“The most powerful talisman of all, of course, with the ability to command all the forces of evil to do its mistress’s bidding. Power is its own most powerful enticement. Moreover, Mal has wielded the Dragon’s Eye staff, so she has already experienced the depth of its capability for universal dominance. She must be particularly wary of succumbing to its siren song.”
“You hear that, Mal?” Carlos said, turning around, expecting to see Mal and Evie at their seats. But there was no one there. “Hey, where’d they go?” he asked Jay. “Mal and Evie—they’re gone.”
“That’s weird, they were just here,” Jay said.
“Yeah, well, they’re not here now,” said Carlos, annoyed. Most of the members had already headed out on their assignments, but Carlos ran around the room asking the remaining few if they had seen Mal and Evie.
“Yo, they bounced out with Mad Maddy,” said Yzla. “But I don’t know where they went.”
“Mad Maddy? Why would they leave with her?”
Yzla shook her head. “Aren’t Maddy and Mal friends?”
“Yes, but…” said Carlos, seriously agitated by now. Why had the girls taken off without telling him and Jay? It wasn’t like Mal or Evie to just disappear like that. He was about to freak out when Evie burst back into the room.
“Guys!” she called.
“Where have you been!” Carlos demanded. “And where’s Mal?”
Evie caught her breath. She’d been running and her cheeks were flushed. “If you stop yelling at me, I can tell you.”
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “We were just worried.”
“Carlos was worried,” said Jay. “I knew you guys would be back.”
“Mal went off with Maddy. I think they’re headed toward Doom Cove. I don’t know what’s going on, but I have a bad feeling about this,” said Evie. “I heard Maddy say something about the Catacombs, so I thought I’d come back and grab you guys in case something happens.”
“Let’s go,” said Carlos. “Doom Cove is a hike.”
Jay knew all the shortcuts through town, or at least he thought he did. Thinking it was faster to stay off the little alleyways, he led them up to Mean Street instead, but soon realized his mistake. They were farther from Doom Cove than if they had just taken Pain Lane down to Goblin Wharf as Evie had suggested. “Sorry, I thought this would be faster,” he huffed, removing his beanie and wiping his forehead with it.
“It’s okay, let’s just get there,” said Evie as they ran down the cobblestone streets, their heels kicking up dust as they garnered curious looks from a few townspeople. “Hurry!”
At last they made it past the Bargain Castle and had a clear shot all the way to Rickety Bridge. “Wait!” said Evie. “We don’t want to give ourselves away.”
“But where are they?” asked Carlos, scanning the bridge. “I don’t see them.”
“I distinctly heard Maddy say they were going to wait right here; maybe whatever they’re waiting for has already happened?” Evie said, with a sinking feeling in her chest. “I should have stayed here! Curse these shoes, they slowed me down too much.”
Jay focused on the bridge. It looked deserted and lonely in the moonlight, but at the very edge of it, he spotted two brightly colored heads—one blue-green and one violet. “There! I see them!”
Evie swirled to where he was pointing. “Let’s move closer,” she said, and they inched their way to the edge of the shore, as close to the bridge as they dared without giving away their presence.
“What are they doing?” asked Carlos. “They’re just looking out into the water. What are they waiting for?”
“A goblin barge maybe?” guessed Evie. “Don’t they work the graveyard shift?”
Jay scratched his forehead under his beanie. “Explain to me again why we’re sneaking around? Why don’t we just tell Mal we’re here?”
“No!” said Evie. “Not just yet.”
“Why not?” asked Carlos, who looked like he thought Evie was being a little paranoid.
“Because I don’t trust Maddy, and if we tell them we’re here, we’ll never find out what she’s up to,” she told them.
“You just don’t like witches,” said Jay.
“No way!” said Evie, annoyed that she wasn’t being taken seriously. “You guys seem to have forgotten I’m a witch too! Just like my mom. And I like myself just fine.”
“You’re a witch?” Carlos said. “Oh, right, you are a witch. I did forget.”
Evie nodded. “It’s okay, people tend to forget. Everyone just thinks I’m an evil princess.”
