his back paws.
King was able to rip the sock's front before standing up and tearing the rest of it apart. He stomped on the pieces and then pounded on them with his fists. "Where are you now, ducky sock?!" King shouted.
"It's so cute when he acts all tough," Luz gushes with a cute squeal of her own.
"So, why'd you call us here?" Booker asked in his normal voice.
"Oh, yeah." King then turned and started climbing on top of a table next to a board that had a blanket covering it. He then turned to the two friends to address them. "Human Luz, half-witch Booker, you've been so obsessed with witchcraft. that you haven't learned anything about my kind. Prepare yourself for…"
Grabbing the blanket, King pulled it off to reveal many photos of monstrous creatures and demonic beings while putting on a fake professor hat.
"... Demons 101! Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur and bone."
"And cute little paws," Luz added.
King sighed in annoyance. "And cute little paws. True. We live only to create chaos and misery. Our only weaknesses are purified water and passive‐aggressive comments. Sometimes."
"Aw, the big bad demons are sensitive," Booker said with a smirk.
"Even demons have inner demons," King said before taking a picture off the board. Showing the two teens an image of a very intimidating-looking demon with a large spiked shell on its back. "The most powerful demon of all is the Snaggleback. He's a—"
"Bad boy!" Luz started adding special effects like stickers and text to her phone's screen.
"Luz, pay attention. This information could save both your lives someday," King said.
Booker sighed and took his friend's phone from her. "He's right, Luz. Magic wouldn't be enough to save you," he said, turning off the phone and then handing it back to her.
"Said the boy with a sword," King said.
"That's why I said it would save her," said Booker. He then saw Luz trying to touch her nose with her tongue. "Luz!"
"What? No, no. I am so paying attention. This is my paying attention face," Luz reassured King before putting her hand under her chin and nodding. "Mm‐hmm, mm‐hmm, mm‐hmm."
"That's the same face you make when you're also pretending to pay attention," Booker said with a smirk.
The two were then startled by the sudden boom of thunder and lightning flash.
"Uh‐oh. Looks like it's gonna rain," King said.
This made Luz gasp with excitement. "I love the rain," she said, jumping off the floor and running to the door. Booker followed behind her.
"Hey, wait!" King called out to them, but it was too late.
Luz opened the door as she and her friend stepped out of the house. She exhaled and spun around. "I always love feeling the first few drops in my hair."
Booker looked up at the sky with a smile. "I remember how sick we got whenever we played in the mud," he said. However, when the first drop of rain fell onto his forehead, Booker recoiled from how burning hot the raindrop was. "OW! What the douche?!" He yelled, rubbing his forehead while steam came off of it.
"Uh, Booker…" Luz said, backing up into Booker as she looked around. Freaking out by what she saw.
All around them, more raindrops fell onto the ground as rain can. But these drops of water burned the ground, scorching the grass, ground, and everything they touched.
"Boiling rain!" yelled Eda as she ran towards the Owl House. "Everybody inside now!"
"Huh?" Luz didn't get a chance to react. Booker acted faster than her. The Seventh Son grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he ran back into the house with Eda behind them. Once they were inside, the Owl Lady shut the door.
"Phew! That was close. But the important thing is you didn't get hurt," Eda said to her two students.
Booker panted a little before he said, "Yeah, are you alright, Luz?" Booker turned to her crush.
Luz stared at him with a blush on her face. Booker looked at her with a look of confusion for a moment. The girl then looked down at her hand, and Booker looked down, too, and saw that he was still holding hers. He quickly pulled his hand away from hers and looked away with an embarrassed look on his face.
"S-Sorry."
"No, it's—it's okay, I don't mind," Luz said, secretly liking that he held her hand.
It wasn't just the Owl House that was experiencing boiling rains. All over the Boiling Isle, people were screaming and running for shelter from the deadly rain, trying to get themselves, their families, kids, or even plants inside before they were burned alive by the rain.
Back at the Owl House, Luz gently placed a band-aid on Booker's forehead. King did the same thing to Luz's forearm. Booker smiled at Luz before King pulled out another bandaid from his hat and put it on his snout, even though he wasn't hurt. "Look, now we're boo‐boo buddies!"
This caused Luz to squeal, finding the act to be absolutely adorable. Booker watched as she fell over to the side against his leg, keeping her eyes on King. "Oh, my gosh, I love you so much."
Booker blushed as he got an idea. "Oh gosh, Luz. I had no idea you felt that way about me," he said, smirking playfully. This made Luz gasp and quickly get back up with a burning blush on her cheeks. Booker chuckled a bit. Realizing that he was messing with her, Luz started punching him in the arm. "Come on, it was a little funny."
He then turned to look at Eda. She was protecting herself with a magical shield over her head while using her hands to create a small ball of energy. Her staff hovered nearby for when she was ready to cast the forcefield on the house.
"So, what's up with the weather, Eda?" He asked after Luz stopped and looked away with a pout and blush. "I mean, a boiling rainstorm on the Boiling Isles? Isn't that a little too on the nose?"
"Yeah, we don't have weather," Eda clarified, looking back at them. "We have plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows...
"It's like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out," King said, causing Booker to cringe. Luz tightened the cat hood on her head and pulled her knees to her chest. She then scooted closer to Booker.
"Geez, don't you all have something normal, like snow," Booker asked, pulling Luz into him with one arm. The two were fearful of what would be said.
"Actually, we do get snow," Eda said. "But until the boiling rain stops, no one is allowed outside tonight."
"And if the rain doesn't get you, the Snaggleback will," King said, pulling the book from his hat and opening it. The book shows images of the Snaggleback to the human and the half-witch. "They wander the rain feeding on boiled tourists."
"Well, whatever the case, this force field spell should protect the house from boiling rains and made‐up demons," Eda said with a smirk. King looked at her blankly.
"Hoot! Well, hurry it up with that force field. That rain is getting closer to my precious stucco," said Hooty.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Eda used her staff to grab the light ball, placing the orb on top of it. She twirled the staff around and stamped it down to the ground. The forcefield that was once protecting her spread through the house, protecting it inside a large bubble shell that shrank down to fit the shape of the house.
"Wow. Someday, I'd like to be as cool as Eda the Owl Lady," Luz said, pulling off her hood. Watching as Eda walked over to them, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Magical, sassy, surprisingly foxy for her age."
"It makes me wonder what my dad was like using magic," Booker said before another question entered his head. "Hey, Eda, I've meant to ask you about something. Why are you called the Owl Lady?"
"Because I'm so wise," Eda said with a smirk.
"'Cause she coughs up rat bones," said Hooty
"I think it's 'cause she gets distracted by shiny objects," King added.
"No, I don't," Eda argued with the demon.
To prove his point, King took out a pen and clicked it, making the fake diamond on top glow a shiny pink light. When she saw it, Eda's eyes widened with delight, and even her iris expanded.
"It sparkles and shimmers. It shines and delights. I must have it for my nest…" Eda whispered, lunging at the pen. Only to miss when King quickly kidded it behind his back, making her crash onto the ground.
