Adventures in the Boiling Isles

Echoes of the Past

Since the Petrification ceremony, I have been learning glyph combos with Luz, just in case I had Eda's curse. "Luz, Peter, I need your help!" King begged. "I think Francois is trying to start a rebellion." "In a minute, King. I'm getting close to figuring out this glyph combo." Luz said. "It's always glyphs and portals with you these days. What about King?" He asked. "Luz still wants to see her mom." I explained. "Why don't you ask Lilith, she was in the Emperor's Coven." Luz suggested. "She has more experience with unruly mobs than anyone." "Watching the ink dry is the best part." Lilith giggled, drawing a glyph combo. "A fresh cup of tea for my favorite cup of tea. That's you, Lulu." Hooty complimented, giving Lilith some tea. "Well, Hootsifer, you truly are a gem." Lilith said. "How do you always know what to do?" "Hootsifer?" I asked. "That's a shitty nickname." "What's going on? Is Hooty blackmailing her?" King added. "Oh, I think they're actually friends. Isn't that nice?" Luz explains. "Okay, this should work. Now you see me, now you don't. Oh, I guess it only lasts as long as I hold my breath." "Hey, it's still pretty cool." I commented. "Don't ever do that again!" King cried, grasping onto Luz. "Do that again!" Lilith gasped. "How ever did you accomplish it?" "Well, since you guys discovered that we can make new spells by combining glyphs, I've been experimenting." Luz explains. "I got the invisibility idea from your history books, Lilith." "Fascinating." She commented. "As the lead historical scholar of the Emperor's Coven, my aid could be very helpful in..." Lilith tripped over King's plushies. "An ambush!" King gasped. "Men, defend your ruler!" He tossed a stuffed animal in Lilith's direction, but Hooty ended up taking the hit. "I'm done for, Lulu." Hooty groans. "Hootsifer, this is make-believe." Lilith said. "Ah, to die in your arms. Avenge me!" Hooty shouted, faking his death as Lilith was hit by another stuffed animal. "The King of Demons yields to no one!" King yelled. "Historically, demons have never been united under a single rule until Belos." Lilith explains. "There's no such thing as a King of Demons." "Blasphemy!" King argued. "Clearly you know nothing of my reign of terror. Allow me to tell you. I was once the mighty King of Demons. I was beloved almost as much as I was feared. But one dark day, an evil spell was cast, transforming me into this." "Oh, what happened to your crown of power?" Hooty teased. "A trifle! That was just to test Eda, Luz, and Peter's dedication to me. They passed." King explains. "My real crown is still out there. But when I shrank, my memories got, uh, fuzzy." "How convenient. A hole in your memory for each hole in your story." Lilith said. "Nice one, Lulu. Up top!" Hooty joked, getting slapped in the face by Lilith. "Hey, I remember plenty." King continued. "I remember armies bowing before me, being served the greatest of feasts, and falling from a massive height as that evil hex shrank me. One day, I'll return to my rightful place and all shall fear me!" "Aw, you're gonna be such a badass tyrant." I cooed. "Who's the scariest demon king? Who is it?" "Me! It's me!" King giggled as Luz and I tickled him. "Your dedication to this farce would be charming if it weren't so sad." Lilith said. "Don't blame me for your ignorance." King argued, walking away. "I'm not a liar and I can prove it." "He called me ignorant. Me!" Lilith scoffed. "Stop it, you guys." Luz said. "This story is really important to him, so, the least we can do is play along." "You mean indulge his silly fantasy?" Lilith asked. "Yeah! I'm a house of principles!" Hooty shouted. "You're asking me to lie? Hootrageous!" "Could you please just go with it? For his sake?" I asked as King brought both staffs into the living room. "You guys will regret ever doubting me." King said. "We're going to my castle." Shit. "Uh..." Luz began. "What's wrong, Luz?" Hooty asked. "I thought you said we should just go..." "Go with him." Luz interrupted. "I said we should go with him, right? How could I forget what I just said?" "My historical expertise is being questioned, and I will not allow it." Lilith said. "Hooty, would you like to accompany us?" "I'll get ready!" Hooty gasped, detaching himself from the door. "Oh, God! That's fucked up!" I exclaimed, seeing some of his organs still in the door. "Porta-Hooty, reporting for Hooty!" Hooty announced, now attached to a travel case. Luz thought she was going to throw up, even though we were all pretty disgusted. "Should we wait for Eda?" Luz asked. "Nah, Mom's in the shower. I'm sure she'll be fine." I replied.