It was another calm day in the Owl House. No danger, no running from the guards, and no magic training...again.
So, to pass the time, Booker and Luz did their own things. Booker was standing in front of the coach, looking at his hands. Taking a deep breath before clapping his hands together and using a power spell. After the covention, he was hesitant to use this spell, but wanted to practice it to have full control of it. Approaching the coach, he grabbed it at the bottom and started to lift while Luz was reading his copy of The Good Witch Azura and the Dark One, Volume 5 to King. This time getting it just above his shoulders.
"Alright! Getting better," he said with a grin and placed the coach down gently. Luz and King didn't mind, too focused on the book. She was borrowing it from her best friend, who is the original owner.
"'Our paths have crossed only in battle.' Hecate began. 'But today I stand before you seeking an ally.'" Luz read to King, before sighing in content.
"Luz, you're getting all swoony again," said King
"She always gets like that with that book," Booker said, sitting down on the coach.
"I can't help it. Azura is able to befriend everyone. Even her biggest rival. I wish I had that kind of power," Luz said.
"You know that only happens in anime, right?" Booker commented. The biggest culprit in his option was Fairy Tail. "I mean, if we had that power, Amity would be our friend by now."
"Rivals are meant to be annihilated, not befriended." King said, trying to sound wise before he started wagging his tail. "Now keep reading. I've been sucked into your awful fandom."
"Okay." Luz opened the book and continued reading out loud. "'Suddenly the door swung open.'"
Suddenly the door swung open, by Hooty. "Ding‐dong. Ding. Hoot! Hoot!" He yelled, taking them all by surprise.
"The book has come to life! Burn it!" King yelled, pointing at the door.
"No," Booker said, taking his book back from Luz. The two friends then walked over to the door and saw a basket with a blanket tucked in.
"Kids! What's going on over there?" Eda called from inside the kitchen.
"Eda, you got a package!" Booker said as Luz picked it up and closed the door. The two plus King walked into the kitchen, where the young girl placed the basket down on the counter.
"It looks like a gift basket," Luz said with a smile.
"Probably an offering. Ah! Being the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles has its perks," Eda busted as King tied a bib around his neck. Reaching for the blanket, the little demon grunted as he pulled it off the top of the basket.
However, to their surprise, inside was a snoring baby with blue hair.
"Mm. Fresh meat." King said excitedly as he rubbed his paws together.
"Oh, hell no, King!" Booker said, bonking him on the head and pulling the basket away from King. "You're not eating a baby!"
"Witches eating babies is so 1693. What is this?" Eda said, looking at the baby.
"There's a note," Luz said, grabbing the note attached to the basket while King rubbed his head. "'Take care of my child till morning. Yi Yi?'"
"Nope. Babies are awful. Not happening," Eda said, crossing her arms.
"'You will be handsomely rewarded. X‐O‐X‐O‐X‐O‐X. Bat Queen.'"
"Bat Queen?" Eda asked, as King pulled a few snails out of the basket. They were gold coins that were the currency of the Boiling Isle. Eda's eyes widened. "Reward~?"
"Who's the Bat Queen?" Booker asked, with Luz also curious.
King sniffed the snails as Eda explained the Bat Queen to the kids. "She's the wealthiest demon on the Boiling Isles. Get in with her and you're set for life," she said, taking one of the snails. "So, we keep this thing alive for a few hours and we get paid. Pfft. Easy."
"Our greatest adventure yet! Learning about love and life through a child's eyes," Luz said happily.
"Not you. You and Booker have to return the books I checked out from the library," Eda said, drawing a spell circle and summoning a pile of books to fall down, which Booker caught.
"Ah, what!? How come we can't take care of the baby!" Booker said as he managed to keep the balance. "These are your books!"
"Because life isn't fair, now go on," Eda said, waving him off. She then whispered to King. "I don't want them getting a cut of the loot."
"Good thinking," King said.
"You know we can hear you right?" Eda and King looked up to see that Booker and Luz were still there, with the Seventh Son giving the witch the sink eye.
"...No you can't."
Booker deadpanned at her before looking at Luz. "I can handle this. You stay behind and make sure they don't kill the baby," he said.
"You sure?" Luz asked.
"It'll just be a quick run to the library and back. Trust me, I can handle it," Booker said, walking to the back door.
"Ugh! Fine," Eda groaned as her nephew-figure opened the door with his right hand while balancing the books on his left. He walked out of the house and the door closed behind him. "Now, let's take a look at this little darling."
Eda fully took the blanket off, revealing the baby had the head of a human, but the wings and legs of a bat. The baby bat suddenly started screeching, causing the entire house to shake.
"Argh!" Eda and Luz yelled and covered their ears in pain.
"Oh, boy," King said, falling onto his back.
The baby bat continued screeching as Eda looked at Luz. "We got this, right?" She asked, before the baby bat suddenly flew out of the basket and into Eda's face. Making her fall on her ass.
At that moment, Luz realized this was going to be a long day.
{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 open 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 up as Luz and Booker step outside, with Luz twirling and posing with Eda's staff while Booker draws his Dragon's Bite sword he got recently and does 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 as Gus, Willow, and Amity are seen briefly before it burns away to show King commanding an army of stuffed toys, which all fall on him. The scene burned away again, showing Booker standing under a spotlight with grief written on his face as 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, as the latter had a look of bravery and defiance towards the monster as he pointed his sword towards it.
Then the scene changes back to the Owl House where it's night time and stars twinkle in the sky as the four are on the roof and looking up into the sky. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of light as 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 Seven:
"The Wailing Star"
"I sure hope Luz is doing okay with Eda and the baby," he said to himself. Using the power spell made it much easier for Booker to carry the pile of books as he walked through the streets of Bonesborough. It was another sunny day on the Boiling Isle, with demons, witches, and wizards going about their business.
As he continued walking, the Seventh Son realized that he honestly didn't know where the library was and was starting to become lost. Stopping to look around, he noticed Tiny Nose walking past him. Carrying a book as big as herself. Booker stopped her when he said, "Hey, Tiny Nose. Do you know where the library is?"
"Oh yeah. It's just right there," Tiny Nose said, turning to face the direction she was talking about. Booker looked and saw that he was closer to it than he originally thought. The library was right across the street from him. It was a pretty impressive sight, being much larger than his old library and much more majestic.
"Whoa! Thanks!" Booker said as he walked towards the library.
"You're welcome. See you around, Booker," Tiny Nose happily said to the boy that saved her. But then her arms gave out and she was flatted underneath the book. "...dang it."
Booker walked up the stairs of the library, before entering its halls while taking in all that there was to see. Torches decorated the walls, stained glass windows brightened the corridors as readers and patrons went about their business. It wasn't anything he hasn't read or seen in the Harry Potter movies, but it was just as amazing to see.
"Now this is a library," Booker commented with an impressed look, before the book pile glowed green and began floating out of his arms towards a wizard with a bored expression on his face. Each book flew through a green spell circle, which turned red with the word "Late" appearing above it as they disappeared with a beep.
"Late. Late." the librarian said, before grabbing the last book. Booker walked up to the front desk as he examined it. "Coffee, grass, and bloodstains? These are Eda's, aren't they?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was a crazy night," Booker said, scratching the back of his head.
The librarian let out an irked sigh. "I'll put them on her tab," he said, summoning a small scroll that unfurled into a large list before writing on it. "By the way, we're closing early for the Wailing Star meteor shower." The librarian pointed behind him to a framed picture of the Wailing Star. The picture showed a blue star with a sad face on it falling from the night sky.
