Return to the Isle of the Lost (19 page)

Evie lagged behind, trying to put some space between them, when Maddy stopped suddenly and looked around. Mal ducked behind a tree and Evie quickly hid in the shadows as well. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was glad she hadn’t let her friend go off alone like this.

The two girls kept walking farther and farther away. Evie followed behind.

W
hen Maddy left the meeting, Mal’s first thought was that her friend wanted to get a head start on walking to Troll Town, where her group was going to search. Mal wanted to take a break too, before the four of them had to embark on this journey even deeper underground. The aqua-haired girl ascended the stone steps, and Mal was about to call out to her when Maddy checked her watch, picked up the speed, and disappeared into the maze of streets.

Mal also couldn’t help but notice that Maddy kept looking over her shoulder nervously as she made her way through the dark alleyways. When she took off through the back way, cutting across Hell Hall’s garden, going right instead of heading left for Troll Town, it became clear that she wasn’t going where she’d been assigned after all. Mal watched as she ducked behind a corner, and overheard bits of a whispered conversation between Maddy and an unknown stranger. Something about “Catacombs” and “Doom Cove.”

What was going on? Why wasn’t Maddy going with her group? And who had she been talking to?

Mal’s curiosity was piqued and she decided to keep following her. The group could figure out the plan with Yen Sid, but she wanted to find out what her old friend was up to.

She followed Maddy through the maze of streets, down Pain Lane and past Goblin Wharf, which was desolate and abandoned instead of the usual hive of goblin activity. Mal wished she could send her friends a text explaining where she was. She just hoped they wouldn’t worry; she’d be back as soon as she found out what Maddy was doing.

Maddy led her back on the main road, and Mal had to lag behind farther so she wouldn’t be caught. They passed the Bargain Castle and Maddy kept going, headed down Bitter Boulevard and right to the end of the island by the Rickety Bridge.

Maddy stepped onto the bridge and whirled around. “Mal, you can come out now, I know you’re following me.”

“You got me,” said Mal, stepping into the light and walking toward Maddy. She knew when the game was up. “Why’d you leave the meeting so fast? Is something going on?”

Maddy peered around in the dark. As far as Mal could see, there was nothing. The waters were black, and there was no one else on the bridge. Just the sound of the waves and the light from the Shattered Lighthouse. “Yes,” said Maddy hesitantly, as if unsure whether to trust Mal.

“What?” asked Mal.

“Before the meeting, I got an anonymous letter saying that Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar would be returning from the Catacombs after midnight. They would be at Doom Cove.”

“But why didn’t you say anything at the meeting? Why go alone, then?” asked Mal, not sure if she believed her. She’d always had fun with Mad Maddy, but Evie was right, there was something off about her. Why hadn’t she seen it before? Maybe because she was having too much fun indulging in old, bad habits?

Maddy’s green eyes blazed. “Don’t you see? The Anti-Heroes are the only ones who even know about the Catacombs of Doom! Yen Sid warned us that there might be double operatives in the club. I couldn’t take the risk of letting them know that I knew.”

“But who could it be? Everyone seemed so sincere,” said Mal, wondering who had betrayed them.

“It could be anyone. They’re a bunch of villains, Mal, come on. Do you really believe all of them would give up just like that? The professor thinks everyone is redeemable, but that can’t be true,” sniffed Maddy. “Of course there’s a bad egg in the bunch. I can always smell one.”

“Who do you think it is?” asked Mal.

“My money’s on Harry or Jace—their fathers are still Cruella’s loyal minions.”

Mal considered this. It was hard to believe that anyone back at the meeting could be so two-faced, and Harry and Jace seemed more bumbling than malicious. “Maybe someone else on the Isle knows that Cruella, Jafar, and Evil Queen went down into the Catacombs to look for the talismans. It doesn’t have to be someone in our group. If the three of them knew about it, they might have told someone before they left.”

“Maybe,” said Maddy. “But I doubt it.”

“Who were you talking to back there?” asked Mal.

“Oh, just some goblin. I told them to find me if they catch sight of Jafar, Cruella de Vil, or Evil Queen.”

“Show me the message,” said Mal.

Maddy handed her the note, written in green ink.
Doom Cove. Prepare for our return to the Isle of the Lost. Talismans acquired. Alert the troops.

“That’s Doom Cove right there,” said Maddy, pointing to the dark, sandy stretch of beach below.

“Who are the troops?” wondered Mal. “You don’t think they mean a goblin army, do you?” There weren’t enough villains on the Isle to put together a real battalion, and “troops” signified that whoever had sent the message was readying for a large-scale operation.

“Of course it means a goblin army, how else would they take down Auradon?” said Maddy.

“Are you sure you didn’t tell anyone about it?” Mal asked, thinking of the conversation she’d overhead earlier.

“Duh, like I told you, of course not. No one can know!” said Maddy.

“We need to get help. I’ll go back,” said Mal, turning away. Maddy was obviously lying about telling someone, and Mal figured the easiest way to handle it was to get backup.

“No! We need to stay here, in case they do arrive. What if we miss it and they slip away?” said Maddy. “We should follow them and call for help later so we don’t lose them. Don’t you trust me?”

Mal understood that Maddy was testing her, and while she had a feeling that she shouldn’t stay, she realized it wasn’t safe to leave Maddy on her own at this point. She had to figure out what the girl was up to.

C
arlos and Jay were so absorbed in their conversation with Yen Sid that they didn’t notice that half of their team had absconded. The professor handed them the maps to the underground land. “These contain all we know about the Catacombs as well as the talismans. I hope you find them useful on your journey once we find the entrance,” he said.

They thanked him, but Carlos was intent on learning as much as he could about the talismans before setting off underground. “So can we touch them? The talismans, I mean?” he asked the professor. “Or are they cursed? Like the Dragon’s Eye?”

“Yeah, I don’t look forward to falling asleep for a thousand years,” said Jay.

“I’m not certain. My hunch is that each of you should be immune to your particular talisman, as Mal was unaffected by the curse of the Dragon’s Eye.”

“Anything else you can tell me about this Golden Cobra?” asked Jay.

“It should be an exact replica of your father’s cobra staff. It’s said that the Golden Cobras give up their freedom when they succumb to their master’s power, but they are very much alive. It is a living weapon.”

“Great,” said Jay. Under his breath, he told Carlos, “I’m sure it’ll just lie down and roll over for me.”

“It’s a snake, Jay, not a dog,” said Carlos. “You should know the difference.” He turned to Yen Sid, who was erasing lines on the blackboard. “About this Ring of Envy, what exactly does it do?”

“Your mother made everyone believe their lives were nothing compared to hers. That huge green ring that she wore was a testament to her glamour, and its size and great worth always made others feel small and useless.”

Carlos swallowed a gulp, especially since his mother had always made him feel small and useless even without the aid of a talisman. “What about the Fruit of Venom; is it filled with poison?”

“Poisonous thoughts,” said Yen Sid. “Taking a bite of it will fill one’s mind with your deepest fears and insecurities, every kind of dark, malevolent emotion and idea, and the power to use them against other people.”

“Yikes,” Carlos said. Evie was one of the sweetest girls he knew, and he hoped she wouldn’t be swayed by such a toxic influence. “And the Dragon’s Egg?”

“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.”

J
ay 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!”