A tone went off as Luz walked through the 7-Eleven's sliding doors. Sam, the counter clerk, looked over to give the teenager a welcoming smile. "Hey there, Luz." The clerks were always friendly and would let her hang out there for as long as she wanted. They'd even let her read her favorite book, The Good Witch Azura, in the shop.
"Hola, Sam." Luz greeted in turn before she plopped down onto one of the chairs by the front window and pulled out the novel from her backpack. The store's located in town, far from Luz's neighborhood on foot. But she knew about a shortcut through the woods and was more than capable of taking care of herself to stroll through them safely. Her reason for today's visit; she got in an argument with her mom, which got a little out of hand.
It started when Luz was sent home from school early, which disappointed her mom, but not as much as Luz was disappointed in herself. Luz hated it every time her mom had to leave the clinic just to see her in the principal's office again. Today's incident involved her book report, live snakes, and firecrackers — wanting to use the latter two to add a dramatic flair for her Act Three closer.
Luz deflected every question her mother asked, not wanting to be reminded how much she screwed up, even when she brought up how someone could've gotten hurt. Even though no one did, she went on with lecturing Luz on how she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions. But what got things heated was when her mom mentioned that she signed Luz up for a Reality Check Summer Camp. And that the bus will be picking her up later today.
Luz did not take that news well and said some things that she came to regret. Her mom even regretted some of the things she said, especially when she brought up Luz's father. He was a sensitive topic for both, considering he left his wife and daughter when she was only four years old.
After that, Luz stormed off to her room, slammed the door shut, refusing to listen to her mom's apologies. Eventually, her mom told her she was needed back at the clinic and begged her daughter to text her when she arrived at camp. Her mom offered her daughter a prayer before saying she loved her, as Luz decided to sneak out the window of her room.
Querido padre,
Eres como un ala que cobija a mija, fuerte con protección, suave con gracia. Eres como un escudo que la rodea todos los días. Ella corre libre y tú estás con ella mientras se aventura. Eres como una corona colocada en su cabeza, símbolo de pertenencia, de su adopción en tu familia. Señor, la dejo a tu cuidado y declaró que es tuya.
Amén
Luz leaned back into the chair. But before she could flip through the pages until she reached one of her favorite chapters, the teen swore she heard a hoot. She looked up and saw a little owl perched on the shoulder of a cloaked, ivory-skinned figure paying for a bag of items.
Before she could think anything else about it, the door tone went off again as three men entered the store and reached for their pockets… "Everyone on the ground!" Luz swore she thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest as they all pulled out guns. "You too!" One of them said to the teen as he harshly grabbed her shoulder and threw her onto the floor, her book sliding away. "No one better be a hero!"
The one Luz assumed to be the leader held a gun to Sam's face, as well as a bag. "Open the register now!" He demanded.
"Okay, just don't hurt anyone," Sam cooperated with the robbers and pulled the money from the register.
"Hey, lady!" The goon that started all this held his weapon up at the cloaked person's head. "Get on the ground!" But they ignored him. "I said get on the ground!"
They eventually turned to look at him, revealing themselves to be an older woman with golden eyes and a single golden fang. "Wait, are you robbing me?" She asked with a chuckle as if this was all a big joke.
"What the hell do you think?"
The woman snorted, then the goon suddenly went crashing through the window. No one knew what happened, but the woman was standing there with a staff raised and a confident smirk. "What the f…" Before the other robber could even register what was going on, his face met her fist, and was knocked right into the candy bar aisle. The part that didn't make sense was that goon wasn't close enough for the woman to get in a hit like that.
"You're dead, bitch!" The remaining robber said he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. The bang reverberated through the store as the bullet struck a freezer door in the back. And the woman… she appeared right behind him as if she teleported. The thug turned around just in time for her staff to jab him in the stomach. She then uppercut him so hard that his nose ended up slamming into the ceiling.
