The Intruder
Oh, a dark and stormy night. It's nights like these often remind me of the time Bijou, Luz, Hazel, and King had to deal with Eda's owl curse.
A few hours ago...
Nimbus clouds had filled the sky and the ambience looked relatively gloomy. But not in the Owl House. There were a lot of activities going on in there. Luz, Hazel, Bijou were recording King on the former's phone.
"And here we have the most fearsome creature in the world, the King of Demons, facing his natural enemy, the ducky sock," Luz narrated as if she was doing a nature documentary about wild animals, complete with a British accent.
King struggled with the mallard-printed sock until he ripped it apart with his feet. He stood up and teared it off, stomping on the pieces.
"It would seem that this pint-size powerhouse has the upper hand against this comfortable foot garment." Bijou continued on with the narration. At the same time, she and Hazel appear to be reading about flora and fauna in the Demon Realm.
"Where are you now, ducky sock?!" He slammed down his fists.
"So, why'd you call us here again?" Luz asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah," King realized he had an important task ahead of him. He stood up and moved in front of a curtain-covered board. "Human Luz, Human Bijou, Fellow Beast Hazel, you've been so obsessed with witchcraft and the life and geography of the Boiling Isles that you haven't learned anything about my kind; prepare yourself for..."
He pulled back the curtain to reveal a billboard of demons and donned a beret with a tassel. "Demons 101. Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur and bone."
Luz zoomed in on him. "And cute little paws."
Bijou and Hazel giggled.
King sighed, "And cute little paws. True. We live only to create chaos and misery," He held up a ballpoint pen. "Our only weaknesses are purified water and passive-aggressive comments. Sometimes."
"I see. Even your kind are emotionally sensitive." Hazel pointed out.
"I have to admit, I never thought demons would go through the same things as humans and witches. Usually they're associated with thirst for power, endless violence, and constant destruction," Bijou said with a smirk.
"Even demons have inner demons..." He shifted a picture, revealing another of a pink-skinned creature with a spikey turtle shell. "The most powerful demon of all is the Snaggleback. He is a-"
"Bad boy," Luz interjected, fiddling with her phone's sticker app. King returned his gaze to find Bijou and Hazel still engrossed in their Demon Realm Fauna & Flora book.
"Luz, Bij, and Hazel, pay attention. This information could save your lives someday," he said, motioning to the board
"No, no, we're paying attention," Luz said, shaking her head. "This is my paying attention face," she said, pointing to her interested expression. "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
Suddenly, lightning struck, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Everyone turned to look out the window.
"Uh-oh, looks like it's gonna rain," King said as he looked out the window.
Luz exclaimed sharply when she heard that.
"I love the rain." She then made her way to the front door.
"Hey, wait," King said, holding out his hand.
"Wait, Luz, you don't want to go out there," Hazel said. "Rain here is different."
"Ah," Luz said as she stepped out into the open. "I always love feeling the first few drops in my hair."
She said as she bent down to pick a flower. "I bet you do, too, little buddy."
However, the first raindrop completely destroyed the flower. "What?"
"Boiling rain!" Eda yelled as she ran out of the woods, her arm covering her brow. "Everybody inside now."
"Huh?" yelped Luz as the Owl Lady grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the house. Then there was a crash, and Eda rose from the floor, relieved.
"Phew! That was close. But the important thing is you didn't get hurt."
"Yep," Luz groaned, tangled up on the ground with Bijou, Hazel, and King, a coffee mug landing on her head. "Not hurt."
Meanwhile, in Bonesborough...
People were running for cover to avoid the scalding rain. Unfortunately, some of them got burned in the process. Willow went out to her small balcony, where her plants were, to save them from being burned.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and yanked the curtain down with her teeth.
The Conspiracy Theorist Bijou and Luz encountered at the Conformatorium shrieked as she hid in a crevice and threw out the mouse. She hissed at it.
Back at the Owl House...
King bandaged Luz's injured arm as she had her cat hood on. He then wrapped a bandage around his nose.
"Look, now we're boo-boo buddies."
Her eyes shined at him as she squealed, falling onto the ground. "Oh, my gosh. I love you so much. So, you knew about this all along, don't you, Bijou and Hazel."
"Yeah, we knew." Bijou said. "And honestly, the weather around here is very extreme."
"Oh, trust me, Bij. This is not your everyday weather. We have plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows." Eda said as she was protected by a yellow barrier and performing a spell.
"It's like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out," King explained as Luz tightened her hood and Bijou cringed at the prospect of being turned inside out by a rainbow in the sky.
