Chapter 2: Welcome to the Rebellion

Los Angeles, California. Earth-Realm. Six Years Ago.

A thirteen-year-old Lucio Noceda ran as fast as he could away from the sirens. It had been two weeks since he ran away from the foster home his aunt and uncle had dumped him at, and the police were still looking for him. He knew it would be hard to survive on his own, but he refused to stay in a church-funded foster home that tried to brainwash him into not being himself. Unfortunately, he had been running for over three hours now and his transplanted heart was beginning to give out on him, so he ducked into a narrow alleyway and hid behind a dumpster.

"Hey! Hey! This way!"

Lucio glanced over his shoulder to see someone in a yellow raincoat waving him down and pointing at a hole in the chain-link fence. The sound of police sirens drawing nearer prompted Lucio to briefly look back at the street. With no other options, he rushed towards the fence and crawled through the opening just in time. As he caught his breath, he was relieved to hear the sirens fading away in the distance. He looked up to thank the stranger for his help, but the man in the yellow raincoat was nowhere to be found.

The Owl Haven. Demon Realm. Present Day.

Lucio woke up with a start. "Haven't had that dream in a while." He thought to himself.

Once he calmed down, he suddenly remembered the events of yesterday and questioned whether or not any of it actually happened. Waking up in an actual bed certainly wasn't something he was used to, but he could hardly believe that he had met a witch who offered to help him fix his heart. He got out of bed and made his way to the nearest window. Sure enough, he could see the same bizarre scenery as yesterday. With a shaky breath of disbelief, he closed the curtain and tried to calm his racing heart.

Reaching for his backpack, he quickly grabbed the bottle of medicine he'd stolen and popped one capsule in his mouth. After washing it down with the last of his water, he inspected how much he had left. Luckily, he'd stolen enough to last him two months at most. He was about to put the bag down when he also noticed the book inside. A small smile spread over his lips as he remembered the day his mother bought him the first of The Good Witch Azura series, and read it to him every night. Many times, he'd dreamt that he would be able to go on grand magical adventures like Azura; if only his mother could see him now.

Setting the backpack back down, he put his jacket on and opened the door of his bedroom. Once in the hallway, he found himself face-to-face with a younger, dark-skinned witch dressed in a bright blue tunic and black slacks. She didn't say anything; she just stared at him with wide eyes.

Lucio decided to initiate conversation. "Uh, hey. How's it going?" He smiled.

After a few more seconds of silence, she bolted down the stairs. Lucio was confused, but didn't have time to question her weird behavior as he almost tripped over something. Looking down, his eyes widened at the sight of a furry, four-legged creature with a skull-like face. The animal looked up at Lucio and tilted its head as he knelt down and reached out to it. He gently scratched behind its horns, prompting a delightful purr from the furry beast as it laid down and wriggled with contentment.

"Ay, qué lindo!" Lucio cooed as he scratched the creature's stomach. "Heh, Edgar didn't mention pets."

"What's a pet?"

"AAAH!" Lucio stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor. "Que carajo?! You can talk?!"

The creature stood up on her hind legs and crossed her arms as she glared at the human. "Fool!" She sneered. "The Queen of Demons can speak as she pleases!"

Understandably put off by such a revelation, Lucio backed himself against a wall and forced himself back to his feet. "Uh… s-sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Pah, don't bother." The diminutive demon sniffed as she headed towards the stairs. "As if my pride could ever be wounded by the likes of you."

Before Lucio could respond, something slithered in through a nearby window and halted right in front of his face. "HOOT, HOOT! Hello, new friend!"

Instinctively, Lucio screamed and punched the creature in its bird-like face. "Oh, shit! Sorry!"

"Geez. I was just trying to say hello. Ow. Hoot."

With that, the bizarre bird-tube slithered back out of the window, leaving a speechless Lucio to once again question what he'd gotten himself into. He shook his head, trying to process what had just happened. He hadn't even been in this hellish world for one day, and he'd already seen enough horrors that would kill someone with a healthy heart. But until he was given a reason to doubt Edgar's word, he would put up with it for a chance to live a full life. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard Edgar speaking to someone.

"-and no matter what, do not mention him in front of our new guest."

Lucio cleared his throat as he entered the room. Raine and the blue-clad witch from earlier were already seated at the table while a green-haired witch with glasses and a brown coat brought them their breakfast. Once he set the plate down, the new witch froze in place as he locked eyes with Lucio.

"So… this is the rebellion?" Lucio asked.

