AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was weird,” said Mal. “There seemed to be something off about Celia.”
“What?” asked Evie.
“Didn’t you notice?” said Mal thoughtfully. “For a minute, it almost looked like she had no shadow.”
kay, so maybe life on the Isle of the Lost wasn’t too bad. There were still demons to do his bidding—fetch his coffee, run his errands, pick up his dry-cleaning. Sure, there wasn’t any magic on the island, but henchmen abounded. Even Pain and Panic were there! And there was still food—spoiled and stale, of course, but edible. Oh, dear Athena, what was he saying? This place was a dump! A total nightmare! A low-rent establishment where even centaurs wouldn’t stay! And they lived in stables!
He should be on Olympus, feasting on grapes, with nymphs hanging on his every word and laughing at all his jokes! Not scrounging for scraps in the back of an alley, just to have some uppity wicked fairy who thought she ran the place chastise him for being in her way.
Hades fumed until his face was red. His hair no longer burst into flame, which was probably a good thing, because nothing on the Isle was fire-retardant. He had to get out of here! He just had to find a way.
If he couldn’t burst through the invisible barrier that surrounded the Isle of the Lost, or climb over it, there was only one way left: dig underneath it. After he’d fallen off the pirate-mast ladder, he had set his crew of demons, goblins, and pirates to digging as deep as they could, creating a maze of tunnels underneath the Isle of the Lost. Hades went down to see how the work was going.
“Any luck?” he asked. “Have we hit Auradon yet?”
“No,” said a sweaty pirate, wiping his forehead with his bandanna and resting on his shovel. “Nothing.”
“Maybe this way?” said Hades, gesturing over to the other direction.
“No, I think I hear water trickling from this way,” argued the pirate.
“Hmmm. Okay,” said Hades. (In fact, he had just missed the fork that led into the Endless Catacombs of Doom, which would be discovered and explored by a crew of young villains one day. But that’s another story.)
Instead, they kept digging until they dug around in a complete circle. It was officially official: There was no way out of the Isle of the Lost.
Hades raged. He kicked the cave walls. He took his ember and began banging it on the walls of the tunnel, creating a single tiny crack. For a moment, a minuscule blue spark glared weakly from deep within the crack, but it died out before Hades even noticed.
“BY ZEUS, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!” he screamed.
Then he called the biggest and strongest demons back and made them clean up the largest part of the tunnel that he would take as his cave. If he was going to be stuck here, he might as well be comfortable. Every good villain needed a lair.
n Monday morning, the students of Dragon Hall gathered for their regular assembly in the crumbling auditorium before classes began. Except there was nothing regular about this morning’s assembly at all. In fact, it was completely irregular, because no one had ever actually adhered to the morning schedule, instead just showing up late or causing trouble in the hallways. So when an announcement boomed in the overhead speakers that attendance was mandatory, the students knew something was up.
Dizzy and Celia found seats in the front and waited to hear the news with the rest of the school. Dr. Facilier slunk into the room, and a hush fell over the crowd. Some of the younger first-years began to shake and tremble. The witch doctor headmaster was downright frightening sometimes, with his eyes that seemed to see through your soul. Celia should know—it was the look he gave her when she used up the last bit of expired milk in the morning and then put the jug back in the fridge.
“Good morning, villains,” Dr. Facilier greeted them when he stepped up to the microphone, a sneering Professor Tremaine and a clueless Coach Gaston behind him. “I have some special news.”
He surveyed the crowd. “Transfer applications to Auradon Prep will be available today. These students will be able to leave the Isle of the Lost this summer and continue their studies in Auradon.”
Auradon!
Wasn’t this what Mal was saying the other day? From the balcony? That was real? It wasn’t a trap after all? And that roundtable discussion they had invited everyone to (except almost no one went)…that was also legit?
“The students who are chosen will be celebrated throughout the land and enjoy a spectacular welcome feast at the school, complete with a parade. Your names will be immortal, and you will be known throughout the kingdom as the Isle’s finest villains,” said Dr. Facilier, playing directly to the crowd.
“Remember, only the wickedest of you will be chosen,” he added with a laugh. “Auradon representatives will be back in a few weeks to announce their selections for the VK program. Now go forth and do your evil deeds.”
Celia and Dizzy turned to each other, almost unable to contain their excitement. They were really taking applications! They could really go to Auradon Prep! They clasped hands and headed to the front, where the application forms were stacked.
“My dad said they’re going to take four kids,” said Celia.
“Only four?” asked Dizzy. “That’s not that many.”
“There are only two of us!” said Celia. “We’ll make it.”
“Evie said they’re going to come back to the Isle again in a few weeks,” said Dizzy. “That must have been what your dad meant when he mentioned the Auradon representatives. Maybe they’ll bring us back then!”
“Maybe.”
