Chapter Thirteen: Long Lost Legacy

"Alright, you got everything?" asked Kade. "Staff?"

Eda held up Kade's borrowed staff, adorned with a carved centipede. "Check!"

"Potions for your curse, just in case?"

Eda patted her satchel. "Check!"

"A snack?"

"Check and double check! Are we gonna go now, or are you gonna keep us here playing mom?" she asked.

Kade chuckled. "Alright, alright, I guess you're ready to go. Just be careful out there, yeah? You don't know what you're walking into."

Eda rolled her eyes, smiling. "Do you know who you're talking to? Even with a borrowed palisman, I'm still the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles! I'm not the one you should be worried about!" She headed towards the exit, where the Bat Queen was waiting, perched on a nearby tree.

Kade waved as Eda mounted her staff and took off into the air, following after the Bat Queen. "And bring back Mr. Crawly in one piece, ya hear me?" He called after her. With the two of them gone, he headed back into the lair. The Bat Queen's children had gathered around him, staring up expectantly at their babysitter. "Okay then little ones, who wants to hear a story?"

Luckily for Eda, flying with Mr. Crawly was not terribly different from flying with Owlbert. Being a centipede, he wasn't quite as airworthy as an owl, but he was still able to catch the thermals well enough. It was more akin to gliding than straight flying, but he soared nonetheless. "So, Batsy, where're we headed?"

The Bat Queen slowed to fly beside Eda. "Not long ago, my search for my original owner led me to a place built for giants," she answered. "It is the only place I have found that is large enough for my owner to have lived. Unfortunately, when I was last there, my search reached a dead end. With your help, I hope to find the trail again."

"Huh. Alright, so, is it like a city or somethin'?" Eda asked. "A city for giants?"

"No. It is too small to be a city. But whatever it was, it is ruined now," she replied. "We will have to search through the rubble to find anything."

The pair continued flying. Time continued to pass, until an hour had passed them by, and onward still. Wherever they were going, it was to a part of the Isles that Eda had never been to before. Before long, after the Knee had passed them by, and they were flying over the Boiling Sea that gave its name to the isles.

"So," Eda asked, once more breaking the silence, "how'd you find out about this place? This seems a little out of the way for you to just discover on your own. Someone give you a tip?"

"I heard mention of a temple," the Bat Queen said. "A massive fortress of stone, left over from the Savage Age. I went to investigate, but I found nothing but rubble. Even after coming through the remains, I was forced to return empty-taloned. Like I told you, this is where my trail grows cold."

Eda opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. Although she considered the Bat Queen her friend, the truth of the matter was that they rarely saw one another. They had first met all those years ago, at the Emperor's Palace, where they had rescued one another. Eda remembered that day like it was yesterday, as much as she wished she could forget it.

"We are here," said the Bat Queen, pulling Eda out of her reminiscing. She looked into the distance and saw what looked like the ruins of an old fort or something similar, just as the Bat Queen had said. Following the former palisman's lead, Eda descended towards the destroyed building.

"Comin' in hot!" Eda shouted, as Mr. Crawly proved to be much less adept at landing as he was at flying. She and her staff tumbled to the ground, skidding to a halt next to the ruins. The Bat Queen's landing was much more graceful by contrast, perching atop a fallen wall. She couldn't help but grin as Eda dusted herself off, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

"Who would have thought that centipedes were not as good flyers as owls?" the Bat Queen said.

Eda scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Batsy!" She picked up the staff, where Mr. Crawly was shaking off the dust as well. "So, where did you say the clues were?"

The Bat Queen shook her head, which was impressive considering it was her whole body. "As I have said, there was no clue. My search led me here, and nowhere beyond. That is why I have asked you for your help: perhaps a much smaller witch can reach the places I cannot."

"Oh, so that's what this is about?" Eda said. "You need someone small to fetch things for you, huh?"

The Bat Queen grinned slightly. "A little bit," she said. "Come. Let us have a look."

Eda followed after the Bat Queen. Before them was indeed a building that looked as though it had been made for giants. Even after time had weathered the ruins down, what remained of the stone columns still towered over Eda's head. "So...any ideas what this place was for?" she asked.

