It was a new day for Booker Bridges on the Boiling Isles. Things had finally calmed down after he found his distant relatives. Luckily, he's been receiving messages from all of them from creepy human-headed owls.
Why they are a thing will never be known, and Booker didn't want to know.
Booker is facing a new problem. No matter how many books he's looked into, there was still nothing with any knowledge that could grant him and Luz more glyphs. And that's where he was now, sitting on the couch as he read from a book from the library. His sweater was zipped open as he petted King, who was resting on his lap. Luz was lying on the other side of the couch, reading a pamphlet about Hexside that was labeled "Hexside Facts and Trivia." On the back of it was a picture of Principal Bump on the back along with his quote, "Education is the real magic."
"Booker, listen to this!" Luz said with excitement as she sat up. "They have a running of the bunnies race!"
"Are the bunnies like giants or something," Booker asked, looking up from the book he was reading
"No, but they have unicorn horns," she said, showing her best friend a picture of the rabbit with a unicorn horn on it. "Now that we'll be students at Hexside, we've got to learn all about it! I've got a new crush, and her name is Education!"
"I thought you had a crush on that one cheerleader," Booker said, remembering back to the human realm. The same girl who made Luz realize she was Bisexual.
"Yes, but things are different," she said with an enthusiastic smile.
"Is that because you realized that she's a bitch?" Booker asked with a smirk.
"...Shut up," Luz said with a pout.
All of a sudden, the front door was kicked open. Eda stuck her head through the door frame with a grin. "Hey, freeloaders! Guess what today is?"
"Your anniversary?" Booker asked sarcastically.
"No way, it's her birthday," Luz said.
"Is it my birthday?" King asked as he sat up.
"It's my birthday!" Hooty said with an excited smile.
"No!" Eda said, stepping into the house and closing the front door. "It's human treasure day!" The Owl Lady tossed the Portal Door into the air and watched as it unfolded and opened. Owlbert flew through it from Earth, dragging a giant sack. The sack ripped when he flipped it onto the floor, revealing a pile of human garbage.
The magic doorway closed as Eda hopped onto the pile and hugged it. "Ahh, fresh garbage," she said with a smile.
"Ooo, gimme gimme gimme!" King ran to the pile of garbage and pulled out a teddy bear from inside it. "Yes! Another worthy addition to my army of terror!"
"That's a teddy bear, King," Booker said, deadpanning.
King pulled the string, and the bear started talking. "I love cuddles and kisses!"
"Truly horrifying!" Exclaimed the young demon.
Eda turned to Luz, who was still sitting on the couch, reading over the pamphlet. "Yo, kid. Your trash pile's getting cold. While mine's getting hot!" She said, digging into the pile and pulling out a wire clothes hanger. "I have never seen such an extravagant earring."
"That's a clothes hanger, Eda. It's for hanging clothes," Booker said with an amused smirk.
Eda glanced between him and the hanger. "You hang clothes from your ears? Humans are weird," she said, trying to fit it on her ear.
"You can have my trash," Luz said, not looking up from the pamphlet before she read something that made her eyes widen. "Whoa! Did you know that Hexside was built on the bones of its rival school?"
"Wait, what happened to the first school?" Booker asked, confused by Luz's question. "Did it burn to the ground?"
"Yeah, after Hexside conquered it!" Luz exclaimed, showing off the pamphlet to Booker. Booker leaned in and was shocked to see a picture of a much younger Principal Bump when he was just a student standing on various Glandus students, being cheered on by fellow Hexside students. The school burned behind them.
"I've got so many questions that I'm sure I don't want the answers to," Booker said, deeply disturbed by the school's ethics. Seriously, how was this even allowed?!
Eda, who was now wearing two clothing hangers as earrings and looking in a mirror, said to the kids, "Yes, I know all these things. I went there. It was the most harrowing period of my life." She posed and said to her reflection. "Oh, hello. I think I might find myself a hot young man tonight. Momma hasn't had a good fuck in years."
"Ugh! Come on!" Booker said with a cringe. "I don't need to hear that!"
"When you get my age, you'll understand!"
Ignoring Eda's comments, Luz closed the pamphlet and sighed dreamingly. "Can you imagine it! Me, in the halls of Hexside, studying with Willow and Gus and maybe even Amity!"
At that moment, Booker's eyes widened with shock as he jumped to his feet. "Oh, shot! I'm supposed to meet so I can get my Azura book back!" He exclaimed, grabbing his sword and putting it on his back.
"Hey, uh, can I come with you?" Luz asked.
"Uh, yeah, sure. But let's hurry," Booker told her. Together, they ran out of the house. However, Luz ran back and reopened the door.
"I love you guys!" She said to Eda and King.
"And I love you, Lu-!" Hooty was cut off when Luz slammed the door again.
{Play music: Into the Badlands theme}
As the portal gate opens and the camera zooms in on it, Booker and Luz are seen to be in the sky. They opened their eyes, only to realize they were falling, which caused them to freak out before something zoomed past them and caught them. Booker and Luz opened their eyes, with Luz behind Booker and holding his arm while Booker held onto the staff to stay on. The two kids saw they were saved by Eda, who smirked at the duo as they flew to her house on her Palisman staff.
The door where Hooty was opened as Luz and Booker stepped outside. Luz twirled and posed with Eda's staff while Booker drew his Dragon's Bite sword he had recently received and did his own pose. But then Eda took her staff back with an amused grin while Luz gave a sheepish smile, and Booker looked somewhat amused, too. King popped up in front of them in a pose.
A Boiling Isle mural was seen briefly as Gus, Willow, and Amity were seen before it burned away to show King commanding an army of stuffed toys, which all fell on him. The scene burned away again, showing Booker standing under a spotlight with grief written on his face as the fire was seen all around him. Silhouettes appear as they take the shape of a man with pointed ears, a human woman, and six children with slightly pointy ears. The fire consumed them.
Now Booker and Luz were on Eda's staff, with Luz riding up front like she was driving and Booker standing behind like he was surfing on a surfboard. They zoom down the Boiling Isles, past many friends and foes alike, until Eda and King join in on the ride... then they hang on for dear life as a massive monstrous worm-like monster, mouth wide open, lunges at them. Everyone, minus Booker, screamed in horror. The latter looked brave and defiant towards the monster, and he pointed his sword towards it.
Then, the scene changes back to the Owl House, where it's nighttime, and stars twinkle in the sky. The four are on the roof and looking up into the sky. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of light. Booker's hands glow, and a glyph-like symbol appears on the back of his hands.
He grinned and slammed his hands together, causing light magic to burst from his hands. That's when the title appeared.
The Seventh Son
Chapter Ten:
"At the Knee of Magic"
Entering the market area, Luz started running around, with Booker trying to keep up with her. "Luz! Hang on!" He called out to her, but the high-spirited girl did not stop as she looked around for the green-haired girl.
"Amity, Amity, Amity, Amity. Gotta find that—"
Luz stopped in the middle of the market and looked around the many weird booths for Amity. Booker was able to catch up to her when Luz spotted the girl in question.
Standing alone, Amity was outside of her school uniform and wearing more casual-looking clothes. Those clothes consisted of a black short-sleeve dress with orchid leggings and black point shoes with golden crescent moon buckles. Around her neck, she wore an amulet with an orchid gemstone.
"There she is. Come on, Booker," Luz said, grabbing her best friend's wrist and pulling him along with her. "Hey, Amity! Booker and Luz are finally here!"
They were just about to reach the girl when, out of nowhere, Edric and Emira suddenly appeared in front of the two best friends. "Hi, Booker!" they exclaimed, startling Luz so much that she fell back into her friend, causing the two of them to fall to the ground.
Edric and Emira laughed as Amity walked over. "Edric! Emira! Stop bothering them!" she scolded her older siblings, pushing them away from her friends. Amity then turned to them and helped Luz and Booker up to their feet, offering them her hand, which they accepted. "Sorry about that, you two. They insisted on coming for some reason."
Emira approached her sister and started squishing Amity's face. "Because we love you, baby sister!" she said teasingly. Amity shoved Emira off.