"Well, you've already met Queen and Hootie." Edgar laughed as he introduced the two younger witches. "This is Wilson Park and Gail Porter. They're junior members of my little rebellion."

"Yeah, she and I kinda met this morning." Lucio crossed his arms. "Barely."

Gail nervously tapped her fork on her plate as she avoided eye contact. "Uh, s-sorry about that." She stammered. "I just, uh, I-I just, um, y-you-"

"Uh, she's never met a real human before." Wilson cut in, slinging his arm around Gail's shoulders with an awkward smile. "Heh, yeah, Gail's kind of obsessed with them as a species. It's weird, but it's also kinda endearing when you think about it. Uh, here, have some breakfast."

Lucio looked down at the plate Wilson handed to him. His face twisted in disgust as the strips of meat seemed to be moving as if they were still alive. "Is this… bacon?" He asked.

Wilson shared a confused glance with the Owl Mage. "Uh… sure." He shrugged, dismissively. "Why not?"

Despite his initial disgust, Lucio's rumbling stomach quickly swayed him to shrug it off and take one of the meat strips and take a bite. Thankfully, the meat tasted much better than it looked and he graciously accepted another piece. "So when do I meet the rest of the rebellion?" He asked through mouthfuls.

"You just did." Edgar smiled as he drank a yellow potion.

Lucio frowned in shock. "This is it? Your entire rebellion is just you, your nonbinary spouse, two witches around my age, your brother, your weird demon dog thing, and a creepy bird tube?"

"Officially, yes." Edgar chuckled, wiping his mouth. "But we do have a few suppliers and informants who wish not to risk being directly connected to us. Plus, Raine has a few apprentices of their own back at the Bat Haven. But don't underestimate Wilson and Gail, my boy. Wilson is the most skilled plant-summoner on the Boiling Isles, and Gail is so well-versed in illusions that she's even pulled the wool over my eyes a few times. Both of them have been a tremendous amount of help in taking down the Empress' Coven. In fact, I was actually just about to send them out on a delivery job to sell human artifacts and collect 'donations.' I'd appreciate it if you went with them so they could show you the lay of the land."

"I thought we were going to look for your brother?" Lucio remarked. "So he can tell us how to fix my heart?"

"Patience, kid." Edgar remarked as he suddenly placed something over Lucio's shoulders. "Good things come to those who wait. I still need to confirm my brother's in the Empress' Castle before we seek him out. In the meantime, I'm gonna take you up on your offer about earning your keep."

Lucio curiously eyed the cloak his new caretaker had draped over him. "Is this supposed to be a disguise?"

Edgar chuckled and swirled his finger in the air. Suddenly, a jet of flames shot towards the startled human. Lucio instinctively crossed his arms over his face, but the cloak suddenly shone with a bright blue aura that forced the flames to harmlessly pass around his body. Before Lucio could express his amazement, Edgar handed him a sack full of items from the human realm and a scroll with a list of names.

"Now, the Cloak of Protection will keep you safe from spells, but it can't guard you from physical attacks. So best not to actively antagonize anyone." The Owl Mage advised. "Just stick with Wilson and Gail, be friendly, and get back before dark."

"Uh, isn't there something else I could do?" Lucio huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm not a people person."

Edgar scratched his beard in thought. "Well, the only other chore available is separating dragon eggs for dinner tonight."

Lucio arched an eyebrow. "You mean separate the yolks from the whites?"

"No." Edgar smirked. "I mean separate the eggs from the dragons."

Lucio scowled and slung the sack over his shoulder. He didn't know if Edgar was joking, but based on what he'd seen so far, he didn't want to find out. He walked through the front door, greeted by Hootie once more. "HOOT, HOOT! Good luck!"

"AH!" Lucio yelped and punched the bird-tube once again. "Stop doing that!"

"They always say that to me!" Hootie cried. "Why, dear Titan! Why?!"

Edgar waited for Wilson and Gail to join Lucio before turning to his smaller demon friend. "Queen, you go with them and make sure they keep out of trouble."

"How dare you order me around, peasant?!" Queen snapped, irritably.

"I don't care if you are Queen of All Demons. You live under my roof, you do the favors I ask you for." Edgar crossed his arms, impatiently. "Or do you want to start paying rent?"

Queen grumbled, irritably, as she slid off of the couch and scampered after the others. Once the kids were out of sight, Raine finally allowed themselves to break down in their husband's embrace. "By the Titans…" They sobbed. "He really does look just like him."