"Only somewhat," the Bat Queen replied. "Its construction suggests a place of honor, or reverence. But to what, or who, I cannot say. This hall before us is the only part to have stood the test of time. I suspect that anything useful will be inside, but as you can see…"

The doorway to the temple had collapsed, sealing it off with a gigantic pile of rubble. "Ah. Our path appears to be blocked," Eda noted. "So why not just try blastin' through it?"

"I do not wish to risk damaging the temple further," said the Bat Queen. "We will need to find a more...delicate way in."

Eda scratched her head with her borrowed staff. "Well, sorry to say, but 'delicate' ain't exactly my forte." She noticed the palisman on the end of the staff. "Buuuut, now that I think about it, a centipede might be more your speed! Or, the temple's speed. Or-they can crawl under the rocks, is what I'm trying to say. Get in there and clear us a path!"

With urging from Eda, who tilted the palisman down towards the rocks, Mr. Crawly detached from his peg, his body creeping in between the narrow cracks of the rocks blocking the entryway. Both she and the Bat Queen watched eagerly for some of the rocks to move out of the way. Soon, one of the boulders began to glow, and was slowly but surely lifted out of the way...creating an opening barely a foot across. Mr. Crawly peeked out expectantly at the pair.

"Is...is that really the best you can do?" asked Eda. Mr. Crawly tilted his head to the side, earning a groan of frustration from the witch. "Welp, let's get this over with." She started by detaching her head from her shoulders, carefully sliding it through the opening.

"And you're sure this is the best way for you to be doing this?" the Bat Queen asked, unsure of Eda's plan.

"Hey, you wanted finesse, didn't you?" Eda said, her voice muffled by the wall of stones. She had sent first her arm through the hole, followed by her legs, and finally her other arm climbed through. "This is as close to finesse as I usually get!" Her disembodied arms then helped her limbless torso squirm through the tight opening. After a little while, a light spell illuminated the inside of the ruins.

"What do you see?" asked the Bat Queen.

"Not a whole lot," replied Eda. All that she could see inside the temple was a large set of stairs leading downwards. "Looks like most of this place is underground. I'm gonna go check it out."

The sound of retreating footsteps could be heard from within the ruins. "Just please, try to be careful," asked the Bat Queen.

A fiery explosion blasted through a wall within the Emperor's Palace, scattering flaming debris into the corridor. A lone hooded figure darted through the hole before sprinting down the hall, pursued by multiple Emperor's Covensmen. "Don't let her get away!" one of them shouted.

The figure let down her hood, revealing bright orange hair streaked with grey. A younger Eda spun her staff around, the spell sending numerous statues, curtains, a lone stepladder hurtling towards her pursuers. The projectiles pinned the guards against the back wall as Eda made her escape. "Aw, no! We let her get away!" said another.

Eda smirked to herself as she continued running through the palace, navigating through the rooms and hallways like only someone intimately familiar with its layout could. Thunderous footsteps closed in on her location; more guards. "Alright, time to lose 'em." Eda stood firm, gripped her staff tightly, faced the oncoming guards, and...ducked into a nearby broom closet.

A wave of white and gray obscured Eda's vision as she peered through the crack as dozens of covensmen raced past. "Don't let her get away!" came the voice of Belos' diminutive assistant. "And remember! The Emperor wants her alive! So if any of you ingrates get any ideas…" Her voice trailed off as she and her armies raced off into the distance, convinced that they were still pursuing the would-be Owl Lady. After waiting a few moments to be sure they were gone, Eda quietly opened the closet door, creeping back the way she had come.

The castle seemed quiet now; no more guards. Eda perched her staff over her shoulders as she strolled along. "Heh, good thing everyone in this castle's a moron."

Someone cleared their throat ahead of her. Another young witch stood before her, this one's hair jet-black. Her arms were crossed as she glared at Eda.

"My point still stands," said Eda, returning her sister's glare. She readied her staff to counter Lilith's attack. But Lilith didn't attack. She continued to stand across from Eda, the pair staring each other down. Eventually, Lilith's gaze softened.

"Is all of this really worth it, Edalyn?" she asked. "Do you have any idea what you'd be throwing away?"