"They've been extra protective and nice towards me to make up for the library incident," Amity explained.
"You mean after I put them in their place," Booker asked, crossing his arms and smirking.
Amity smirked as well. "You can say that."
Edric then leaned in close to Amity's cheek from under her. "And we still apologize every day," he said before Amity shoved Edric away.
"And who's this cutey?" Emira asked, walking up to Luz and circling around her. Scanning her body up and down, the younger girl stiffened and blushed in embarrassment, as this was the first time she had met the twins.
"I ah, I'm Luz," she said, trying to keep her cool. She backed up to Booker, who looked a little jealous of Amity's older sister.
"Emira, stop it," Amity said. She then reached into her book bag and pulled Booker's book out. "In any case, here's your book."
"Thanks," Booker said, taking the book and smiling at Amity. "So, what did you think of it?"
"It was... fine," Amity said, looking away with a blush. It was actually amazing, but Amity tried—and failed—to play it cool.
Booker looked at his book and realized that something was inside. He opened it to that page and was surprised, yet he tried to hold in his laugh. Luz looked and pulled a drawing out of the book. "So 'fine' you drew yourself with Malingale the Mysterious Soothsayer?" she asked, trying to hold in her laughter, too, as she pulled out the drawing.
The drawing showed Amity with the character, with a speech bubble that said, "This love is forbidden!"
Seeing that she had forgotten to take out the drawing, Amity blushed again and drew a purple magic circle, destroying the drawing with her magic.
Booker snickered a bit. "Trust me, no one is forgetting that little doodle," he said, which made Amity redder than an apple.
"This is great! Maybe we could even start an Azura club at school when we're classmates!" Luz exclaimed excitedly, pulling out the pamphlet.
"Maybe, but only if you get past the placement exam," Amity said.
"Wait, there's an exam?" Booker asked, looking really scared. "Do we...have to study."
"No, no. Normally, to be in any class, you need to take a placement exam and prove that you've mastered two spells. However, they increased it to three." Amity explained, taking the pamphlet from Luz, who was also worried. The witch turned it over to show the requirements. "I know you and Booker have your light thing, and you know the power spell and the earth spell, Booker. Uh, do you know anything else?"
"I know the illusion spell," Booker said.
"Uh...." Luz looked frightened as she tried to come up with an answer.
Both Emira and Edric appeared out from behind Amity in the creepy way only twins could do. "Quit giving her a hard time, Mittens," the sister said.
"Yeah, of course, she knows three spells. Right, Luz?" asked the brother.
Luz glanced at Booker, who looked at her, waiting for her to tell them that she hadn't actually tried learning any new spells. However, instead, she lied. "Yeah. Of course, I know three spells!" She said with a nervous laugh.
"Luz, what are you–" Booker was interrupted when Luz wrapped her arm around his neck and used her other hand to cover her mouth.
"And it's all thanks to my best friend in the whole world, Booker," She said, nervously smiling as Booker looked annoyed at her. He licked her hand, making Luz winch until she let him go. "Ewww! Booker!" She wiped her hand against her shirt. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Does your hand really have to smell like an egg?" Booker asked, glaring at her.
"My hand does not smell like an egg," Luz insisted. However, to make sure she was right, she sniffed her own hand and was surprised by what she found. "Oh my God, I've got to wash my hands more often."
Blushing, Amity held in the giggle she felt coming up as she watched the two friends interact. Then she got back to the conversation and turned to a page in the pamphlet. "Because if you don't, they'll put you in the baby class," she said, handing Luz the pamphlet back.
The page for the baby class showed a baby chewing on a toy cube with the symbols of each of the covens.
"Oooh! Brain idea!" Edric started, walking over to the two friends and kneeling in front of Amity.
As it turned out, Emira was thinking the same thing as her brother, so she leaned on the back of Amity's head. Trapping the poor girl between herself and Edric. "What if we all trained together? We could show off what we know!" She said.
That got Amity to look to the side with a blush, silently hoping that Booker and Luz wouldn't come along. The last time the boy hung out with her twins was a disaster, but Luz joining in would have been worse.
"What do you say, you two?"
"Huh, that could be cool–" Booker was once again interrupted by Luz. Only this time, she jumped in front of him instead of putting her hands near his mouth.
"Uh, actually, we have other training plans in a very far away place that we have to go to right now," she said, looking like a nervous wreck as she pretended to walk away. "Bye!" Luz grabbed Booker's hand and actually left. Dragging him along as she ran away from Amity and her twins.
"Ow! Luz! Let go of me! You're gonna rip off my arm," Booker yelled before finally getting his hand back. Together, they ran through the market towards the town exit.
"I'm sorry, Booker, but I need you so bad!" She exclaimed. The way she worded, it caused Booker to blush. And it was something that Luz caught on to, and she stopped running to face him. Her face reddened with her own blush. "Wow, okay, that didn't come out how I wanted it."
"Wait," Booker said, not understanding the implication, "how did you mean it?"
"...Uh, never mind!" Luz said, looking away in embarrassment. "I need your help to learn two more spells."
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Booker cleared his throat and said, "But how," he asked. "Every time I tried to draw the coven glyphs, they didn't work."
After Booker learned the power spell, he tried to draw it for Luz so that she could use it for her 'weak nerd arms'. However, every time they did, it failed. This means that the symbols on little papers were not glyphs and that his magic copied the powers of the Coven.
"And you already know the light and earth glyphs," he said.
"Then this is something I have to learn myself, Booker," she said. Seeing how confused he was, Luz sighed and began to explain herself. "You're getting so much stronger, Booker, and learning so much magic. More so than I am. Well, that changes now. I'm going to learn new spells, and Eda is going to help me because she's my teacher!"
Back at the Owl House, Eda hummed to herself while in the kitchen. She had everything she needed to cook: a small electric stove, a pot of boiling water, bottles of random potions, fruits, and vegetables, and her right hand detached to hold up a book called "Bending Ingredients to Your Will."
"Wow, this was a surprisingly peaceful domestic moment," she said to herself, enjoying the peace and quiet. It reminded her of the time when she didn't have kids to look after. "When will it be ruined?"
Suddenly, the front door opened with a slam, followed by Luz screaming, "Edaaaa!"
"There it is."
"Eda, Eda! Eda!" Luz yelled, twirling around as she entered the room. She nearly fell over, but Booker quickly caught her around the sides. Preventing her from falling. He pulled her back up.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
Luz sighed in relief. "Thanks, Booker," she said, hugging him and hugging him close. Booker immediately blushed at this action.
"If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey, you might as well take it in the other room," Eda said, smirking.
This caused the two best friends to turn as red as a tomato, and they pulled out of each other's grasp. Still blushing with embarrassment, Luz turned to Eda as stiff as a board.
"Eda! You have to teach me new spells right now!"
"Sorry, Luz! These vegetables won't cook themselves... yet." Eda said, picking up a clear bottle of a green position.
"What do you mean?" Booker asked as Eda poured the position onto the vegetables and fruit.
The potion soaked into the food, and they started to glow green. Then, all of a sudden, they all grew arms and legs. They stood up and turned to Eda. "Alright, everybody in the pot!" the Owl Lady commanded, pointing to the pot.
But the vegetables screamed and ran away for their lives. Booker pulled Luz aside as they jumped down from the table and ran out of the kitchen the same way they came in. The two friends/crushes turned to Eda, who was just as shocked as they were.
"Why do I always think that's gonna work?" She asked, frowning.
"Eda, this is serious," Booker said, walking up to her with Luz. "If Luz doesn't know three spells, she's not going to get into decent classes at Hexside."
"Just show her the other two spells, you know, Booker?" Eda asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because it doesn't work, and he's not my teacher!" Luz exclaimed, almost shouting, which startled the Owl Lady. "Booker has been able to pick up new spells wherever he goes, but I'm still stuck with the only spell you've been able to teach me. Do you know what that spell is? The light spell!"
The young girl pulled one of her glyphs out and activated it. This caused the paper to crumple and ball up into a bright light, which made Booker and Eda shield their eyes.
