The Emperor Strikes Back
Spoilers: In the previous chapter I revealed that Belos has a new apprentice helping him and Odalia. We will see more of this new character and learn a little bit more about Philip and Caleb's past. I will also go back and forth between the human and demon realm.
History and Mystery
Things were busy at the Night Market as all kinds of shady characters were selling and buying different items. Since the defeat of Belos and the departure of the Collector business had been booming in the Night Market. However, many people visiting were not there to buy anything, there were many who were sneaking around in secrecy. These people wore hooded cloaks to hide their identities as they snuck around to make sure that no one was following them. These people gathered at a large abandoned building and walked inside without being noticed as they assembled in front of a large stage. Once they were inside, they pulled their hoods down to show their faces with bitter and impatient expressions as they looked around. Among the visitors were former Coven Scouts, guards, and people who were followers of the Emperor's Coven. In the crowd there was also Faust as he looked around with an uneasy expression, hoping this would be something worthy of his time. There were also the Coven Heads Terra Snapdragon, Adrian Greye Vernworth, and Vitimir as they showed tense expressions.
Suddenly a spotlight shined on the stage and Odalia stepped into it and smiled as she said, "Good evening everyone. I'd like to thank you all for coming."
Adrian showed an annoyed expression as he folded his arms and said, "Odalia? Tell me you didn't summon us all here just to pitch us a new product."
Odalia glanced to the side with irritation as she replied, "No. I haven't been able to sell any new products since my divorce."
Faust spoke up as he curiously asked, "Then why are we here?"
Odalia smiled deviously as she put her hands together and said, "I have a proposition for all of you. The Boiling Isles has changed a lot since the Day of Unity, and not for the better. Some people like the way things are now but we're smart. All of our lives were better before that vile human Luz came into our realm. Am I right?"
Everyone in the crowd angrily expressed agreement as they started ranting, complaining, and saying horrible things about Luz.
Odalia smiled ambitiously as she held her hands out to her sides and said, "I'm glad you all agree with me, because I have a plan that will enable us all to rise to even greater heights than before."
Adrian was skeptical as he said, "And what makes you think your plan will work?"
Odalia smiled as she held her amulet and said, "Because now I have a new business partner who is much better than my old one."
Her amulet glowed purple and then Belos' ghost appeared next to her as he smiled and said, "Greetings everyone."
The crowd all gasped in shock as they simultaneously said, "Belos!"
Odalia smiled as she held her right hand out and explained, "Not to worry! I used my Oracle Magic to summon Belos' spirit back from the grave! I made a deal with him and he is bound to honor it or I will send him back to the spirit world for eternity."
The crowd calmed down and then Terra smiled as she said, "So the Emperor has a new plan for the Boiling Isles?"
Odalia put her hands together before moving her left hand toward Belos while she smiled and said, "Yes, we've come up with a plan for us all to rise back to power. Now I'll let him explain it himself."
Belos smiled politely at Odalia before turning to the crowd as he said, "Thank you Odalia. My loyal listeners, I solemnly decree that you have nothing to fear. My unfortunate demise has put me in terrible state of limbo. I can not rest in peace as long as the Boiling Isles are so unruly and out of balance. Luz and her friends have made a horrible mess that I intend to clean up. I assure you that together we will return the Boiling Isles to its former glory. Any who do not wish to assist my noble quest may leave now."
Everyone in the crowd looked at each other as they said various different things, but none of them left as they all turned back to the stage.
Belos smiled as he held his left hand out to his side while he said, "Excellent. You will all be rewarded for your service. Now I would like you all to meet the new Golden Guard."
The mysterious person who was with Belos outside the Owl House earlier stepped onto the stage and stared out at the crowd but said nothing.
Belos smiled with confidence as he said, "She will carry out my orders to help with our noble cause, and unlike her predecessor she will not disappoint us."
The crowd stared at the new Golden Guard with intrigue while she just stared at all of them without a single word.
Odalia stepped forward with her hands together as she smiled and said, "Now, our first order of business is recruiting more allies. If we're going to do this we're going to need all the help we can get. We need the rest of you to go out and recruit more loyalists, but we need to keep this quiet to avoid drawing the attention of those fools out there."
They all nodded and turned around as they left the building while Odalia and Belos smiled evilly as their plan was working perfectly thus far.
The next day at the Owl House
Everyone was in the living room, Luz had her backpack on as she held her staff in her left hand and held King in her left arm as she was preparing to leave.
Luz looked at Vee and curiously asked, "You sure you won't come Vee?"
Vee smiled as she said, "Thanks, but I'll be okay here."
Luz then turned to Eda as she curiously asked, "How about you Eda?"
Eda smiled respectfully as she said, "Nah, I've still got plenty of human garbage to sell."