They watched Maddy and Mal looking intently at the dark water, and after a few minutes, the boys started to get bored. “Come on, Evie, let’s just tell Mal we’re here. We need to start looking for the entrance to the Catacombs,” Jay said.
“Just a little longer,” Evie begged.
“I just don’t see what the point of this is,” said Jay. The two of them were still arguing over it when Carlos nudged both of them in a panic.
“What?” said Jay, annoyed.
Carlos couldn’t speak, he just pointed—and they all turned their attention back down to the Rickety Bridge, where a group of villain kids had emerged from the shadows and quickly surrounded Mal and Maddy. It was a motley group, including Anthony Tremaine, Ginny Gothel, and the burly twin brothers Gaston and Gaston.
“Evie was right, this doesn’t look good,” Carlos whispered.
“Shhh!” said Jay, listening intently to the group’s conversation.
Anthony Tremaine’s rich baritone boomed through the air. “Look what we have here, the little heroine of the story,” he said.
“What story would that be?” said Mal.
“Oh, just a little fairy tale they’re spinning in Auradon about how wonderful it is that villains can change.” He smirked. “What a shame we don’t believe in fairy tales here.”
“That’s not true, there are people right on the Isle of the Lost that believe it too,” said Mal. “Maddy, what’s going on? Why are they here?” she demanded.
“Tell her, Maddy,” cackled Ginny Gothel. “Tell her why you brought her here.”
Back where they were hiding, Carlos stood on his tiptoes since the large silhouettes of the Gastons blocked his view. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Maybe we should go down there now.”
“Not yet!” said Evie. “I want to hear what Maddy says.”
Maddy crossed her arms and looked Mal up and down. “Remember how I told you there were bad eggs in the group? Looks like you just cracked one, Mal.” She laughed. “Except I’m not the one who’s going to get scrambled tonight. Especially now that we know you don’t have any powers after all.”
Evie winced.
“What?” cried Carlos. “Are they hurting her?”
“Only with bad puns.”
“I knew it! That message was fake! You were just pretending to be good all along.” Mal’s voice was clear and calm in the dark.
“Good guess, but then why are you here?” sneered Maddy.
“I had to find out for sure,” said Mal. “I thought that maybe I still had a friend on the island.”
“Friend? Is that what you thought I was? You cut off the heads of my dolls! You put lye in my hair so I had to change its color! You didn’t like that everyone called us twins! Some friend you are! You’re more delusional than your mother!” shrieked Maddy.
“Ouch,” said Evie. “Did Mal really do all those things?”
“Um, yeah,” said Carlos. “I mean, she is Maleficent’s kid. She was pretty mean growing up.”
“And you were telling that goblin back there to fetch the rest of your crew down here so they could ambush me,” said Mal.
“Exactly,” said Maddy.
The villains crowded around Mal, so that she was pressed against the railing at the edge of the bridge.
“Okay, okay, let’s go get her now,” said Evie, and they ran out of their hiding place and headed toward the bridge, Jay in the lead.
/> “Okay, fine! I was a little brat! I’m sorry, okay?”
“Only suckers are sorry,” said Maddy. “And Anti-Heroes are the biggest suckers of all!”
“Don’t you get it?” Ginny Gothel asked. “The professor’s wrong! There’s no hope for us and we don’t want any! We’re villains at heart! True villains! Not like you!” She raised her fist to the sky. “Evil lives!”
“Evil lives,” echoed the Gastons, slapping their fists to their palms.
“When the rest of this pathetic little island discovers their hero was fed to the crocodiles, what do you think will happen to that silly little club?” asked Maddy with a crazed smile. “Everyone will realize that there’s no hope in trying to be good! Evil always triumphs! Anti-hero is just another name for villain, and we’ll be villains forever!”
“You don’t have to do this,” said Mal. She’d had to climb on the railing to get away from them, and Ginny was still blocking her way. “It won’t prove anything. Maddy, you’re not going to get your old hair back, but maybe I can help you fix it. I’m pretty good at spells now.”