"And the earth spell!" Luz exclaimed, placing the glyph on the rock and tapping it. Making a small rock jet out from under the floorboard.
"You're going to be fixing that," Eda said.
"But at the end of the day, those are the only spell I know. Booker knows like...four spells, right?"
"Yeah, it's four." Booker nodded.
"And whose fault is that?" Eda asked, acting all high and mighty.
"Yours!" Luz and Booker yelled, pointing at her.
Eda was silent for a moment. "Hah! Yep. Got me there."
"Just teach me two spells now. Any spells! One can be the worst spell to know, and the other can be the darkest evil," Luz said with a deadly serious expression.
Eda thought for a moment. "Well, I have been researching my texts on wild magic, but I'm much too busy right now," she said, picking up the book from her severed hand.
"Doing what?" Booker asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... cooking this book," Eda said and threw the book in the pot. She looked back at Booker and saw him staring at her with a deadpan expression. "Oh, don't look at me like that."
Booker sighed in frustration and shook his head. "Listen, Eda, when we decided to live with you, you promised that we'd learn magic from you," he said, looking her directly in the eyes. "That you would teach Luz to be a witch and how to control my powers. We've been here for about a month, and you've still yet to really teach us how to do magic or where magic came from. It's time for you to step up and teach Luz something."
"Hmm...no." And with that, Eda just went back to cooking the book.
Booker couldn't believe what he just heard, and neither could Luz. They've worked with Eda and done everything she's asked of them for a month. They've been through so much, and yet Eda still wouldn't teach Luz a single spell. But then Booker remembered that Eda didn't know how to teach them magic. She didn't even graduate from school! The only spell they were able to learn from her was because of Luz's photo. But that was it. What was the point of learning the 'the Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles' if she couldn't or, in this case, wouldn't teach them her knowledge?
That's when Booker's eyes widened, and he grew a mischievous smirk.
"Alright, I guess you're right, Eda," he said, much to Luz's shock. "After all, it must be really hard for you...being the second best witch."
Eda's eyes widened, and she turned to him with a glare. "What did you say?"
"Oh, I'm just saying that you're not as powerful as you say you are," Booker said, getting a nervous look from Luz.
"Uh, Booker," she said, shaking his shoulder.
"Oh! And why is that?" Eda asked angrily, glaring at him after being insulted.
"The most powerful witch wouldn't have a reason not to train an apprentice," Booker said with a smirk as he started to explain himself to his aunt. "They're already at the top of their game, with no one to challenge them. Meaning they would want to train an apprentice and teach them all the knowledge they know so that their legacy lives on after them. To make them the best witch."
He walked up to the Owl Lady and stood in front of her. Looking up at her glaring face with a smug expression. "So ask yourself this, Eda: How would it look if one of your apprentices got thrown into the baby class," he asked. "If you ask me, that definitely would look poorly on the reputation of 'the most powerful witch' on the Boiling Isles."
The kitchen sat in silence as Booker and Eda faced each other while Luz looked at her friend with her jaw dropped. "Oh, snaaaaaaap," she whispered, placing her hands on her cheeks.
Grabbing her severed hand and reattaching it, Eda turned away and thought for a moment. "Hmm. You've weaponized my pride and used it against me. Well played," she said with an impressed smirk. Eda then turned back to the kids with a grin on her face. "Well, in that case, this looks like a job for magic boot camp."
It was at that moment that King opened the back door and entered the house. "Did someone say boot camp? I agree to run it. We'll rise at dawn!" King said as he climbed up Booker until he reached his shoulder. "You'll carry me on your back as I yell hateful things about your performance!" He raised one fist in the air. Booker smiled and just scratched behind his ear, making him give off cute sounds as he kicked one of his legs back like a dog.
"Nope. You'll have no part in this. Luz needs to focus, and I can't have her go all weird when you do something adorable," Eda said, pointing at King.
"I am not adorable!" King yelled, stomping his foot on Booker's shoulder.
"Awww, is my little buddy angry?" Booker asked playfully as he grabbed King and played with his little body. "Huh? Who's my special little baby?" He pulled King into a hug, which he tried to escape from.
"Booker, stop!" He whined.
"Aww, he's like an angry slice of pie," Luz cooed.
King got so angry that he squealed, pulled himself out of Booker's hug, and landed on the floor. He then left angrily, slamming the door behind him. However, it reopened. He slammed it again, and it still reopened. Booker then calmly closed it for it, and it stayed closed.
"Now, no time to waste. You'll have to follow my teaching exactly. We gotta go somewhere special," Eda told her students.
"Yes!" Luz said, getting excited.
"A place where magic energy just flows," Eda continued.
"Yes!" Booker said, getting excited.
"A place like..."
"...the Knee!"
It only took a few minutes for Eda to get them to their destination, and it was unlike anything Booker and Luz could have even imagined. The Knee was, as its name said, one of the knees of the Titan that made the Boiling Isles. The right knee of the corpse, to be exact. It was high above sea level, and it formed into a snowy mountain biome. As far as the eye could see, it was covered in frost and snow with a forest of pine trees.
"YEEEES!" Luz cheered, her cry echoing across the Isles, as she grabbed Booker's body and pulled him into an excited hug. Booker laughed and patted her head before the three of them started traveling up the mountain.
"Ah, I remember the Knee," Eda said as she led the group. The three of them were wearing winter clothing for the weather. "Mal and I came here once to take down a gang of bandits."
"Wait, really?" Booker asked, walking alongside her with a curious expression.
"Yep. We were taking a bounty hunting job together, so we laid a trap." Eda smiled as she thought back to that mission.
Flashback
The plan Mal and Eda devised was simple: bait the bandits into coming out and then take them down. They would do that by pretending to be a married couple just crossing the mountains, even though they were both 18 years old. Unfortunately for Mal, after losing in a game of rock-paper-scissors, Eda tricked him into a dress and bonnet.
And so, there they were, walking through the snow together with their arms looped. Both of them were wearing cloaks to hide their heads. Eda wore a brown cloak and used the hood to hide her bright orange hair. Malcolm was wearing the bonnet and the dress to act as her wife, but over it, he wore a sage green cloak with a falcon pin holding it around his neck.
They walked together in peace for about an hour before their prey came. Bursting up from the treetops, the bandits rode on their staffs and flew towards the couple. Landing on the ground, they surrounded them. The goons aimed their staffs at the couple while the leader walked up to them.
"Pardon me, ladies. But I believe you're carrying something of mine," he said, swaggering as he approached them.
"Sorry, but we didn't steal anything," Eda said, smiling sheepishly as she tried to stay in character.
Bandit snickered at that comment. "You've heard of us, right? You didn't think that it would be safe for you just because it's just the two of you? Now, how about you hand over everything you have." He looked at Mal. Thinking that the Bridges' Seventh Son was a woman, he looked at his family's pin and smirked. "And maybe let me have a little alone time with the Bridges."
Eda smirked. Oh, if only they knew what they were getting into. "I wouldn't recommend that," she warned the bandits. "The Bridges are magically powerful, but I married a powerful ugly creature."
Hearing this, Malcolm lifted up his head and looked at her, falsely appalled. "How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?" He asked his 'wife'.
As the bandits all looked at the arguing couple in confusion, Eda said to her 'wife', "I could make you prettier if I could."
Mal was mockingly shocked. "You are not the woman I met a year ago."
Suddenly and as quick as a speeding bullet, Malcolm clapped his hands and conjured lightning in between them, and Eda aimed her staff at the nearest bandit. The two parties stood in a standoff as Mal pulled the bonnet off his head, revealing his long, golden hair.
"Now I'd think real hard about your next move," he said. "You have been terrorizing this Knee awhile now... folks 'round here wouldn't mind a corpse of you. Now you can come with us and stand trial because if your fingers start glowing, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you."
"Those were the times," Eda said, smiling at the fond memory of her former lover. If only she could have kept their relationship together instead of tearing it apart. She turned back to her students as they kept walking up the trail on the edge of the Knee. "The earliest witches came to the Knee to develop their magic, drawn to its natural power. And it was here that Mal would come to learn his magic."