"Yeah, remind me of when those occur so I can avoid those."
"By the way, can you tell me what those are like later?" Luz inquired of Bijou.
"Yeah, I will tonight," she said quietly.
"So, until the boiling rain stops, no one is allowed outside tonight," Eda warned the quartet.
"And if the rain doesn't get you," King said, pulling a book from his pocket and opening it to the Snaggleback. "The Snaggleback will. They wanted the rains, feeding on boiled tourists."
"I'm pretty sure you just made that up," Hazel pointed out.
"I heard that!" King exclaimed, as the almiraj laughed.
"Well, whatever the case, this forcefield spell should protect the house from boiling rains and made-up demons," Eda said.
"Hoot! Well, hurry up with that force field," Hooty snarled. "That rain is getting closer to my precious stucco."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Eda said as she spun her staff around.
She then conjured a massive bubble that engulfed the house before shrinking to form a perfectly shaped barrier for the structure. The forcefield spell effectively shielded anything outside, including rain.
"Wow! Someday I'd like to be as cool as Eda the Owl Lady," Luz said as she drew her hood down. "Magical, sassy, surprisingly foxy for her age. Hey, why do they call you the Owl Lady, anyway?"
"Because I'm so wise," Eda boasted, drawing a raised eyebrow from Bijou.
"Because she coughs up rat bones," Hooty pointed out.
"Or maybe because of Owlbert." Bijou snidely remarked.
"I think it's 'cause she gets distracted by shiny objects," King explained with his hands on his hips.
"No, I don't," she said, and he took out the pen from his pocket. He pressed the button, and it began to glow.
"It sparkles and shimmers. It shines and delights. I must have it for my nest," she lunged for it, but King pushed her away, and she crashed instead.
"I'm pretty sure that's the true reason why she's the Owl Lady." Hazel remarked.
"You have a nest?" Luz exclaimed. "I want a nest. Nest party!"
Bijou approached and assisted Luz in helping Eda up. "Ugh, that force field really took it out of me," Eda sighed.
"Uh oh, you're moving a little slow," King teased. "Age finally catching up with you?" he asked before Eda pulled the entire beret over his face. "Ahh! Darkness!"
Eda stepped inside, tiredly opening the door.
"This is perfect," Luz exclaimed happily, and with reason. "Since we'll be stuck in the house all night, Eda won't have any excuse not to teach me a spell."
"Ooh, and I can learn more about these magnificent creatures known as Titans," Bijou exclaimed.
"But don't you guys want to finish our lesson?" King lamented. "I was gonna let you scratch a demon's tummy. Me."
"Oh, uh, sorry, King," Luz said apologizingly. "But magic..."
"Boiling Isles biology for me," Bijou said, shrugging as she and Hazel walked away to continue reading the book. He gave a deadpan expression as his beret fell flat as his intact horn pierced through it.
Eda went behind her changing table and changed into her PJs. She fiddled with her skirt and clicked her tongue. She sighed contentedly as she lay on the couch...until a shadow loomed over her. She screamed as she noticed Luz standing over her.
"Oh, Eda, have I told you how rad your fang looks today?"
"Whatever it is, no," Eda said flatly.
"Uh, and your hair is like, girl."
"I'm not teaching you magic tonight," she correctly predicted. "I'm sleepy," Eda said, pulling a blanket over herself. "I'm a sleepy little owl."
"Please, Eda. Please," Luz pleaded. "How am I supposed to earn my witch's staff if I don't know any spells?"
"No. Sleep," Eda said as she pulled the blanket over her head.
Hazel sighed and told Luz, "Look, Luz. I know how much you wanted to learn magic spells from Eda but she needs to rest. The barrier spell has worn her out."
"Hmm... Unless."
"Sparkle thing," she said as she sat up and noticed Luz's pen in her hand.
"Oh! This?" Luz inquired innocently. Eda jumped into the couch's armrest, her gaze fixed on it.
Eda exclaimed, "Ooh!" as Luz raised and lowered it and moved it in front of her. She tried to grab it, but Luz pushed it away, causing her to fall.
"Nope. Teach me one spell and I'll give you your sparkle thing."
"Luz, don't!" Bijou hissed angrily.
"Relax, Bij. Just one spell and I will let Eda rest."
"I admire your cunning, but I also hate you for it," Eda said to Luz from the floor.
Luz stood there watching Eda as she held her staff in front of her.
"If you want a witch's staff like mine, don't make me repeat myself," Eda almost fell asleep right there and then, but Bijou gave her a cup of water, which drenched herself in. "Thanks, kiddo. Witches' staffs have power embedded into them."