"Yeah, Lily, I do," Eda replied. "I'm throwing away a lifetime of slavery to a tyrant who only cares about control. No big loss if you ask me."

"How can you say that!?" said Lilith. "Emperor Belos cares about everyone on the Isles, and that includes you! If you'd just stay with us, he could cure you of your curse!"

She tried to step forward, but Eda stepped back in turn, raising her staff. "Enough of this 'Belos' crap! I told you already, I'm curing this thing on my own terms. I'm not gonna spend my life as his lapdog like you, so get outta my way!"

Lilith sighed, reaching out her hand. Her staff materialized in a flash of blue flames. "You know I can't just let you leave, Edalyn."

"I know."

Rocketing forwards at blinding speed, Lilith made the first move. Just as quickly, Eda's staff appeared, and the two witches collided with a powerful shockwave that rattled the hall. Eda vanished from sight, reappearing behind Lilith moments later to deliver a blast of flame.

When the flames cleared, Lilith stood firm, summoning magical chains from underneath Eda, binding her to the floor. She easily snapped through them, causing Lilith to keep summoning more. "Sister, please, stop this madness!" she pleaded. "Put away your pride for just one moment! Belos can help you! I can help you!"

Eda continued breaking through the chains. "If you really wanted to help me," she said, struggling, "you'd find out who the sicko was that cursed me in the first place!"

For a moment, Lilith was silent, a mortified look on her face. Then, she let out a wail of what could only be called despair, as the entire hallway was filled with bright blue fire that exploded from her body. Eda cast a barrier spell to avoid being incinerated, but she soon found that wouldn't have been a problem, as ice crystals began appearing on the shield.

Appearing from within the freezing inferno, Lilith strolled towards her sister, her eyes glowing the same color as the fire. "I've given you chance after chance to come willingly." Although calm, her voice held an undertone of sorrow. "I can't let you leave, Edalyn."

"Well, that's a shame for you," Eda said, "'cause I wasn't planning on letting you let me leave, either."

Lilith thrust her hand forward, upon which the flames began swirling around Eda. The younger witch quickly wrapped her shield around herself as the icy fire danced just inches from her. Ice began to grow on the floor under and next to the shield.

"I've given you chance after chance!" Lilith raised her hand over her head, where the flames coalesced into a floating pillar of ice. "And yet you continue to cast me aside!" She brought the pillar down on Eda's barrier, causing the whole room to shake. "I'm the only one who can help you, Eda! Why won't you listen?"

"Lily, it...it isn't like that," Eda said quietly. Her words fell on deaf ears, as Lilith slammed the pillar down once again. Cracks began appearing in Eda's shield...and, as she noticed, the floor beneath her.

Waiting for the right moment, Eda lowered a spell circle to the floor just as Lilith raised the icy battering ram. The moment she brought it down, Eda cast her spell, sending a concussive blast into the floor below. The floor gave way, and the force of the ice hammer sent Eda down below the castle.

Upon reaching the ground, Eda dispelled her shield and got to her feet. This room was much darker than she was expecting, and the floors were made of cobblestone. Was this the dungeon? No, she hadn't been sent that far down, had she?

Before she could get her bearings, a pillar of blue flame descended down from above. Eda quickly allowed her staff to pull her away from the blaze, further into the twisting corridors of this dimly-lit prison.

Even though Eda couldn't see her sister, Lilith's voice echoed throughout the halls. "You can only run for so long, Edalyn! Sooner or later, there won't be anywhere for you to go, and you'll be forced to face the consequences! Belos' way is the only way, you'll soon have to accept this!"

Once the fire had stopped following her, Eda stopped to catch her breath. She leaned up against a wall, placing a hand over both her heart and her bile sac. "Sheesh. Belos this, Belos that. Poor girl's been brainwashed!"

"Another victim of the Emperor's cruelty," came a disembodied voice.

"Wha?" Eda looked around, but saw nothing. "Who said that?"

"In here, young one." The voice seemed to be coming from a darkened cell across from her. Eda approached, peering past the bars. Two giant eyes soon became visible; their owner then stepped forward, revealing a woman's face almost the size of Eda herself. She walked on a pair of clawed feet, and a pair of bat wings extended from her sides.