The Owl Lady stopped when they reached their destination. Booker looked, and his eyes widened in amazement when his eye laid upon the ruins of an old castle in the snow.
"This place is amazing," Booker said with a smile.
"Not as much as you," Luz secretly said to herself. However, it was heard by Booker.
"Huh?" He looked over at Luz, who immediately turned her head in embarrassment.
"Though, it's not without its dangers," said Eda, pointing with her staff to something off to the side. When Booker and Luz looked, they were scared and gasped.
Chewing on an animal carcass was a huge yeti-like monster covered in white fur. Its claws, which had no fur, were purple. It had many light yellow sharp teeth that could be seen when its mouth opened to rip out chunks of flesh. Inside its mouth, it was revealed that it had two blue eyes on the gums.
"Eda, what the hell is that thing?" Booker gulped, watching the monster gnawing on a bone that had some meat.
"The Slitherbeast! Don't worry; if you don't mess with him, he won't mess with you," Eda said, walking away.
Booker followed her, but Luz stayed behind and looked at the Slitherbeast. Thinking it wouldn't do anything, the girl put her hands on her cheeks and blew a raspberry at the Slitherbeast. The monster grabbed its meal and bit down on it. Cutting the dead animal in half as blood splattered everywhere. This made Luz yelp before she ran off. The Slitherbeast sniffed in Luz's direction.
Soon, the trio reached an area of the ruins with various-sized rocks around them and several broken pieces of architecture.
"Here's where we'll set up shop," Eda said.
"I'll definitely learn my third spell here!" Luz said, running off with her arms spread out. Booker smiled and followed her as she looked around the ruins. "Gorgeous views, magic in the air. And best of all, we're completely alone!"
Booker was about to respond when he noticed something in the corner of his eye, as a pink light illuminated him. Turning his head to the left, Booker's eyes widened when a pink fireball came flying at him. "Hit the deck!" He yelled, tackling Luz out of the way before the fireball hit the spot Booker had been standing in. Taking cover behind some rocks.
"Kids! What happened?!" Eda exclaimed, running over to her apprentices with her staff drawn. Booker jumped out over the rocks, and they fell behind with his family's sword drawn. Luz also popped up to see who had attacked them.
Only to gasp in horror when she saw Amity and her older brother and sister. "Sorry, whoever's over there!" Amity shouted, holding a light brown wand in one hand called a training wand. It had a thicker, darker brown handle and a gray cylinder connecting the handle to the stick with a screen displaying a battery.
"Hey, Ami—AAH!" Booker was suddenly pulled back down by Luz.
The young girl hid her face with the paws of her animal fur hat. "Forget teaching me a spell. Just make me disappear." She groaned in embarrassment.
Booker lifted her hat, uncovering her eyes, as Eda said, "Well, okay, but I've got a 60/40 record of making you reappear."
Booker looked at her strangely.
"Oh! You meant... ah, never mind."
Looking over the top of the rock, Booker saw Edric and Emira waving at him, with their sister just standing beside them.
"Hey, Booker!" Edric said.
"Hey, Luz!" Emira said.
"Hey, guys!" Booker said, waving back at them. He looked to Luz, who was still hiding. "You know they saw you, right?"
"Who are they?" Eda asked.
Luz grabbed Eda's jacket. "Be cool! If they know I haven't mastered three spells, they'll think I belong in the baby class!" She exclaimed. Booker would have said it wasn't likely they'd be that cruel. However, he remembered that the Blights were pretty mean-spirited to them in the past.
"What's that about the baby class?" Amity asked, walking toward them.
"Only that it's for babies, and Luz here clearly isn't a baby," Eda said, patting the heads of her students. She then whispered to a glaring Luz and a deadpanning Booker. "Nailed it."
She then walked away while whistling.
"Amity!" Luz exclaimed. She tried to jump over the rock but ended up slipping on the snow and landing on the ground. Still trying to play it cool, she posed on the ground.
Booker smiled and rolled his eyes at her. "What are you doing here?" He asked Amity.
"I'm here to train. I'm trying to beat Ed and Em's highest score on the exam," Amity told him.
Emira popped up from behind Amity and said, "Aw, Mittens. That's impossible!"
Edric also popped up from behind Amity and said, "She still needs to use a training wand to learn new spells." Amity glared at him as he continued. "So what are you two workin' on? Something powerful?"
"Yup! Powerful spells! I'm workin' on one that's so crazy! Eda's a pretty incredible teacher," Luz said, but it was obviously a lie.
"Booker! Luz!" Eda came back over, carrying a basket of snowballs. "I shall now teach you how to identify different types of snow—by taste!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, holding out a snowball.
"Eda, I'm not going to eat snow," Booker said.
"Oh, come on! If you want to learn wild magic, this is how you do it by doing weird shit. Now eat the snow," Eda said, shoving it in Booker's face.
"No." Booker pushed her hand back.
"Do it."
"No."
"Do it."
"No."
"Do it."
"No."
Luz and Amity laughed at what was happening. It was an odd sight to see, but they thought it was cute. "Is this some kind of... special magic?" Emira asked.
Recomposing herself, Amity cleared her throat. "Ahem. I don't think the Owl Lady wants to show us any of her powerful spells," she said before walking away and leaving.
Luz was thankful for this because Eda had stuffed her mouth full of snowballs. She pointed to herself and tried to say something, but she ended up swallowing the snowballs. "Oooh. Brain freeze! Brain freeze!" Eda exclaimed, grabbing her head as her students looked at her in annoyance.
"See you around, humans! Good luck with your, uh, training," Emira said.
Her brother picked up a clump of snow and was going to try and lick it. However, his sister knocked it out of his hand and dragged him away.
"Oh, and hey!" Booker called out to the twins, making them stop to look at him. "I've got my eye on you two." If they did anything to hurt or humiliate Amity, he was going to be on them once again.
"Bridges, am I right?" Luz said, laughing nervously. Emira and Edric glanced at one another before walking off. Once they were gone, Luz turned back to her teacher. "Eda! Can you please take this seriously?"
"You need to take me seriously. Taste snow without my guidance. See where it gets you," Eda said to her students, crossing her arms and looking away. "Next thing you know, you'll be tasting piss snow."
Booker looked at Luz, seeing she was looking down at the ground, sad. Booker walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her to cheer his friend up. "Don't worry, Luz," he said, getting a smile from her. "We'll get you those two spells."
Luz smiled at him. "You want to learn those spells too so that you can grow taller, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
The two laughed as Eda ruffled Luz's hair. "If you listen to me, soon you'll be doing stuff like that," she said, pointing to something behind the two kids.
Booker and Luz turned to watch the Blights siblings. Amity was reading from a book called Magic 101, which she had in her left hand. With her right hand, she then aimed her training wand at a tree and drew a pink spell circle with it. The spell circle turned into a fireball that she shot and destroyed a tree nearby. The battery light on the training wand flashed, but it was still in the green.
"And it won't be with some wack training wand; it'll be the real deal," Eda said, turning the kids back to her. "The two of you have the potential to be great witches, but talent without training is meaningless. That's why you have to trust me, okay?"
Booker looked at Luz, who looked at him with a worried expression. The Seventh Son wasn't too sure about Eda's method of training the two of them, but she was their teacher and promised to help them.
"Okay. We trust you," Booker said, Luz nodding.
"We've covered snow, so now it's on to smelling moss," Eda said, pulling moss out of her pocket. "Now the trick is..." and then she started shoving the moss up her nose. "...you really gotta get it up in there."
Any reassurance from their teacher was dashed away as they watched her shove the moss up her nose. "Uh, is there something else that we can smell....other than moss?" Booker asked.
Eda stopped and turned back to her students. With the moss in her nose, it looked like she had boogers. "Ah, want to get into the advanced stuff, huh," she asked. "Alright, I want the two of you to go around and identify three different rocks...by smell."
"...Should have seen that coming," Booker said.
He and Luz turned and walked off to try and find some rocks. Together, they walked around the ruins of the castle, secretly enjoying their time together as they looked around. Booker saw a rock and picked it up. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it.
"Smells like a rock," he said, tossing it to the ground. "You got any, Luz?"