"Gimme," Luz said, holding out her hands.
Bijou and Hazel exchanged wary looks; not because they didn't trust Luz, but because they knew she wouldn't get the hang of it right away if Eda even allowed her to touch it.
"But before one is earned, every witch needs to know how to cast spells on their own," Eda continued, much to the relief of Bijou and Hazel. The two kept reading.
"Now..." Eda held up a finger and tossed her staff away. "Tonight I will show you how to create light."
She drew a circle, which transformed into a light orb. Luz stared in awe as it floated down in front of her and popped.
"Yawn," King sighed and stood up. "Who needs another boring spell lesson when you could be learning all the fun ways a demon could kill you?"
He held up a drawing of a demon biting into what appeared to be a human body. Fortunately, it appeared to be a child's drawing that a parent would display on a refrigerator.
"Look how teethy. Bite, bite."
"Be quiet. I need to focus."
Bijou looked down at King, who looked disappointed by her response. She then turned to face Luz, feeling sorry for him. It wasn't entirely their fault that they had been kept interested and/or busy by other things...
"Now, humans think magic is made out of thin air, but that's stupid. Everything comes from something," she went on to say. "Let me ask you, kid, where do you think magic comes from?" she asked, booping Luz's nose.
"Hmm... from the heart?" Luz asked, clasping her hands together.
"Actually, you're right," Eda replied after a brief pause, Luz exclaiming in delight.
"No, really," Eda said as she dug into her hair and pulled out a diagram of a heart with a GIANT green thing attached to it. "It comes from a sac of magic bile attached to a witch's heart."
"Wait. Is that true, Hazel?" Bijou inquired of the almiraj, who confirmed. "Ew."
"Oh, gross. Can I keep that?" Luz asked.
"No!" said Eda as she reinserted the paper into her hair.
"Now, everything is dependent on the spell circle; the larger the circle, the more powerful the spell," Eda said as she raised her finger and drew a larger circle, creating another orb. It shattered into smaller pieces. Luz, on the other hand, was only now realizing something.
"But how can I, little old Luz, do magic if I don't have a magic bile...sac?"
Eda took another pause to consider it. "You know, I'm not actually sure."
"What?!" exclaimed Luz, looking up at her.
"I know witches did magic differently in the past, but I never bothered to figure out how," she laughed, snorting.
"Eda!" exclaimed the girl in response.
"Don't worry," Eda said, ruffling the girl's hair. "You'll figure it out, or you could ask an expert," she said, turning Luz's head to Bijou, who flinched at the looks she received. "Now, oh..."
Eda rose to her feet, her back cracking. "I need to lie down..."
She stumbled over to the couch.
Eda moaned in response to her prodding. "Fine. Now, you see, the spell circle is really because..."
She attempted to make the circle, but it appeared wavy rather than straight as it had the previous two times. She then collapsed face-first to the ground. "Oh, boy."
"Well, it looks like one more spell killed Eda," King casually remarked, and Luz shrieked in horror. Bijou and Hazel walked over to the rug as she turned Eda around.
"Oh, my gosh, my obsession with spells knocked out Eda," she said as she stood up, her head bowed in shame. "I'm a monster."
"Calm down, Luz." Hazel assured her. "She's just taking a rest and Bijou already warned you that Eda is already tired."
King extended his hand and booed Eda on the nose. "Bap! Yep. She's out. Bap!" he laughed as he hit her face again. "Just making sure."
"We should get help, right?" Luz asked as she ran towards the door, only to be stopped by both King and Hazel.
"Boiling rains, remember?"
"You'd get burns all over you, and remember that we're not supposed to be outside until the rain stops!" Bijou said to her.
"No, let her try. It'll be funny," Hooty said as King slammed the door shut.
"But what if Eda's dead?" Luz asked, motioning to her.
"Shiny thing...big nest," Eda snored.
"Remember when her head got cut off last week?" King reminded Luz. "That woman can survive anything. She's probably just tired from staying up all night chasing shrews and voles."
"Plus that barrier spell and 3 small light spells," Bijou went on to say. "Those count for exhaustion."
"Well, we can't just leave her on the floor," Luz objected, looking at King blankly.
"Come on, let's take her to her room," Hazel suggested.
Eda was dragged across the floor and into her room by the four of them. They propped her feet up against a nest, which served as her bed. Luz pushed some skeletons aside, and the two girls hoisted Eda into her bed.
"Sorry for pushing you, Ms. Eda. Please don't hurt me when you wake up," Luz expressed concern.
"Should I bap her again?" King asked, earning Luz a head pat.