"What's a Wailing Star?" Booker asked the librarian.
"You're in a library. Read a book," he said with a deadpan expression as the scroll rolled up and disappeared.
"Fine, you don't have to be a dick about it," Booker said as he walked away from the librarian.
He walked around the corner and looked up at a banner reading "Demon Decimal System. DO NOT FEED." Booker looked at and saw a Dewey Decimal System, but each card catalog had the face of a growling monster. He bent down in front of them before a mischievous smirk crossed his face.
Pulling out a gumball, the young boy feeds it to one of the DDS monsters. It gladly chewed on for a few seconds before barfing up a tone of notecards on him. Booker laughed as fell down onto the floor with a smile.
"Excuse me, mister?" said a small voice.
"Yeah?" Booker looked up, only to see the head of a mantis staring down at him. He let out a short cry of surprise and quickly sat upright. "Whoa!"
Standing in front of him was a humanoid praying mantis with only one pair of legs and her arms. Judging from how small she was, Booker would estimate she would be a kindergartener. However, she was also wearing Hexside's school uniform.
"I'm lost and I can't find my friends," she said, sounding like she was going to cry.
Seeing the tears forming in her eyes, Booker quickly tried to comfort her. "No, no, please don't cry," he said gently before smiling. "Why don't I help you find your friends?"
With a little snivel, the mantis girl looked up at him with her big eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah, come on." Booker stood up and held out his hand to her. The demon looked at his hand before placing her claw on it. He held in a yelp when he felt her sharp spikes touching his skin and forced a smile.
Booker and the mantis girl walked together through the library. Walking past multiple floating books that flew above them, much to the Seventh Son's amazement. They then entered a study area, where several Hexisde students were watching things on crystal balls, which remained the hybrid of computers in public libraries. One was watching a "HOW TO FLY" video, another was watching a piano cat parody, and a third was stuck on a loading screen, dial-up internet noises emitting from it, making the witch slap the crystal ball a few times.
"This place is amazing," Booker commented, before a voice made him and the mantis girl stop.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Nothing!" Booker said, holding his hands up.
The mantis girl gasped in delight and ran off in the direction of the voice. "It's her!" She said, entering another area.
When Booker walked over to see where she had gone to, he heard the sound of kids laughing before seeing that it was the kids' area. However, to his utter shock and surprise, the voice from before belonged to Amity Blight. The same girl that bullied Willow, tried to have Luz dissected, and how he's had a rivalry with her since the incident at the covention.
That same Amity was reading to a group of baby-class students from Hexside.
The mantis girl ran over and sat with her classmates as Amity read to them. "'We're your friends and we wanna help,' said the Tin Boy with a yelp. Otabin smiled and paced the floor. 'I've never had real friends before.'" She read.
"Amity reading to kids?" Booker whispered in disbelief at what he was seeing. Slowly, he snuck into the kid's corner as Amity read. Hiding behind a small shelf and watching the green-haired witch.
"'Then we'll be your first,' the Chicken Witch clucked. Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin, surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship' and that's the end." Amity closed the book as the kids clapped happily for her.
"Wow, I didn't think Amity was capable of smiling like that," Booker said, noting how there wasn't a hint of smugness or arrogance in that smile. He'd even admit she looked pretty when she smiled.
Shaking that thought out of his head with a slight blush, Booker hid behind the manga shelf as the kids came his way. He grabbed one of the mangas and pretended to read it as the kids passed on by.
"Thank you for reading, Miss Amity," the mantis girl said, hugging Amity's leg.
"You're welcome, Mandy," Amity said, smiling. "Were you able to find your way back to the room?"
"Nope! That really nice boy helped me," Mandy said, pointing to Booker behind her.
Amity turned to see who helped her, but she was shocked to see that it was Booker Bridges. "You!?" she said, before recomposing herself.
"Haha, hey, Amity." Booker nervously said and put the manga back as he stood up. But then he was surprised when Mandy ran over to him and gave him a hug on his own leg.
"Thank you, mister! You're a good guy," she said with sparkling eyes.
"Awe, thanks, Mandy," Booker said with a smile, patting her on the head. Being careful as to not hurt her antennas.
The little mantis demon then turned and ran out of the room to follow her classmates. "Bye everyone!" she said, over her shoulder before disappearing behind the corner.
Booker waved her goodbye with a smile. Happy to have possibly made another friend in the Demon Realm.
But then the moment passed when Amity turned her attention to Booker. "What do you think you're doing here?" she asked, sounding very displeased with his presence. Her normal attitude returned.
"Nothing. I was just returning books Eda had out and wanted to explore the library when Mandy asked for help." Booker answered honestly, frowning slightly.
Amity's glare lessened but she still didn't look happy to see him. "Well, it was...nice of you to help her," she said hesitantly, turning away from him before walking back to where she was reading to the kids.
"So, Amity, I'm surprised to see you again. And reading to kids, nonetheless," Booker said as he followed her. "Looks like this ice queen has a hidden soft side to her."
"It's for extra credit. Don't get your leggings in a bunch," Amity said, picking a book off the floor.
"No, I think it's really cool. You know, back home, I used to read to kids a lot. No one else wanted to do it, so I volunteered. It was fun. If you want, we could team up reading to the kids. I can do a lot of voices," Booker suggested. His monster and robot voices were pretty good.
But this only made Amity grow annoyed and slammed her pile of books on a table. "Hybrid!" She yelled, facing Booker. "Do you see me going to the Owl Shack and bugging you while you... fry up owls?"
"Wait, what?" Booker asked with a raised eyebrow.
She scoffed in response. "Okay, I don't really know what you and your human friend do there, but every time you come near me, I get in trouble."
"But I didn't mean to get you in trouble," Booker said with a frown.
"I don't care! Just leave me alone!" Amity suddenly shouted, making Booker back up from her.
"Fine. I'm sorry," he said sadly, turning to the entrance of the kid's corner and walking away. Not see Amity starting to raise her hand to stop him, but doesn't. Booker sighed and thrust his fists into his pockets. "So much for befriending an enemy," he said to himself.
"You gonna let her get to you like that?" said a voice. Booker looked over and saw two teens two years older looking at him. They were a girl and a boy, but judging by their similarities in appearance, they were likely twins.
Both of them had dark sea-green hair, golden eyes, and pale skin with a mole under one of their eyes and black eyebrows. They were also wearing the 'Illusion track' school uniform, just like Gus. The boy, who was leaning against a bookcase, had short hair. His sister on the other hand had longer hair that was tied in a bulky plait, which was darker at the bottom.
"Who are you two?" Booker asked as they walked up to him. The brother holding a rabbit lunch bag.
"Well‐wishers on a mission." the guy said, placing a hand on his chest.
"A noble quest." the girl added as she leaned to Booker before pulling back.
"Watch this. Hey, Mittens!" the teenage boy called out to Amity. With her back turned to them, Amity blushed like crazy with anger and embarrassment upon getting called by that name. Booker did his best to hold back a snicker as the older boy held up the lunch bag. "Mom says stop forgetting your lunch. And stop being a jerk to your friend."
"Wait, mom?" Booker asked.
Amity stalked over and snatched the bag. "He is not my friend," she said, glaring at Booker.