"Booker, do you really think this is going to work?" Luz asked, picking up another rock and sniffing it.
"Hard to say," Booker said, sitting down on a bench. "You and I don't really know how to be witches. Magic doesn't come to us as it does with everyone else. And there are things I'm trying to figure out as well. Like, how do I do that crazy lightning spell Uncle York did?"
"It's not a simple spell." Booker and Luz looked up to see Roswell Gearmind, Booker's cousin, sitting in a tree above them. "It's a very dangerous one. No one in the family but Grandma, Father, and Claus knows it."
"Are those rabbit ears?" Luz pointed.
"Why is that the first thing people ask about?"
"Roswell?" Booker called up to him. "What are you doing here?"
Roswell jumped down from the tree and walked up to them. "Ever since we had to leave the temple, everyone in the family's been exploring the island, trying to find a new home that's away from the Emperor's Coven," he said, taking off his mask. The cousin turned to Luz. "Roswell Gearmind."
Luz gasped and squealed. "You're one of Booker's cousins!"
"Roswell, this is Luz," Booker said, introducing his best friend/childhood crush.
"So, what are you two doing here?" Roswell asked.
"We're trying to learn magic. Eda brought us out here to teach Luz two more spells for school," Booker said.
"And you're doing that by licking rocks?"
"Yes."
"Gross."
"Oh, Roswell! Can you give us any tips on finding rocks that smell different?" Luz asked.
"Uh, ok. Find some that are different colors," Roswell said, shrugging.
Luz thought about that. "Go on...."
Booker groaned in frustration. "This is ridiculous! There's no way we're going to learn wild sniffing rocks," he said.
"Maybe not, but I see what your teacher's trying to teach you. It's the same thing Grandma Alice tried to teach the rest of us," Roswell said, stabbing his staff into the ground. "Magic is a gift from the island. It surrounds us in every shape and form."
"And let me guess, 'it's minds and binds the galaxy together'?" Booker asked sarcastically.
"I wouldn't say galaxy, but life is what allows magic to exist." Roswell grabbed his staff and drew a circle on the ground. "The reason we use spell circles is because that's the nature of the world. The island gives us magic, and by casting spells, we return the magic to the island."
"But what do we do," Luz asked.
"Simple, make a connection with the island," Roswell said before turning and leaving. Disappearing in the forest as Booker and Luz look at one another.
And so, both friends continued to do the tasks their teacher had set them. When they were finished, they returned to a small patch surrounded by the ruins. Eda was waiting for them at their campsite. She was sitting at a fire pit with a cup of hot coffee. Behind her was a monstrous-looking tent stitched together with horns and teeth.
"Ugh. Okay. We've identified the smells of three different rocks, sorted all the twigs from big to small, and found your glove and your hand," Luz said, out of breath. Booker pulled out the glove and lifted it off of Eda's detached hand.
"Here's your hand back," Booker said, handing it to Eda.
"Ah, I was wondering where that thing went," she said, screwing her hand back on.
Booker walked over to a log and sat down on it. "So, are we connecting with the island?"
"Do you feel connected to the island?" Eda asked.
"Nope." Booker shook his head.
"Couldn't even hesitate with that response."
"Nope."
As Booker talked with Eda, Luz looked over to her right. She watched as Amity trained with Edric and Emira in combat. Amity sent a jet of fire at Edric with the training wand, but he dodged it. Emira summoned an arm of snow, but her sister blocked and destroyed it with a shield. Amity dispelled the shield and noticed Luz was watching her. This made her blush, but she waved at Luz. Distracted, she was open for Edric to make Amity sink in the snow until only her hand stuck out of the snow.
Luz giggled at this. "She's pretty awesome," she said, catching Booker's attention.
"Yeah, she is," he said, smiling at Amity as she pulled herself out of the snow.
Noticing where their attention was, Eda stood up and placed her hands on their shoulders. "Hey. I know my lessons seem weird..."
"Try super weird," Booker said.
Eda, annoyed, used a snow spell to dump snow on his head. Luz giggled as Booker frowned at his teacher.
"But this is what wild magic is all about! Making a connection with nature. The earliest witches understood that. Human witches need to understand it, too. You wanna learn a second spell?"
"With all my heart," Luz said, putting on an adorable look of determination.
"Then you both have to learn from the island," she told the two kids. "And to do that, you'll have to clear your minds and let the island speak to you."
In Booker's mind, he really couldn't help but think of this as being traded in the Force and Eda being a knock-off version of Yoda. "So, what do we do, Master Eda," he asked.
"First, let's start with you, Luz," Eda said. Eda guided Luz to a ridge and made her sit down on a stone. "Now look."
Luz did so, and her eyes widened in astonishment as the ridge overlooked the Titan that made up the Boiling Isles. Its ribs were nearly the same height as the Knee, and its Skull was towering even from the opposite end of the Isles.
Booker stared out into the horizon with wide eyes as the wind blew past his hair. "It's...beautiful..."
"I'm glad you think so, Booker. Because you're going to be doing the same thing Luz is doing," said Eda, placing a hand on her nephew's shoulder. "You both will have to think about what the island is trying to tell you."
She left Luz, leading Booker away to find him a place to connect with the Titan.
Luz took a deep breath and turned back to the Titan. "Alright, Luz. Look. Look at everything you've got. Focus."
But then she raised her right hand and spoke through it. "Focus? On what? On you'll be stuck in the baby class and Booker leaving you behind?" Luz's Right Hand asked.
Luz gasped. "No! Don't think like that!"
Luz's Left Hand then said, "Face it, you'll never get two more spells following Eda's lessons."
"Silence, hands!"
She snapped out of her 'argument' when a crashing sound got her attention. It was Amity, destroying a pillar with her training wand.
"Amity! Dinner's ready!" Called her sister.
"I caught a bat!" Edric added.
"Edric, don't eat that," Amity said as she walked back to her family's campsite.
From her place on the ridge, Luz watched as Amity placed her book and wand into her tent before walking off. Leaving them completely unattended. Seeing this, Luz started to get an idea in her head.
"If I wanna be in the same class as Amity, I'm gonna need to learn magic like Amity," she said.
Luz's left hand said, "Great work, Luz!"
"Shh! I don't need your validation."
Meanwhile, Booker was sitting on his own. Eda had him sit on a hill that overlooked their campsite, but he was still having to face the titan. "Alright, Boiling Isles. You're like the Force, I guess. And I'm your Luke Skywalker....only with magic, so teach me!"
He stared out at the horizon and sat down on the log. Determined to learn magic and help Luz. And maybe win her heart, but that's not important right now! He stayed on this spot and waited for the Titan to tell him something, and he wasn't going to stop until he got the first spell. However, as the day started to turn into night, Booker groaned in frustration.
"This is getting me nowhere!" He complained, falling back onto the ground. The snow underneath him crunched as he looked up at the night sky. The star started to become visible. "Magic is everywhere, and it's a gift, but how do you give people that gift? And how am I supposed to know what the titan is telling me? It's a corpse!"
As the moon climbed into the sky, Booker sat up and looked down at the Titan again. "How am I supposed to be the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son if I don't even know how to become a witch?" He asked, his eyes wandering around the place.
Thinking that Luz was likely having just as much of a hard time as he was, Booker looked down at her. However, she wasn't on her rock. She was walking back to her rig. But she was holding something. Booker squinted his eyes to see what she had, and what he saw made his eyes widen.
"Oh no."
Luz had stolen Amity's wand and textbook. Or, as she would say, 'borrowed' them. She didn't want to, but she had no other option. She wanted to do magic, and she was going to learn how to do magic. She goes back to the ledge near her, Booker, and Eda's tent, where she knelt down and opened the book.
Inside, she saw a drawing Amity made of herself. It was her casting a "Magic Star Beam," and in the corner had her initials, including a 'do not steal' warning.
"Huh. Her crosshatching has improved," Luz said. She moved Amity's drawing to show a page titled 'Fireball.' Under an image of a witch casting the spell is the word "FOCUS" written in runes.