"You have a nest? I want a nest! Nest party!" Luz exclaimed excitedly as she and Booker kneeled down to their mentor and helped her up.
"You okay, Eda?" Booker asked,
"Ugh. That force field really took it out of me," Eda said tiredly, rubbing her forehead.
"Uh‐oh. Moving a little slowly? Age finally catching up to ya?" King asked mockingly. Booker frowned and covered King's head with the hat, making him scream. "Darkness!"
Eda smiled and gave Booker a thumbs-up before heading inside the house.
"This is perfect," said Luz.
"How exactly is it perfect?" Booker questioned.
"Since we'll be stuck in the house all night, Eda won't have any excuse not to teach us a spell," Luz said before going into the house.
"But don't you want to finish our lesson? I was going to let you scratch a demon's tummy—me!" King said before Booker picked him up in his arms.
"You mean like this?" Booker began scratching his belly a bit, making the little demon jolt before relaxing in the hybrid's arms. Kicking his leg like a little puppy when Booker found a good spot.
"Oh, uh, sorry, King. But... magic," Luz said, following Eda inside. Leaving Booker and the demon.
King's hat deflated as he frowned, causing his horn to pierce through it. "Don't worry, King," Booker said, patting his head. "We'll continue when we're finished, okay?"
"Forget it," King said, leaping out of Booker's arms in frustration. The young boy watched with a sad look on his face as his little buddy walked away into the house. He sighed and closed the door behind him as he entered the home of the Owl Lady.
Meanwhile, Eda watched over to go behind her dressing zone. Dropping her staff and snapping her fingers, Eda magically changed into her pajamas and lay down on the couch. Sighing in contentment when her back hit the cushions, she closed her eyes. But then a shadow hovered over her body, making the witch open her eyes, only to be startled when she saw Luz smiling down at her.
"Oh, Eda, have I told you how rad your fang looks today?" Luz asked.
"Whatever it is, no," said Eda.
"Uh, and your hair is like... girl." Luz pressed on as Booker walked over to them.
"I'm not teaching you two magic tonight," Eda told her, covering her body with a blanket. "I'm sleepy. I'm a sleepy little owl."
Luz frowned before reaching and grabbing the blanket. Yanking it off her body, which startled her.
"Hey!"
"Listen, Eda, you agreed to be our teacher and teach us all there is about magic. It's been a week now, and we've barely even learned a spell in that time," Luz said with a firm voice that wanted no arguments from Eda. "If I'm even going to get her staff, and if Booker's going to learn how to control his abilities, then you're going to have to teach us how to do magic."
"Later. Sleep." Eda snatched the blanket back and covered her whole head and body.
"There's gotta be a way to wake her up," Luz said, looking around for something to get their teacher to wake up.
"Maybe we should wait until she wakes up, Luz," Booker said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"But Booker, you're able to do so many awesome things with your magic, but you can't do it if we don't learn any," Luz said, putting her hands together and staring at her friend with a begging expression. "I want us to do magic together. Please, Booker, I need this."
Staring at her pouting face, Booker took a moment to think before letting out a sigh. "I've got an idea," he said, walking off.
For a moment, Eda sighed in relief as she heard nothing but silence. But that silence was broken, and a familiar, rapid-clicking sound awakened her.
Eda gasped. "Sparkle thing." Immediately, she got up with the blanket over her head and turned to see Booker holding the pen in his hand, the gem glowing.
"Oh, good morning Eda. I see we've got your attention," Booker said with a smirk.
Eda jumped up on the armrest like a cat, following the pen as Booker moved it around. Booker held it closer to her, and the witch tried to take it.
"Denied!" Booker quickly pulled it out of her reach, and the old Owl Lady fell off the sofa and onto the floor. "You want to have this sparkling thing? Teach us one basic spell. Deal?" He said to Eda, rapidly clicking on and off the pen.
"I see you have your father's cunning, but just know that I respect and hate you for it," Eda said, narrowing her eyes.
"Noted."
A moment later, Booker and Luz were sitting on the ground in front of Eda as she stood in front of them with her staff. "Alright, Booker, for you, we're going to have to get experimental. From what I've seen from Mal, the way a Seventh Born can perform magic is much different from everyone else," Eda said to the young boy.
"How much so?" Booker asked.
"Both of your abilities over magic are greater and more powerful. Whenever Mal used magic, he didn't use a staff," she said, clapping her hands together. "All he ever did was just clap his hands together, and then bam! Magic appeared."
Booker looked down at his hands. That's all he had to do? Just clap his hands together, like Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist? Wanting to try it out and see what happened, Booker clapped his hands together. But nothing happened. There were no sensations, no magic signs appearing on the back of his hands, and nothing that came close to him making magic.
"Didn't he tell you how he did it?" Booker asked his mentor. "What about a journal?"
Eda's eyes widened for a moment before rubbing her chin with a finger. "Actually, no. Someone, a guy named Mahri, taught him, but he's been dead for years. I was only there for one lesson, and Mahri told Mal that 'magic was like a trinity of mind, body, and spirit, but he was the circle.' I, for one, have no idea what that actually means. Which is why you're going to have to learn how to do it on your own," she said.
"Great," Booker groaned.
"But I want you also to watch as I teach Luz."
Luz squealed with excitement. "Finally!"
"If you want a witch's staff like mine, don't make...me...repeat...myself," Eda said, beginning to doze off for a moment. She shook her head to stay awake. "The staff of witches have power embedded into them. Even Dragon's Bite, Booker."
"Gimme!" Luz said eagerly, wanting to grab the sword from his back. But Booker gently slapped her hand away. "Owie."
"Finders keepers."
"Hey, focus! Before one is earned, every witch needs to know how to cast spells on their own. Now…" Eda tossed her staff away before holding up her finger, "...tonight I will show you how to create... light."
Eda drew a magic circle in the air with her finger. It glowed and then burst out, leaving behind an orb of light. Booker and Luz watched with amazement as the small ball slowly floated down to them. Booker tried to touch it, but the orb popped like a bubble.
"Yawn!" King commented from the sideline, getting up a few drawings surrounding him. "Who needs another boring spell lesson when you could be learning all the fun ways a demon could kill you." He grabbed one of his drawings of a demon eating someone and showed it to them. "Look how teethy. Bite, bite."
"Be quiet. We need to focus," Luz said. King slumped down when he heard that.
"Now, humans think magic is made out of thin air, but that's stupid. Everything comes from something," Eda said, continuing her lesson. "Let me ask you, kid. Where do you think magic comes from?"
"Uh, from the heart?" Luz asked.
"Oh, please," Booker said, rolling his eyes. "That's just a lazy excuse writers use to avoid discussing the complex details of magic."
"Actually, she's right," Eda said.
"She is?" Booker asked with a shocked expression.
"No, really," Eda said before showing a picture of a human heart with a giant, green, parasitic-looking sack of flesh attached to it. "It comes from a sack of magic bile attached to a witch's heart."