The Seventh Son frowned at her when Amity's sister moved to his side and placed an arm around him. "Yeah, makes sense. He seems too cool for you," she said with a smile.
"You can leave now. You too, Bridges," she growled in annoyance, before walking back into the kid's corner.
"Amity, wait," Booker said with a slightly pleading look in his eyes. Amity stopped with her back facing him. "I don't want to be your enemy. I never have. And I get that things haven't been the best between us, but I want to put that all behind us and become friends. We don't need to keep hating each other. Just...please give me a chance." He smiled hopefully, wishing for her to say yes.
But after staying silent for a moment, with her back facing him, Amity said, "Just stay away from me."
Booker's hopeful expression dropped as his nemesis marched away into the kids' corner. He sighed sadly, having hoped to smooth out their rocky relationship. With no reason to stick around, Booker turned and walked away.
As she walked over to where she read to the kids, Amity stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her face expressed a level of shame. Amity watched Booker walking away with his head down. She sighed sadly. Despite her best effort, she couldn't help but feel guilt within her for how she treated him. Trying to push those thoughts out of her head, Amity went back to work.
Booker walked alone through the library, about to head to the exit when the twins from before walked up beside him. Already sour and upset from his interaction with their younger sibling, he was in no mood to talk. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked bitterly.
"Not really. We just wanted to formally meet the hybrid we've heard so much about," the guy said as they came to a stop. "You're Booker Bridges, right?"
"You've heard of me?" Booker asked.
"It's hard not to," the girl said with a smile. "I'm Emira. And this is Edric. We're Amity's older siblings. We heard how you embarrassed her at the school and nearly destroyed the witch covention last week. No wonder she hates you."
"I know. But I didn't mean to do any of it on purpose. What happened was an accident." Booker said, looking at the floor sadly.
"Don't waste your time with Mittens. Me and Ed, we're way more fun. Follow us," Emira said as she grabbed his wrist. The three of them walk off, with Booker looking down at where Emira was holding his wrist.
First, Edric wiped away the "NON" part of the "FICTION" and "NON-FICTION" sign before running over to where Booker and Emira were hiding. Just then, a second librarian walked up, leading a group of patrons.
"And here we go towards our nonfiction section." He stopped and gasped when he saw the sign. "Fiction. Fiction! Is our world but fiction!? Then what in my life is real anymore!?" He started sobbing.
The next prank involved the first Librarian, who was reading while shelving books. As he placed one on the shelf, Emira used her magic and the book started glowing blue, before flying back onto the reshelving cart. This happens several times as she, Edric, and Booker all laughed quietly. Edric then switched the places of the first Librarian and the second one, who was up on a ladder. "Huh? No! Not again!" The second librarian broke down sobbing while the first librarian fell off a ladder.
The third thing they did involve the demon decimal system. First, Edric held up a dusty book, before He blew the dust at the demon decimal system, which all sneezed, showering the area with notecards.
"Whoo!" Booker cheered as they all laughed together and the twins high-fived. Booker fell down to the floor and started making a snow angel in the notecards before sitting up. "Alright, this has been great and all, but I've got to get back home. I can't be gone too long."
"Hey!" The trio turned around and saw Amity standing next to the first librarian, both of them with their arms crossed.
"Wait. Where's Gary?" the librarian asked.
"Coming." Gary, the second librarian, came running over before breaking down when he saw the mess. "Nooo!"
Booker and the twins were shoved out of the door of the library. "You've made reading far too fun. Now, stay out," the library said before slamming the door shut on them. The three of them looked at the door for a second before the twins started laughing. Emira punches Booker's shoulder, who didn't look as happy.
"Well, that's the second library I've been banned from and now Amity hates me even more now," Booker said, facepalming. "I didn't think that was possible."
"Maybe, but at least she's not mad at you," Edric said. "When Mittens gets mad, she looks like this." Edric inhaled a sharp breath of air and puffed his cheeks, grunting as he made an angry face that turned red before exhaling and stumbling. "Whoa, I almost passed out."
"Right, well, I've better get going," Booker said.
Just as he was about to walk away, Emira and Edric nod at each other. "Hey, wait a minute," Emira said, stopping him. "You know, you're pretty fun, for a hybrid."
"...okay." Booker nodded.
"Maybe you can help us with something."
"Depends on what that something is," Booker said, frowning and crossing his arms.
"You see, we're coming back tonight. There's a certain book we forgot to... check out," she said, leaning forward to him.
"And bonus, rumor has it the Wailing Star's supposed to unlock some rare magical event. You in, friend?" Edric asked, doing the same pose as his sister. Booker hated it when twins did that. It just gave him a bad vibe about them.
"I don't know. Breaking and entering into a library isn't something I wanted to do," Booker said, before thinking about it some more. "Then again, I've been wanting to know more about the Wailing Star….ah what the hell, I'm in."
"Great! Meet back here at midnight. See you, Booker," Emira said, winking at him. Booker blushed as she and her brother turned and walked away. Waving goodbye.
"Well, I guess befriending Amity was a bust. But at least I'll be friends with her siblings," Booker said with a smile before walking away.
However, the Seventh Son and the Blight twins were completely unaware that Amity was standing around the corner, having seen the whole thing. Just as Edric said, she held her breath and growled in anger until her face turned red. Forcing her to stop and gasp for air. "Phew! Almost passed out."
When Booker opened the door, he had a smile on his face as he said, "Hey, y'all!"
"SSH!" Luz quickly rushed over and placed her hand over his mouth with a finger to her lips. She looked exhausted, with her short hair messed up and noticeable dark spots under her eyes. "You'll wake the baby."
Booker looked to see Eda and King on the couch in a scenario he never thought he'd see. King having pillows strapped to his head was pretty normal by their standards, but the Owl Lady cradling the bat bady? That was something else.
"Aw, Aunt Eda, I never knew you could be so motherly," Booker said with a smile.
"Say that again and I'll steal your tongue," said the old woman.
Luz turned back to Booker with a curious look. "So, what took you so long? You were gone for almost half the day," she said as Booker closed the door.
"It was interesting, to say the least. Amity works there and it turns out she has a bit of a soft spot. She still hates me, but I also go to meet her brother and sister," he said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Yeah, they even invited me to sneak back into the library for a book they need," Booker said, grabbing his backpack and putting it on.
"You're going to break into the library at night?" Eda asked, before wiping away a fake tear. "I'm so proud of you."
"Aw, your day sounded so cool. I'm so jealous," Luz said, pouting cutely.
"What are you talking about?" Booker said, walking over to Eda "You got to hang out with a cute little baby."
"Don't let him fool you, Booker. He's a real monster," said King as he moved away from the bat baby.
"If Luz wasn't here to teach us how to calm him down, we'd be going insane about now," Eda groaned.
"It couldn't have been that bad." Booker leaned down and lightly poked the baby's cheek. This however woke it up and the baby suddenly barfed out a smaller version of itself, which did the same and barfed out an even smaller version of itself. Making one baby into 3!
"Holy shit!" Booker shouted as he freaked at what he was seeing.
The three babies all chirped and flapped their wings as they flew into the air. The original then started breathing fire, causing everyone to run away from the couch, which is the unfortunate target.
Booker quickly backed away to the door. "Right, well you continue your parenting adventure. Bye," He said, closing the door as he left.
The bats flew around knocking things off shelves and causing mayhem around Eda, Luz, and King. "Uh, for, for the money?" King asked nervously as the human girl held him.
"For the adventure?" Luz asked.