"I know…" Edgar cried as he held them. "I know… I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, Wilson waved his hands around to clear the thick shrubbery and trees that were hiding the path to the Owl Haven, then moved them back in place the further they went. Once the trees were back in place, Gail swirled her finger in the air, creating multiple "KEEP OUT!" signs out of thin air; Lucio was most impressed. A few miles later, the group came upon a town. Lucio recognized it as the same town he'd seen from the Earth Haven.

"Welcome to Bonesborrough." Wilson remarked. "This is where we make most of our revenue."

Lucio nodded. "So what exactly do we sell?"

"Human artifacts!" Gail explained, excitedly. "They're considered contraband in the Demon Realm, so the people who are interested in human stuff can't get them at regular markets. The Owl Mage uses the Earth Haven to bring human relics here for us to sell! And half the proceeds go to feeding the poor that the Empress' Coven neglects."

"'Human artifacts,' huh?" With his curiosity getting the better of him, Lucio opened up his own sack to rummage around and see exactly what he was carrying. Needless to say, he was underwhelmed at the sight of junk anyone on Earth would find at a basic yard sale. "Guess even a place as creepy as this can have suckers." He remarked to himself.

Wilson shushed his new friend, pointing to Gail currently selling one of her items to a customer. "Uh, ix-nay on the uckers-say." He scolded, lightly. "The other half of the proceeds fund our entire rebellion."

Lucio cleared his throat and smiled at the witch who had just purchased a broken lamp. The group continued down the street until Wilson grabbed his friends and pulled them into an alley. Lucio tried to ask what was wrong, but Gail covered his mouth and signaled for him to be quiet. The human silently nodded, prompting Gail to remove her hand and join Wilson in peeking out from the corner. Lucio tiptoed behind them and leaned over to get a glimpse of two witches dressed in white uniforms with silver masks led by another witch with a similar uniform but with a golden mask. They were going around from citizen to citizen, showing off wanted posters for the Owl Mage and the two junior members of his rebellion.

Wilson wisely motioned for his friends to cut through to the other side of the alley, and the trio quickly climbed up the fence to avoid detection. Lucio looked back at the fence as his group carried on. "Okay… so, I'm assuming those guys were in the Empress' Coven?"

"You got it." Wilson nodded and spat on the ground in disgust. "They've been after the Owl Mage ever since he refused to join any of the nine covens and openly defied Empress Bela. And they've been after me and Gail ever since we joined him."

"Do your parents know you're part of a rebellion?" He asked.

Wilson frowned and looked back at Gail. "Our parents were executed by the Empress' Coven." He replied, gravely, much to Lucio's horror. "We had nowhere to go so the Owl Mage took us in."

"I… I'm sorry to hear that." Lucio remarked. After a brief moment of awkward silence, the human decided to change the subject. "So, uh, why do they call him 'the Owl Mage?'"

"Nobody knows." Wilson shrugged. "He keeps changing the story."

"Because my extensive knowledge of every magic type makes me so wise."

"Because I prefer working under the alluring veil of the night."

"Because the Empress' Coven considers me a vicious harbinger of death."

"Because I love the taste of mice."

"Because my palisman is an owl. Duh."

"But he says he has a long-term plan to take down Empress Bela and her followers." Wilson remarked. "And I'm prepared to play my part to avenge my moms."

"Me too." Gail chimed in. "Uh, my mom. Avenge my mom. N-not that I don't want to avenge Wilson's moms, but- I mean, my mom is my priority, but-"

"I know what you meant." Lucio interrupted.

"What about you?" Gail asked, curiously. "Do your parents know that you've come to the Boiling Isles?"

Lucio didn't answer, he just continued walking alongside the duo. Suddenly, Wilson spotted something up ahead that made him groan in annoyance. "You two take that road. I'll handle this street." He offered.

"More Empress' Coven guys?" Lucio asked.

"Worse." Wilson sighed.

Gail led Lucio down the other street to continue their deliveries while Wilson put on a brave face and continued down his own path. The source of his grief turned out to be a witch with green-dyed hair dressed in black slacks and a light blue t-shirt with the word "HEX" written on it. He kicked a grudgby ball back and forth with his three-eyed companion while a silver-haired bard witch with a harp plucked a few tunes behind them. Once the lead witch noticed Wilson, a cat-like grin spread over his lips.

"Well, well, well. Half-A-Witch-Wilson." He chuckled. "How sad; first you flunk out of Hexside, and now you're reduced to begging for scraps on the street. I guess your weeds didn't help you out that much, huh?"