"So, he keeps people down here too, huh?" said Eda. She drew a spell circle to create a ball of light, which strangely took several tries. "What're ya in for? ...Huh? What the?"

The bat woman wasn't alone. Inside of her cell were dozens of palismans, littering the walls, floor and ceiling. Eda wasn't sure what to make of this, which the woman seemed to sense. "We are those with no masters, cast aside, meant only to act as sustenance for the Emperor. I am the guardian of these lost ones. They have taken to calling me the Bat Queen."

"So...you're a palisman too?" asked Eda.

"Indeed," the Bat Queen answered. "The palisman of a giant, long since lost from the Savage Age. The Emperor's forces brought me here long ago, and here I have remained since. Biding my time to escape…"

Eda eyed the iron bars keeping the palismans trapped. The lock was enchanted, preventing anyone on the inside from using magic, but not from the outside. "Well, hey, I could bust ya out. My crazy sister's on my case again, and I could use some help getting outta here."

The Bat Queen looked up at her. "You would do that, child? Help someone you only just met?"

"Sure, why not?" said Eda with a shrug. "We're both trapped down here by Belos, right? You and me, we're two of a kind."

"Thank you, child," said the Bat Queen. "I can tell that you have a good heart."

"Yeah yeah, don't get all mushy." Eda drew a spell circle, preparing to incinerate the lock, only for a tiny spurt of fire to emerge. "Huh?" Confused, Eda looked down at her arm, only to notice a few feathers emerging from her elbow. "You've gotta be kiddin' me! I've been fine all day, and now it starts acting up!?"

"Is something the matter?" The Bat Queen looked at Eda with concern, having already grown fond of the girl.

Eda groaned, shaking her head. "No, no, I can work with this. You might wanna stand back, though." As the Bat Queen herded the other palismans towards the back of the cell, Eda faced the depths of the dungeon, steeling herself. "Hey Lily!" she shouted. "I'm over here, come and get me!"

On cue, the halls of the dungeon were lit up by the bright blue flames of her sister. Eda hid behind a corner as the flames roared past the cell, deep-freezing the walls and bars that they passed by. When the fire died down, Lilith stood opposite Eda, glaring in her direction.

"Here I am, Edalyn," she said coldly. "Have you finally come to your senses? Are you ready to join us now?"

"Maybe," replied Eda. "It depends."

"On what?"

"If you can answer my riddle. Is that an owl, or a duck?"

"An owl or..." Lilith massaged her temples in frustration. "Edalyn, this is a simple yes or no question! Belos does not have time for us to-"

The answer to Eda's riddle then appeared, as Owlbert flew in from above to grab Lilith's hair. While the witch was distracted, Eda rushed forward to the Bat Queen's cage, sliding her staff into the lock. With the ice still fresh from Lilith's attack, the metal had become brittle, which Eda planned to exploit. She pulled on her staff with all her strength, but the lock refused to give way.

"Enough of this!" Lilith had finally managed to untangle Owlbert from her hair, throwing the palisman aside as she returned her attention to Eda. "If you won't come willingly, then I have no choice but to drag you back!" She walked towards Eda, preparing a spell.

Eda continued struggling with the lock. "Come on, come on, come on!" The metal creaked and groaned, but held firm. "Just once, muscles, work when I tell you to!"

"No more games, Edalyn," Lilith said calmly, reaching for her sister. "It's time to come home."

Moments before she could place her hand on Eda's shoulder, the lock gave way at last. The metal shattered as dozens of palismans burst out of the cell, causing both Clawthornes to fall to the floor. Eda was the first to her feet, laughing as she ran for the exit. "Thanks but no thanks, Lily! See ya next time!"

"Edalyn!" growled Lilith, sending another wave of fire her way. However, a pillar of stone rose up from the ground, blocking it. Eda looked over to see that the caster was none other than the Bat Queen herself.

"Help deserves help," she said. "Now, how about we leave this place behind?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Eda, grinning.