"Sorry about all that." The woman apologized before leaving a handful of gold coins on the counter. "Keep the change. C'mon, Owlbert." The little owl hooted and picked the stranger's bag up off the ground. She hummed to herself as her pet followed her out of the store, stepping over the one goon still lying in the parking lot.
Luz slowly stood up and asked Sam, who was in the middle of calling the police, "Are you alright?" The clerk nodded but was still obviously shaken by what had happened. "I know this is probably a bad time to ask, but do you know where my book is?"
"I think she has it." Sam pointed behind the teenaged girl. She followed the finger and spotted her book was in the badass woman's bag. Luz was about to chase after the woman but stopped and looked back to make sure Sam would be okay if she left. "I'll be fine. Go get her."
Luz ran out of the 7-Eleven, shouting, "Ma'am, wait! Come back! You have my book!" Luz followed behind the woman as she turned down the corner of the store and saw her pull out a key with a strange eye ornament from her cloak. She pressed it with her thumb, and a door suddenly appeared right in front of her, making Luz stop and bewildered gasp.
The woman walked through, and Luz resumed her chase. "Hey! Wait!" She followed her through the door then found herself in the middle of a tent. "Woah." It was packed full of stacked boxes, clothes hanging out on lines, and lots of other stuff. "I thought I owned some weird stuff." Luz picked up a coat hanger jammed into a doll's head and attached on to a toy lizard monster's body. "But... this is impressive."
"Now, these…" Luz heard the stranger's voice and sneaked closer to the front of the tent.
She spied on the woman as she emptied her bag onto a table, including candy and other snacks, medicine, frozen meals, and cheap toys. Her pet owl perched himself on the woman's staff and suddenly turned into a wooden ornament, making Luz gasp.
"These are gonna make me rich." She continued sorting through items and eventually found the Good Witch Azura book in the pile. "Oh, hey, I don't remember picking this up. Well, at least it'll make good kindling." She held it over a lit candle.
Luz gasped and vaulted out of the tent, snatching the book from her as she exclaimed, "Excuse me! Sorry! It's mine! Thank you!"
The teenager made a mad dash for the portal… door… whatever, when it suddenly folded itself out of existence. Luz felt a chill crawl up her back and turned around to see the woman was right behind and glaring at her. "You're not going anywhere."
Luz crawled the tent's tarp and kept running but stopped as soon as she saw there were monsters and other strange creatures around every corner. "Oh, no! No! No! No! What's going on?" Luz backed began hyperventilating, then heard fluttering. She turned to the sound and saw, "Oh, hello, little fairy." She let out a sigh of relief. "Are you gonna tell me this is all just a fantastical dream?"
The adorable creature then revealed its giant sets of sharp teeth as it demanded, "Give me your skin!"
Luz screamed then swatted it away like a mosquito. "Where am I? Did I die? Is this Hell? Am I in Hell!"
Then, a strange yellow aura suddenly enveloped her. "What the…" She was lifted a foot off the ground and couldn't move. Out of the corner of her eye, she squeaked as she saw the woman was right next to her.
"You wish." She said, then flicked her finger back. Luz screamed as she went flying past her and landed butt-first on a creaking stool as the woman leaned in on her.
"I'm sorry! I just wanted my book!" Luz closed her eyes and held to book to her chest. "If you're gonna kill me, please make it quick and painless!"
The woman then busted out with laughter and asked, "Kill you? Why would I kill a potential customer?" Luz was at a loss for words and noticed a sign above the stand: Human Collectibles… No refunds. "I remember seeing you in that human store. You're welcome for saving your hide, by the way."
"That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say."
"Oh, dear child," pulled down her hood to reveal an untamed mane of thick and long gray hair and pointed ears. "I'm not like you. Now, while I have you here, can I offer you…" She pulled out a rubber clog, "This human foot filled with holes?" She pulled out a deodorant roll, "A bar of green human candy?" Then she pulled out a broken TV, "Or how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?"
Luz chuckled and told her, "That's not all it can do." She took the TV and grabbed some batteries from a bowl that read "Human Candy." She put them in and turned the dial, where a music video played.
Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give you up)
(Ooh) Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give you up)
Monsters from nearby stands hear the 80s song turned outdated meme and begin to flock to Eda's table of goods from Luz's world. "Huh?" "What's that?" "The sound… it's so mediocre… yet alluring." "I'll give you forty snails for the screaming box!" "I'll give you a hundred!" "Can I eat the tiny person inside?"
"That was pretty clever... for a human." The woman complimented, while the monsters continued to name prices. "What did you say your name was?"
"I'm Luz." The teen introduced. "And you are?"
"Me? I am the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. The one and only Eda, the Owl Lady!" Luz couldn't believe this; she was an... an actual witch. But it all made sense to her now; the way she was able to move around against the robbers and that magical portal she used. Eda hopped up onto the table and pointed a finger up at the sky as she boisterously declared for all nearby all to hear. "I am respected! I am feared! I am…"
"Busted!" A deep voice shouted as a large man wearing a strange mix between a plague doctor's uniform and knight armor approached and smashed the television with his hand.
A monster screamed, "Run! It's a guard!" as the crowd fled the scene in a frenzy, climbing over and knocking each other down to get away from him.
The guard held up a crudely sketched wanted poster of Eda as she hopped down. "Eda, the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors and are ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium!"
"You're a criminal!" Luz gasped.
The guard grabbed Eda's wrist, but she pulled away from the massive man as she spat, "Would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done jack."
"And you're coming too." The guard picked Luz up off the ground with relative ease. "For consorting with a criminal."
"Let me go! I didn't know!" Luz said as she flung her arms around and kicked the air, then impulsively punched the guard. Only to immediately regret it as she cried in pain, rubbing her hand. "Is your face made of brick or something?
"Oh, alright, alright. You win, big guy." Eda said, much to Luz's surprise — expecting her to do something similar like she did in the store. "Just let me get my stuff and…" She reached underneath her table, and before the guard even realized it, Eda's staff smacked him upside the head, knocking him down and dropping Luz. Eda drew a circle in the air with yellow energy following her finger. Then her stand folded in on itself into a burlap sack. "Follow me, human!"
Seeing the guard was getting up, Luz quickly decided to take her chances with the "criminal" who has saved her twice already today. "Esto es loco! If I die here, Mami's gonna kill me!" She doesn't want to leave this life before apologizing to her mother for what she said.
"I won't let 'em hurt you. You're much more valuable to me alive than dead." Before Luz could ask what that's supposed to mean, as she did not like how that sounded, Eda grabbed the teen and jumped onto her staff together. They flew off into the air as Luz kept her eyes shut.
She felt the wind push at her, blowing through her hair and drying her tears as she tightly clutched her book and the staff for her dear life. "You can look now, human," Eda assured in a rather calming tone that worked in getting Luz to open one eye, albeit hesitantly.
She then opened both and gasped. She and Eda flew through a beautiful sight of trees below them and mountains far off in the distance, with the sunset sky as a backdrop. Luz looked back at Eda before she listed off, "A flying staff, crazy monsters, you're a witchy criminal… What is this place?"
"You're on the Boiling Isles."
A screech resonated through the air, and Luz couldn't believe her eyes as she saw… "A griffin!" An actual griffin was flying right beside them, before Luz's very eyes. The majestic beast screeched again before it shot spiders out of its mouth. "Spider-breath! I knew it!"
"Yep. Every myth you have in your world is caused by a little of this one leaking into it. Griffins, vampires, giraffes…"
"Giraffes?" Luz looked at Eda, believing she had to be making that one up.
"Oh, yeah. We banished those guys centuries ago. Bunch of freaks."
Eda steered the staff down until they were right in front of a large house with a stained-glass window above the door. Luz guessed that this must be Eda's home but didn't say anything as the Owl Lady hopped off the staff first, followed by a popping sound. Luz nearly shrieked when she noticed Eda's left hand was still attached to the magic staff, but not to her arm, tapping on the wood impatiently. "Oops." Eda picked it up and reattached it like it was no big deal. "That happens sometimes."