"Definity for the money," Eda said, before yelping as she and Luz ducked out of the way of a green liquid that splashed the wall.
After another long walk to the library, Booker walked up the stairs and waited for Edric and Emira. As the sun lowered down over the horizon, Booker clapped his hands together and summoned a ball of light. He sighed and leaned against the pillar. For a moment, he wondered why he was doing this in the first place. But then Booker remembered that this was the first time that anyone else wanted to hang out with him, aside from Luz, King, Eda, Gus, and Willow.
"That's it, I'm going home," Booker said, about to leave when he heard a familiar voice.
"Awe, leaving already?" Emira asked, making Booker stop and look to see them near the column across from him. "But you just got here."
"Are you ready to do this?" Edric asked as he pointed to the doors.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Booker said with a slight nod to the right. "How are we getting in?"
"We've got that covered," Edric said as they walked up to the door. Stopping in front of them with Booker and Emira, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Emira. "It says no trespassing, but I'm allergic to the rules."
"And dairy," Emira added.
"Wow, okay. Just expose me."
The paper glowed in the teenage girl's hands before Emira placed the scroll over the large keyhole on the door. Letting it crumble and burn away into ashes in front of Booker's eyes as he stared in amazement.
"That's awesome," He said.
Suddenly the lock grew until it's large enough for them to walk through. "Come on," Edric said as they walked in before the lock shrunk back down once they all entered.
Booker looked around the dimly lit lobby of the library. "So, what now?" He asked the twins.
"There! The Wailing Star!" Edric said, pointing to the stained glass window over the main door. The three looked up at the window. Watching as the Wailing Star sobbed as it passed by.
"Huh," Booker said. So that's why it's called the Wailing Star.
The three of them look around for several seconds. But they saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Hmm. Nothing happened," Edric said.
Booker turned around and his eyes widened when he saw the books all around the library, on every shelf, slowly beginning glowing green. Pulling out Dragon's Bite, Booker approached the shelves, gaining the attention of the twins.
Unlike the twins, Booker could feel the magic radiating off the books as he reached out for a book titled "Extinct Birds of the Boiling Isles".
He opened it up to see what was going on with it, only to be forced into dropping the book when something suddenly shot out of it almost immediately. It remained open when it hit the floor as Booker got into a fighting stance. However, to his amazement, several unique-looking birds came flying out of the book. They fly around the lobby as Booker lowered Dragon's Bite, staring at birds with wide eyes.
"Wow!" Emira said as she and her brother stared at the birds.
Booker looked down at the book he dropped and closed it before picking it up. At that moment, they all disappeared into thin air.
"The Wailing Star is bringing the books to life," Booker said in realization. The three of them shared a look and then grinned.
The three then went off to go and explore the library. The first place they went to was the magazine section, where Edric grabbed an article of "Regal Couture." He opened the magazine and the magic of the Wailing Star dressed him and Emira in fancy clothing as a peacock flew out of the pages. Booker grabbed an issue of "Witch Wares Weekly". He opened the magazine and clothes were transformed into the Dragonborn from Skyrim.
The three of them were now standing next to the graphic novel section. Grabbing one of the books from the shelf, Booker opened it. He was expecting superheroes and villains to come flying out of the pages and do battle in front of him. However, nothing came from the comic.
"Nothing happened," he said, only for his words to appear in a dialogue bubble that formed from his mouth. They all gasp when it appeared, with the twins taking steps back.
"Wow!" Edric and Emira said in amazement. That too came out in a word bubble. Both of their bubbles popped when Booker closed the book, a "THUMP" sound bubble appearing as he did so.
A moment later, the three of them were having a free-for-all snowball fight. Each having a copy of "Snowballs, a History."
Why anyone would write a 400-page book about snowball was beyond Booker's understanding.
Booker hid behind the corner of a shelf as Edric walked by. Jumping out of cover, Booker opened the book and a barrage of snowballs pelted the teenage Blight boy. Hitting him and making him fall to the ground before Edric fired back at him. The Seventh Son managed to get away from the brother and thought that he was safe for a second before Emira appeared behind him, opening her own copy directly in Booker's face. Pelleting him with snowballs as she laughed.
Taking cover inside the kid's corner, Booker hid behind the same shelf when he watched Amity. When Edric and Emira ran past the kid's corner, laughing happily, Booker stood up and was about to walk out of the room when he turned around. That was when he noticed "Otabin the Bookmaker." The same kid book Amity had read to the kids early that day. It was still on the table, glowing in the magic of the Wailing Star.
Walking over to it, Booker picked up the book. When he opened it, the character Otabin rose up out of the pages. The little creature looked up at the Seventh Son as he smiled down at him.
Back at the Owl House, Luz was running around, trying to stop the bat babies from causing any more damage to the living. One of the baby bats was holding a mace in its claws as it flew over her head. "Baby! No! Don't do that!" She yelled worriedly, looking exhausted.
Another baby poured a green potion out on the floor. "No, don't do that!" She yelled before Eda grabbed her and pulled her down with herself and King. The two were hiding from the babies under the turned-over couch.
"What silences children?" King asked the human girl. "What if we invent a TV network for ages six to 11-"
"No! That's impossible! It can't be done!" Luz exclaimed. She looked around, trying to think of a solution to their problem when she spotted a copy of "Otabin the Bookmaker". Picking up the book and seeing that it was a kid's book, she started getting an idea.
"I see what you're thinking," Eda said with a smirk, before reaching into her hair and pulling out a switchblade dagger.
"Woah! Woah! That's not what I had in mind!" Luz exclaimed, fearing the worst.
"What? I was just going to cut up some apple slices," Eda said, slicing a few random apples into pieces on a plate. "You can't have story time without apple slices."
Luz sighed in relief before holding the book out for Eda. The Owl Lady looked at her student with an upset look, but ended up accepting the book.
"All right, brats. Let's do this," Eda said, flipping the couch back over and sitting down on it. "Ugh. Being parental is making me sick."
The baby bats all sit on the floor, with Luz and King joining them, holding the plate of apple slices. Eda sighed and opened the book, before she started to read to them.
While at the same time, Booker started reading too. "'Otabin spend his days alone amongst the many books he'd sewn. With needle and thread, the pages he mend. But all the while he longed for a friend.'"
"Friend?" Otabin asked, perking up as he threaded a needle with string.
Booker smiled and petted the little creature on the head. "Yeah, I'm a friend," he said to him, having known what it was like to have not many friends.
"Booker, check this out," said Edric as he and his sister walked into the kid corner with another kid's book.
"Look what we discovered," Emira said, holding up the book called 'Quacks Eats Snacks.' She opened it and a duck swam out of the pages and landed on the floor. The baby duck quacked happily as it moved around before looking at the three kids. Giving them an innocent and friendly smile.
"Aww, what a cute little duck," Booker said with a smile.
But then Emira held the book out to Edric, who pulled out a pencil. The Blight male drew a pair of human legs on the duck in the book. Booker watched in shock as the duck suddenly grew matching giant human legs. Making the poor animal quack hysterically and in panic.
"What the hell!?" Booker yelled.
"Now he's extra cute," Emira said, closing the book as the duck vanished into thin air. While Booker was still shocked, the twins laughed before turning to him.
"What? That was horrible," Booker exclaimed.
"Ah come on, Booker. It's not like it's real. It's just a book," Edric said with a shrug.
"Why don't you give it a try, Booker," Emira asked.
