Return to the Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,21

when your lip gloss disappears in the middle of the day? So I figured out how to make one that never fades,” said Evie.

Lonnie and Audrey nodded in agreement.

“Are you sure I can have this one?” asked Audrey, holding up her blue-pink pot.

“I made it for you, of course,” said Evie. “Which one do you want, Lonnie?”

“The glow-in-the-dark one, thanks. That way everyone can see me smiling up in the DJ booth,” said Lonnie.

“Perfect.”

The girls thanked Evie and left with their dresses. Mal walked in a few minutes later. “All set?” she asked.

In answer, Evie opened the closet door, which held two identical dresses to the ones she had made for Audrey and Lonnie. “Try yours on,” she said. “I want to see if it fits.”

Evie had stayed up way too late the night before, but she’d gotten them done. If they were going to leave Auradon, they would do so disguised as princesses. Lonnie and Audrey often left school to visit their home castles and kingdoms, and no one would question their use of the royal limousine. Jay and Carlos would be dressed as their chauffeur and bodyguard, respectively.

“How’s your mom, by the way?” asked Evie as she zipped Mal up into the replica of Audrey’s dress. “Did she tell you anything the other day?”

Mal shook her head. “Not unless she was communicating by sleeping. I really don’t see how it could be her, but who knows. We’ll just have to assume the worst.” She caught her reflection. Her purple hair framed her horrified face as the dress shimmered in waves of sparkly pink and blue. “Oh, my goblins, I look like such a princess! It’s so…pink…and blue!”

Evie laughed. “That’s the point! Though I have to say, these really aren’t your colors.”

Mal stuck her tongue out at Evie. “Any luck with the Magic Mirror?”

“None,” said Evie. “It works perfectly if I ask it to show me anything else. But if I ask to see my mom, Jafar, or Cruella, it’s just cloudy. It’s like they’ve disappeared or something.”

“Let me see,” said Mal. “Do you think there might be a crack in it?”

“It’s already cracked,” said Evie.

“Maybe I can try a spell or two.” Mal grabbed her spell book from the shelf, the one that Maleficent had passed down to her. “Magic Mirror at my command, heal thyself with my own hand!”

The mirror remained the same.

“Magic Mirror, do as I say, show us the villains on the Isle today!” said Mal.

Nothing changed. Evie shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the mirror at all. I’m starting to believe they don’t want to be found. They’re able to hide from it somehow.”

“But the only way to do that is with magic,” said Mal. “And there’s no magic on the Isle.”

“Or maybe the Magic Mirror is weakening,” said Evie thoughtfully. “Since we’re not encouraged to do magic here, I haven’t been using it as much.”

“What of it?”

“Well, what if magic is like a muscle: if you don’t use it, it atrophies or tries to find somewhere else to go. Energy has to transform, right? That’s what we learned in chemistry,” said Evie. “There’s no such thing as turning something into nothing. It just becomes something else, even if we don’t see it.”

Mal considered this. “You know, you might be right.”

The biggest barrier—literally and figuratively—in their plan to return to the Isle of the Lost was the invisible dome that covered the island. There was no way in or out of the island without the king’s permission. Of course, it would have been easy enough to ask for Ben’s help, except he was out of town. Also Mal didn’t want the king to have to answer to his councillors and his subjects if they learned he’d allowed four villain kids to return to the Isle of the Lost now that the borders were guarded more rigorously than ever after Maleficent’s attack. The recent embargo meant most of the goblin barges that brought in supplies and leftovers to the Isle had been blocked, and the few that were allowed through were being monitored very closely.

Hence Jay had decided on stealing the royal limousine for their escape. The only problem was how to get hold of the car without being caught.

Luckily, the one person who could help him had already issued an invitation. Jordan had asked him to stop by her lamp that afternoon. She was recording a new episode of her popular online show and planned to interview him as one