Lilith smiled to hide her concern as she said, "Yes, we have to put food on the table somehow."
Hunter then walked up to Luz and King and sincerely said, "While you're there, if you find anything about Caleb…"
Luz placed her hand on his shoulder as she sincerely said, "Don't worry Hunter. I'll tell you about anything I find when I get back."
Hunter smiled warmly at her and then Eda kissed King's skull and said, "Take care of King."
Raine smiled as they put their arm around Eda and affectionately said, "Yes, we don't want anything to happen to the youngest Clawthorne."
Luz smiled lovingly at King as she said, "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to him."
She walked out the front door as she and King stood on Stringbean and Luz waved at them and said, "Bye guys. See you in a week."
They all waved "goodbye" to her and King as they flew away, unaware they were being watched by Belos and the new Golden Guard.
Belos turned to the new Golden Guard with an evil smile as he said, "Luz won't be a problem for a while, so we will have plenty of time to continue our work without any inconveniences. Now it's your time to prove yourself superior."
The Golden Guard nodded and then pulled out Hunter's former staff and flew away on it while Belos vanished in magic purple smoke. Luz, King, and Stringbean swiftly passed Gwendolyn and Del's house and then flew all the way to the old portal and used a vial of Titan blood to open the portal. They appeared in the flooded cemetery in Gravesfield and quickly flew to Luz's house without being seen, and Camila happily let her and King inside. Camila happily picked up King and gave him a kiss, which he enjoyed as he shut his eyes and giggled in a flattered manner. Luz spent the rest of her weekend catching up on homework while King played with stuffed animals and watched cat videos on Camila's phone. Camila supervised him to make sure that he did not do anything irresponsible or watch any videos that would be inappropriate for him. Meanwhile in the demon realm Vee stayed at the Owl House and helped out with some chores and other stuff. Lilith went flying out with Haven while Raine played a song while Eda and Hooty both listened with much interest. Later Vee was sitting on the couch with Hunter as they watched TV on the crystal ball, and then Hunter introduced Vee to King's book "Ruler's Reach". Vee read it and enjoyed it very much before smiling at the picture of King on the back, then she asked Eda about it and she explained everything.
The next day Luz spent most of her time doing homework but when she found some free time she went to the abandoned house with King and Stringbean. They searched for clues about Philip and Caleb's past but found nothing, prompting them to return home with disappointed expressions. King had also figured out how to use a computer as he used Luz's laptop to surf the web when she and Camila came to check on him. They looked a website he was about to go on and freaked out as Camila frantically pushed him away from the laptop while Luz closed it. Back in the demon realm, Amity invited her friends over to her house as her family's Abomination butler answered the door and let them in. She was greeted by Willow, Hunter, Gus, and Vee and let them in, Amity introduced Vee to her father and showed her around her house. Vee was amazed by it before they went up to Amity's room to talk, they were pranked on by Edric and Emira as they sent Batric into her room to mess with them before flying out. Amity was annoyed but let it go before she and the others took a nice selfie together and posted it on Penstagram for others to see. They also surfed videos and images on Penstagram and found a few things that interested all of them as they showed things happening on the Boiling Isles. At the Owl House Hooty had fun eating bugs while Lilith indulged him and Eda drank some apple blood before Raine came with an elixir.
On Monday, Luz was at school when she snuck to her locker, opened it, and said, "King I brought you a snack."
She snuck King into her school and he spent his time waiting in her locker before she gave him a fruit snack. She winked at him and he winked back at her before she shut the door and hurried to her next class without being seen. Meanwhile in the demon realm, Hunter was at school with Willow, Gus, and Amity as they walked through the halls talking about magic. Hunter got a chance to show off some of the new magic tricks that Lilith managed to teach him while somewhat bragging about her. Meanwhile Vee was helping Eda run her stand as they sold human garbage to witches and demons and made some good money. Vee's knowledge of items from the human realm helped attract customers and allowed them to sell many items. During the week Belos, Odalia, and the new Golden Guard were hard at work preparing for their big plan coming up. The loyalists from their meeting spread word of their plot but were sneaky and discrete as they made sure to avoid drawing attention. On Wednesday, Vee visited the others at Hexside as they all sat together and talked while they ate their lunch.
Willow looked at Vee as she curiously asked, "Hey Vee, I was wondering, did Luz happen to come back early?"
Vee was surprised as she honestly answered, "No, she's still at home with Camila. Why?"
Willow made her Penstagram scroll appear and showed it to the others with a troubled expression as she said, "Well, this morning I read something someone posted on Penstagram last night."
Amity read the article out loud as she said, "Human who saved the Boiling Isles seen robbing Bonesborough Garden Club. Seven sent to Healing Coven with serious injuries?!"