But Booker backed away from them. "I don't know. Aren't we supposed to be finding something you were looking for?"
"And we will. Come on. Don't stop the fun," urged Edric as he offered his pencil.
Booker looked at the pencil as he grew more hesitant. In the end, he sighed and took the pencil. "I'm only doing this so we can get this over with," he said, opening Otabin's book to the drawing of him on the page. Booker then drew on him a pair of socks and shoes. "There. Now he has something for his feet."
"Yeah, but what about this?" Edric grabbed his hand and started making him draw. Giving Otabin angry eyebrows and claws.
After yanking his hand back, Booker saw something start to rise out of the pages, before the Seventh Son slammed it closed. "Alright, that's enough. Let's just grab your book and go," he said, looking upset at the twin
"Whatever. Come on." Emira grabbed Booker's hand and led him away, making the blonde boy drop the book face down and open.
As they walked away, neither one of them realized this, and what they had just unleashed. A clawed hand grew out of the book, and whatever it was started to growl.
Soon, they were standing in front of the romance section.
"The romance section," Booker asked, pulling a book off the shelf and looking at the cover. "I definitely didn't peg you two to be the type to be into this stuff. Of course, I don't mean that in a bad way."
"Sure, but I think I'm into this one," Edric said, as he grabbed and pulled a book titled The Lone Witch & Secret Room.
This made something click inside the wall before he put it back in. Suddenly the bookshelf sank back into the wall and slid to the side, revealing a secret room. It wasn't dusty at all and it was rather nice inside. With two shelves with books, a carpet on the floor, stars and planets hanging from the ceiling, and a table that had a chair and several items.
"Wow," Booker said as he walked in, looking around the room while the twins leaned against the entrance. He then noticed a candle that was still lit. "Someone's been in here. Does this secret clubhouse belong to anyone?"
"Yeah, someone that likes hanging out in a library," Edric said before talking in a joking tone. "'Uh, teacher, I'm in love with a dictionary.'"
"'I'm studying the dork arts.'" Emira added. "This is Amity's secret hideaway."
Upon hearing this, Booker turned towards them. Not liking where this was going. "Amity? Then why are we here?" He asked as he frowned.
"You see, Booker. Mittens has gotten too... full of herself," Edric said as he and Emira walked over to him. Standing on both sides of him as he placed his hand on Booker's shoulder. "She keeps tattling on us when we cut class."
"She needs to learn not to mess with people like that," Emira said, putting her hand on Booker's back. "So, we're going to find her diary."
"And then post the pages all around school for everyone to see," Edric finished as they both started laughing together.
But Booker didn't find it amusing at all. Not one bit. "Are you serious? That's just messed up and taking it way too far!" He yelled at them, swatting their hands away from his body.
"No. See, we're her family. It's tough love. She needs to learn to lighten up," Emira explained, before the twins start to look around the hideout.
"Yeah, well I didn't sign up for this shit!" Booker exclaimed, turning to leave. However, when he did so, he stopped when something caught his line of view. "Wait, are those…?"
He walked to a shelf and was amazed to see The Good Witch Azura and the Dark One books 1-4 as well as a large collection of Manga and graphic novels, including Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, Bone, Watchmen, and other books he didn't think to see it this world. Hell, she even had the Dark Tower books.
"Woah! You get these on the Boiling Isles?" He asked, walking over to the shelf and looked at the Azura and Dark One novels, and saw she didn't have book 5.
Booker then noticed something next to the four books. It was a book. Likely over 200 pages. But it wasn't like the book series. He pulled it out and looked at it. The cover had a drawing of Amity dressed as Azura. Looking back to make sure the twins weren't facing his direction, Booker opened it.
The pages had some writing on them, before a small version of Amity rose up from the pages. "I saw that… Hybrid boy again," Amity said, causing Booker to gasp.
"The diary."
"I may have overreacted. I don't wanna come off as cruel. I know he's trying to be nice, but I just can't show weakness."
Booker quickly closed it shut. "I've got to get this thing out of here," he said.
"What've you got there, Booker?" Edric asked.
Booker quickly hid the diary behind him. "Oh. N‐Nothing. Just a Good Witch Azura 5 where she goes through her Goth phase," he said. But then the diary glowed blue and flew out of his hands. "Hey! Stop!"
But the twins didn't listen and Emira caught the diary and handed it to Edric, who opened it. Another mini Amity appeared. "It's not fair. I'm the only one who knows Ed and Em aren't perfect. Why do they keep getting away with things?"
"This is it," said the twins with a smile.
"Booker, were you hiding this from us?" Emira asked, shocked by the blonde's action.
"You're damn right I was!" Booker retorted angrily. "This is wrong, you guys."
"But you see how she treats people. How she treats you," Edric said as they approached him.
"Yeah, I do. Amity can be kind of bitch, but these are her private thoughts. Now give me back the diary." Booker grabbed the diary and tried to pull it away, but Edric didn't let go. Soon, they were both pulling at it in a tug of war, with Emira tugging Edric's waist.
"You want this diary, you're going to have to do better than that!" Booker grunted, struggling to pull it away. "You can't do this to her!"
"She needs this! It's for her own good," Emira argued.
Booker then kicked Edric in the stomach and knocked him back. But even though the diary was now his, pages of it spilled onto the floor. From those pages came more mini Amity. "Oh no!"
"'I wish I had somewhere to go.'"
"'Why won't the human and hybrid leave me alone?'"
"'Called my teacher mom again.'"
"'Sorry I haven't written for a while. Wait, why am I apologizing?'"
"Shit!" Booker cursed as the pages repeated themselves. He got down and hurriedly tried to pick them all up.
"Really?" yelled a familiar voice. They all turned to see Amity standing at the entrance of the hideaway. Her face was all red in fury and embarrassment.
"Amity?! Wha-What are you doing here?" Booker asked nervously.
"I overheard Edric and Emira's plan to come back tonight with you," Amity said, growling out her words as she glared into Booker's eyes. She glared at her older siblings as they held back their laughter. "I should have known they'd pull something like this."
"Amity, I swear it's not what you think," Booker said, standing up with the diary and all the pages that fell out.
"Save it." Amity angrily took her diary from Booker. She then had a face that was a mixture of anger and hurt. "They're horrible, but you? You're worse. All this time I've been trying to figure out what your deal is. Are you a poser? A nerd? Some all-powerful being? Did you even mean all those things you said? You say that you don't want to hurt me, but that's all you've been doing. Now I know what you really are."
Amity looked Booker straight in the eyes.
"You're just a bully, Booker Bridges."
Booker was shocked and hurt by her words as she took her diary and ran off. "Amity, wait!" He called out to her and started going after her. But Amity didn't listen, running away from Booker. He stopped when he exited the hideaway and stared at the green-haired girl as she turned around a corner and disappeared from sight.
All the while, Edric and Emira were both laughing at their sister's misfortune. "Mittens killed the fun," Emira said as they walked out of the room.
"Again," Edric said before shrugging. "Oh, well. We're headed out to go goblin‐tipping. Wanna come?"
Booker didn't respond. He continued to stare in the direction Amity ran off.
"Yeah, come on." Emira grabbed Booker's wrist again. "Who is-"
"About to take both your heads off." Looking over his shoulder, Booker glared furiously at them with his pupils glowing. Edric and Emira were startled by this, especially when the magical line markings appeared again. However, unlike last time, they went up to his elbows.