"Just let her rest, you little goober."
"I wouldn't worry; she hasn't killed anyone yet, not even when we went to Hexside," Bijou crossed her arms and looked away. "Though it's the first time we've seen her this tired before. I want to know the reason."
"Come on. Let's go downstairs," Luz said as she, Bijou, and Hazel exited the room.
King smacked Eda across the face one more time.
"Bap!" he exclaimed as he dashed away.
They had returned to the living room, where King was drawing on the couch.
"Yeah, yeah," he said, approving of his photograph. Bijou and Hazel resumed their book reading. Luz sighed.
"This is all she does," she explained as she traced circles like Eda. "Why you gotta be so cryptic, Owl Lady?"
She played back the recording from her phone, hoping to find something useful.
"Now, you see, the spell circle is really-"
"Hey," King said, placing his sketchpad over her screen. "You know what's really cryptic? Let me tell you about the most spine-chilling demon," he said, holding up what appeared to be a large fish. "Smoochy Pie the Sweetie Baby."
Looking up, Bijou raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Smoochy Pie, what now?"
She didn't think that was a name she'd want to remember or hear until today.
"He's...well, he's a lot more threatening than his name implies," the little guy shrugged.
"Not now, King; I need to figure out this spell," Luz begged.
King sat down on a pile of books, sadly looking away. He looked at Bijou and Hazel and knew he'd get the same response because they were both too busy reading.
"But if I don't have a magic sac, what's the point? I'll just be twirling my fingers around unmagically forever."
"Why do you want to learn magic so badly?" he asked, irritated that she hadn't paid attention to his lessons at all. Eda never wanted to talk about demons with him, and he was not going to ask Hooty. So when he finally found people with whom he could share his knowledge, they turned him down.
"...I was a nobody back home," Luz admitted. "But becoming a witch is my chance to be someone," she said as she sat down, a frown on her face.
Bijou looked sympathetically at Luz. In some ways, the latter's situation was similar to the former's back home.
"Do you know what it's like to have no one take you seriously?"
By her response, King sighed and turned away. He felt the same way about both sisters. "If I help you learn that spell, could we finish our lesson?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Luz said, perking up. "You can teach me about demons all week if you help me learn this spell."
"And I'd be willing to learn as well," Bijou added.
"Me too, I guess," Hazel said.
"Well, she said witches used to do magic differently," King chimed.
"The question is, exactly how," Bijou added.
"So there has to be a way, right? And I have a theory," he said, holding up a drawing of an equation. "Every day I notice Eda sneaking drinks of this special elixir. See? Then she always gets a boost of energy. See? I think that's where she gets her powers."
"Really?" Bijou inquired, confused.
"Si," he said simply. Luz twirled him into a hug.
"Thank you so much. You're a prince." He just stared at her, not understanding what she was saying.
"King. I'm King."
"Right."
'Why do I feel like this is gonna be a disaster?' Hazel thought to himself.
Eda snored loudly in her nest. King entered quietly, opening the door. He searched the bedroom for the elixir.
"Now where could it be?" He discovered a phial of orange liquid next to another on a table. It specifically stated 'an elixir a day.' He stepped over to it, only to have his foot strike metal. He screamed as he looked down to see a bear trap. He moved his foot just as it snapped shut.
"Ha! Nice try." The bear trap then woke up and opened an eye.
"Nah, my heart wasn't in it," he said as he walked away. King crept over to the table and grabbed the label.
"An elixir a day. Cryptic." He ripped it off and stuffed it in his fur. He then grabbed the phial and jumped to the ground. He looked at Eda, feeling a little guilty about stealing from her. But, on the other hand, he was eager for the girls to learn more about demons...
"Nah," he said, snapping out of it and running away.
"Got it," he said, handing it to Luz, who popped the cork out of the phial.
"Wow! I can't believe I'm about to learn magic. Real magic. This is historic."
"Uh... I don't you should be drinking that, Luz," Bijou said skeptically. "We don't even know what it'll do to you."
"This is my only ticket to doing magic." Said Luz, "Besides, what have I got to lose."
Luz eagerly placed the phial to her lips, but before she could take a sip, the lights went out briefly due to a large lightning strike. She yelped and tossed the phial around, only for it to break and fall to the floor.
"Golden elixir gone. This is awful."
"Who even needs a light spell when we have tons of lamps?" King boasted to her, pointing to the wall lighting.
The lamps then went out completely, leaving the girls and almiraj staring at him. He sighed at the irony. "Hooty controls the house lights. He probably just fell asleep."
There was a loud crash.
