Leave your friends behind and pass through that doorway with me, and you shall have all the riches you desire.
Jay blinked, and suddenly he was seated on a raised platform, wearing a white turban on his head. He was not in the cave at all. He was the Sultan of Agrabah, the richest man in Auradon. Next to him were piles of gold and every kind of precious jewel.
A feast had been set before him with all his favorite dishes, and the people surrounding him bowed, fear in their eyes.
This was what his father had always wanted. His true place in Auradon, above everyone, above everything, wealthy beyond reason, with all the riches of the world at his feet.
All the riches of the world…
He blinked against the vision, and returned to the cave, staring at the mountain of gold and the red eyes of the cobra.
What had Yen Sid told him before they had set off?
The riches of the world are all around you.
Jay didn’t need much. He wasn’t like his father, ruthless and cold. He just liked to play tourney and hang out with his friends. He enjoyed a good game, and good times. Good friends. He thought of how Mal had stood up to her mother rather than let Maleficent hurt any of them. And how Carlos could always be counted on to help with Math Can Be Magic homework, and how Evie would always drop whatever she was doing to listen to him overanalyze an opposing team’s play.
He had a great life, and he had wonderful friends. He was already rich beyond measure. The professor was right: the riches of the world were all around him.
“No,” he said with a smile.
No? The cobra hissed and flicked its long tongue.
“I’m taking you back to Auradon so you can be destroyed.”
The cobra hissed and spat, venom arcing at Jay.
He dodged the poison, and captured the snake with his hand and held it tightly in his grip. The cobra thrashed and hissed, but Jay did not flinch or cower. “You will submit to my will, you are mine to command! And I command you to heel!”
With those words, the cobra stiffened and froze, turning into a simple wooden stick.
When Jay finally emerged from the cave, he found his three friends waiting for him outside. Carlos was reading a book he’d brought, Mal was sketching in her journal, and Evie was combing her hair.
“That’s the Golden Cobra?” asked Mal, noticing the humble stick Jay was holding.
“It was,” said Jay with a triumphant smile. “Okay, where next?”
In answer, the cave behind them began to rumble and disintegrate, just like the tree had done earlier. An outline of a door appeared on one of the rocks that had marked the cave’s entrance. Carlos grabbed the knob and yanked the door open, blasting them with cold air. “Let’s go!” he yelled.
The three of them followed, Jay using his stick to hold the door open for the girls.
When they reached the other side, after all they had experienced so far, they were only a little surprised to find that they were in a modern city. It was time for Carlos to find his mother’s talisman.
Unlike Auradon City, this city was abandoned and gray instead of bustling with energy and life. Shops and streets were empty, buildings and offices shuttered. The whole place was covered in a thick dark fog, with only a few skyscrapers piercing through the heavy mist.
“Where are we?” said Carlos, his voice shaking slightly. His stomach was churning with the knowledge that this was the home of his particular talisman.
“Some kind of city,” said Evie. “It’s okay. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather not see the inside of a cave again. Not to mention sand and snakes.”
“Hate to break it to you, but we’re still underground in the Catacombs,” said Mal, but even she looked relieved to be somewhere that resembled the real world.
“Magic created all this?” asked Evie. “Buildings and everything? That’s pretty crazy.”
Mal knocked on a brick wall. “Yeah, and it’s real too.”
Jay turned around in a circle, looking up at the tall buildings. “Interesting.”
“All right, enough sightseeing. We’ve got to keep going,” said Mal. “What does the map say?”
“It says Cruella’s talisman is in the House of Horrors,” said Carlos, checking the map.
“I thought your house was called Hell Hall?” said Evie.
“Yeah, and it sure was a house of horrors,” said Carlos. “I think we go that way.” He headed east.
“What does the ring look like?” asked Mal.
“It’s the big green one Cruella used to wear,” said Evie. “It’s pretty, actually. You think Carlos might give it to me instead?”
They walked past houses and buildings, but all of the doors were closed, curtains drawn. The entrance they’d used to enter this world was still open behind them. Through it Carlos could see just a little bit of the sandy desert, and he considered running back there. Retrieving his mother’s tallisman wasn’t exactly high on his list of favorite things to do.
The four of them walked down the center of the road. Just like the other two worlds, this one was empty. There were no people here; the entire place was quiet, a mere facade. Not a real city at all but a place held together by magic—a home for the talisman. He led them right, then left, then two rights, and he stopped, confused.
“Wait, that’s the door to the desert again,” Carlos said. “We’re walking in circles.”
“No, we’re not,” said Jay. “If we had walked in circles we would have only made right turns. I definitely recall a left.”
They set off again, this time turning left, left, then right, then left, then right again. But once more, they came to the same doorway.
“Think we’re in some kind of magic maze?” Mal asked. “Let me guess: the map can’t help us.”
Carlos checked, looking at the map from different angles. “Actually, according to the map, the house should be right here, where we’re standing. I’m not sure what’s going on, if the landscape is shifting so it doesn’t match the map, or I’m reading it wrong.”
“At least we have the door to the desert,” said Jay. We can always go back the way we came….Why are you looking at me like that?”
Carlos pointed. The door wasn’t there anymore.