Booker then clapped and…
POW!
Punched Emira right-center in the face with a power spell. Sending her flying back with blood coming out of her nose. The girl's body slammed into a bookshelf with an audible clashing sound. She screamed in pain as she fell to the floor with a bloodied nose as the shelf rocked back and forth, dropping some books onto her.
"Emira!" Edrica shouted, before suffering a similar attack when he was blasted in the back by Booker's magic. Sending him slamming into the same shelf.
Emira was on the ground, trying to pull off some vines that had sharp thrones off her that came from an open book. When Edric landed on the ground next to her, one of the books that were knocked down opened, releasing large chains that landed on the two and pinned them to the ground.
The two of them groaned in pain before looking up and gasping in fear. With eyes still glowing in the darkness, Booker reached over his shoulder and pulled out Dragon's Bite from its sheath. As the runes on the blade lit up, he started walking towards them.
"Whoa! Booker, what the hell are you doing?!" Edric yelled nervously.
"You know, before I lost my entire family in the fire that killed them, I thought I had the best older brother in the world. Each of them had their own quirks that made them special, like music, art, and sports. Sure, they teased and pulled pranks on me and we'd fight, but no matter what, we were good to each other," he said sadly, looking down for a moment before glaring at the twins.
"But you? You two aren't even worthy of being compared to them. You're just two more dime-a-dozen assholes. It's no wonder Amity's the way she is," Booker said, glaring at the two, stopping in front of them. "What you two tried to do wasn't something a brother or sister would ever do. You've crossed a line you never cross with your family!"
"Okay, okay! We're sorry! Just calm down!" Emira said as she held up her hands. Booker shut her up when he placed the tip of his sword to her neck, making her even more scared of the golden-haired boy.
"Why are you saying sorry to me? It's Amity who was the most hurt by you two," Booker said, glancing at both her and Edric, both were still looking at him with fearful looks. "That's why, if I ever see you two assholes again, you'd better have apologized to your sister and have forgotten about your sick little plan. Got it?"
"Why do you care so much? Mittens hates you!" Edric said, but then Booker swiftly turned Dragon's Bite toward him.
Booker pressed the sword more against his neck. "You're right. Amity does hate me. But even if she did, I wasn't going to let her suffer. And neither should you. As her brother and sister, you have a duty to protect and help her as she grows into being a woman. Not treat her like your punching bag. Maybe instead of treating her badly for your own sick kicks, you should try and be better siblings. Do you understand?"
"Y-Y-Yes," Edric said, nodding frantically.
"And what about you, bitch?" The angry Seventh Son pointed his sword at Emira. "Am I getting through to you?!"
"Yes! Yes, just let us go!" Emira screamed as she tried getting out of the chains.
Booker glared at the two before he powered down. The lines faded away, along with the light of Dragon's Bite's runes and his magic circles. When Booker's eyes went back to normal, he used the sword to close the vine book, 'Over the Vine Wall', and the chain book, 'Fifty Foot of Grey.'
It's best not to think about what the chains were used for.
When the vines and chains vanished, Edric and Emira were laying on the floor, groaning from the pain and looking at Booker with a newfound fear.
"Now get the fuck out of my sight," he hissed at them. The twins quickly got to their feet and left the library. It was clear they went too far and were never going to pull another stunt like this again.
Booker sighed, trying to calm down. He then turned and ran off to find Amity in the library.
Meanwhile, Amity was sitting alone against one of the hundreds of bookshelves. She was curled up in a ball while trying to hold back her tears. But some ended up coming out. Her diary was the one thing she felt safe to let out all her feelings and secrets. And now it wasn't even safe in the one place she felt safe being in. Safer and even her own home.
"Amity!" Called out Booker's voice. Hearing the hybrid, Amity snarled and looked to the side. "Amity! Where are you!"
"Go away!" She yelled.
"Amity, I just want to talk!" Booker looked down one aisle, but didn't see her.
"First you embarrass me! Then you wanna be my friend?! I don't get you, Booker! Pick a side!" Amity yelled back, not noticing the sound of large footsteps coming her way
"Please, just listen to me! I didn't know that they were after your diary! I never would have agreed to do anything they were planning to do!" Booker yelled, trying to figure out where she could be.
"Just shut up and go away, before things somehow get worse!" Amity screamed, getting up to run away when the sound of the loud and heavy footsteps were now ever closer. Shaking the ground as something large approached Amity, who stared at it in terrified silence.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Amity's scream echoed throughout the library, startling Booker and making him realize that she was in terrible danger.
"I'm coming, Amity!" He yelled, running in the direction the scream came from. When he turned the corner, he ran down the aisle before skidding to a sudden stop when he saw something truly horrifying.
Holding Amity in its claws was a monstrous creature that snarled viciously. It had a large body with long arms with razor-sharp claws, fang-like teeth, and two large legs, and a long tail. The toes of its large foot were sticking out of a pair of shoes. However, right in the middle of its chest where its heart could be heard beating loudly. When Booker looked closer, he saw an open book that acted like its beating heart. The book showed the page showed Otabin after Edric forced him to draw on him.
"Wait, Otabin?" Booker asked in shock, seeing the lovable book character turned into a terrifying monster.
"With claws and fangs and breaking bones, I found a friend to make my own," Otabin said in a deep voice and turned around with Amity still in his claws.
"Booker!" Amity screamed.
"Amity! Let her go!" Booker yelled as charged at Otabin with Dragon's Bite. But the monster saw him coming and used his hand to swat Booker away. Sending him crashing hard into a wall before he fell to the ground with a thud.
"Booker!" Amity screamed when she saw him get hurt, but Otabin ran off.
Booker groaned in pain as he got up from the impact. Checking to see if he was bleeding, Booker looked to see Otabin was gone and so was Amity. Grabbing Dragon's Bite, he walked over to where the witch's dairy laid on the floor and gathered it and the pages that fell out.
He then began to chase after Otabin.
Elsewhere in the kids' corner, Amity was slammed against a giant book that was crafted by Otabin. Holding her in place, the monstrous book character brought out a large needle that was threaded with a giant ball of thread. He raised the needle and lowered it in Amity's direction. The witch yelped and turned away, thinking that he was going to stab her. However, instead of killing her, he wrapped her arms and fingers with the glowing green sting.
Otabin pulled the thread and sewed her arm into the book. Becoming part of the paper itself. "Why are you doing this? I've been reading you since I was a kid. I know you're not like this. Someone changed you," she told the book character.
"But friends are what I've always sought. And now a friend my claws have caught," the monster said, before Dragon's Bite came flying at his needle. Hitting it out of his hand. As the sword was called back, Otabin growled as he turned around to see Booker standing at the doorway.
The Seventh Son caught the sword as he bravely stood up to the monster.
"Booker?" Amity asked, shocked to see him coming to save her.
"Otabin, you have to stop this!" Booker yelled, walking towards the monster with the sword in both hands, ready to fight him if necessary.
Otabin grinned as he and Booker started circling each other. "Making friends, taking friends, never being without my friends," said the monster.
"Okay, first, you can't rhyme friends with friends," Booker said.
"Booker!"
"Right, sorry." Booker was about to continue talking to Otabin when the monster lunged at him. He dodged under a grab for him before slashing into Otabin's chin.
"GAH!" Otabin grunted in pain as he held his chin and shut his eyes as Booker landed hits on his knee and hip. Otabin tried to claw at him, but the Seventh Son dodged and clapped his hands together.