"Hoot, hoot!"
"Oh no!" "Hooty!" exclaimed Bijou and Luz as King grabbed Luz's shoulders and Hazel hopped along.
The four dashed for the door, gasping as it blew up, but Hooty was still alive. However... There was a large creature at the broken door, and they had no idea what it was because it was so dark. Hooty's eyes were filled with x's as the creature clawed at him before growling at the trio and fleeing. They stood guard over the door.
"Hooty, are you in there?" Luz asked, prodding his beak and peering into his eyes. "Whatever did this escaped into the rain. What could survive that?"
When King touched the claw marks, he realized something was wrong. "Oh my gosh! The Snaggleback. It feeds during the rains. It must have stumbled across our house and seen us inside."
"But the Snaggleback has no idea where the Owl House is, so how could it possibly get inside?" Bijou rubbed her chin, and they heard a howl.
They ran outside, looking up to see the creature breaking in through a window.
"This is terrifying," Luz said, looking down at King. "So why do you look so happy?" Bijou crossed her arms as King laughed gleefully. "Because this could be a lesson. This would be a great way for you to see a wild demon up close and personal."
"You wanna go towards those creepy sounds? No way," Luz immediately denied.
"We don't wanna risk our butts just to fight that creature
"I agree! If we fight that thing, it's gonna turn us into a four-course meal," Hazel said as he raised his hand.
"What if Eda gets eaten? She's upstairs and defenseless because Luz knocked her out," King said, eliciting a groan from the mentioned girl. She'd forgotten Eda was still sleeping up there, and there was no way she could defend herself because it wasn't necessary. Especially since she was skeptical of the Snaggleback.
Luz put on gloves while King taped a pillow over him. Bijou had a colander on her head, a soup ladle in her hand, and a couch cushion around her waist. Hazel got a pot lid and a butter knife ready. Luz wrapped two bandages around her cheeks. She smirked and reached for a hockey stick (which Eda had stolen while traveling into the human realm). King dashed over to Francois.
"Weh!"
Luz guided them up the long staircase with the help of her phone flashlight. As they began to walk, the steps began to creak, and they arrived at the corridor. The sound of a creaking door came from Eda's bedroom. They exchanged glances, and when they opened the door, they found Eda's room in shambles, with a broken window.
"Oh my gosh, Eda!" Luz exclaimed in fright.
"She's gone!" exclaimed Hazel.
"She got snaggle-backed!" King exclaimed, Luz approaching the nest and peering in.
"Eda?" Eda wasn't sleeping, but she did discover a pillow with slash marks similar to those on the front door. "Slash marks! King, you're the demon expert. We need your help."
"I'll go get my demon book!" he exclaimed as he ran out of the room. Bijou walked over to the shattered glass, and something about it seemed off to her...
"What are we dealing with here?" she asked herself, returning her gaze to the pillow.
A large shadow flew over King's head as he ran down the hall. He dashed back into Eda's room, clutching two books.
"Wait, wait. First edition or second?" He looked up and gasped as the room was devoid of Bijou, Hazel, and Luz. "Luz? Bijou? Hazel?"
He dropped his books, one of which landed on the page of the Snaggleback. "The Snaggleback got them!"
Something zipped past him, and when he heard it, he noticed a small shadow pass by. Then he chased it down the hall.
"You craven beast! Give me back my boo-boo buddy and my study buddies!" he yelled as he ran up the stairs and into a closet. Only Luz's shoe and Bijou's pendant remained in front of the door.
"Luz? Bijou? Hazel?" he whimpered as he took the items.
He became enraged after not finding them and flung open the door. He went inside to look at the junk, his gaze fixed on a curtain with his feet hidden behind it.
"There's nowhere for you to run!" He pulled back the curtain, revealing a pink monkey-like creature with a spiked tortoise shell on its back. "Snaggleback?"
The creature turned to face him. "Wow! You are a lot shorter in person."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whimpered in terror. "I just needed a place to hide from the rains."
"Then why did you break down our door and take Luz, Hazel, and Bijou?" King claimed that he had done so. "That's not cool, man. Bad Snaggleback."
"I-I didn't do any of that stuff; I snuck in through a window just now," The Snaggleback explained, perplexing King.
"Huh? Well, then what-"
From the ceiling, a pale white hand with talons reached out and grabbed the Snaggleback by the turtle shell.
"Oh, no. A twist!"
When King turned to see where he was going, he banged on the door. Turning around to the closet door, he yelped and heard growling. It was opening, revealing the creature that wasn't the Snaggleback... whose turtle shell had fallen in front of the creature. It snarled and roared at King, who took a step back.
