Wicked Dawn | 'Till The Night Falls Book 1 (Disney Descendants)

Chapter 16: Auradon Under Siege

"AHHHHHH! PLEEEEASSSEEE, MAKE IT STOOOOOPPP!"

Doug had been screaming for five consecutive minutes before any of the others seemed to notice. He was hugging Ben tightly, eyes squeezed shut, barely breathing. He felt the wind whipping past him and the heavy wingbeats of Ben as the king struggled to hold the two of them aloft. Meanwhile, Doug's brain was racing. How had the others turned into dragons? It had to have been when their Dragonfires touched. But he'd done the same, hadn't he? Why hadn't the spell worked on him? Why wasn't he a dragon like the rest of them? Was he not enough of a hero? Was that it? Had the Dragonfire rejected him after all? Maybe it realized that he wasn't good enough after all. Maybe he wasn't some hero that could save Auradon from danger. He certainly hadn't been any help before. Why would anything choose him now? It wouldn't, he thought miserably. I'm not chosen. And that's why I couldn't change like the others. I'm not a hero.

There was a grunt that could only have come from Mal. It sounded like she was snapping at one of them. Doug slowly lifted his head, blinking away the tears of panic and fear and staring across the cloud field towards Mal who gave him a pointed look before growling something to Ben. Even if he couldn't understand what Mal was saying, Doug had a fairly good idea of what she was thinking: Somebody find a way to shut him up before he warns every villain from Charmington to Pirate's Lagoon that we're here.

Evie took the lead, curling her wings up and dropping from the air like a rock. She disappeared behind the poofy clouds in seconds. Near her, Jay sliced through the fog and did a tiny backflip to show off. Carlos narrowed his eyes and focused on keeping up with Mal who was scanning the land below them as they approached.

Doug held his breath and forced himself to look down at the dizzying ground hundreds of feet down. The crystal bridge was hardly more than a spec against the sparkling sea. And he could just make out the dark figures hurrying across the water towards Auradon. They'd never make it in time, he knew. They'd be lucky if they even managed to get to school before Morgana began her invasion. Which is why we have to get there first, he thought.

Can't Ben fly any faster?

Evie reappeared from the clouds and slowed her pace to match the others. She seemed to be smiling, though, what about, Doug couldn't guess. They were hundreds of feet up in the air. The nearest land was too far down to touch. And he was starting to feel a bit dizzy. There was certainly nothing to be happy about.

Even his Uncle Happy could not be happy in this sort of situation.

Mal grunted something else. Doug really wished he could understand what she was saying. He gripped Ben's scales tighter as the five dragons pulled tighter into a formation and Mal advanced to take the lead. Mal suddenly dropped from the air and the others followed. Doug held on tighter and closed his eyes as he experienced the moment of weightlessness. At that moment, he was really glad he hadn't eaten anything for breakfast that morning.

Ben dove straight down.

The land was hurtling towards them at a breakneck speed. Clouds exploded in Doug's eyes as he tried to hide his face behind Ben's head. He couldn't help it. He squeezed his eyes shut and started to scream again.

A minute passed. And then two. A gentle thump.

Doug cautiously opened his eyes. The sky was gone. Green was around him in every direction. Green and brown. Earth. Sweet ground. I'm on the ground. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, thankful to still be alive. He glanced over at Evie and the others as they landed as well. They stood in a loose ring and all eyes fell on him. He understood what they were silently saying: Get off. We're here.