Bat Queen thrust her wing towards the wall. "Go, my children! Create us an egress!" Several palismans flew at the wall, their magical power coalescing. The wall exploded in a blast of magical energy, and the palismans, with the Bat Queen and her new friend in tow.

"NO!" Lilith rushed towards the opening, finding herself returning to the upper floors of the Palace. By the time she reached the exterior, Eda and the others were long gone, not even a speck in the sky. Her hand clenched on her staff, resisting the urge to throw it in frustration.

"A tremendous loss for us all," came a familiar voice from behind her. Lilith swallowed, unable to face him. Belos stepped forward, looking over the horizon as he stood beside his future lieutenant.

"I'm sorry, sir," Lilith said quietly. "She got away."

"Think nothing of it, Lilith," Belos said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Your sister will come home sooner or later. Once she realizes I'm the only one who can help her." The Emperor turned away, returning to his Palace. "It's only a matter of time…"

Meanwhile, Eda, joined by the many palismans she had just freed, flew through the air, enjoying the sweet taste of freedom. The Bat Queen flew up beside her. "So, does that make us even now?" she asked.

"For now," the Bat Queen replied. "I have a feeling our paths will cross again." A pause. "I never got your name, young one."

"Edalyn Clawthorne. But everyone calls me Eda."

"Well, Eda, I'm afraid this is where we must go our separate ways. But as I said, I am sure we will meet again."

"Welp, I guess I'll see ya then," Eda said. "Later, Batsy!" She waved as the Bat Queen, along with her army of palismans, split off and headed towards the forest. As for Eda herself...the sky was the limit now that she was free.

Eda created a light orb as she walked further and further down into the temple. "Well, Mr. Crawly, I guess we're archaeologists now," she said quietly. "Better be on the lookout for giant rolling boulders."

The staircase was short, but it was designed for giants, so it didn't matter much. Upon reaching the bottom, Eda found herself in a large room-that is, large for her, but actually quite small for the giants who had built this place. Torches that hadn't burned in decades lined the walls, but it was what sat in between them that was most interesting: massive murals, depicting events that Eda could only assume were from the Savage Age.

Most of these murals had faded away with time, but Eda took in what little remained as best she could. One showed what appeared to be an army of armored figures, holding swords and ready for battle. Another showed a robed witch, with attention being drawn to some sort of pendant around his neck.

Finally, on the wall opposite the entrance, was a faded image of what Eda assumed was a giant. He was being venerated by several other giants surrounding him. He held a staff in his hand, but the palisman atop it could no longer be made out. His face couldn't be seen either, as a chunk of the mural had long since fallen off. What did remain, however, were several words atop the picture.

"Eda? Can you hear me?" Her voice was faint, but the Bat Queen could be clearly heard from above. "Have you found anything?"

"Batsy? Yeah, there's some stuff down here. A bunch of pictures of...stuff. Looks like Savage Age stuff." She squinted as she examined the words above the last mural. "Hey, out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to speak old Wiccan, would you?"

"I haven't in years, but I will do my best to remember," the Bat Queen replied.

"Alright then, I'll be up in a sec," said Eda. She quickly jot down the faded words onto her arm with a spell, before returning to the staircase.

After quickly ascending the stairs, Eda shoved her head through the hole, squeezing her eyes shut against the sudden sunlight. "Welcome back," said the Bat Queen. "You said you had some old Wiccan for me to translate?"

"Hopefully," Eda said. "That is, if it's even still whole words. Seriously, that whole place was falling apart." Eda's arm was slid through the hole, placing itself before her face. "Alright, it said '...kovoum altai...akar...raxan.' Any idea what any of that means?"

The Bat Queen thought for a moment. "'Kovoum altai'...that roughly means 'given towards.' This temple was dedicated to someone or something."

"As they usually are," Eda said.

"'Raxan' is easy: it means 'war.'" said the Bat Queen.

"Makes sense," Eda replied. "One of the murals had a bunch of knights of something. Was there ever a war in the Savage Age?"

"If there was, it was before my time as the Bat Queen. But that last word…'akar.' I cannot place it, and yet it sounds so very familiar. As though I have heard it too many times to count, and it has slowly lost its meaning." She sighed in disappointment. "Perhaps it will come to me in time."