"Oh my God, that's disgusting!" Booker shouted, cringing at the sight of the sack. But then his face turned to a look of horror as he grabbed his chest. Where the heart would be. "Wait, DO I HAVE THAT?!"
"I don't know. Maybe," Eda said with a smirk as she rolled up the paper and stuffed it back into her hair. "Now, everything depends on the spell circle. The bigger the circle, the more powerful the spell."
She drew another spell circle, only larger than before, creating an even larger ball of light that popped.
"But how can I, little ol' Luz, do spells if I don't have a magic bile... sac?" Luz asked her mentor.
Eda thought for a moment before admitting to her students, "You know, I'm not actually sure."
"What?" Luz and Booker said at once.
"I know witches did magic differently in the past, but I never bothered to figure out how." The Owl Lady laughed and snorted.
"Eda!"
Eda kneeled down and ruffled the two kids' hair, making them both pout. "Don't worry. You'll figure it out. Now‐‐" She stood up and stretched her back, making her bones pop and crack. "I need to lie down."
"Really? That's it?" Booker asked in annoyance.
"Wait! I need to see you do the circle thingy again. I'll record it on my phone this time." Luz brought out her phone and turned it on. She then pointed the camera at Eda's tired face. "Smile! You're on camera. One more spell won't kill you."
Eda groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Now, you see, the…" She started to draw a circle, but unlike how it was before, this one looked unstable. "...spell circle is really key because‐‐" the spell circle popped as the Owl Lady yawned. "Ooh, boy."
And then she fell face-first on the floor.
"Welp, looks like one more spell killed Eda," King said, causing Booker and Luz to yelp in a panic. The two quickly knelt next to their master and flippered her on her back.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! My obsession with spells knocked out Eda! I'm a monster!" Luz yelled.
Booker placed two fingers against Eda's neck to check for a pulse. To his relief, there was still one. "Oh, thank God. She's still alive. That last spell just knocked her out," he told his crush as King walked over.
King looked at Eda and then spanked his paw on her nose, getting a little reaction. "Bap! Yep. She's out. Bap!" He did it again, laughing away.
"King," said the Seventh Son with a glare.
"What? Just making sure."
"We should get help, right?" Luz asked and quickly started running to the open front door. Who left it open?
"Luz, don't go out there!" Booker shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the open door and the boiling rain. "You'll get boiled alive."
"No, let her try. It'll be funny," said Hooty.
Booker glared at the owl before grabbing the door and slamming it shut.
"OW! I was just kidding! Ow. Hoot."
"But what if Eda's dead??!" Luz screamed.
"Whoa, Luz. Calm down and look at me," said Booker, placing his hands on Luz's shoulders as he stared into her eyes. "It's okay. Eda's not dead. You didn't kill her. She's just exhausted." The two teenagers looked at Eda as the old witch started snoring in her sleep.
"Shiny thing. Big nest…" mumbled the old lady before snorting again.
"Remember when her head got cut off last week?" King questioned Luz. "That woman can survive anything. She's probably just tired from staying up all night chasing shrews and voles."
"King's got a point," Booker said, walking over to his master. He then reached down and started lifting her. "Come on, let's at least get her into bed."
Minutes later, they arrived at the door to Eda's room. King opened the door to allow Booker and Luz to carry Eda inside. Luz and King were carrying the witch by her feet while the Seventh Son carried her by her shoulders. They walked her over to her bed, which was an actual owl's nest made of branches, sticks, leaves, and vines.
"You know, I think she's taking this 'owl lady' thing a little too literally," Booker said as he and others carried Eda over to it. Luz pushed aside a random rat skeleton, allowing her and Booker to place her into the nest.
"Sorry for pushing you, Miss Eda," the young girl said before getting nervous. "Please don't hurt me when you wake up."
"Diddo," Booker said.
"Should I bap her again?" King asked, eagerly raising his hand.
"Just let her rest, your little goober," Luz said, petting his head. Booker grabbed her blanket and threw it onto Eda's sleeping body.
"Come on. Let's go downstairs and let her rest," said the blonde boy. Booker and Luz turned and walked away from the nest. Leaving King there for a moment and giving him the chance to slap Eda again.
"Bap!"
"King!"
King cackled as he followed the teens.
Downstairs, King was drawing another one of the demons from his book when he heard the sound of someone clapping their hands. Looking over, he saw Booker sitting on the stairs, clapping his hands. Trying to get his powers to work on his own.
"Ugh! Why wouldn't you work!" Booker complained to his hands. Standing up, he started pacing back and forth. "I don't get it. What does it mean that my magic was 'a trinity of mind, body, and spirit, but I'm the circle?' I was able to use it before when I killed Warden Wrath and to see what all those maps said. So what's the secret to my dumb magic in my dumb hands?" He looked down at his hands with a frown. "This is dumb! Dad had to have left something…"
He then looked over at Luz.
"How are you doing over there, Luz?"
Luz was trying to make a magic circle with her finger, but nothing was working. "I'm having no luck either. This is all she does. Why do you have to be so cryptic, Owl Lady?" she asked, looking at her phone and playing the clip of her again.
King covered the screen with his notepad. "Hey, you know what's really cryptish? Let me tell you about the most spine‐chilling demon," he said before showing a weird-looking goldfish with hands for feet. "Smoochy‐pie the Sweetie Baby!"
Booker and Luz stared at the fish with hands before the young boy looked at the demon with a frown. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny."
"He's... He's a lot more threatening than his name implies."
Booker sighed and started walking away. "Well, I'm going to make sandwiches for us," he said, going into the kitchen.
"Luz?"
"Not now, King. I want to figure out this spell," Luz said, turning away from him. King sat down on the pile of books and looked down, upset. "But if I don't have a magic sac, what's the point? I'll just be twirling my fingers around unmagically forever."
"Why do you want to learn magic so bad, anyway?" King asked, turning his head to her.
"I was a nobody back home," Luz said, sitting down on a pillow. She turned her head to look at Booker as he was making sandwiches for them. "We both were nobodies. He was my only friend, and when I found out that he was this magical being, I...I wished that I could do it too. Becoming a witch is my chance to be someone. I can't be as powerful as Booker, but I want to be able to stand with him for anything that comes our way. Just like he always stands with me."
"So, how did you two become friends?" King asked.
The Dominican girl's eyes widened. "Wow, now that's a story. It was back when we were still just seven. Booker had just lost his family, and I still didn't have any friends. But I'll never forget that day," Luz said, smiling as she remembered that fateful day.
Seven years ago
It was the beginning of the snow season, and the school had just let out the kids for recess. Most kids Luz's age would be playing games or talking to their friends. But Luz didn't have any friends, and she wasn't invited to join in any games. Alone in one area of the field, Luz played with her figures of Azura and Dominic.
"Once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Good Witch Azura and the Dark One!" Luz exclaimed, raising her Azura doll in the end. But then she was pelted in the face and knocked to the ground with a snowball. "OW!"