With a power spell, Booker punched Otabin in the face. Sending him crashing against the wall in a disoriented state. Giving Booker the time to help Amity.
"You alright?" He asked with a determined scowl.
Amity blushed a bit. "Y-Yeah! I'm fine."
"Alright, hang on! I'm gonna cut you loose," Booker said, using Dragon's Bite to cut the threats holding her.
Otabin started to get back up with an angry snarl.
"Let's go!" Booker shouted, quickly grabbing Amity's hand and the two made a run for it.
"Come back!" Otabin shouted as he got up and started chasing after the two kids.
Booker and Amity ran as fast as they could through the library. After a few seconds of running, they ducked behind a small shelf. "How did this happen?" Amity asked, looking over the top of the shelf.
"I might have something to do with it," Booker said sheepishly.
"Goddamnit, why am I not surprised," Amity said with snark.
"Hey! It was your ass of a brother that did it, okay. Your siblings figured out that whatever you write or draw in the books comes to life as well!" He whispered to her as Amity ducked back down. "I just wanted to give him shoes. He was the one that made him a monster."
Amity sighed. Figured her brother and sister would be the cause of all this. "Alright, what's the plan?"
"Uh…" Booker winched.
"You didn't have a plan?!" Amity whispered loudly.
"Uh, yeah I had a plan! My plan was to get you out of that book and it worked. I didn't even think it would work. I was just, you know, winging it, okay?"
Amity stared at the blonde boy for a second, before smiling and starting to chuckle. She didn't know why she was laughing in a dangerous situation like this, but she couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her laugh made Booker smile as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Amity's diary.
He tore out one of the blank pages and handed the diary back to her. Then Booker started writing on it.
"Booker corrects a mistake." He wrote and suddenly a giant magic eraser the size of the paper appeared. Grabbing and Dragon's Bite, Booker looked at Amity. "I'll stay and take care of Otabin. You get out of here while you can.
"Are you crazy? You can't fight him alone!" Amity protested.
"It's my fault this happened, Amity. Let me do this," he said with a kind smile.
Amity stared at him for a moment, shocked and amazed he was willing to risk his life. Before she could say anything to stop him, Booker got up and ran. "Booker!"
Meanwhile, Otabin was still searching the library for the two while carrying his book. He wasn't willing to stop until he had them in his book and with him forever. He growled as he looked around for them. "Hide you may, friends to be, but will not escape from me!"
"Then I wouldn't hide anymore, friend."
Otabin turned around and saw Booker standing a few meters away from him. The Seventh Son glared at the monster as he held Dragon's Bite in one hand and the eraser in the other.
Otabin narrowed his eyes and snarled at the boy. Dropping the book and smiling creepily at Booker.
"Let's play," Booker said, raising Dragon's Bite a bit.
Otabin and Booker charged at one another, with the monster swiping his hand to grab the young boy. But Booker dodged the attack and slashed at his hand.
Otabin grunted in pain as he held his hand as Booker slashed and cut into the monster, before Otabin clawed at Booker. Booker ducked under it and dodged a second attack. He then swung his sword at Otabin's head.
Cutting the book character across the face and knocking him back. Seeing his chance, Booker charged at Otabin. His plan was to stab his sword into the chest of the book maker, using it as a place to hang onto as he erases the pencil markings.
However, Otabin spun around and swung his tail at him.
Not ready for the attack, Booker tried to block the attack, but was sent flying away. He skidded across the floor before stopping him in a crouching position. It was a hard hit and would have definitely broken something in his body if he didn't block the attack with Dragon's Bite. However, he realized something as he grunted in pain.
Booker had dropped the eraser.
Seeing it a few feet away, Booker rushed towards the eraser. But before he could get it, Otabin grabbed him. The monster then slammed Booker into the floor, disorienting him and almost knocking him out. Dragon's Bite slipped out of his hand as Otabin lifted him up.
Otabin grabbed his book and pulled it completely toward him. Regaining his bearings, Booker tried to kick at his chest, hoping to kick the book out of the monster's chest. Otabin grabbed the needle and sewed around Book's arms and pulled. Making his limbs flat and merged into the paper.
"You squirm and fight, and scream and shout. But friendship always will win out," Otabin said as he sewed Booker's legs to the book. Most of his body was converged with the book, with the exception of his head.
Booker struggled to escape, but it was no use. He was completely at the misery of Otabin. The thread wrapped around Booker's head and Otabin slowly pulled it tight. Booker closed his eyes and braced himself for his fate.
But this was not to be his fate. At the last possible second, Amity came riding to the rescue on a book return cart. With a battle cry, she ran into Otabin. Launching him into a bookshelf, which fell on him.
As he struggled to get out from under it, Amity pulled the string keeping Booker down off the book. Freeing him and helping him stand up. "I thought I told you to get out of here," he said.
"And I told you to leave me alone," Amity said with a glare before smiling. "I guess we're both not good at listening to each other."
Booker smiled at her sense of humor, calling back Dragon's Bite. At the same time, Otabin shoved the bookshelf off of him and glared at Booker and Amity. "We must stay friends until the end. There is no tear I cannot mend!" He said, drawing his needle as if it were a sword.
Seeing the dangerous monster coming at them, Booker decided to try an idea. Remembering that the sword acted like a magic staff and what Luz told him what happened during the covention, Booker closed his eyes and focused his powers into the sword. His magic marks appeared again and the runes on the sword lit up.
Booker pointed Dragon's Bite at Otabin and unleashed a large beam of light. The beam slammed into the monster's chest. Forming into a large hand that pinned the book character into the ground.
"Yeah!" Booker exclaimed with a big smile on his face.
Seeing her chance, Amity summoned two of her Abominations. "Abominations, hold him down!" She commanded and the two slug golems rushed towards Otabin, grabbing his arms and holding him down. "Booker, hurry!" Amity said, picking up the eraser off the ground and tossing it to Booker.
Canceling the attack, Booker caught the eraser and ran toward Otabin. Jumping onto his chest and landing in front of where the book was. He then used it to erase Edric's drawings on the page of the book, fixing the illustration.
In an instant, Otabin returns to his innocent normal self. Dropping the eraser, Booker caught him before landing on the ground. Holding him with one arm, Booker smiled at the cute little character as Amity proceeded to walk up to them.
Gently taking him from Booker, Amity smiled at her favorite character as he looked apologetically at her. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," he said."
"Hey, it's okay. We're still friends," Amity reassured him, cradling him like a baby.
The green-haired witch nodded to Booker a silent message. Understanding what she was saying, Booker sheathed Dragon's Bite and picked Otabin's book off the ground. Closing the book and making Otabin disappear. While it made Amity sad to see him go, she looked at Booker, who nodded to her. The Seventh Son sighed in relief before looking at the book.
Walking over the table in the kid's corner, Booker gently placed Otabin the Bookmaker back where he found it.
Hours later, after cleaning up the damages in the library, Booker and Amity made their way out of the library. The Seventh Son yawned and shielded his eyes from the light of the rising sun.
"Man, what a night. I think I'll stick to books coming to life as bad movies than deal with that ever again." Booker joked a little with a smile.
"This never happened," Amity said as she walked past Booker. After last night, she just wanted to go home.
Seeing her walk away, Booker reached into his backpack and pulled out his copy of Azura and the Dark One Volume 5. "Hey, wait!" He called out to her. Amity stopped as he walked up to her and showed her the book. "I saw you only have 1 through 4. I know this doesn't make up for reading your diary, but if you wanna borrow it, I'll be happy to lend it."