"Oh, if it isn't Arden Blight and his thugs." Wilson sneered at his former childhood friend. "You still tripping over yourself to impress daddy?"

The triclops thug clenched one fist and grabbed Wilson by the collar of his coat. "You got a lot of balls to talk to us like that." He sneered as he conjured a ball of fire in his other palm.

"You don't scare me, Bosch." Wilson's eyes glowed with green energy as multiple thorny vines sprouted around him, ready to impale the witch threatening their master. "By the time you've even singed one hair on my face, I'll have fifty thorns rammed up your ass."

The bard witch was about to step in and help Bosch, but Arden held out his hand to block his friend's path. "Forget it, Skar. We don't have time for this. We've got business to attend to."

"But, boss-" Skar tried to protest.

"I said no." Arden sneered. "Bosch, come on. He's not worth it."

Wilson's smirk grew to match Bosch's sneer. "Better run along, Bosch." Wilson mocked his enemy with subtle glee. "Your boss is getting impatient."

"One day, Park." Bosch promised, threateningly. "One day, you'll get yours."

Wilson watched as Arden walked off with his new troupe. A heavy sigh slipped through his lips as he carried on with his deliveries. "How was I ever friends with that guy?" He thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Lucio and Gail were passing out deliveries to other patrons. Lucio had to resist the urge to laugh as he realized that these suckers were basically wasting their money on useless junk and novelty items that they all thought were rare human artifacts. Gail reasoned that they would be able to cover more ground by splitting up, so she went towards the market while Lucio headed for the wharf. Once he arrived, the steam from the Boiling Sea started to get to Lucio, prompting him to take off his toboggan and use it to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He tucked the cap into his coat pocket which he then shrugged off to tie around his waist when he noticed his latest customer staring at him.

"You alright?" He asked.

"You… your ears." The customer gaped in shock. She took out some sort of scroll which caused a flash of light to blind Lucio. Once the spots cleared from his vision, Lucio saw the young girl running away.

"What the-?! Hey! You forgot your-" Lucio stopped himself once he realized he was holding a cell phone. Rationalizing that the customer was too far away now, the human pocketed the cell phone and looked back inside the bag for a charging cord. Instead, he found something a bit more interesting; a Playboy magazine.

Lucio smirked as he gazed at the centerfold. "One man's trash is another man's treasure." He chuckled before looking back to the bag. "Hmmm… now, if I could find a copy of Playgirl to go with this, this day can go from good to great."

Lucio was so distracted as he walked that he failed to notice that he had accidentally wandered into the woods. He didn't look up from his bag until he tripped over a doorway to an abandoned cabin. Cursing under his breath, he began gathering up every item that had spilled out of the bag. He was just about to get back to work when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a rolled up piece of parchment laying in the middle of the room. He picked it up, unrolled it, and found a map with a dotted red line printed on it.

"Huh…" Lucio curiously cocked his head to the side as he studied the parchment. "Looks like a treasure map."

"You found it!" Lucio nearly jumped out of his skin and turned around to face the source of the voice. Standing behind him was a long-bearded witch dressed in a purple robe with yellow stars and a matching pointed hat. With a wide smile, he bowed to introduce himself. "Greetings, young man! I am the wizard Adegast! I was summoned to your location when you found the map to the Celestial Staff; a mystic weapon that can only be wielded by the chosen one who will free the Boiling Isles from an ancient evil! Come with me, and I shall take you on the adventure of a lifetime!"

Lucio frowned in annoyance. "Yeah, this is a scam." He declared as he crumpled up the map and tossed it aside. "Adios."

Adegast spluttered as Lucio walked away. He quickly picked up the crumpled parchment and did his best to smooth it out before chasing after the human. "I-it's not a scam, my boy! You have been chosen by the almighty Colempians to embark on a noble quest for-!"

"Get out of my way, old man." Lucio huffed, adjusting his hold on the sack flung over his shoulder. "I've got a few more deliveries to make and you're holding me up."

"I cannot let you abandon your destiny!" Adegast insisted with fervor. "Only you have the power, the skill, the intellect, the nobility, the-"

Adegast just barely ducked out of the way of Lucio's bat. "Mother fucker, I will break your head open if you don't shut the fuck up and move!" The wizard meekly stepped aside, shielding himself with the map. Lucio grumbled to himself as he carried on. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought. Cabrón hijo de perra."

As he continued with his deliveries, Lucio would come upon another stranger every once in a while who would tell him the same story about the "chosen one." One was a pixie princess, one was a baby fox, one was a bipedal cat, and at last, a beautiful woman with an eyepatch tried to convince him.