“Shut up,” said Maddy. “And I don’t have to do this. I want to!” she shrieked, and the rest of the group joined in her laughter. “Ginny, why don’t you do the honors,” she offered.
“Let’s do it together,” said Ginny.
With matching grins, the two of them pushed Mal off the railing and into the bay.
Maddy leaned over the edge. “Say hi to the crocodiles! Tell them dinner’s served!”
“Jay! Carlos! Hurry!” cried Evie. “Mal can’t swim!”
How about that, high heels were finally useful for something, Evie discovered after hitting Ginny Gothel in the back with one. The dark-haired girl screamed and clawed at her, almost scratching her across the cheek.
“Not the face!” cried Evie, furious. “Anywhere but the face!” Ginny lunged for her and the two of them fell to the ground, pulling each other’s hair.
Jay took care of the Gastons by running between them at just the right moment so they ended up bumping heads and falling to the ground, moaning. But Mad Maddy and Anthony Tremaine kept from the fray. Carlos knew the Stepmother’s grandson would shy away from a fair fight, preferring to have the deck stacked on his side, and it would be easy enough to send Anthony running if he played it right.
“What are you waiting for!” Carlos said, throwing down some judo moves he’d seen in his video games.
Anthony rolled his eyes and took off.
“Well?” Carlos said to Mad Maddy as the Gastons slunk away and Ginny ran off whimpering. “It’s only you against the three of us now.”
Maddy tossed her bright blue-green hair and sneered, her eyes wide with maniacal fury. “You think you’ve won here, but I promise you, all of Auradon will burn, just like Camelot!” she said, cackling like a hag as she disappeared into the night.
Evie picked herself off the ground and ran to the railing, scanning the dark water. “Where’s Mal?” she asked. “I don’t see her!”
“There!” said Jay, pointing to a dark purple head and arms flailing in the waves.
“Dive! What are you waiting for?” Evie asked as Jay hesitated by the rail.
“I can’t swim!” he confessed. “It’s not like there were lessons on the Isle of the Lost, you know!”
Carlos ran up and began to remove his heavy jacket. “I can dog-paddle! I’ll go!”
“Wait!” said Jay. “Crocodiles!”
Mal was surrounded by several of the large scaly beasts snapping their jaws. She was bobbing up and down in the water and screaming for help.
“We’re coming!” said Evie. “Carlos is coming to save you!”
Carlos climbed up on the rail and stared down at the hungry crocodiles. “Um, I am?”
“Go!” said Evie. “Don’t worry about the crocs, Jay and I will draw them away!” She gave him a little push and he dropped into the water. She saw his black-and-white head above the waves as he inched his way toward Mal.
“Great! How are we going to do that?” asked Jay.
“With bait!”
“Awesome!” he said. “Wow, you really travel with everything you need, huh?”
Evie gave him a look.
“Hang on, are we the bait?” asked Jay with a groan.
“Yes! Hurry!” Evie threw her other heel so it bounced on the nearest crocodile’s head. Then she whistled while dangling a leg over the side of the bridge. “Over here! Yoo-hoo!”
Jay stretched his torso from the edge of the dock and began to wave his arms. “Come on! Over here! Come and get me!” Then, seized by a sudden flash of brilliance, he began to chant. “Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock!” It was common knowledge in the Isle of the Lost that the crocodiles in its waters were no ordinary crocodiles, as they were descended from the one and only Tick-Tock himself. The sound of a ticking clock was almost a lullaby for them, and the crocodiles were hypnotized by Jay’s chanting, swimming toward him and Evie.
Mal screamed one last time before disappearing under the water, but in a burst of speed, Carlos was by her side. He dove beneath the waves and hooked his arms underneath hers.
“I’ve got her! I’ve got her!” he yelled, keeping Mal’s head above the water as he kicked his way back to shore, dodging the crocodiles, which were now circling Jay eagerly, entranced by his rhythmic chanting.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock…yeah, that’s right, come on over here. Tick-tock, tick-tock,” said Jay. “Tick-tock, tick-tock!”