Amity took the book and looked at it. "Thank you," she said, holding it to her chest.
Booker smiled and nodded, before sighing a little. "Well, I'll get out of your hair," he said and walked past her.
"Booker, wait," Amity said, making Booker stop and turn back towards her. Walking up to him the young witch took a breath and said, "I'm sorry."
This confused Booker. "Why're you apologizing for? I'm the one that read your diary and nearly got us both killed."
"Truth, and maybe you're not a bully, but I haven't exactly been the friendliest witch either," she said, looking down in shame. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday and you're right. I don't want us to be enemies. I'm not a hundred percent sure if I'm ready to call my friend either, but...I'll think about that."
Booker smiled, feeling happy to hear Amity say that. He held out his hand to her. "Thanks, Amity."
Amity glanced at the hand and then smiled at Booker. She grabbed him and the two shook on it. Even if it was a small step, it was a giant leap for the two former enemies. One that could lead them to become something more.
Booker opened the door of the Owl House and closed it behind him. Feeling even more exhausted from the walk back home. "Hey, guys. I'm back." Booker said as he came into the house. When he looked around he stopped when he looked at the couch.
Everyone was fast asleep and snoring peacefully on the green couch. Eda was holding the baby bats in her arms. Luz was snuggled up next to her with King in her lap.
After taking off his backpack, Booker smiled softly at the scene. "Well, what do you know?"
Suddenly the moment was shattered when Hooty slammed the door open. "Ding dong!" He screamed.
"AH!" Booker yelled in surprise, pulling out Dragon's Bite before realizing it was Hooty. "Damnit Hooty! What the hell…" His sentence came to a halt when something large started to come through the door.
Stepping back, Booker held his sword in a fighting stance as the object crawled into the living room. It was soon revealed to be a giant human head with wings and legs connected to it. Her face had Asian characteristics, with long dark hair, black lips, and red eyes. She also had fangs and talons.
Booker looked at the giant bat creature with wide eyes before glancing at the sleeping babies then back at her. "Uh, are you the mother?" He asked
"Yi Yi. Mama is I. And I is the Bat Queen," the Bat Queen said before whistling loudly. Surprisingly it didn't wake Eda, Luz, and King. But it did wake her babies. The baby bats flew away from the Owl Lady's arms. They came to their mother and settled into Bat Queen's hair. "Aah! Snuggle dumplings."
She then threw up a large treasure red chest that opened to reveal several hundred snails. The Bat Queen spat out an Aztec death whistle on top of the snails.
"For troubles. Eda is owed one," she said before squeezing back out of the doorway and flying away. Booker watched her before closing the door and looking at the chest of snails.
"Yeah, that's all getting washed," he mumbled. Walking over to Luz, he smiled at how cute she looked sleeping and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. "Luz~"
Luz hummed and slowly cracked her eyes open to see her best friend smiling down at her. She held out an arm for a hug. "Hey, Booky. Come snuggle with babies," she said tiredly, not noticing the babies were gone.
"Ah. Sweet babies," Eda said in her sleep. The Owl Lady tried to pull the bat babies closer, but couldn't feel them in her arms. She opened her eyes and realized they were gone. "Babies? Where are the babies?" She asked, immediately waking up with Luz and King as they looked for them with her.
"Their mom came and picked them up," Booker said, sheathing Dragon's Bite and setting the sword against the couch.
"Oh. And I just taught Junior how to pick locks too," Eda said, feeling sad that the babies were gone.
"Yeah, but at least your night was more successful than mine. Look at all that money you made," Booker said, gesturing to the chest. He held up the spit-covered whistle. "The Bat Queen even gave you this. I'd wash it before you use it."
Booker tossed it to Eda, which bounced off her chest and into her lap. The Owl Lady picked it up and stared at it with a frown. "Yeah. We did it all for the money."
"I miss my babies!" King sobbed. Luz quickly picked him up and hugged him to her face.
"Stay strong, King. We'll make it through this together," she cried.
"Shut up! Don't touch me!" King hugged her back.
Booker picked up his backpack and pulled out a book. "Well, I got this from the library. Maybe it can help," he said, handing it to Eda. The book was titled 'Coping with Empty Nest Syndrome.'
Eda chuckled a bit as she took the book from Booker. "Thanks, kid."
Luz placed King back down and wiped away her tears. "So, how was your night? Did you have fun with Amity's siblings?"
"Turns out they were a bunch of jerks that were going to do something really mean to Amity," Booker said, frowning before smiling a little. "But on the bright side, I think I might actually be making progress with Amity."
The door squeaked open. "Hey, you wanna hear about my night?"
"NO!" Booker, Luz, and Eda yelled all at once.
"That's not a thing anyone ever wants!" said King.
Booker opened the door to his and Luz's room, closing it behind him. After a long night, the young boy was more than ready to sleep like a log for the rest of the day. Walking over to his bed, Booker set his backpack next to him and crawled under the covers. Lying on his back, the young man stared up at the ceiling.
Last night really was quite the adventure. He wondered if he went too far with Edric and Emira. He really did scare them, but that was because he was so angry with how they treated their sister. Booker could only hope they'd start acting like better siblings to her from now on.
Turning his head towards his book bag, he unzipped one of the smaller pockets and started digging for something.
He then pulled out a photo and looked at it with a growing smile.
It was a picture of him and his brother, all happy together. It was one of the very few things to have survived the fire that orphaned him. But even though it's been seven years, he can still remember everything about them.
His oldest brother, Luke, was a builder since birth and would build some small projects with his youngest brother. His second older brother, Matt, helped Booker with his artistic skills so that he could draw just like in the kid's books he read. The third Bridges son, Freddy, was a rocking musician that gave Booker a little toy keyboard and they would make music together. Mel was the fourth brother and always made Booker laugh at his jokes. Benny was the fifth and loved sports. When his baby brother started showing an interest in soccer, he would teach him some tricks and moves with the ball. And lastly was his Goth brother, Sam, who helped Booker express himself through writing.
Each and every one of them was awesome in their way and helped make Booker into the young man he was. But now they are gone, and only their memories remain.
Tears started leaking from Booker's eyes as he stared at his brothers. Placing the photo under his pillow, Booker wiped his eyes and closed his eyes. They may be gone, but that doesn't mean they still can't give him company as he sleeps.
AN:
And with that, we're finally finished with one of the most anticipated chapters of the Seventh Son. "Lost in Language" was one of my favorite episodes of the Owl House and I had fun writing this chapter. Now that I've finished this, maybe I can work on some of my commissions.
I didn't have Luz go with Booker to the library, as it was mostly about him and Amity. I wanted Booker to have some time alone with her and for the two to start their friendship before they start to develop crushes for one another.
We now have Edric and Emira introduced in the story and some of you were working forward to see what Booker would do to them. Needless to say, he put them in their place.
At the end, we're finally given Booker's brother. Honestly, they all take heavy inspiration from the Loud sisters from the Loud House. This helps to make each brother feel unique from one another, while their traits allow for us to kind of have a grasp of what they were like when they were still alive.
When I come back to this story, I'm skipping over "Once Upon a Swap" and going to "Something Ventured, Someone Framed". For now, I'm moving onto Gem of War, but I might also work on one chapter of Living in a Frog World while at it.
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.