Return to the Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,66

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