Luz hopped off the staff and said, "Well, I've had enough adventure for one day in my life." She took a few steps back from the witch. "This is not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about, so can you help me get back home?"
"Only if you help me first. C'mon inside, human."
"But aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" If Luz were a guard hunting a witchy criminal on the run, her home would be the first place she'd look.
"Nope. My house has a state‐of‐the‐art defense system."
Eda knocked on the door three times, and what Luz assumed to be an owl-faced door ornament came to life. "Hoot‐hoot! Password, please!"
But Eda responded to its request by poking its eyes, making it yelp. "We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in."
"Alright, alright! Geez! You never want to have any fun! Ow! Hoot!"
The door opened on its own, and Eda led Luz inside, "Welcome to…" she snapped her fingers, which caused candles to illuminate the room. Inside was a lounge with a fireplace, two couches, a wall of artifacts, and Eda's wanted poster proudly plastered on the wall. "The Owl House." Luz was blown away by the beauty before her. "This is where I hide from the pressures of modern life. And the cops. And ex‐boyfriends."
A voice said, "Oh, hey, you're back." Luz turned towards it and saw a boy and girl around her age with pointy ears enter the living room. "And you brought someone else with you."
"Witch kids."
The girl was a bit chubby with light skin, green eyes, and curly turquoise hair. She had a pair of round glasses and wore a long-sleeve yellowish-tan dress, striped grey leggings, and brown boots.
The boy was noticeably shorter than her — and probably younger, too — with brown skin and dark brown hair. He wore a sea-green tunic with white sleeves, and black tights held up by a belt and brown boots.
"Wait, round ears. No… it… it couldn't be." The boy said, then gasped as he started shaking. He seemed unable to restrain himself as an enthusiastic smile formed on his face, and ran up to get a closer look at Luz. "You're a human! This is amazing! A human on the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here? What are you doing here? Is it true that humans nail barbed wire to their kids' teeth? Is it to make them magnetic? Where are your gills?"
"Augustus, we should probably give her some room to breathe." The girl then said as she walked over to the boy, who stepped back from Luz with a look of embarrassment. "I'm sorry about him. Augustus's the president of the Human Appreciation Society. Many witches wouldn't be able to recognize a human right away, but he's an expert."
"I know someone named Augustus back where I'm from," Luz said. "Everyone called him Gus."
"Gus? Nickname? Human nickname? Gus? Call me. Wow. Gus." The boy was practically glowing with delight. "This is the best day of my life!"
While Gus was enjoying himself, the girl held her hand out and introduced herself. "I'm Willow, by the way."
"I'm Luz." Luz shook her hand before turning her attention over to the Owl Lady with more than a few questions for her. "So, are these your kids or…"
Eda wheezed like a teapot before she busted out with hearty laughter, clenching her stomach as she did. "I'm… I'm sorry. But… do I look like mother material to you?" She asked.
That had to be a trick question, so Luz just remained quiet. "So, does that mean you live here alone?"
"Well…"
Before Eda could answer, a deep voice boomed from down the hall, "Who dares intrude upon I..." becoming higher pitched as it got closer. "The king of demons?" A tiny, grey-furred canine with a horned dog-like skull for a face and yellow-pink eyes stepped into the room.
A blush overtook Luz's face, and her eyes grew big, running over to scoop him up as she exclaimed, "Ay, que lindo! He's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?"
"I don't know! I don't know who your "little guy" is!" The King of Demons exclaimed — pushing at Luz's face to free himself from her affectionate, yet uncomfortably tight, hug. "Eda, who is this monster?"
"This is Luz, the human." Eda introduced, prying the teen from the adorable creature. "She's here to help us out with our little… problem." She then turned to Willow and Gus. "And to see if these two have what it takes to survive the Emperor's Trials."
"The Emperor's what?" Luz asked as Eda released her.