The others were shocked as Hunter said, "Luz wouldn't do that, would she?"
Amity spoke with faith as she honestly said, "No way! I could picture Luz maybe stealing something she needed, she always does go for the chaotic route, but she'd never intentionally hurt anyone."
Vee agreed as she held her left palm up and said, "Maybe someone tried to set her up."
Hunter looked at her as he honestly said, "A lot of people do hate Luz for getting rid of Belos. Maybe someone made an Illusion of her."
Gus looked skeptic before showing curiosity while he said, "No, illusions can't hurt people. Do you think there's another basilisk out there?"
Vee smiled nervously as she said, "Maybe, but I don't think a basilisk would want to frame Luz for anything. Maybe it's just some gossip going around."
Willow put her scroll away as she said, "Well, I don't know if this is true or just some rumor someone started, but I think we should find out before Luz gets in trouble."
Amity agreed as she turned from Willow to the others while saying, "Willow's right. Let's keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
Vee, Hunter, and Gus all nodded as they simultaneously said, "Right."
Later that night, the new Golden Guard flew to Odalia and Belos' hideout with a sack full of potions and elixirs that she stole.
Odalia looked in the sack and then walked away with it as she said, "Perfect! This will definitely help our mission!"
When she was gone Belos looked at the new Golden Guard with a devious smile as he whispered, "Good work, now I need you to get some things for me, but make sure that NO ONE finds out."
The Golden Guard bowed to Belos with respect before flying away on her staff while Belos watched with a twisted smile of pride.
Friday afternoon, after school Luz prepared for a short trip as she grabbed her backpack and King climbed inside it.
Luz smiled at King as she said, "Okay King, we're ready. Now remember, if anyone finds you…"
King happily finished, "I hold still and pretend to be a toy."
Luz affectionately caressed his skull as she said, "Right! Good job buddy! You got this."
Camila walked in and smiled as she asked, "Where are you two off to?"
Luz put her on her backpack with King sitting inside it as she answered, "Well since this is our last day here before going back to the demon realm for the break, I decided we should use it to try and find out more about Caleb for Hunter. We're going to the Gravesfield Historical Society to see what we can find out. Who knows? Maybe I can find a clue about making a new portal door."
Camila showed a bit of reluctance as she said, "Okay, but I'm not sure I like the idea of you learning more about Belos."
Luz understood as she said, "Yeah, Eda said the same thing. But Hunter's still trying to figure out who he is and I do want to help him. Learning more about Caleb might help him figure himself out."
Camila looked up in thought before looking at them as she said, "He is going through some issues. I suppose this couldn't hurt. Be careful."
King then pulled the backpack cover over his head to hide himself while Luz started walking and said, "Thanks mama. We will. We'll be back before dinner."
She waved to them as Luz walked out with her backpack with King safely inside it, Luz went to the Gravesfield Historical Society and walked in through the front door. She looked around in curiosity as she looked at the pictures and symbols seen on the walls while Stringbean poked her head out through the collar of her jacket.
Suddenly Masha came up to Luz and happily said, "Luz! Hey girl! Haven't seen you since the hayride. Where you been?"
Stringbean quickly hid back in Luz's jacket while she smiled and said, "Hey Masha. Good to see you. Sorry I've just been really busy lately."
Masha smiled as they held out their arms and then pointed at Luz while they said, "Well, welcome to the Gravesfield Historical Society. You know, when Gravesfield was founded this was the townhall. It was a beautiful building until the day the witch Evelyn attacked and the brothers Wittebane vanished. Now it's just a museum teaching about that fateful day."
Luz was very interested as she placed her finger to her chin and said, "Really..."
King peeked out through the backpack and looked at Masha, who noticed him and asked, "Whatcha got in there?"
Masha reached into Luz's backpack and pulled King out, he held still and stared into space as he pretended to be a toy.
Luz smiled as she pointed at King and lied, "That's just a new stuffed animal I bought. His name is King."
Masha smiled adoringly as they hugged King and said, "He's so cute!"
She then scratched King's belly, prompting him to giggle before holding still again, and Masha asked, "Can I have him!"
Luz smiled politely as she took King back and said, "Sorry he's a present for my sister."
She put King back in her backpack while Masha showed disappointment and curiosity while saying, "Darn! You never told me you had a sister."
Luz glanced to the side as she lied, "She's in boarding school and I don't talk about her that much."
Masha then smiled as they said, "Gotcha. So what brings you here?"
Luz glanced around as she said, "Well, after the haunted hayride I wanted to learn more about the Wittebane brothers."
Masha smiled spookily as they waved their fingers and said, "Ooh, you seek answers to the ancient mysteries. Careful, or the spirits of the past may come back to haunt you."
Luz's eyes widened in fear as she remembered her nightmare, but Masha smiled and said, "Anyway, have a look around. If you have any questions just ask."