"Oh man, oh man," Luz said, excited to finally be able to cast a second spell.
Placing the book on the snow-covered ground, Luz stood and aimed the wand forward. She then draws a spell circle with the wand before placing it in the middle of it. Gasping in amazement, a fireball appeared at the tip of the wand. "Yes!"
She shot the fireball off into the sky, watching as it exploded like a firework.
"I did magic! I did magic!" Luz exclaimed, jumping in place with joy.
"What did you do?!" Booker yelled, startling Luz and making her turn around. The Seventh Son was glaring at her.
"Booker! I...what are you doing?" Luz said, hiding the wand behind her back as she smiled nervously.
"I should be asking the same thing," Booker said, marching up to Luz. "What are you doing with Amity's wand and book?"
"I..."
Booker gave an overly dramatic gasp. "Did you steal from Amity?!" He yelled at her.
"I was borrowing it! I was going to put it back!" Luz insisted, hugging the wand in her hands. "Besides, I'm able to use my magic with this wand."
"That is not your magic," said a very upset voice. The two looked behind to see none other than Eda. "Kid, just what do you think you're doing?"
Booker looked extremely nervous as he backed up to Luz. "Oh, uh, I was just telling Luz that she needs to return the wand Amity lost to her,'' he said with a nervous smile. He then leaned toward Luz and said through his teeth. "Isn't that right, Luz?"
Luz heard him but frowned at Eda. "Actually, I'm doing magic. Like I'm supposed to be learning how to do it," she stated angrily. "Instead of eating more snow and licking a rock."
Eda paused for a moment, shocked by Luz's words. "Okay, so maybe my methods are... unique, but so is your magic, just like Booker's powers. Connecting to the island can help you. That wand can't."
"Well, it's already helped me. Just watch what I can do!" Luz drew out another spell circle to shoot another fireball. However, something was wrong. The power bar on the wand flashed a low battery bar. Suddenly, Luz began losing control of the fireball. "Wh... whoaaa!"
"Luz, be careful!" Booker exclaimed, grabbing Luz's wrist to help. Together, they pulled the wand away from the direction of Amity's campsite before it fired.
The fireball flew off over their heads, going further into the Knee, before causing a massive explosion as it landed somewhere in the forest. At first, it looked like nothing had happened, but that was until some large roared from the woods.
The Slitherbeast jumped over the tree and landed in front of Eda and the kids. It roared angrily at them as a large patch of fur had been burned off over its mouth.
"You've angered the Slitherbeast," Eda said, horrified.
Booker glared at Luz, who chuckled nervously. "Will it accept a heartfelt apology?" She asked.
The Slitherbeast sniffed the air and looked around, trying to see what it was that attacked it. And when it smelt burning wood, it turned in the direction of Luz, who was still holding the smoldering tip of Amity's training wand.
"Oh crap," she said.
It roared and ran at Luz. Luz screamed in fear as Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite.
"Watch out!" Eda yelled, pushing the kids off the cliff before the Slitherbeast grabbed her. It held her up while growling.
"Eda!" Booker and Luz yelled before they landed in the snow together. Making imprints in the snow. They quickly pulled themselves out and stared
"Luz! Booker!" called out Emira's voice. The two friends looked to see the Blights running over to them.
"What did we miss?" Edric added.
Amity pointed at Luz. "And what are you doing with my wand?"
Booker turned to Luz. "You want to explain everything to her, or should I?"
"Um..." Luz trailed off, unable to think of an explanation that would not make her look bad in this situation. But what could she say? Amity took her wand and her book from Luz. She looked at the girl with suspicion as she held them protectively in her chest.
"Mittens, we've got bigger problems," Emira said, pushing her sister behind her. The Slitherbeast advanced on the group, Eda still held in one claw. Roaring, the Slitherbeast swung at Luz.
"Look out!" Booker yelled, pulling Luz out of the way. However, he wasn't so lucky to escape and was hit by the claw. Sending him flying back before hitting the snow.
"Booker!" Luz gasped in horror.
The Slitherbeast growled menacingly at them as Emira and Edric ran in front of Luz and Amity. "Aw, he's so cute. Can we keep him?" The female twin asked with a smirk.
"It's no bat, but we could try," Edric responded.
Together, the twins both cast a lasso spell at the Slitherbeast's hands. The lassos wrapped around the wrists of the monster, making it growl at the witches. Undeterred, they yanked the beast down to the ground. However, Edric and Emira struggled to keep their hold on it as the monster tried to pull away.
Thankfully, they had help.
Jumping down from the ridge was none other than Roswell. With mask and hat on, he landed behind the creature and conjured a planet whip from the ground. He sent it at the legs of the monster and tied it down.
"Roswell!" Luz exclaimed.
"You know him?" Amity asked.
"He's Booker's cousin."
"You got it, Blight! Now finish it off!" Roswell yelled.
"I'm on it!" Amity exclaimed, running forward towards the creature. She tried to cast a spell with her wand, drawing a spell circle and conjuring a pink flame.
However, the spell fell apart, much to Amity's shock.
"What?!" Amity smacked the wand against her hand, trying to get it to work. Then she looked at the power and was shocked to notice the low battery light. She turned to Luz, now really angry. "Did you use this all up?"
"I... I didn't know!" Luz said fearfully.
"Come on, Luz!" Emira yelled, trying to keep her hold on the whip.
"Do those powerful spells you were talking about!" Edric said, also struggling.
Luz stammered as she said, "But I don't actually... know any."
"I've got this!" Booker rushed past her and ran towards the monster. Dragon's Bite out and ready to cut into the monster.
However, the beast suddenly lashed out, breaking free from the lasso. Knocking the Blight twins forward and knocking Roswell backward. Booker jumped at the Slitherbeast with Dragon's Bite raised over his head. Yelling out a battle cry before...
SLASH!
The Slitherbeast used its claws to slash at Booker as it hit him. Sending him flying into a boulder, which he hit hard. Booker groaned as his body fell down on the ground, with claw marks cutting through his coat and bleeding.
"Oh no! Booker!" Luz and Amity screamed in horror. Amity was about to try to help her siblings, but the beast scooped her up with both Emira and Edric. However, it dropped the mint-haired witch.
"No!" She screamed.
With the hand holding Eda, the Slitherbeast picked up Booker. "Booker! Booker, talk to me!" The Owl Lady begged, but it was no use. Her nephew was completely out cold.
The Slitherbeast put Edric and Emira into the claw, holding Eda and Booker before running off with a roar. The captured witches yelled as the monster retreated to its lair. Amity, Luz, and Roswell followed them for a bit, then stopped, panting. It was no use chasing after them.
"What do we do?" Luz asked.
Roswell held out his hand towards Dragon's Bite. The magical sword of the House of Bridges shook before flying towards his hand. When it landed in his palm, he clasped his fingers around it.
"I'm going after them," he said.
"Wait, I'm going with you," said Amity with determination.
"Sorry, but the last thing I need is someone getting in my way," Roswell said, looking down at the girl as she gritted her teeth. "Especially a Blight."
"Hey! I might be a Blight, but that thing has my brother and sister, not to mention my friend, who is your cousin!" She snapped at him.
This seemed to take Roswell aback a little. "A Bridges and a Blight as friends? Huh, Dad's gonna love that," he grumbled. "Fine."
"Then let's go!" Luz exclaimed.
"No! You are staying here," Amity said.
"But the beast has Eda and Booker!" Luz exclaimed, worried. "He's hurt–"
"And it's all your fault!" Amity snapped. Luz was startled by this and backed away when the witch angrily advanced on her. "All of this happened because you lied to me, Luz! It's because of your stupid actions not only were my brother and sister captured, but got Booker seriously hurt! Now stay put!"
Luz looked at her friend with a somewhat hurt expression. Amity had never yelled at her before, not like this. But it was cleared in the mint-haired witch's eyes that Amity was also hurt. Luz was a friend and someone Amity really liked. To be lied to by the human was indescribable and tightened her heart.
"Amity—"
Amity drew a spell circle in the air, conjuring a matching circle that appeared on the ground, surrounding Luz. With a flick of Amity's hand, a cage rose from the circle on the ground.