“We’re trapped!” yelped Evie.
“And it doesn’t seem to want us to find what we’re looking for, and it doesn’t look like there’s a way out of here,” said Mal.
“Maybe it’ll appear. I don’t know how magic works. Let’s keep walking,” said Carlos.
“In circles?” asked Jay.
“You have a better idea?” asked Mal.
“I guess not,” Jay admitted. “Okay, carry on, circles are fine.”
“Maybe if we keep walking we’ll see something else,” said Carlos.
They kept going, looking for the house, and once again they ended up where they began. “Hold on,” said Carlos. “I think the map is right. The House of Horrors is right here.”
“But these are all regular buildings, not mansions,” said Evie. “I don’t see Hell Hall anywhere.”
“The talisman isn’t in Hell Hall, I made a mistake,” said Carlos, pointing to a dusty window that had been right in front of them all along. He hadn’t noticed it because he had assumed that the “House of Horrors” was his mother’s house. This was a fur shop, and in the corner was a sign that read HOUSE OF HORRORS. SALE TODAY!
“I think I’m supposed to do some shopping,” said Carlos.
“Well, go on, then,” said Jay.
“I’m going! Give me a sec,” said Carlos.
But he didn’t move. He couldn’t.
“Come on, man, just do it. You know you can. Go!” said Jay, giving him a little push.
Finally, Carlos opened the door and looked over his shoulder. “You guys probably can’t come in, can you?” he asked hopefully. But sure enough, when Mal, Evie, and Jay tried to follow, they were barred from entering.
“We’ll wait here,” said Evie.
<
br /> “Good luck,” said Mal. “You’ll need it.”
“Bring back that ring soon. I’m getting hungry,” said Jay.
Carlos swallowed his fear, squared his shoulders, and walked inside.
The House of Horrors didn’t live up to its name at all, for when Carlos stepped inside, he found it was an elegant fur shop. The room was decorated in the manner of a fabulous salon, with racks and racks of elegant fur coats everywhere. There were fox chubbies, sable throws, mink stoles, floor-length trenches, and fur-trimmed opera capes. White Mongolian vests, black goat-hair ponchos, cozy raccoon cocoon coats, cheetah-print boleros, and silver-tipped mantles.
There was an elevator at the back of the store, and he walked toward it, as if drawn there by an invisible cord. The doors opened silently and he entered, his hand pulled to the button for the topmost floor.
When Carlos stepped out of the elevator, he was no longer inside a fur shop. Instead, he was walking through a mist, a gray cloud that covered everything. In the distance, he saw a green light blinking.
He walked toward it, his heart thudding in his chest, hoping he wouldn’t chicken out. The youngest of the group, Carlos was often worried that while he was smart enough, he wasn’t as brave as the others were. It had taken a great force of will to enter the House of Horrors alone.
The mists parted and he saw the ring at last. It was indeed as large as a quail egg and as green as a spring meadow. And it was Cruella de Vil’s ring all right, because she was wearing it.
Carlos stepped back with a yelp.
“Hello, darling,” his mother said, blowing a cloud of smoke in his face. “Looking for this?”
“You found it?” he asked. “You found your talisman?”
“Well, of course I did, child! It’s mine!” she screeched.
He was too late, Carlos realized. Cruella already had her ring.
“Shoo, boy, don’t you know when to leave your mother alone?” sneered Cruella.
Carlos backed away, petrified. He had failed his friends, and he had failed Auradon. But even as he beat himself up, he remembered Yen Sid’s words. You possess a keen intellect; however, do not let your head rule your heart. Learn to see what is truly in front of you.
Everything in his brain told him to run from his mother, that she had already captured the talisman. There she stood, hitching her furs across her shoulders, glaring at him.
Cruella had always haunted his nightmares, with her crazed declarations and frenzied hysterics. What was truly in front of him? What didn’t he see? What was he missing?
His head screamed at him to run….
But his heart…His heart told him to stay and fight, that even if he was deathly afraid, he had to find a way to get the ring away from her. He had to prove to himself that he was brave enough, and that he was enough.
“Still here? Go and tell your friends to leave this place forever,” ordered Cruella.
“No,” said Carlos. “Not without that ring.”
Gathering the last of his courage, he tackled his mother and struggled for the ring, finally pulling it off her finger and placing it on his own.
He felt the rush of power from the talisman shoot through him.
Cruella cackled with glee. “Go ahead, then, use it on me. Destroy me. With that ring you can obliterate me forever. Tell me to throw myself off this roof and I’ll do it. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that what you have always wanted?”
Carlos felt the ring throb in his hands. He could destroy his mother, rid the world of another villain, and stop having nightmares once and for all.
“Do it!” Cruella cackled. “Do it, boy!”
He raised his hand, pointing the ring right at her. Then he dropped his arm down with a sigh. “No, I can’t. I’m better than that,” Carlos said, turning on his heel and heading for the elevator. I’m better than you, Mother. No matter what you’ve always told me.
Suddenly he was standing outside the House of Horrors, and Jay, Mal, and Evie were looking at him, concerned.
“What happened?” he asked.
“You came out of the building in a trance,” said Mal.