Masha left Luz alone and then she started looking around while King and Stringbean peeked without being noticed. Stringbean saw something and chirped to get Luz's attention, she understood her and looked at a symbol framed on the wall.
Luz stared at it while she softly said, "I've seen this symbol all over Gravesfield. Hunter wore it when he was part of the Emperor's Coven. He told me that it's the sigil of the Golden Guard and all the ones before him wore it. Belos must've made them wear it to remind him of home."
King was listening as he peeked out to the other side of the room and whispered, "Luz!"
She turned her head to him as he pointed at something behind her, and she saw an old drawing framed on the wall. It looked like a simple drawing of Hunter with a red bird resting on his shoulder that looked very familiar to her.
Luz stared at the picture and pointed at the bird as she softly said to herself, "That must be Caleb. And that bird kind of looks like Flapjack. But it couldn't be, could it?"
Luz then turned to Masha and pointed at the picture while she said, "Hey Masha, what's this bird on Caleb's shoulder?"
Masha came to her and smiled as they dramatically explained, "That's Caleb's pet cardinal. Legend says that it was no ordinary bird, but a magic bird that could turn into a staff that gave Caleb incredible powers. They say it was Caleb's first introduction to witchcraft."
Luz was amazed as she softly said, "Oh Titan."
Masha smiled at Luz and happily said, "Wish I had a pet like that. Know what I mean?"
Luz smiled warmly as she looked at Stringbean hiding in her jacket and said, "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Later that night in the demon realm
Alador answered the front door to see Odalia as he bitterly said, "Odalia."
She glared back at him with a similar expression as she greeted, "Alador."
He stepped aside and let her in as she walked to the living room and saw her three children giving her ugly looks.
She walked to them and smiled as she happily said, "Edric! Emira! Mittens! So good to see you!"
Amity had her arms folded as she coldly said, "Can't say the same for you."
Edric and Emira both looked at their mother as they said, "Ooh!"
Alador glared as he kept watching while Odalia showed displeasure and said, "Are you still dating that human brat?"
Amity looked insulted as she defensively said, "Yes, she's my girlfriend and don't you talk about her like that!"
Odalia smiled deviously as she said, "Well I think you could do much better. In fact I've met a young girl who I think we'd be better for you."
Amity folded her arms again as she firmly said, "I'm dating who I want to date, not who you want me to date. In this family we make our own decisions now, whether you like it or not."
Edric and Emira both agreed as they simultaneously yelled, "Yeah!"
Odalia showed a vexed expression before smiling deviously as she said, "I know you're all angry right now, but I've been working on something that will make it up to you."
Alador narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he asked, "What's that?"
Odalia gave him an ugly look before smiling back at her children while she said, "That's not for you to know. But I assure you that it will change things for the better."
Amity was highly skeptical as she said, "I doubt that."
Odalia was vexed as she turned around and left the house while they all gathered in the doorway and watched her leave.
Edric looked at his sisters with a troubled expression as he asked, "Are we in trouble?"
Emira looked at him with concern as she honestly replied, "Not yet but I think we will be."
Amity kept glaring as she watched her mother leave and said, "If she's up to something it can't be good."
Alador also watched Odalia as he suspiciously said, "I'll warn Darius."
Odalia kept walking away as she glared at the house out of the corner of her eye and proceeded toward the forest. When she was out of sight she was approached by the new Golden Guard, who emerged from the shadows creepily. Belos also appeared next to her in a puff of purple smoke as he stared at Odalia with a serious expression.
He looked down at Odalia as he said, "How much did you tell them?"
Odalia smiled confidently as she held her hand up and said, "Don't worry, they have no idea what we're planning. I made sure of it."
The Golden Guard spoke with an eerily familiar voice as she seriously said, "They'll still be suspicious."
Odalia smiled deviously as she said, "I'm counting on it. Alador will probably tell Darius and Mittens will tell her human girlfriend."
Belos smiled maniacally as he said, "And we'll be able to use that to our advantage."
The Golden Guard spoke with a pleased tone as she clinched her right fist and evilly said, "When she comes back she'll get even more worried and I'll really mess with her! She'll look for answers and get herself in trouble and I'll destroy her."
Belos put his arm on the Golden Guard's shoulder with a twisted smile of pride as he said, "You are my best work yet."
Author's note: That's it for chapter 8. Sorry if it felt a bit rushed but I didn't want to put too much in this one, that's why I vaguely described those earlier scenes. I didn't want this chapter to be too long, so I stuck to the important stuff. Luz and King have learned a little bit about Caleb that gives them some answers, yet raises some questions. Belos and Odalia are also really busy and the new Golden Guard is proving to be loyal to their cause. Please review.