Raisin' Some Hell

Horrors in the Woods (Luz Noceda POV)

The market district was practically dead. Here at Eda's stand of Human Collectibles, I was bored out of my mind. I usually don't mind helping Eda sell whatever she "acquired" from my home realm — especially if it meant learning a new spell. But everything after school today has been incredibly dull. Well, I only have an hour left on my "shift," then I can meet up with Amity for our book club. If things are this quiet all day, maybe I can ask Eda to take off early if I knew where she was.

"Hey King, did Eda tell you where she went?" I asked.

The little Demon was sitting on the table like a lazy child and eating cupcakes, having me do all the work. He shoved one of the treats into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "Nope."

"Well, do you have an idea where she may have gone?"

"All she said was she was going to meet with a "high-end" client." He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Personally, I think she's storing all the shiny junk at a secret hideout." He pulls back. "And so, left us in charge to hold down the fort. And by "us," I mean you."

I let out a sigh. There had to be something I could do to stave off this boredom. I looked down and noticed the open crate of zoostle berries. Eda told me something about how they're essential for the potions she was selling, though she never told me why.

I picked one up and examined it. These zoostle berries looked not different from the blueberries Mamá, and I would pick up at a farmer's market, except maybe a little bigger. They smelled just as sweet as a blueberry. "Eh, why not?" I gave in to the temptation and decided to pop it into my mouth.

"Luz, no!" The voices of both Willow and Gus shouted, causing me to drop the berry, as they ran over to me in a panic.

"Oh, hey there, Willow. Hey there, Gus." I greeted the two of them.

"You weren't gonna eat that, were you?" Gus asked.

"I was thinking about it."

"Those are zoostle berries." Willow, the plant expert, pointed out. "You can't eat them."

"Why not?" Eek-eek. I looked over to where the high-pitched sound came from and saw a three-eyed rat crawl out from a nearby hole. It snatched the berry and at it up before scurrying away. Boosh! Like that, the rodent spontaneously combusted in the middle of its getaway, leaving only a charred skeleton.

"That's why."

Dios Mio! That was a close one. "Thanks for stopping me," I told them as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"No problem, friends don't let friends eat zoostle berries," Gus said.

"Oh, before we forget, we wanted to drop these off," Willow said as she and Gus reached into their bags and pulled out two textbooks: Tonics & Remedies 101, and DIY Guide to Deadly Poisons. "Principal Bump told us you forgot to pick these up from the school's library."

"Wow, these are like the textbooks at my old school. Except better." I said. The ideas for what kind of potions I could learn to make from these books alone were enough to get me excited for my next Potions class. I displayed the books before King. "What do you think?"

The little Demon looked the other way and folded his arms as he whimpered, "They're nice, I guess."

"Is he still upset you're attending Hexside?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't like I'm going to be gone during long stretches of the day. He's afraid I'm accidentally going to get blown up or eaten alive or blown up then eaten alive."