"Please, sir." She begged, seductively. "Adegast is my uncle. He's been looking for the chosen one for so long. It consumes him. If you'd just humor him, I'd be happy to… reward you."

Lucio chuckled and cupped her cheek. "I'd be happy to. But, there's just one, teeny, tiny, little problem."

"Hm? What's that?"

"Your uncle… is a con!" Lucio snapped, angrily shoving her aside so he could try to find Gail and Wilson again.

The woman furiously stood back up and took out the map. "This is your last chance, you bastard!" She screeched. "Take the damn map and follow the trail!"

"Piss off, puta." Lucio snapped back.

He ignored her screams of rage until her voice finally faded away. He reached into his pocket to fiddle with the cell phone and finally managed to turn it on; much to his delight, it held a battery level of 100%. He was just about to see what kind of apps it had on it when he saw a yellow mist forming in front of him. Thinking it was another one of Adegast's lackeys trying to trick him, Lucio pocketed his phone and reached for his bat. But much to his shock, the mist transformed into the same man in the yellow raincoat who had helped him so many times before back on Earth.

"It's… it's you." He gasped, walking closer. "How… how'd you find me here?"

"... d… u… c… k…"

"W-what?" Lucio shook his head in confusion. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Du… ck…"

"I… I don't understand."

"DUCK!" The man in yellow shouted.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Lucio's neck stood up and he instinctively rolled out of the way. And just in time, as a long, slimy tendril nearly struck him from behind. Grabbing his aluminum bat, Lucio rose back to his feet to face his attacker. What he saw next made his blood run cold; standing before him was some kind of massive octopus-like demon with beady red eyes and a maw full of teeth. On the end of each tendril was a puppet shaped like all of the different people who had tried to give Lucio the map.

"YOU WORTHLESS, MISERABLE, WRETCHED CUR!" The demon screamed in fury. "ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS TAKE THE MAP! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS BELIEVE YOU WERE SPECIAL!"

Lucio angrily tightened his grip on the bat, prepared for a fight. "Sorry, pal. But there's nothing special about me. You tried to con the wrong man."

Adegast snarled and swung another tendril at Lucio, but the human retaliated by swinging his bat, breaking the wizard puppet's head off in the process.

"NOOOOOO!" Adegast wailed. "THESE PUPPETS TAKE FOREVER TO CARVE!"

Lucio continued striking each tendril with his weapon. "I! Don't! Care!" He screamed. As he continued to strike at Adegast, Lucio noticed the demon was beginning to shrink in size. But at the same time, a familiar ache began to grow in his chest. He was running out of energy, and didn't know if he could keep up the fight long enough to defeat his enemy.

"Halt!" Suddenly, Queen sprinted out from the bushes and angrily pointed at Adegast. "Stand down, you wretched delinquent! Or my witch minions will destroy you!"

Before Adegast could react, Wilson arrived and summoned multiple thorny vines sprouting from the ground and wrapped themselves around each of Adegast's limbs. With the demon stuck in place, Gail popped up and used her illusion magic to create bullseyes targeting the enemy's weak points. At last, Edgar showed up, shooting firebolts from his staff at each of the targets and accelerating Adegast's shrinking process until the evil demon was no bigger than an insect. Edgar lowered himself down to the ground and plucked the tiny beast up off the ground.

"Good work, kids." The Owl Mage smirked as he popped Adegast into his mouth and began chewing. "Nice coordination, as always. And thanks again for providing the perfect distraction, Queen."

"Yeah, yeah. Just have my diner ready on time tonight, Owl Mage." Queen sniffed as she walked back to the Owl Haven.

With the enemy defeated, Edgar turned back to check on Lucio. The human was digging through his backpack in search of a familiar pill bottle. The Owl Mage reached inside and found the bottle his newest house guest was searching for and handed it to him. Lucio hastily popped one of the pills into his mouth and swallowed it dry before trying to catch his breath.

"You okay?" Edgar asked, gently.

Lucio nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I'm okay… for now…" He sighed, staring at the dent in his aluminum bat. "Santa mierda, casi muero."

"I gotcha." Edgar took the sack of human trinkets and gently helped Lucio to his feet. "C'mon. That's enough excitement for one day."

Lucio could only nod in agreement as the group headed back to the Owl Haven.

"Hey, Lucio, I have to know." Gail spoke as she walked backwards to speak to her friend face-to-face. "How'd you know Adegast was a fraud?"