"Oh, my..." The creature entered slowly, the little demon clutching Luz's shoe and Bijou's pendant close to him.
"Stay back!" he exclaimed, only for the creature to approach. "Hey, hey. I am the King of Demons, okay? A-And as such, I demand you to barf my friends back up."
The creature let out another roar, swiping its claws. King yelped as he ducked, a slash mark left behind on the wall. He ran for the hall and the creature bumped into the wall, stumbling after him a little. He slid around the corner and the thing started to catch up with him. He slid to a stop in another hall, and was pulled in by a gloved hand.
He also heard a familiar voice say "King. Get in here."
The door closed and the creature stomped away. He listened as it left, looking up to see Luz.
Bijou and Hazel were standing nearby.
"Luz? Bijou? Hazel?"
"King," Luz cheerfully held him aloft before lowering him. "Oh, we're so glad you're safe."
"Where did you go?" King asked the group.
"We were checking on Eda, and she was gone, and you were gone. I also tripped and lost my shoe, and I bumped into Bijou," Luz rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
"The impact kinda made my pendant fall off my shirt," remarked Bijou.
"Oh, hey, you found them," Luz said, taking her shoe back and handing Bijou the pendant. "Here."
Bijou fastened the pendant to where it had fallen off.
"I...hey, what's that?" He read a piece of paper stuck to Luz's foot. "Keeps the curse at bay," he exclaimed sharply, pulling out the other half he'd saved earlier. He then combined both of them to read one sentence. "An elixir a day keeps the curse at bay."
"Curse?" Luz blinked, perplexed. "Wait, what are you trying to say?"
"Guys, I ran into the Snaggleback a while ago." King said.
"You did? What did it look like?" Hazel asked.
"He was about my size and... he's shorter and more docile than I thought he was." King admitted.
"Short, docile? Wait. If the Snaggleback wasn't chasing us, and Eda is gone, then-?" Bijou asked worriedly before she finally put two and two together.
"...Oh no," Bijou said quietly, her eyes wide. She noticed something strange about the glass...because it was arranged as if the creature had broken in...into Eda's window. "This is bad."
"What's bad, Bijou?" Hazel asked.
"I was wrong the whole time. That's no Snaggleback. That creature is-" King said before he was interrupted by a hand breaking through the door.
They all screamed. The door was completely shattered, and they finally got a good look at the creature, particularly its face. It grinned as it looked at them.
"Eda?" Luz and Hazel exclaimed in surprise when they saw her.
She roared and raised her talons. Luz screamed and Bijou scrambled backwards, both terrified. When Luz dropped her phone, the screen cracked but the camera flash activated. Eda's eyes flashed, and she screeched in pain, covering her eyes. Luz looked up in surprise and grabbed King. She helped Bijou up and they took off running. Eda snapped out of it and roared to her feet.
She kept on looking for them. Eda sniffed her way around the garden, oblivious to the four hiding behind a small stone wall. She sniffed the air for them while the girls covered their mouths. Eda leaned in close, her hair from her ears brushing against Bijou's cheek. Eda looked around, her hair in Bijou's face. She ducked down, hoping Eda will not find her. Luz grabbed a nearby can and tossed it. When it hit the door, Eda jumped for it, screeching and fleeing.
Bijou let out a relieved sigh and let go of her mouth.
"Oh, man. Did you see her eyes?" Luz asked, standing up, King looking guilty. "They were like BLAUGH! Bijou, how'd you know that beast was Eda?"
"When I noticed the glass shards on the floor, I figured that something or someone broke into the house, not out of. And Hooty's door was angled at a way only possible if someone broke out. And the forcefield was basically impenetrable from the outside unless Eda took it down herself..."
"And I think someone from here could've done all of this..." Hazel turned to face King. "King, what happened to her?"
"Don't you see? The elixir I gave you doesn't give Eda powers. It prevents her from turning into that thing. She's turned into a nightmare, and it's all my fault!" He lowered himself to the ground. "I'm so sorry, guys. I-I just wanted you guys to be into demons like you're into magic or the Boiling Isles. I don't have many friends, and no one even pays that much attention to me."
The girls and almiraj exchanged knowing glances. "I thought maybe if I taught you, finally someone would care about creatures like me."
Luz smiled at her before turning to face King.
"Well, then, let's finish the lesson," she said, holding out her pen.
"Huh?" King looked up at her, puzzled.
"Eda's turned into some kind of demon, and we need to save her. So who knows more about demons than the best teacher in the world?"