“The ring…” Carlos muttered. He opened his fist. The jewel had turned a dull green, its power abated for now. “It wanted me to destroy her,” he said. “But she wasn’t actually there. It was just a vision, just the ring trying to scare me, to make me mad.”
“Yep, sounds about right,” said Jay. “These talismans must get more power that way.”
Carlos nodded and put the ring away in his pocket. Three down. One Dragon’s Egg to go.
They looked around for a hidden doorway, but found none. “We could try this,” said Carlos, motioning to the revolving door that led back to the House of Horrors. “It’s the only door around here that’s open. It might be the only way out of here. And from the looks of it, the city is melting!” He yelped as the sidewalk beneath them began to crack.
“Let’s go!” yelled Mal. She rushed through the revolving door, and the rest of them hurriedly did the same.
When she pushed through the door, Mal wasn’t in the House of Horrors. She wasn’t even in a city anymore. Instead, a dark, foreboding mountain loomed in the distance. Lightning crackled in the sky and vultures circled above.
“Maleficent Mountain,” she said, when the rest of the team arrived. “Over there.” According to the map, Doom Crag lay at the very top of the mountain, where a dragon had made its nest.
“Ouch, that looks like a climb,” said Jay.
“You guys know the drill. Only I have to go,” said Mal. “Don’t worry.”
“No,” said Carlos. “We’ll all go. Remember what the professor said? You don’t have to do this alone.”
“But this is my talisman,” said Mal. “And all of you had to get yours alone.”
“We’re going with you,” said Evie. “At least until the talisman stops us. No arguments.”
“You’re not getting rid of us,” said Jay. “That’s how this whole ‘having friends’ thing works, remember?”
“Fine,” said Mal. “Let’s go, then.”
They trudged through the dead land, air thick with smoke. Sizzling green slime bubbled through cracks in the dirt, and they helped each other over the acrid puddles. Mal soldiered on as Evie groaned and complained that her head still hurt from the poison, and Jay was subdued, probably thinking of the riches he’d rejected. Carlos was definitely still shell-shocked from seeing his mother; real or not, that woman was terrifying.
They were united in their silence. The Dragon’s Egg was the greatest of all the talismans and its mistress would have the forces of hell at her command.
“You know, the Dragon’s Eye in the scepter isn’t an actual eye. It just looks like one. It’s really a dragon’s egg,” said Mal.
“Why isn’t it called the Dragon’s Egg scepter, then?” asked Carlos.
“Duh, because Dragon’s Eye sounds way cooler,” said Jay.
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Carlos.
“So is there a dragon here?” asked Evie, looking around fearfully.
“Let’s hope not,” Carlos said.
“You guys can wait here,” said Mal. “The mountain won’t let you any closer than this.”
She began to climb, reaching for a foothold and pulling herself up.
But when Jay put a hand on the mountainside, it didn’t push him away, and it didn’t reject Carlos or Evie either. When Mal looked down, she was slightly disappointed to find they were climbing right behind her.
Is it because the talisman thinks I’m weak? she wondered.
With that disconcerting thought, she kept climbing, her friends right behind her.
When they reached the top of Doom Crag, they discovered the dragon’s nest was the size of a small boat. Its burned and blackened branches were twisted and packed tightly, and there was no sign of an egg anywhere. Mal began to search, getting down on her knees, and the rest of the team did the same, combing through every inch of the foul spac
e.
“It’s not here,” said Mal, frustrated.
“It has to be,” said Evie.
“Maybe they got here before us and found it. Cruella, Jafar, and Evil Queen, I mean,” said Jay. “They are supposed to be wandering around down here in the Catacombs, right?”
“Maybe that’s why we were all able to climb the mountain,” said Mal. She’d scratched her palm on the way up, and she pinched it, trying to stop the blood. “Because the talisman’s gone.”
“No!” said Carlos. “It has to be here. If they’d found it, this mountain wouldn’t be here. Remember what happened in the other places? They started to disintegrate once we recovered the talismans. Keep looking.”
Mal searched again, but bumped into Evie, who fell back on Carlos, who tripped over Jay. “There’s not enough space for all four of us,” Mal complained. “You guys need to leave. You’re not helping. Maybe it won’t show itself to me because you’re all here,” she said crossly.
“Are you sure?” said Evie.
“I’m sure,” said Mal.
“Fine,” said Jay. “If she doesn’t want us here, we don’t need to be here. And this place gives me the creeps.”
“But the professor said…” Carlos began.
“He’s not here now, is he? He’s not the one who had to climb this mountain and look for this egg. Get out of here!” Mal shouted.
Carlos, Evie, and Jay exchanged looks with each other. Mal glared at them until, one by one, they climbed out of the nest and began to make their way down the mountain.
Mal didn’t need anyone, she never had. Okay, maybe the four of them had stood together when Maleficent was defeated, but come on, in the end, everyone knew that it was Mal’s will that had broken her mother’s and reduced the dragon to the size of a lizard.
Although Mal’s heart felt small right then, thinking of her friends descending the mountain without her, she couldn’t let it stop her. She covered every inch of the nest, and on the third time through the muck, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Something small and purple.
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