"Let's go," she said to Roswell, and the two ran.
"Amity! Wait!" Luz called out to her and tried to reach out to her. However, when she touched the cage, she was shocked by it. Luz held her hand as she hissed in pain. All she could do was watch as Amity and Roswell disappeared into the woods.
Luz was all alone.
"Stupid island!" Luz yelled, running up to a rock and kicking it. However, she immediately regretted it and hissed in pain. "Ugh! Ow. Stupid...me." She sighed in misery, sitting on the rock and looking down at the ground. "Amity's right. This is all my fault."
Depressed knowing that her best friend got hurt because of her, Luz looked out at the Titan's Skull.
"You were supposed to teach me magic," she said. The young girl then looked up at the sky, where clouds were parting to reveal stars. Snow was beginning to fall on the Kneel. "But I'll never learn more than this."
She pulled out her notepad and pencil from her pocket. Sadly, she drew a light glyph on one of them and activated it, watching as it flew into the sky and disappeared.
However, something strange started to happen. As Luz looked up at the sky, she noticed how the stars were blinking above her.
"Wait. Is that..." Luz trailed off as she watched the stars form a constellation in the form of a light glyph. Reaching up with her finger, she traces the glyph's outer ring. "...a light glyph? But what does that mean?"
That's when she felt a cold feeling on her palm. Looking down, she saw a snowflake had landed on her glove. And then something amazing happened.
As she looked at it, she saw a glyph pattern in the center of the snowflake. It was a large diamond with a line down the center, sitting on another line across the bottom of the circle. Across the diamond was a curved line, and a smaller diamond was included at the bottom.
"Whoa," Luz said in astonishment after it melted away. Now, Roswell's words made sense. Determined, she grabbed a stick off the ground. She broke a twig off of it and caught another snowflake.
"It means... magic is a gift from the island. It means..." she said to herself as she drew the glyph from the snowflake into the snow with the twig.
Once she was finished, Luz tapped the glyph on the ground. She jumped back as the glyph shined, and a small pillar of ice rose from it.
"...magic is everywhere!"
Now she knew what she had to do. Luz grabbed the bigger stick and replicated the ice glyph. Only this time, she drew it to the entire size of the cage. Standing on the rock, Luz admired her work with a big smile on her face.
"Magic is everywhere!" Luz exclaimed, throwing her hands up. She then jumped off the rock and landed on the ground with her hands touching the lines of the glyph. Activating it.
The resulting ice pillar grew taller than the cage, launching her through the air.
"Whoooo!"
The young witch-in-training fell down and landed in the snow. She stared up at the sky with a giant grin on her face before throwing her fists in the air.
"My third spell!" She exclaimed before popping out of the snow. "Thank you, snow! Thank you, island! Thank you, Eda."
Luz gasped. "Eda! Booker! I have to save them," she said, getting out of her hole and running.
Following the tracks of the Slitherbeast, Luz ran out of some trees and stopped when she found its lair. Growling could be heard from a large cave on the side of the mountain that was obscured by an icy fog surrounding it.
Inside the cave, Booker groaned as he woke back up. He grunted in pain from the claw marks on his chest.
"Booker!"
Booker shook his head to clear it and saw Eda, Emira, and Edric close to him. "Wah?" He asked, still out of it.
"Oh, thank Titan. You're okay!" Eda said, beyond relieved to see that he was still alive.
"Eda? What happened," Booker asked, gasping when he saw what was going on.
The Slitherbeast carried its prey as it walked deeper into the lair. It climbed up onto a stone and spat a purple goop at the wall. It then shoved Booker, Eda, Emira, and Edric against it. The goop closed around their torsos. Keeping them bound and their hands useless. This means Booker couldn't use his magic, and the others couldn't use or spell circles.
With its food secured, the Slitherbeast hopped away.
"Don't worry. We'll be fine!" Emira said, nervously smiling at her brother.
That small amount of confidence was shattered when two skeletons dropped from the ceiling. Covered in the goop.
"No, we're gonna die," Edric said as the skeletons slowly slid off the stone.
Booker struggled to pull himself off the wall, but it was no use. "I...I-I can't get out!" He said, giving up.
"Don't worry, kid! We'll sneak away when the thing starts eating the twins," Eda said to him.
"Wait, what?!" Emira shouted as Edric let out an offended gasp.
"We're not going to leave you guys to be eaten!" Booker told them. However, he then leaned in toward Eda. "We're not, right?"
Meanwhile, Amity and Roswell silently sneaked into the cave, using the stalagmites on the cave floor for cover. They got behind one of them, and Roswell peeked around it. His crow mask hid his serious expression. Amity had the same seriousness on her face as she waited for Roswell to turn back to her.
However, she didn't notice popping up behind her with a similar expression. "So what's the plan," she asked.
"We're working on it—" Amity stopped and turned around to look at Luz in surprise. "Luz!"
Luz grinned at her. "Hello!"
Roswell saw Luz and ducked behind the boulder. "Kid, how did you get past the barrier?" He asked.
"Magic! Literally!" Luz said.
"Well, get out of here. We're trying to rescue the others," Amity said, looking back at the others.
"Wait!" Luz said, getting Amity and Roswell's attention. "Amity, I get it now. I was so obsessed with learning my third spell that I didn't listen to Roswell or Eda when they both were telling me the answer from the beginning. I lied to you because I was embarrassed, but now I'm gonna save you!"
"Yeah? Well, how do we know you're not going to mess everything up?" Roswell asked rudely.
"I...I don't. It's my fault for getting us in this mess," she said in shame. Then she looked at the two with determination. "But I'm going to fix things. However, I can't do that alone. You two and I are gonna have to work together if we want to save everyone."
Amity looked at Roswell, who looked at her. "We're betting this plan on your brother and sister, too," he said.
Amity looked down at the ground, thinking for a moment. Luz was a fuck up. She caused all this and is the source of all of the problems the three of them had. Especially with the Slitherback, but the human girl was still trying to make it up.
She sighed. "Alright, what's the plan?"
A few minutes later, the Slitherbeast returned and approached its prisoners. It crawled up on the stone and sprinkled assorted seasonings on Booker, Edric, Emira, and Eda's heads.
The seasoning made Eda sneeze. "Ugh, I hate garlic."
"Well, at least Luz and Amity are safe," Booker said.
"Hey! Ugly!" yelled a familiar voice. The Slitherbeast turned around and growled. It was Roswell, standing with Dragon's Bite on his right and his staff on his left. "That's right, motherfucker! Come and get me!"
It roared at Roswell and jumped at him. The witch jumped on his staff and flew off before the Slitherbeast could get on him. It chased after Roswell as he flew out of the cave and into the woods.
Back inside the cave, Amity climbed up onto the stone where Booker, her siblings, and Eda were.
"Amity!" Edric exclaimed as the four of them smiled at her.
"Use that fire spell we taught you!" Emira told her sister.
"But I can't do it without the wand!" Amity said with a frown.
"Yes, you can," Booker said to her with a smile. "I believe in you, Amity."
With Booker's words of encouragement, Amity's frown turned into an expression of determination. "Okay," she said and took a deep breath. The green-haired witch slowly traced a spell circle in front of her. It wavered when she concentrated, but Amity was determined and not about to let anyone down.
She molded the spell circle until it rose up, and a ball of pink fire appeared after a moment. Amity looked at the fire in astonishment and smiled proudly.
"Cool. I didn't think you could actually do it," Emira said with a smirk. Ignoring that, Amity walked up to them and melted the goop. The four of them fell to the ground and smiled at Amity.
Meanwhile, Roswell continued to fly away from the Slitherbeast as it chased him. As he dodged and weaved through the woods, he turned back and headed for the cave. The beast did the same. He led the monster back to the cave and stopped in front of a tree.
Jumping off his staff, Roswell slid across the snow before coming to a stop. He turned and faced the Slitherbeast as it charged at him. Growling loudly before letting out a roar.
"Gotcha!" yelled Luz, running out from behind the tree.