Evie pulled her leg back from the edge and ran to help Carlos, and together they hauled Mal back safely on land.
It was late on Sunday when a fairy tapped Ben on the shoulder and told him that Faylinn had asked that he meet her with her team of archivists in the oak tree’s library. Ben had passed the time while waiting by looking over the latest weather reports for the entire kingdom to see if anything had gotten worse. There hadn’t been any new sightings of the purple dragon or snake in the last few hours, but who knew when it would strike next.
He followed the fairy up the winding staircase to a massive library housed in one of the topmost branches of the oak tree. Faylinn was flying in front of a huge projection screen, buzzing quietly with her team. The room was cozy and warm, with a crackling fireplace behind a grate, and long tables with pretty intertwined leaves and branches where the fairies worked.
“Ben, you’re here, good,” she said, flying over to him. “I think we’ve found something.”
She motioned to the images projected on the wall, which showed two blown-up photos of purple scales. Faylinn flew over and motioned to sharp ridges on one of the scales. “Look at this,” she said. “The ridges on your scale are almost identical to the one on the right, even though the one on the right is almost ten times its size. The one on the left is your serpent scale, and the other one is about the size of a dragon scale.”
“A match, then?” he asked.
“We think so. Either there are two different creatures, with identical ridge patterns, or these scales are from one creature that can take two different shapes. We think it is the latter, as it would be nearly impossible to find two creatures with these specific markings,” she said, buzzing between the two photographs.
“Where’s the dragon scale from?” he asked, trying not to show how anxious he was. “Is it Maleficent?”
“Not exactly,” she said, coming over to fly by his shoulder. Her voice was tiny and sharp as a wind chime.
He exhaled. “What does that mean? What’s it from?”
“The scale isn’t from any creature we have in our files. As much as we tried, we couldn’t find a match, actually, until Lexi Rose remembered we’d received something similar not so long ago.” Faylinn clicked to the next slide. “As you know, fairies like to study every aspect of nature, and we ask that if anyone in Auradon discovers something new in the natural world, they send it to us so we can add it to our collection. Recently, a team of dwarfs were digging a new mine down by Faraway Cove, when
they came across something unusual.”
The other fairies shifted in their seats and looked uneasy as the slide on the screen showed a group of dwarfs mugging for the camera, their wheelbarrows filled with sparkly diamond rocks. “Look over here,” she said, flying back to the screen and flitting over the cavern floor.
Ben leaned forward and saw that the ground was littered with the same purple scales.
“The dwarfs closed the mining operation soon after. They said they felt the tunnel was haunted even though they never saw anything, but they sensed a strange presence inside it. One of them—I think it was Doc’s nephew—noticed the purple scales and sent a few to the archive.”
“Faraway Cove’s pretty close to Charmington,” said Ben. “And Camelot is directly north of it as well. The dragon must have used these mining tunnels to disappear in and out of sight, which is why Arthur’s men could never catch it. I need to take a team into that mine.”
“The dwarfs sent a map, so you should be able to find the entrance easily enough,” said Faylinn. “I’ll have one copied for you.”
“Hold on, you still haven’t told me—could the scales be Maleficent’s?” he asked.
“I’m sorry to tell you it’s because we don’t know. As it turns out, we don’t have a sample from Maleficent. Prince Philip’s sword was wiped clean after their battle twenty years ago. But if you can send one from the lizard in your library, then we could tell you for certain.”
“Thanks. I’ll have my men send over a sample as soon as I can. This has been really helpful.” He shook Faylinn’s tiny hand with his thumb and forefinger and waved to the rest of the fairies.
“Ben, about this shapeshifting dragon…even if it isn’t Maleficent, it’s still incredibly dangerous. And if it is able to shift in form and size, that means it is capable of incredibly powerful magic. You must be prepared to fight it with similar enchantment. I know the rules of Auradon, so I don’t give this advice lightly,” she said, buzzing worriedly.
“I won’t go alone, don’t worry. I’ll tell Merlin to meet me at Faraway Cove as soon as possible. And he can bring his wand this time.” Ben smiled. “I know he’s been itching to use it.”