Luz wiped the snow off her face as three girls walked over to her. These girls were notorious for being major bullies to both boys and girls at the school. They beat up kids and took their things, getting away with whatever they did because the school allowed them to.
Their favorite target for torment was Luz.
"Well, well. Look who we have here," said the ringleader.
Luz started to get up with a nervous expression. "He-Hey, girls…"
"What's this?" The ringleader snatched her Azura figure. "Are you playing with dolls?"
"Hey, give that back!" Luz said but was shoved to the ground.
"Aw, does the little baby want her toy back?" One of the girls taunted her.
"Stop it!" Luz tried to get up but was kicked hard in the chest. Making her cry in pain, dropping her Dominic doll in the process. The ringleader then smirked and grabbed Azura's head.
"Oops!" She pulled her head off.
"NOO!" Luz screamed, bursting into tears at the sight of her favorite toy in the world getting broke. The girl then tossed the body to the ground and walked away. Laughing while still holding Azura's head.
Luz held her toys in her arms as she cried. No one ever came to help her. No one would come to comfort the girl kneeling on the ground. She was crying alone because no one ever understood her, and she believed that she would never have real friends.
And then he came into her life.
"Hey. What's wrong?" asked a boy. Luz looked up to see seven-year-old Booker Bridges. He was wearing an old and beaten sage green jacket with a red scarf around his neck and a blue hat on his head.
Luz sniffled and pointed at the girls, who were kicking around Azura's head like it was a hacky sack. "They broke my Azura doll and stole her head."
Booker raised an eyebrow. "That's why you're crying? A doll ? I thought someone was hurt. Why are you getting upset over—?"
Booker stopped when she turned her head away from him and started sobbing. This made him feel guilty about his remark, and seeing how upset she was made him frown.
"Don't cry. I'll get her back," Booker said, walking over to the girls. They didn't notice him and continued to kick around the doll's head. "HEY!"
The girls stopped, and the doll's head fell to the ground.
"Give that doll head back!" He demanded.
The ringleader scoffed and picked up the head. "Or what, loser?"
"Then I'll take it back from you," Booker threatened, glaring at her.
"What was that?" The girl did not like that he was standing up to her. But then one of her friends recognized the young boy.
"Wait, I remember you. You're that Bridges kid," she said, laughing. "Shouldn't you be crying for your dead mommy and daddy?"
This led the three girls to laugh at Booker, enraging him. "Shut up! You have no right to say that!" He shouted.
"Oh yeah?" asked the ringleader with a smirk of superiority, seeing an opportunity to humiliate another kid. "My mommy said that your family died because they weren't true believers in Christ. My mommy said that if that your dad was a freak and was likely a—"
Booker, tears running down his eyes, rushed and punched the girl in the face. Everyone in the schoolyard turned towards the fight as Booker tackled the girl and started punching the girl in the face.
"Don't! You! Talk! About! My family! Again!" He yelled, still punching and hitting her. But then her friend grabbed him and started pulling him away. As he was pulled off, Booker grabbed Azura's head before he was thrown onto the ground.
The two helped up their ringleader, whose nose was bleeding. She covered her bleeding nose and cried. "You jerk! How could you hit a girl!?"
"I'll do more than hit you if you don't get out of here!" Booker yelled. Scaring the girls and making them run away.
Luz stared at Booker in awe as she watched him. His shoulders moved up and down as he panted. He tried to breathe normally as tears streamed down his cheeks, holding back his sobs so as not to appear weak in front of the others. He quickly rubbed his eyes to wipe them away. With his eyes slightly red, he turned to Luz and started walking to her.
"Here." He held out the head to her. Looking away with a frown.
Luz looked at him with wide eyes as she finally recognized him as her former neighbor. "Thank you," she said, taking the head back. "You're Booker, right?"
"You know me?" he asked with a surprised look.
"Yeah, you were my neighbor," she said with a faint blush, standing up before holding out her hand. "By the way, I'm Luz."
Booker had a faint blush on his cheeks, too, before smiling at her.
Present
"Ever since then, we have become friends and are almost inseparable," Luz said, looking down with a smile. Nobody understood me, but Booker took the time to get to know me. He understood me and my weirdness, no matter how…excentric I can be. He was always there for me when I needed him."
"And so were you," said Booker as he sat next to her, handing her a plate with a sandwich on it as he talked about why he valued her friendship. You were there for me during a really dark time in my life, Luz. You were kind and loving and always knew how to make me smile. I honestly can't imagine a life without you in it."
Luz blushed brightly before a big smile formed on her lips. "Booker…"
"Are you two gonna kiss?"
Freezing, Booker and Luz's eyes widened. Now, noticing how close their faces were to each other. They looked at King. "What?"
"Well, it was obvious that the two of you were going to kiss."
"We weren't going to kiss!" Booker yelled at the demon. The boy and girl looked at one another before looking away with even bigger blushes on their cheeks. "Can we please change the subject?"
"Oh, come on. It's obvious you like—"
"The subject. CHANGE IT." Booker growled.
King sighed as thunder rumbled outside. But then, an idea popped into his head. "If I help you two learn that spell and how to use your magic, could we finish our lesson?" He asked the human and hybrid. Getting Booker and Luz's attention.
"Oh, yes, yes. You can teach me about demons all week if you help me learn this spell," Luz said excitedly.
"But how are you going to help Luz?" Booker asked.
"Well, she said witches used to do magic differently, so there has to be a way, right? And I have a theory." King pulled out a color and started drawing something. When he was down, he showed the two his drawing of a bottle plus a crude drawing of Eda. Underneath them was the word magic. "Every day, I notice Eda sneaking drinks of this special elixir, see? Then she always gets a boost of energy, see? I think that's where she gets her powers. And I know where to get some."
"Really?"
" Sí, " King replied. Luz grabbed him into a hug and spun him around.
"Thank you so much. You're a prince," she said with a big smile.
"King. I'm King ."
"Right."
As Booker and Luz waited downstairs, King made his way up to Eda's room on the second floor. Silently opening the door, King peeked inside to see Eda still fast asleep. The door creaked as the little demon slowly opened it.
"Now, where could it be…" King said to himself, looking around the room. He then noticed a glass vial filled with a golden liquid inside and sealed with a cork cap. King walked silently towards the vial but was stopped when his foot kicked something metallic. He pulled his leg away quickly, just before a randomly placed beartrap could snap shut on him.
"Ha! Nice try."
Suddenly, the trap came to life, opening one eye and sprouting two small legs. "Nah, my heart wasn't in it," it said before running off.
King continued towards the elixir and climbed onto the nightstand on which the vial rested. Grabbing the vial, he noticed a small tag on it. "'An elixir a day.' Cryptic," he said, slipping the piece of paper into his collar.
Booker and Luz were sitting together at the kitchen table when King came running over and climbed up onto it. "Got it!" he exclaimed, handing the elixir to Luz.
