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“What’s the plan?” Jay asked.
“We’re going home,” said Evie. “To my castle. If there’s magic on the Isle, I think I know how to fight it.”
“Um, your castle is also the home of Evil Queen. I’ve heard she doesn’t like guests,” said Carlos.
“Where did you hear that?” teased Jay.
“From Evie,” said Carlos.
Evie brushed their jokes aside as they walked down the pier. “Oh, don’t worry about Mom. It’s game night, when she plays Apples to Apples with her friends. Actually, I think they call it Rotten Apples to Rotten Apples. Or maybe it’s Poisoned Apples to Poisoned Apples? I can’t remember.”
“Charming,” said Carlos. “So the castle’s empty?” he asked, looking greatly relieved.
“Like a schoolroom after last bell,” said Evie. “We’ll be all alone, but we better hurry. Mom doesn’t stay out late. She likes her beauty sleep.”
al heard her friends calling her name, but it was too late. She had already jumped. She fell straight down into the sea, so deep that a wave of bubbles washed up all around her. She opened her eyes and gasped, fearing she would drown, but no water entered her throat. The person who had led her down there wanted her alive.
Uma.
Mal should have known to take Celia’s warning more seriously. She should have known that Uma would go to any length to get revenge. Mal didn’t know how she had done it, but Uma had managed to get back to the Isle of the Lost, and she’d somehow accessed enough magic to lure Mal away from her friends and trap her under the sea. Mal couldn’t believe Uma would stoop so low as to use Dizzy, Gil, and Harry to fool her, though. Actually, it was Uma. Uma might not have gotten the crown she’d always wanted, but she was the queen of reaching new lows.
Mal tried to swim to the surface, but she discovered she had landed in the middle of a school of fish. They swam around her like a floating wall, keeping her from getting her bearings. When they disappeared she was alone, underwater, and in the dark.
She kept falling deeper and deeper, until she was at the bottom of the sea, standing on what appeared to be the wreck of some old pirate ship.
Mal whirled around, and, sure enough, her old nemesis was standing in front of her.
Uma threw her head back and cackled wildly. “There you are! Exactly where I want you!”
She was standing across from Mal, but she wasn’t really there. It was as if Mal were looking into a mirror, except instead of seeing herself, she saw Uma reflected back at her.
Mal pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She wasn’t about to play these games. “Uma, next time you want to talk to me, maybe you can just send a text? You do know they have those waterproof phones now, so even fish folk like you can have civilized conversations with the rest of us.”
“This isn’t a joke,” said Uma.
Mal smirked at her old-friend-turned-enemy. “Oh, Uma, maybe you’ve just lost your sense of humor. Defeat has that effect on people.” Mal’s eyes glittered dragon green. She could sense the magic all around, but how was it possible so close to the Isle of the Lost? What had Uma done? And what did she want?
“She who laughs last, laughs longest,” vowed Uma, as the pirate ship buckled underneath Mal’s feet.
Uma’s laughing face appeared in every bubble that rushed up around her, mocking Mal.
The deck cracked in two, a few boards tearing loose, and Mal flew back before they smacked into her. “Nice try,” she said. “But you didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?”
Uma seethed. “Let’s try this again, then, shall we?” she said through gritted teeth. With a whirlwind of force, she transformed into her octopus self. Her tentacle arms reached out for Mal, wrapping around her as if they were searching for something. One tentacle darted toward Mal’s pocket.
What’s she looking for? What does she want? Mal wondered. Then she realized: She’s looking for the key. The remote that would open the barrier and call up the bridge to Auradon. Jay usually carried it as he sometimes drove the limo, but he didn’t this time, because Mal wanted to keep it close to her for safekeeping. It was part of the new security protocols.
So that
’s what Uma was after. Uma has always wanted the same thing—freedom from their island prison. Freedom to do as she pleased, to rampage and rage and spread her evil and her malice across the innocent kingdoms of Auradon.
Well, Uma would have to think again. It wasn’t happening—not now, not ever. Especially not if Mal had anything to do with it.
“Really, Uma?” she said. “You’re never going to beat me. What makes you think you’re going to win this time?”
“I wouldn’t be so cocky, Mal,” Uma replied. “And let’s evaluate for just a second. Who’s the one with the upper hand here?” She grinned and waved a tentacle in Mal’s face.
With a sudden burst of energy, Mal twisted away from Uma’s grasp. She felt her eyes flash bright green again, and then she transformed into a great and towering dragon. Her arms became wings, and her fingers sprouted mighty talons. Her teeth turned to fangs, scales replaced her skin, and her long purple hair became a row of fierce spikes down her back.
