Return to the Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,48

These talismans are growing in power, and causing havoc with our weather as they draw energy to themselves. Four of these talismans are the most dangerous right now: the Fruit of Venom, the Golden Cobra, the Ring of Envy, and a new Dragon’s Egg.”

An audible silence filled the room, and it was apparent that while the club knew about the Catacombs, learning of these talismans was new to the villains on the Isle of the Lost as well as the four visitors from Auradon.

“A new Dragon’s Egg?” asked Carlos. “What does that mean?”

“Hang on,” said Jay. “Does this have anything to do with the Dragon’s Eye staff back in Auradon? The original?”

“Yeah, that one broke when Mom turned into a lizard,” said Mal. “We found it and Ben put it away in the museum. It’s useless now, so I guess this would be its replacement.”

Yen Sid nodded to show she was correct. “Merlin wrote me about Camelot’s problem, and along with the strange weather patterns worsening in Auradon, I realized I had to get you kids back to the island right away. There isn’t much time, we must act, and quickly,” said the professor. “The talismans desire to be found; they have already seduced their masters into looking for them and soon they will call others to their side. They seek to escape the darkness of the underground so they can once again bring chaos and catastrophe to our world above. You must find and disarm them before they fall into the wrong hands, then bring them back to Auradon, where they can be destroyed forever.”

“We’ll go as soon as we can,” promised Mal.

“Remember how the four of you were able to defeat Maleficent?” Yen Sid asked.

They nodded.

“But what if it wasn’t just Maleficent and the Dragon’s Eye you were facing? What if you were facing all four villains holding their talismans? Imagine facing not just Maleficent and her scepter, but Jafar and his Golden Cobra, Evil Queen and her poisoned apple, and Cruella de Vil and her Ring of Envy?”

“Oh,” said Carlos. “That does not sound good.”

“Used together, these four talismans for evil can overcome the power of good once and for all.”

This was so much worse than she thought. Evie knew that this trip to the Isle of the Lost would mean they would discover that the villains were plotting yet another scheme, but she hadn’t been prepared to hear about this. To think that there were four evil talismans out there, and that if their parents got ahold of them, they would be unstoppable was too frightening to contemplate. Since Mal had defeated Maleficent, Evie felt assured that they could handle whatever happened next, and that the power of good would always prevail. But now it sounded as if they were truly in peril once more.

Thankfully Mal still appeared calm as ever. “At least now we know that’s where they are, underground, in the Catacombs, looking for the power that they lost.”

“Yes,” said Yen Sid. “The four of you must find these talismans and destroy them before your parents can use them against Auradon. I’m afraid you’re the only ones who will be able to outsmart them. After all, no one knows them better than you. Mal, even if Maleficent is in no shape to retrieve the Dragon’s Egg, it’s still imperative that you recover it before anyone else does.”

“Great, let’s go,” said Jay, already up from his seat.

“First we must show you what we are working on.” Yen Sid nodded to the assembled group, who sat at attention now, pulling out detailed maps and charts. “We think we are close to getting an accurate map of the underground tunnels.”

“You’ve been in the tunnels, then?” asked Carlos.

“No. None of us have.”

“But then how can you draw maps of somewhere you’ve never been?” said Carlos, confused.

“With the help of a little research,” Yen Sid told them. He nodded to the class and they raised the books they were reading. “We stole them from the Athenaeum of Evil, of course.” A Brief History of Evil Talismans. The Legend of the Golden Cobra. Poison Fruit from the Toxic Tree. The Dragon’s Eye Scepter: Lore and Myth. “According to the books, each talisman is grown by magic in its ideal habitat, and so we have been sketching their possible landscapes,” he said, as if it were as simple as learning how to plot an evil scheme, or how to trick a mark out of its money, when it was probably as