Booker watched from where he sat as Luz popped the cork off the vial. "And you're sure that this will give Luz magic," Booker asked, having some concerns.
"Absolutely," King said.
"This is it. I can't believe I'm about to learn magic—real magic. This is historic," Luz said with excitement. She then closed her eyes and started to bring the vial to her lips. The glowing liquid was about to reach her lips when there was a sudden flash of lightning and a boom of thunder, startling her and causing her to drop the vial.
"Oh no!" Booker gasped and tried to grab it but missed it. The vial smashed on the ground, shattering on impact. "A crude."
"Golden elixir. Gone! This is awful," Luz cried.
"Don't worry, Luz. We'll figure out another way," Booker said, smiling at her and comforting one arm hug. Suddenly, the lights went out, which freaked him out. "Hey! Who turned out the light!?"
"Hooty controls the house lights. He probably just fell asleep," King said. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the front of the house, which was then followed by Hooting screaming.
"Hoot! Hoot!"
"Hooty!" Booker and Luz yelled, jumping off their stools and rushing to the front door. Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite, but he stopped and gasped in shock when he entered the living room. The girl and the little demon, who was on her shoulders, did the same.
The living room was completely trashed. Furniture was all torn up, and the windows were smashed, with large claw marks on the walls. But what really made them stop was what was right in front of them. The door had been busted down, with Hooty's eyes turning into X's, by a large creature. The human and hybrid couldn't see what it was, but they watched as it raked its large claws into the door. Then, it looked at the trio with its glowing orange eyes. Narrowing its glaring eyes at them.
Booker quickly pushed Luz behind him. "Stay back," he said, glaring nervously at the monster.
The creature didn't move for a moment. Then, it suddenly ran off and disappeared into the boiling rain.
Booker and Luz ran over to Hooty as King jumped on the door. "Hooty! Are you in there?" Luz asked the house's guardian. Booker opened one of his eyes, seeing that he wasn't dead, just unconscious.
"He's okay, but what the hell was that thing?" Booker said.
King traced his finger along the claw marks left behind by the creature before he gasped in shock. "Oh, my gosh. The Snaggleback! It feeds during the rains. It must have stumbled across our house and seen us inside."
The trio heard a loud, ear-piercing howl. Booker and Luz ran to the edge of the force field and watched as the creature jumped high up and crashed through the upper window.
"It's inside the house!" Booker panicked.
"This is terrifying," said Luz before noticing that King was giggling like a happy child. "So why do you look so happy!?"
"Because this could be a lesson. This would be a great way for you to see a wild demon up close and personal," said King.
"King, will you shut up about your lesson!" Booker snapped at the little demon before sighing. "But you're right. We've got to find that thing and get it out of the house."
"You want to go toward those creepy sounds? No way!" Luz said
"Eda's still inside, Luz! She's upstairs and defenseless because you knocked her out," he told her. Luz lets out a groan. Knowing that her friend was right.
Minutes later, the trio armored up with whatever they could find in the kitchen. They all duct-taped pillows to their bodies, with Luz slipping on a pair of rubber gloves. Booker, with goalkeeper's gloves on, grabbed a pot and placed it on his head. He pulled out Dragon's Bite and turned to the others. Luz grabbed a hockey stick for her weapon, and it looked like King was going to do the same thing, but instead, he grabbed a stuffed bunny.
With everything ready, Booker and Luz pulled out their phones and turned on their flashlights. The three paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the top, with Luz standing behind the boy with the sword.
"I suddenly feel like I'm in a horror movie," Luz said after gulping.
"Like we're in Alien or the Thing ," Booker said. Taking a deep breath, they started walking up the stairs. Each step they took on each stair step caused a creaking sound. The two friends looked around the hallway as King followed behind them. Their light shone just enough for them to see what was in front of them.
Another creaking sound startled them, and when they looked, they saw Eda's bedroom room opening. The human and hybrid looked at one another and nodded their heads. Walking over to the door, Booker pushed open the door. What they saw made them gasp. The room was wrecked, with broken glass littered across the floor and Eda's nest a mess.
"Oh, my gosh. Eda!" Luz yelled as she and Booker ran to the nest.
"She got snaggle‐backed," shouted King. When the human and hybrid reached the nest, they looked around for Eda, but all they saw was a slashed-up pillow. Frowning, he picked it up, fearing that the worst had happened to his teacher.
He turned to the little demon and walked over to him. "King! You're the demon expert. Can you help us fight this thing?."
"I'll go get my demon book," King said, about to run off when Booker grabbed him by the back of his collar.
"No, I'll go grab them. It's not safe for you to go alone," he said as Luz walked over to him. He turned to Luz and held out his sword to her. Surprising the young girl, but he wanted to make sure she was safe while he was gone. "Take Dragon's Bite and keep King safe."
"You got it," Luz said with a determined smile. She grabbed the sword's handle, but when Booker let go, she almost dropped it. "Wowzers! This thing's kind of heavy."
Grabbing Luz's hockey stick, the Seventh Son ran out of the room and rushed down the hallway. Unaware of a large shadowy figure rushing past him on the ceiling.
"Alright, King, I've got your books," Booker said, walking into the room. But looking down at the two books he brought with him. I didn't know if you wanted your first edition or second…" he stopped and looked up, and his face dropped to a look of confusion. "Luz?"
She and King weren't in the room. As he looked around, Booker looked down at the floor and gasped when he saw one of Luz's shoes near the nest.
"Luz?" After dropping the hockey stick, Booker slowly walked towards the shoe and picked it up. "No…" His face now expressed horror and despair, and he picked it up. "Oh god, please no," he whispered, realizing what had happened.
The Snaggleback got her. She and King were gone.
He was snapped out of his despair when the shadowy figure snarled loudly as it swiftly zoomed past the room outside.
Refusing to accept that the sweet, weird girl he fell for was gone, Booker grabbed the hockey stick with his other hand, surged to his feet, and ran out of the room. He sprinted as fast as he could after the monster. Glaring furiously and gritting his teeth. "Come back here, you snaggle piece of shit! I'M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE THEM! YOU HEAR ME!? GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS!"
Once he turned the corner, Booker saw the door to a closet closing. Running over to the door, Booker threw it open, making it slam against the wall. He glared around the room, trying to find the monster that took his friends. Looking down at the ground, Booker saw something hiding behind a coat.
"Give me back my Luz!" The Seventh Son yelled.
But when he pulled the coat back, Booker stopped. What he saw was not what King had described the creature to be like.
The Snaggleback in front of him was a small pink-furred demon that looked more like an ape. Around the size of King, it had yellow fangs and a teal tortoiseshell with spikes on its back. It cowered from Booker, with both hands on its head, and trembled.
Booker stared at it with wide eyes before kneeling down. "Wait, you're the Snaggleback?" he asked the little demon. This was the most fearsome demon on the Boiling Isle? It didn't even look like it could harm a fly—more like getting scared off by one.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the Snaggleback stammered. "I‐I just needed a place to hide from the rains."