He smiled as he pointed to himself, and they both nodded. He stood up and took the pen from her. He leaped forward and embraced them joyfully. He strewn some leaves on the ground.
"Okay, King. Can you give us a briefing about Eda's beastly form?" Hazel asked.
"Sure thing. Let's see," he said as he began drawing Eda. "She was bigger, covered in feathers, and had giant black eyes; demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to light," he said, looking down at Luz's phone.
"That's it! Light! Luz, Bijou, use your human wonder rectangles!"
"I can't," she said, holding it up to show him the cracked screen. "My camera's all blasted."
"And my phone's battery ran out this morning," Bijou explained.
"Then...what about that light spell? And Bijou, how about you do that too?" King went on to say.
Bijou replied, "I'll try. Come on Luz, let's light things up tonight."
"I can't, Bij. You saw me. I can't draw circles in the air. I'm not like Eda or you," she said despondently, pulling up the video and playing it again.
"Spell circle is really key..."
As soon as the video ended, the camera glitched, but there was something there that Luz hadn't noticed before: a pattern. Luz gasped as she looked at her screen as the video paused.
"There's a pattern in the spell circle!"
"What?" King, Hazel, and Bijou asked, peering over her shoulder. "Where?"
Luz took out a leaf and the pen. "It looks like this," she said, laying the leaf over the phone to trace the symbol. "There," she said, tapping the pen against the symbol, which glowed. She exclaimed as the leaf transformed into a light orb. Luz stared at it, speechless. "It's beautiful...Oh, my gosh. I just did magic. I just did magic!" She jumped to her feet, fists pumping. King clung to her arm, swinging his legs. "I just did magic!"
"Shh!" both Bijou and King said in unison.
"Luz, I think you finally got it!" Hazel realized, pointing at her. "You can't do normal magic like Eda or do not have a magical accessory like Bijou, right?"
"Right...unfortunately," Luz said, pouting slightly.
"But if every magical spell has a symbol that you can draw out..."
"...Then I really can become a witch!" exclaimed the girl.
"But we're not going to stop anything with something that small," King exclaimed as he jumped to the ground. They ducked for cover when they heard Eda scream. "And I'm barely certain Bijou can make a bigger and brighter light sphere. What do we do now?"
"I think I know how to get Eda back," Luz said, fist raised. "Will you help us, boo-boo buddy?"
"Hmm, I'm kind of over that nickname, but okay," the four of them fist-bumped.
"Just tell us what we need to do," Bijou agreed, nodding.
Eda sniffed around the living room while Hooty lay unconscious on the floor. She smelled a book and then heard the clicking sound of a pen. She turned to see King using it as he leaned against the hall door.
"Oh, what lovely thing do we have here? It's just so dang shiny," he exclaimed as he tossed it up into the air, glowing. "Oh, my. Oh, dear."
Eda was distracted from her pen once more. She reached for it, only for King to dash into the hallway. Eda pursued him and then hid as Bijou placed one final object on the ground. As Eda slid on a bunch of papers, she ran and hid next to King. She screeched loudly as Bijou threw a cloth over her head.
"I'm sorry, Eda, but it's for your own good!" Luz finished drawing the light symbol with crayon on the wall. She then tapped it with her hand, and the light was so bright and powerful that it filled the entire hallway. Eda screeched loudly from it.
Eda sat up and opened her eyes, taking a straw from her mouth that was connected to her elixir phial. Thankfully, she was back to normal...mostly, because her left eye was still black and she had feathers in her hair. A portion of the jewel on her sternum was also black. She yelped in surprise and drank the last of the elixir to restore the yellow to her jewel and eye. She looked up, perplexed, the rain still falling outside.
"What happened? Oh, I have the worst headache," she said, putting her hand to her temple. "And my mouth tastes like roadkill."
She retched and leaned over, spewing a large pellet. The thing then shattered open to reveal the Snaggleback she had eaten earlier, but he still lacked his turtle shell.
"I'm just gonna...lie here for a minute," he murmured, feeling... shaken by what happened a while ago.
Eda looked down and saw that her elixir phial was nearly empty, "Hmm. I was looking for that."
"Actually, we found an extra one in your closet," King said as he jerked his thumb behind him, Hazel standing beside him.
"King?" She was furious as she connected the dots. "King, you stole my elixir? I oughta break every bone in your-"
"Shh," he shushed her, much to her surprise, and turned around. "Over there."
She noticed Luz and Bijou near the still-broken window. Luz was casting light spells with the symbol she had learned earlier, while Bijou was shifting her hands up and down while her bangle was glowing. Luz tapped the symbol again, and the paper transformed into the light orb. Bijou completed her conjuring and created her own light orb. Eda was astounded by the two girls, especially Luz. Obviously, she had never witnessed such magic before.