She stepped on a huge ice glyph drawn into the snow in front of the tree. She and Roswell ducked away from the glyph, and it conjured a giant rising pillar of ice. The ice launched the Slitherbeast into the air, making it roar before it landed hard on its back.
Everyone else ran out of the cave to see what was going on. Their eyes widened when they saw the pillar of ice. However, the Slitherbeast righted itself and screeched at the witches. Then it charged at them.
"Sleep spell!" Roswell yelled, drawing a complicated spell circle with his staff and launching it at the monster. His spell circle passed around the Slitherbeast, and it immediately fell to the ground and began snoring.
With the monster down, Roswell took off his mask and smirked. "And that's what months of practicing on myself look like," he said in triumph.
"Luz!" Booker exclaimed, running past Roswell. He rushed towards Luz and picked her up. Hugging her tightly and twirling her around. "Luz, that was amazing! You learned your third spell!" He smiled and placed her down.
"Thanks, Booker," Luz said before wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling her cheek against his. I'm so happy you're alright." This prompted Booker to blush hard, but he smiled and hugged her back.
Luz let him go as Eda and Roswell walked up to them. "Did you see? I learned my third spell! I made the connection!" Luz exclaimed with joy.
"I saw," Eda said as she ruffled Luz's hair. "Nice work, kiddo."
"I will admit, I didn't think this plan would work, but I'm glad it did," Roswell said with a smile, impressed with Luz's magic. He then handed Dragon's Bite back to Booker, who smiled and took it. Sheathing the family sword.
Eda then turned to Roswell and smirked at him. "So, you're York's son, ah?"
"That's right," Roswell said, placing his staff on his shoulder.
Eda smirked teasingly and looked at his ears. "Are those rabbit ears?"
"Stop."
Booker and Luz walked over to talk to his cousin. "So, you're going to tell the family about this place?" He asked, hoping so. He would like to know where to find them if he ever wanted to see them again.
"It's not a lot, but we'll be able to make it our home," Roswell said, looking around at the woods. Then he smirked at Booker. "Just do me a favor, and don't come uninvited."
"I'll make sure to run the other way when the next scout patrol finds me," Booker said jokingly.
Meanwhile, Emira sighed. "You showed some real bravery in there, sis," she said to her sister, placing her hand on her hip.
"Yeah, nice work, kiddo," Edric said, copying Eda's mannerisms and ruffling Amity's hair, much to the girl's annoyance.
Ed then leaned to her and whispered, "By the way, you think you can introduce me to that hoty over there?"
He was referring to Roswell. The young bunny witch heard this and blushed. Looking away in embarrassment. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Edric was good-looking.
"Grr, stop!" Amity snapped, pushing his hand away and fixing her hair. She then approached Booker and Luz. "So, one more spell, and we'll be in the same class."
Luz wrapped her arms around Booker and Amity, making both of them blush. "Azura and Dominic Book Club? Azura and Dominic Book Club?!"
"Eh, I'm down with it," Booker said with a smile, looking at Amity.
Amity blushed and smiled at him and Luz. The idea of hanging out with both of them excited her, and she didn't know why. "As long as it's a secret club, okay?" She whispered.
"You know we're standing here, right?" Roswell asked, smirking at them with his arms crossed.
"It's not a secret!" Edric said, waving at them.
"We're gonna tell everyone!" Emira finished.
Amity sighed disappointedly.
Out of nowhere, Eda sneezed between them, making them jump. The old witch snorted deeply. "Alright, your adorable banter is literally making me sick. Let's go home already," she said.
Luz smiled and said, "On it, teach!"
"Wait, I want to do it!" Booker said, eager to try out the spell.
Luz drew the ice glyph onto a piece of paper and showed it to Booker. Just like with the light glyph, Booker memorized it and clapped his hands together. His markings turned into the glyph. The Seventh Son then knelt down and slammed his hands into the snow. Creating a diagonal pillar of ice that sent them flying.
Booker, Eda, and Luz cheered as they flew through the air together. Heading on their way home.
Emira said, "I think we can go the normal way."
When the group got back to Owl House, Booker, and the girls were not expecting to find what they had found. The living room was a complete wreck, and stuffed animals were torn apart and tossed everywhere. King and Hooty talk like they have been through a war together, but at the end of it, Booker doesn't care.
He was in the living room with Luz and Eda, throwing the last of the possessed plushies into the fire pit. "Alright, no more bringing things to life," he scolded King. Under his shirt were bandages for his injuries.
Luz sat on the couch and watched before she felt Eda place her hand on her shoulder. "You know, I'm proud of you, kid," she said with a smile. "I know my lessons weren't normal, and it seems like I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm trying to help you by teaching you the way that I learned."
"Thank you, Eda," Luz said with a grateful smile. "I'm glad that you're my teacher. I can't wait to learn my third spell."
Booker smiled at her before looking back at the fire. Thinking back to what Luz told him about how she was able to get her second spell, Booker started to think of an idea. "I think I have an idea," he said, forming a smirk on his lips.
First, Booker clapped his hands together and slammed them on the floor, forming a short pillar of ice. He then clapped his hands again and formed hands of light that stretched into the fire pit. From it, he pulled out a log and set it on the ice. Watching as it melted the ice while cooling off.
"What are you doing?" Luz asked, watching curiously.
"You were able to find out about the ice spell from the snow, right? So let's see if we can't find ourselves a fire spell," Booker said, watching the fire on the log be smothered by the ice.
And as it turned out, his hunch would be correct. The embers on the log would reveal a new spell glyph emblazoned on it. The glyph featured a larger circle at the bottom of the spell circle with a dot in the center. On top was a smaller circle with a curved triangle. Another curved triangle was also included on top of the bigger circle, which went over the smaller circle.
"And found it we have," Booker said, smiling as he hovered his hand over the glyph. Watching as the markers appeared on the back of his hand.
Booker clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, and his eyes widened when he conjured a fireball. "I did it!" He exclaimed.
Suddenly, his mind was bombarded with images. Images of that night.
His brothers were smiling and gathering around him.
His mother was bringing over the cake, kissing her son on his head.
His father lit the candles.
Himself while reaching out for the cake.
And then fire.
"AAAAHH!" Booker yelled out in fear. Scrambling away from the fire in fear, it dissipated. He stared at where it once was with wide eyes and panted. Booker then turned to the others, who looked at him in confusion.
"Uh, Booker? Are you okay?" Luz asked.
"Huh?" Booker asked. "Oh! Yeah, I just... almost burnt myself." He responded sheepishly. He clapped his hands again and summoned another fireball. This one was much smaller than the first one. "See. All good."
Eda looked unconvinced but shrugged it off. "Well, there's your third spell," she said, patting Luz on the back.
"YES! Thank you, Booker," Luz exclaimed, jumping off the couch and hugging him. Nuzzling his cheek with hers. "Thank you so much!"
"Hehehe, yeah, sure," he said, blushing brightly. But then he looked at his hand and became extremely troubled. "No problem."
To be Continued
AN: And so, we have chapter ten, At the Knee of Magic. By the way, the title is a play on "At the Mountain of Madness." This was mostly a Luz chapter, as it was mostly her trying to learn two spells to get into Hexside.
The reason I changed the number of spells a witch had to learn to three is because I first thought that Booker only knew two, but then I remembered that he learned the illusion spell. So I had it so that Luz had to learn two more spells. The reason Booker couldn't teach her the spells he knew was because the symbols for power and illusion spells are not the original glyphs.
As you likely saw, yes, I am planning on having Roswell and Edric as a couple. At first, I was going to have him be paired with Emira, but I realized just how much Ed needs love. Most of the time, he's the butt of jokes, so why not give him a partner?
I might make another OC for Emira in the future, but for now, Roswell is with Edric. Oh, and if anyone's got a problem with that (because I've had someone bitch about having Roswell be paired with a boy), remember, this is the Owl House we're talking about.
Now Booker knows the ice and fire spells, but there might be something more that happened that night on his birthday.
The next chapter will be Booker and Luz's first day at Hexside.
Thank you very much for reading. "The Seventh Son" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story and leave a review. In parting, I wish you love, peace, health, and God's blessing.