Lucio shrugged, nonchalantly. "I may not be some all-powerful witch, but I know a con-man when I meet one." He then turned back to the Owl Mage. "And when I'm being followed."

Edgar blinked at the accusation, but let out a soft chuckle. "Wilson, Gail, you go on ahead. Lucio and I need to talk in private."

Gail tried to protest, but Wilson shook his head, silencing her as he dragged her along. Once they were alone, Edgar gave Lucio his full attention. "Alright, yes, I sent Queen to follow you. But just to make sure you'd be safe. As you found out today, this realm is dangerous."

"Yeah, well…" Lucio didn't know what to say. He wondered if staying in such a chaotic world was worth getting his heart fixed if he was just going to drop dead from fear at any moment. He was so scared that he actually started seeing his old imaginary friend again. But he shook such thoughts out of his head and crossed his arms; he refused to look weak in front of strangers. "… clearly, I'm fine, okay?"

Edgar smiled as he sat on his floating staff and patted the spot right next to him. "You wanna see something cool, kid?" Against his better judgment, Lucio sat down on the staff behind Edgar. "You might wanna hold on to me."

"Yeah, I'm good, than-" Lucio was cut off when the staff suddenly took off into the sky. Reflexively, he grabbed onto Edgar's coat and held on for dear life as they flew higher and higher above the Isles. He didn't open his eyes again until the piercing winds finally died down.

A gentle gasp slipped through his lips as he gazed out at the bird's eye view of the Boiling Isles. The archipelago resembled a giant decaying body resting in the ocean. A thin layer of steam rose from the boiling waters, forming clouds full of rainbows. The left knee was propped up, making it look more like a snowy mountain. Its shoulders were covered with lush orange flora. A magnificent castle rested within the cadaver's ribcage; Lucio assumed it belonged to the Empress and her coven. On the right elbow, he spotted Bonesburrough. And on the palm of the same arm, he could just make out the shape of the Owl Haven.

"Whoa…" Lucio smiled. "My mom used to tell me bedtime stories about places like this when I was little… ojalá ella y mi papá hubieran visto esto.

He placed a gentle hand on the young man's shoulder as he spoke again. "I know I said this world was more dangerous than yours Lucio, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a beautiful side to it as well. Speaking of which, while you were gone, I received word that my brother is indeed inside the Empress' castle. We'll eat dinner, get some sleep, rise early in the morning, and we'll go searching for him."

Lucio wiped his eyes and turned back to smile at Edgar. "Okay. Thanks, Edgar."

Later that night, Lucio tried hard-boiled dragon eggs for the first time, surprised at how good they tasted. Gail relentlessly pestered him with questions about Earth while Wilson merely leaned back and watched it all go down. Even Queen reluctantly walked into the room to listen to Lucio's tales of living on the streets of the human realm.

"So in the Human Realm, the ocean doesn't boil?" Gail asked.

"And it's salty." Lucio nodded. "You can't drink from it, but you can swim in it."

"And what's bacon?" Wilson asked.

"Uh, it's breakfast meat that's carved out from a pig's hide."

"Okay, follow-up question; what's a pig?"

"Blah, blah, blah!" Queen interrupted. "Who cares?! Tell us about the monarchy of the Human Realm and how easy it will be for me to overthrow it once I inevitably invade!"

Edgar silently listened to the kids sharing stories before closing the door behind him. He made his way downstairs, petting Owlivia as he took a seat at the kitchen table. His palisman gently nuzzled up against his face as he pulled an old photograph from his beard and held it close to the yellow gemstone over his heart. "Please…" He whispered. "Please, let me help him… if I can help this one poor lost soul, then maybe… maybe I can finally forgive myself for failing my son."

To Be Continued!

Epilogue:

Deep within the underbelly of Bonesborough, Arden Blight and his gang were in the middle of plotting their next heist. They were studying the schematics of the marketplace and which shops were the most profitable when Matilda burst in through the door. "Hey, boss! I need to tell you something!"

The green-haired witch lazily turned away from Bosch and Skar to give his third enforcer a half-lidded stare. "Matilda, what could possibly be so important that you feel the need to interrupt my meeting?"

"Check this out!" The construction witch pulled her scroll and displayed a picture of Lucio Noceda, zooming in on his ear. "What do you think of that?"

Arden picked up the scroll and studied the image with interest. A small grin spread over his lips. Bosch peered over his boss's shoulder to get a look, widening all three of his eyes. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so." Arden chuckled. "The Empress Coven is looking for a human. Well, call them up and tell them we'll bring them a human."