"Wow," she exclaimed as she noticed the ceiling filling up with light orbs created by Luz and Bijou. "How are they doing that?"
"I don't know, but Luz did it all on her own. She even had a little help from Bijou." Hazel chimed in.
The two girls giggled as a few light orbs flew around Bijou's head to form a crown.
"Hey, I uh...kind of messed up a bunch of things back there," King turned around, meeting Eda's glare. "And I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."
"Well, you'd better be! I've got a long list of disgusting chores with your name on it," she paused, her gaze drawn away in thought as Luz and Bijou approached her. "But it's not entirely your fault. I haven't been completely honest with you guys."
"Bijou... kinda figured that one out already," Luz said, looking up at her worried friend.
"Eda... you have a curse, right?" Eda bit her lip at the question, her gaze shifting away from them.
"The only thing that bothers me is... Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"You see, when I was younger, I was cursed," she admitted to them. "I'm not sure how it happened, but if I don't take my elixir..." She held the phial in her hands. "Well...that's why people call me the Owl Lady. No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it's... manageable. And I guess the reason I didn't tell you is because... well, no one likes to see a big giant Owl Beast. I was... afraid."
"Whoa," Luz said as Bijou sighed in sympathy. "So are you okay?"
"Are there no side effects we'll notice? Because I'm not ready to know even one," Hazel stated.
"There's nothing to worry about," Eda said as she sat up a little, holding her arm. "It's all under control, and as long as no one steals my elixir—King-"
She pointed down at him, and he shrugged slightly.
"Then I'm fine, but look at this," she said, motioning to Luz. "A human doing magic. Good on you."
Luz smiled, her hands clasped behind her back.
"I had some encouragement from a great teacher," she told King, smiling down.
"Yeah, his lesson was really helpful, Eda," Bijou agreed with a smile.
"Oh, you guys," King said shyly. Bijou looked at Eda.
"I'd also like to thank you, Eda, for indirectly teaching me about magic for my convenience," she added as Eda nodded in agreement.
"Hey, hey!" Hooty exclaimed, having finally awoken. "Is anyone there? Hello? Hoot. I'm on the floor. It's cold."
"Looks like Hooty is okay. Come on, guys. Let's go help him." Bijou said as she and Hazel exited the room.
"I'm with you, Bij." Hazel replied.
"That voice," King complained. "That horrific voice!"
He headed out as Luz turned to Eda.
"We'll take care of him; you stay in bed. Come on, you goopy fella," Luz said, picking up the Snaggleback and walking away with him. Bijou trailed after them.
"Oh, wow, I think my tail was digested.
Eda let out a sigh but smiled when she was alone. She sat in her nest, gazing up at the light orbs. She closed her eyes and smiled peacefully before falling asleep.
Eda's Dream
Eda stood alone in front of the door, surrounded by nothing.
"No, not this memory again," she resisted because she didn't want to see it. It had been happening for as long as she could remember, and she had no idea what it meant.
The door unexpectedly opened, revealing a black shadow with large white round eyes. She couldn't tell who it was because the shadow had no distinct shape.
"You! You're the one who cursed me, aren't you?" She received no response. "Who are you? Who are you?!"
Reality
Eda awoke with a start and looked around. She then exhaled, knowing that the memory would not leave her until she discovered the truth...but she didn't know where to start...
The next day, Luz and Bijou applied bandages to the door. Bijou had gotten Hooty back on his hinges, but the claw marks remained.
"Welcome to the boo-boo buddy club, Hooty." Luz said.
"Finally, I get to be a part of something!" he exclaimed happily.
King was taking notes while speaking with the Snaggleback, as he was the only one who had the up-close-and-personal experience of being eaten.
"And then she had teeth in her stomach. Teeth in her stomach. Can you believe that?"
"That book is full of interesting things, like this," he said, pulling out King's demon book. "I'm one of the strongest demons on the Boiling Isles, huh?" he exclaimed with delight.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to edit that," King said, knowing full well that the Snaggleback in front of him wasn't all that strong...or impressive.
"Oh..."
When Hazel looked out the door, the boiling rain had stopped. The sky cleared up, too.
"Hey, Bijou. The boiling rain is over. Shall we go out to do some training?" asked Hazel.
"Finally! I'm ready for some magical training of my own," Bijou exclaimed as they stepped outside.
Well, that's the story. Yes, they all learned a lot in the span of a night, didn't they?