"You don't know about the Emperor's Trials?" Gus asked as he and Willow walked over to Luz; they looked at her as if she should've known what they are — or expected Eda to have at least told her about them.
"No, that's why I'm asking."
"Well, before we can explain the Trials, you'll need to know about covens," Willow said.
Gus cleared his throat and explained, "You see, there are nine main covens: Abominations, Bard, Beast Keeping, Construction, Healing, Illusions, Oracle, Plant, and Potions. And then, there's the tenth coven that leads them all: The Emperor's Coven. Everyone wants to be in that one. But since there are so many applicants to sort through, Emperor Belos, the Isles ruler, decided to host a tournament to determine who's worthy. This competition is known as the Emperor's Trials."
"But it's not as easy as it sounds." Willow continued. "To make sure the Trials aren't swarmed with too many applicants, the emperor has secret examiners test various witches to see if they're worthy of participating."
Luz quickly put it together in her head and pointed at Eda. "You're a secret examiner!"
Eda had a "guilty as charged" look on her face as she explained, "Big-bad Belos cut a deal with me. If I play secret examiner this year, he won't send any of his goons after me until the Trials are over."
"Then what was that at the market?"
"It's called "secret examiner" for a reason. The only ones who should know are the Emperor, his coven, and other examiners. The only reason these two know is because Hooty couldn't keep his beak shut."
"I said I was sorry! Hoot!" Hooty shouted.
"As far as everyone else on the Isles are concerned, I'm still Eda, the criminal witch." Eda extended both of her fingers and drew a large circle in the air as Luz stepped back until she stood in between Willow and Gus. "Now, to explain what you're doing here."
An animation of a fearsome creature towering over everything in the land played as Eda narrated the events. "You see, King here was once a mighty king of demons. That is until his crown of power was stolen, and he became what he is now."
"You mean that little bundle of joy?" Luz said in a cutesy tone.
"Don't call me that!" King shouted defensively. "You don't understand how hard I have it."
Eda snorted. "Oh, please. You get pampered all day like a dang baby. How hard is that?"
"Well, I don't know if you realized, but I'm not a baby!"
"Then why are you screaming like one?"
"My life is a living hell!"
"Anyway, the crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath." An image of a large humanoid creature wearing a uniform resembling a plague doctor, but different from the guard Luz and Eda encountered earlier. "He locked it away behind a magical force field that no witch or demon can break through… but a human can. A human…"
Luz blinked as she said, "Like me."
"Like you."
"Like her!" Gus shouted, getting looks from everyone in the room. "Sorry, I thought this was a pop quiz." He rubbed the back of his head as he blushed.
Eda clapped, and the animation came to an end. "So, here's my proposal; you help us get his crown, and we'll send you back to your realm. Plus…" she picked King up and held him in front of Luz, "Who could say no to this cute face?"
King flailed his arms as he screamed, "No! Please don't encourage her!"
Eda dropped him onto the floor. "And I mean, we're kinda your only way home."
"So, I don't have a choice, do I?" Luz asked, already knowing what the answer was going to be.
"Nope," Eda answered before turning her gaze to Willow and Gus — staring at them so intently that they became sheepish. "So, have you two figured out what your test is gonna be?"
"I… I… I think so." Willow stuttered.
"I want you both to answer at the same time. If you give the same correct answer, you'll continue to the next part of the test. If not, then we're done here."
Willow and Gus both looked at each other as beads of sweat dripped down their faces. But they gave each other a confirming nod. They unanimously answered, "Our job is to protect Luz and make sure she reaches the forcefield to retrieve the crown. And gets out in one piece before being returned to her world."
Eda clapped and told them, "Correct." Willow and Gus both breathed in relief. "Don't celebrate yet. While you know your job, how well you do it will determine if you pass or fail. Now all of you come with me. We've got no time to lose."
Eda took Luz by the hand and led her out of the Owl House — as King, Willow and Gus followed behind them — with the human girl asking, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere super fun."