"So you busted down our door and took my friends? What did you do with them?" Booker demanded to know, glaring at the little demon.
"I‐I didn't do any of that stuff. I don't know where your friends are. I snuck in through a window just now," the Snaggleback said, much to Booker's confusion.
"Well, if you didn't do it, then who…"
Booker was interrupted when a large clawed hand crashed through the ceiling and grabbed the Snaggleback.
"Oh, no! A twist!" he screamed. Booker tried to save him, but the demon was pulled too fast and disappeared into the dark hole.
Booker looked up into the hole with wide eyes before hearing the sounds of large footsteps over him. With both hands on the hockey stick, his head followed the sound as it went out of the room. Then, there was a loud crash from outside, and Booker's eyes widened as far as they could go, and his pupils dilated in fear.
The door slowly creaked open, revealing the creature he and the others had seen earlier. Its glowing orange eyes glared at him as it coughed up the shell of the Snaggleback—but without a Snaggleback in it.
It let out a horrible, bloodcurdling roar as it turned towards Booker.
"Oh crap," he said with a frightened voice, stepping back until his back hit the hall. He then glared at the monster and pointed the hockey stick at it. Making it stop. "Stay back! You better not mess with me! I'm a Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, and I will not hesitate to use my awesome powers on you if you don't barf up, my friends!" He yelled his bluff.
The demon, however, was not afraid. It roared and raised its claws to kill him. Booker quickly ducked under its slashing claws before quickly jumping out of the way of another attack. Knowing he had to get away from it, Booker yelled and swung the hockey stick down on the monster's head, smashing it into pieces.
The monster reared up on its back legs and grabbed its face in pain. Giving Booker the opening he needed. Baseball sliding between its legs, Booker scrambled to his feet and ran. He ran as fast as he could away from the creature. The demon recovered and launched itself towards him but ended up slamming into the wall. Recovering quickly, it chased after the Seventh Son.
As he ran, Booker turned the corner before a hand grabbed him and pulled him into Eda's room. He was about to yell and fight back when the person slammed their hand on his mouth and pushed him up against the wall. Booker opened his eyes and was shocked to see that it was Luz, and King was with her, gently pushing the door close.
Luz gently shushed him as King climbed back on her shoulders before she covered her own mouth. Standing against the wall with his mouth covered by his crush, Booker flinched when he heard the beast's annoyed snort. Pushing Luz's hand away from his, Booker covered his mouth with his own hand. The two stood together, their bodies touching one another, as they heard the monster paste the room.
When it passed, Booker looked at Luz. "Booker…" She was interrupted when Booker suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh!"
"I thought I lost you…" Booker whispered, with a small tear running down his face. He pulled away from her with his hands on her shoulders. "Where did you go?"
"We were going to look for you, but then we heard the Snaggleback, and we had to get out of there," King said, dropping down onto the ground as Luz gave him back Dragon's Bite.
"I also tripped and lost my shoe. Oh, hey, you found it," Luz said, noticing that he had her shoe.
"It wasn't a Snaggleback," Booker said, handing her the shoes. Luz sat down on the ground and raised her foot to put it back on. However, Booker noticed something on her foot. "Wait, Luz. What's that on your foot?"
Grabbing the object from the bottom of her foot, Booker saw it was a piece of paper. King jumped on his shoulder and looked at it with Booker. It appeared to be part of a tag.
"'Keeps the Curse at bay?" Booker read it, confused.
However, when King heard it, he gasped in realization. Taking the tag from Booker's hand, King pulled out the same one he tugged into his collar earlier. The king of demons put the two together, and they matched up perfectly. King read the complete tag.
"'An elixir a day…keeps the curse at bay.'"
"Curse?" Luz asked, standing up with both shoes on her feet. "Wait, what are you trying to say?"
"I was wrong the whole time!" King said anxiously. "That's no snaggleback! That creature is…"
The trio screamed when a giant claw ripped through the door, knocking them on their butts. The creature then busted into the room. This time, the light from outside revealed its form. Shocking the three beyond belief.
The monster resembled a big owl monster, with black-colored eyes and long pointed ears. It had gray hair, as well as a bunch of grey hairs growing from its ears. The body was covered in dark teal fur, and it had two black-grey wings. The legs were black in color, and the feet looked more like a bird's feet. But it was the head that shocked them the most.
Behind its haunting black eyes and sharp teeth was the face of none other than their teacher.
"Eda!" Booker and Luz exclaimed in shock.
Eda grinned a bloodthirsty smile at her students and came at them. Booker grabbed Dragon's Bite off the floor and cautiously stood up. "Eda? Eda, is that you?" He asked, trying to communicate with his master.
But all he heard was a snarling roar as Eda rose on her legs and raised a claw into the air.
"NO, EDA! STOP!" Booker screamed.
"BOOKER!" Luz screamed, jumping up to pull her best friend away from Eda. However, in doing so, her phone slipped out of its pocket and dropped on the floor. When it hit the ground on its edge, it activated the camera, causing a bright flash at it to picture.
The camera's flash caused the cursed witch's eyes to retract to normal for just a moment. She screamed in agony and covered her eyes. Giving Booker and Luz the chance to pick up King and her phone before rushing towards a small stone wall on the upper balcony of the house. They quickly got over the wall and hid behind it as Eda let out another roar.
As the cursed witch searched the room for them, she started going over to the wall they were hiding behind. Booker and Luz covered their mouths with their hands, trying not to breathe. Eda growled as she tried to sniff them out.
Looking down at a small tin can near him, Booker grabbed it and passed it to Luz. She threw it and covered her ears when it hit something far away.
The metallic chattering drew the owl monster's attention. Eda roared and ran off in the direction of the sound.
Booker peered his head out over the wall and saw she was gone. He sighed in relief and slid back down onto the ground.
"This is really bad," Booker said, sheathing Dragon's Bite onto his back. "I can't believe that Eda is that thing, and she tried to kill us!"
"What happened to her?" Luz asked, worried.
"Don't you see? The elixir I gave you doesn't give Eda powers. It prevents her from turning into that thing. She's turned into a nightmare, and it's all my fault!" King said, slumping down on the floor in shame. Booker and Luz looked at him with sad expressions as King looked at his friends. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I‐I just wanted you to be into demons like you're into magic. I don't have many friends, and no one even pays that much attention to me. I thought maybe if I taught you two, then finally someone would care about creatures like me."
Booker and Luz looked at one another, feeling guilty for ignoring King's attempts to bond with them all day. He was just like them. He didn't belong anywhere. He was an outcast like them. Pulling out the pen, Luz lit it and held it out to King. "Well... let's finish the lesson."
"Huh?" King asked.
"That's right, King," Booker said with a smile, petting the little demon on his head. "Eda's turned into some kind of demon, and we need to get her back to normal before she causes any more damage. And to do that, we're going to need the best expert about demons in the world."
King looked at him and Luz before pointing at himself. Both teens nodded their heads, and Luz gave him the pen. Filled with joy, King giggled like crazy and hugged them both.