"I'm sure it will. These things usually do," said Eda. She had put her body together, and was standing in front of the ruin entrance. "So, anything else we need to do here?"

"That should be everything," the Bat Queen said. "What else did you find down there?"

Eda hopped onto Kade's staff. "I'll tell ya on the way. Come on, let's get back to your place, I'm starvin'."

"Wakey wakey, your majesty."

King rolled over onto his side, not wanting to get up from his nap just yet. "Five more minutes, Eda…" he mumbled. His drowsy state would not last long, however, as he realized that was not Eda's voice. His eyes snapped open "Weh!? Where am I!?" He appeared to be in a dark cell, with one of the walls open, where there stood a frightening adversary. "You're not Eda!"

"No, as it happens, I am not," said Shrike, who stood just outside of the cell. "But you, little King of Demons, are one of her close compatriots, are you not?" He leaned down to King's level.

"You! Release me this instant!" King growled. He took off sprinting towards Shrike. "Set me free, or face the wrath of-Oof!" Moments before he could reach the Inquisitor's waiting face, King collided with an invisible wall that kept him trapped within the cell. Shrike seemed to find this amusing.

"Now I see why Eda has kept you around for so long," he said, almost laughing. He stood back up, leaning on his staff.

"Oh, you're a real tough guy, hiding behind your barrier of psychic energy!" said King. "Dispel your protective measures, and face me on a level playing field! Then we'll see what's what…"

Shrike would have grinned if he had a mouth. "Unfortunately for you, your highness, I would have to be asleep for any battle between us to be anywhere close to even…" His empty eye sockets began to glow for a moment, before going dark again just as quickly. "That doesn't mean I don't have some uses for you, however."

"No! I'm not working for you! I don't wanna!" King snapped. "And don't even try to ask me where Eda is, 'cause I'll never tell you! Plus, I don't know. Not that I would tell you if I did, but…" He thought for a moment. "What's your offer?"

"Oh, I have no interest in tracking down Eda and her protege at the moment," said Shrike, tapping on the glass wall between him and King. "The other Inquisitors are handling that at the moment. No, there's something else I want from you." He pointed the end of his staff at the tiny demon. He couldn't tell, but the staff began to hum as it sensed something within him. "Are you familiar with dowsing, by any chance?"

"Of course I know what that is. I'm not an idiot," said King. "But could you explain it to me, just in case I didn't? I do. But just in case?"

"Certainly." Shrike tapped his staff on the ground, upon which it began to glow. "You see, dowsing is a learned ability inherent in the potions coven. Unlike most spells, which are cast using magic from within a witch, dowsing uses the magic inherent in all things on the Isles in order to find what you're looking for." To demonstrate, Shrike pointed his staff all over the room, where it changed color depending on what he aimed it at. "As I was returning to the palace, however, I sensed a kind of magic I had only come across one or two times in all of my days. And that magic…" He aimed his staff at King, where it began glowing a harsh red. "...is coming from within you."

King looked confused for a moment, before quickly regaining his composure. "Well of course I've got rare magic," he said. "I am the King of Demons, after all."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Shrike. "I will have to run some tests to determine just what sort of magic this is, and we will work from there. If you are particularly lucky-or unlucky, depending-your unique magic will be useful to Emperor Belos. Otherwise…" Shrike didn't finish his thought, instead heading for the stairs. "For now, I recommend getting comfortable. I suspect you won't remain that way for long."

"Hey, wait!" King shouted after him. "These tests you had in mind, they aren't the super-invasive, lots-of-needles, hooked-up-to-a-big-scary-machine kind of tests, are they?"

Shrike stopped for a moment to glance back at King, only offering a dark chortle in reply as he resumed his path.

With a sigh, King slumped onto the floor. Looking around his room, all that was around him aside from the walls was a tiny bowl filled with water. "I've gotta get outta this place…" he said softly.

AN: Been a long time, hasn't it? Now, I can't promise regular uploads, but I'm not the kind of guy to give up on a 'fic. On a somewhat related note, I'd like to announce that I'll be away for a few weeks, so I won't be able to catch the next few Owl House episodes-nobody spoil nothin'!