After the hug, King grabbed some leaves and started to draw Eda's monster face on it. "Let's see. She was bigger, covered in feathers, and had giant black eyes. Demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to light," King told the two friends. He paused before pointing to Luz's phone. "That's it. Light! Luz, use your human wonder rectangle."
"I can't. My camera's all blasted," Luz said, showing the demon her cracked camera.
"And even if we used mine, would it really work?" Booker asked.
"Then... what about that light spell?" King asked the two.
"I don't even know how to use my magic on command," Booker said, looking down at his hands.
"And I can't draw circles in the air," Luz chimed in, sliding down against the wall with a sad face. "I'm not like Eda or Booker." She played the video of Eda performing the light spell. She didn't know why. Maybe she was hoping to see something that would help her.
But then the video started to glitch halfway through. However, just as Luz was going to turn off her phone, something started to appear on her screen. It flickered in and out of existence before finally showing itself. It was a strange glowing symbol inside the magic circle that resembled a bird. It had a large triangle in the circle with a smaller triangle and circle on top. Down the middle was a long line that had two smaller lines going across, side by side, within the large triangle.
Upon seeing it, Luz gasped. "There's a pattern in the spell circle!"
"What? Where?" King asked as he and Booker peered over her shoulder to see.
"It looks like this," Luz took the pen from King and placed a leaf over the phone screen. The human girl, born without any magical abilities, started to draw the glyph on the leaf and then tapped it. "There."
And then, something amazing happened. Luz Noceda watched as the glyph she drew started to glow before the leaf started to scrunch up and glow. Transforming into a ball of light.
As Booker and King stared at the light spell in astonishment, Luz gently lifted it up with her hands. "It's beautiful…"
Taking off his goalkeeper glovers, Booker reached out to it with his hand and touched the light. Feeling the warmth before his attention was taken to his hand.
The marking had returned, and this time, it had the light spell's glyph inside it.
"My magic is a trinity of mind, body, and spirit," he whispered, pulling his hand away from the light spell and looking at his hands. That's when an idea came into his head. The mind knew the glyph of a spell. The body was his physical being. The spirit was his will. "And I am the circle…" He was the magic circle. The triangle, his magic, was within him, the circle.
Taking a deep breath, Booker sat on his knees and held his hands out in front of him. Palms facing one another. Closing his eyes, he envisioned the light glyph in his mind. With his body and mind ready, he then clapped his hands together.
Luz and King watched with amazement as the Seventh Son's magic circles appeared on his hand again. Glowing brightly, Booker felt his magic from within his body. There was so much—it was like an ocean. But all he needed was a cub of that power. Opening his eyes, Booker looked at his hands and pulled them apart.
To everyone's amazement, that cub of his magic gave him a light spell the size of a basketball.
"I...I did it," he said, his mouth forming a big smile. We did it! We just did magic."
Luz gasped upon realizing Booker was right. The two jumped up to their feet, and Luz jumped into Booker's arms. He laughed as he held her and twirled her around. "We just did magic! We just did magic!"
Their moment was interrupted by Eda's loud roaring. Booker quickly pulled his large ball of light to his body as Luz covered hers up.
"I've got an idea," Booker said to Luz and King. "If you can get Eda to me, I can try to create a giant light spell that'll stop her. Do you think you can do it?"
Luz nodded and turned to King. "What do you say, boo‐boo buddy?"
King scoffed. "I'm kind of over that nickname. But okay." The three fist-bumped.
Back in the living room, Eda sniffed around, trying to find food for her to devour. She continued searching until she heard the sound of clicking. Turning her head in the direction it came from, the transformed witch saw Luz and King standing at the doorway. The little demon lit the pen.
"Oh, Luz, you were right. This is a lovely thing we have here," King said mockingly.
"It's just so dang shiny," said Luz.
Even in her monster form, Eda was still drawn to the light of the pen. She tilted her head left and right as she stared at the pen with big eyes. Launched into a sprint a millisecond before Eda lunged at her. The witch landed on the ground before turning and started chasing after them.
Elsewhere in the house, Booker was waiting for Luz and King to come to him. When he heard Eda's roar, he knew it was his time. He clapped his hands together and started to make a big enough light spell to do the job. And a second later, Luz and King turned the corn and started coming to him.
"Booker, do it now!" Luz screamed as Eda roared.
"I'm sorry, Eda. But this is for your own good!" Booker yelled. Luz and King made it behind the young man as he cast the spell. Eda was about to attack and kill Booker when he threw his magic hands toward her, and a massive light erupted from his palms. The powerful light nearly blinded the trio, and Eda screamed in agony as the light enveloped the whole house.
When Eda opened her eyes, her vision was still foggy. But the first thing she saw was a familiar head of gold hair.
"Mal…" she said before realizing that she had a long, crazy straw in her mouth.
"Eda! You're awake!" Booker exclaimed with a smile. Realizing that it was Malcolm's son, Eda shot up before taking out the straw in her mouth. She turned to Booker, but he freaked out when he saw the left side of her face was still cursed. "Ahh! Demon curse!"
"Ahh!" Eda freaked out after accidentally showing Booker her transformed side. She quickly slurped up the rest of the elixir. As this happened, the jewel on her chest returned to its original color, and the rest of her face returned to normal.
After calming down, Booker walked back over and sat on the edge of the nest. "Are you okay, Eda?"
"W‐What happened?" she asked him in a state of confusion, placing her hand on her head. "Oh, I have the worst headache. And my mouth tastes like roadkill."
Booker was about to answer her questions when she suddenly started to gag before throwing up a large pellet. The boy looked at it in disgust before the pellet split open, and the Snaggleback fell out of it—still alive, surprisingly.
"I'm just gonna... lie here for a minute," said the ape-looking demon.
Turning back to Eda, Booker asked, "You don't remember anything? You turned into a monster that almost killed."
That statement made Eda pause for a moment. "Oh Titan, no... no! Did I hurt anyone?" she asked, worriedly looking at him.
"You messed up Hooty, but he's still alive. Everyone else is safe," Booker said with a reassuring smile.
Eda sighed in relief, thankful that she hadn't hurt the kids. Noticing the bottle of elixir that she was drinking from, Eda picked it up. "I was looking for that," she said, remembering how she couldn't find it before the transformation took over.
"Actually, we found an extra one in your closet," King said, walking over to her and Booker.
"King? King !" She said, realizing why she couldn't find the first bottle, which caused her to turn into her monster form. Booker sighed and clapped his hands together. "You stole my elixir?! I ought to break every bone in your‐‐"
She was cut off when Booker held out his hand with a small light spell in it. Eda looked at it with amazement as Booker brought his hand out from underneath it and clapped his hands again, creating a slightly larger ball of light, which made Eda's eyes widen.
"I was able to figure out how to do it," Booker said with a smile. "And it's not just me." He pointed over to the corner of the room where balls of light surrounded Luz. Drawing another light glyph onto a piece of paper, she taped it with her pencil and watched as it curled up and became another light spell.
Eda looked at her other apprentice in bewilderment. "Wow. How is she doing that?" she asked, looking up at the balls of light that floated around them like stars.
"I guess you can say your lesson really helped her," Booker said, proud that his best friend had achieved her dream of doing magic.
King looked down at the ground in shame. "Hey, I, uh, kind of messed a bunch of things up back there. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said the Owl Lady.
"Well, you better be. I got a long list of disgusting chores with your name on it," she said firmly, making the demon flinch. She then sighed as Luz walked over to join them. "But it's not entirely your fault…"
"That's right," Booker said, walking over to stand next to Luz. He gave her a firm look of his own. "I think it's time to come clean about what's going on, Eda. After what happened tonight, we deserve to know."
Eda stared at Booker and then at Luz, hesitant about telling them the truth. But in the end, she let out a sigh. Knowing that they did deserve to know after what she put them through. "You're right...I haven't been completely honest with you guys," she said to them. After a moment, she sighed and started to explain. "When I was younger, I was cursed. I don't know exactly how it happened; all I know is that if I don't take my elixir, well, that's why people call me the 'Owl' Lady. No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it's manageable."
Booker and Luz looked at their depressed teacher with stunned expressions. This was a lot of heavy backstory lore for them. "So, are you okay now?" the girl asked.
"There's nothing for you two to worry about. It's all under control," Eda said, sitting up on the edge of the nest.
"But is it really?" Booker asked, not buying it.
"I promise it is. As long as no one steals my elixir— King —" she pointed at the demon. "-then I'm fine. But, hey, look at this. A human is doing magic, and a half-witch is unlocking his magic. Good on you, kids."
"We had some encouragement from a great teacher," Luz said, looking down at King with a smile.
"Oh, you…" King playfully waved at the compliment.
"Hey, hey! Is anyone there? Hello?" Yelled a familiar, albeit annoying, voice from downstairs. "Hoot? I'm on the floor. It's cold!"
"Hooty's up," Booker said.
"That voice. That horrific voice!" King exclaimed in annoyance as he walked out of the room.
"We'll take care of him. You stay in bed," Luz told Eda before reaching down and picking up the Snaggleback. "Come on, you goopy fella. We'll set you free now."
"Ow, ow, ow. I think my tail was digested," the Snaggleback said as she carried him out of the room. Booker was about to follow when he remembered something that he had to talk to Eda about.
"Hey...Eda? I was wondering if I could talk to you about something," Booker said, walking over to the nest and sitting inside of it with Eda. He then reached into the pocket of his sweater. "It's about this."
Booker pulled out an old photo and showed it to Eda. When she saw it, her eyes widened. It showed her as a teenager, with bright orange hair and without her golden fang, kissing Malcolm on the kiss cheek. The father and son looked so much alike that it was scary. Only Mal had longer hair, with the back tied in a low ponytail, and purple eyes.
Eda stared at the photo before slowly grabbing it. "Where did you find this?"
"I found it when we were looking for your elixir," Booker said. "So, you and Dad were together?"
"That's right, but it was only for a short time," Eda said, looking down at the ground with a sad smile. "Out of all the demons and witches, your father was the only one that tried to understand me, and I really did love him, Booker. He was an amazing man. Powerful, brave, good-natured, and hot as hell. With his looks, I'm surprised you're not getting all the girl's attention." Eda started chuckling while Booker cringed.
"Please don't make this weird," Booker said before asking her, "So...what happened?"
That smile vanished as she started explaining to him. "I fucked up. When I got cursed, Mal tried to help me break it. He did everything in his power to lift it, but in the end, it couldn't be done. Not even his magic could cure me. I ended up pushing him away until we got into an argument, and I broke his heart. When I realized what I had done, I was heartbroken too and tried to find him. But in the end, he met your mother in the human world.
"To this day, it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. The worst mistake I've ever made. But he and I were able to reconcile and remained best friends. He'd come over and help King and me, but when you were born, he gave me his portal to the human world before leaving for the last time."
Booker took a deep breath as he leaned forward with his arms on his knees. Eda was his father's old flame. Did Malcolm originally have that portal through which he and Luz came? This was a lot to take in for him, but right now, all he felt was sadness for Eda.
"I'm so sorry, Eda," Booker said softly. "It wasn't your fault what happened between you and dad."
"Me and your father...we were just like you and Luz," said the woman. Booker looked at her and saw Eda smiling knowingly at him, making him blush when he realized what she meant. "Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't pushed him away. But I guess there was one good thing that came out of it."
"What?"
"...You."
Booker looked at her with wide eyes before he smiled. Touched by her heartfelt response, Booker reached over and pulled Eda into a huge. Surprising the old woman.
"Ugh! This again-"
"Thank you, Aunt Eda," Booker said, making her stop.
Feeling tears in her eyes, Eda smiled, wiped them away, and gently pushed him away. "Alright, that's enough, you little knucklehead. Get out of here so I can get some sleep," she said. Booker laughed and started leaving the room.
"You got it, Aunt Eda," Booker said, closing the door behind him.
Eda sat in her nest for a moment, smiling. He really was like his father. Looking at her photo, she took it and set it on the nightstand. Then she laid down inside the nest. "Aunt Eda...I think I can get used to that," she said before falling asleep.
But when she opened her eyes, Eda realized she was dreaming. Standing in the middle of a dark void, Eda was facing her old bedroom door. "No...not this memory again," she said anxiously.
The door opened on its own. On the other side, with blinding white light behind it, was a shadowy figure with large, round white eyes that only whispered words that couldn't be understood. But Eda knew she was looking at the beat that ruined her life.
"You! You're the one who cursed me, aren't you?" She yelled at the being. "Who are you? WHO ARE YOU!?"
Eda suddenly shot awake with a gasp. Quickly looking around, she saw she was back in her bedroom. Realizing it was just a dream, Eda sighed and looked at the photo of her and Malcolm. Grabbing it, she looked at it again.
"I miss you, Mal," she said, putting the photo under her pillow. "I promise I'll look after Booker..."
Meanwhile, downstairs, Booker finished putting Hooty back in place as Luz placed her bandaids on the door where Eda clawed into it. "There we go. Good as new!" Booker said with a smile.
"Welcome to the boo‐boo buddy club, Hooty," Luz said.
"Finally! I get to be a part of something!" the owl said.
As for King, he interviewed the Snaggleback and wrote down a detailed description of his encounter with Eda's cursed form. "And then she had teeth in her stomach. Teeth in her stomach! Can you believe that?" the Snaggleback said, his shell that Booker brought back to him sitting behind him.
"Oh, yeah. This will make a great addition to my demon book," King told the other demon, showing him a drawing of cursed Eda and the notes he got down.
"That book is filled with so many interesting things. Like this." The Snaggleback picked up one of King's books and opened it to the page with his kind in it. "I'm one of the strongest demons on the Boiling Isles, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to edit that."
"...Oh." The Snaggleback moaned sadly.