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

Chapter 20: When Worlds Collide

The courtyard was dark as Evie jumped down among a cluster of rosebushes. She did her best to maneuver around the thorns and brambles, but not before her hands and wrists were successfully scraped to shreds. She bit her lip and turned as she emerged, peering up through the shadows to find Carlos and Doug waiting attentively for her signal. She waved them down and they hastily obeyed. As they joined her, she turned and began sizing up the castle--and, more importantly, the moat surrounding it.

"So how do we get past that?" Carlos questioned.

Evie frowned. Why have a wall if you're just going to have a moat? What are they trying to keep in? "Er...Doug? Ben wouldn't happen to have...crocodiles...in his moat, would he?"

Doug looked at her strangely. "Crocodiles? Who in Auradon would put crocodiles in a moat?"

Evie opened her mouth to reply but then stopped herself. "You know what? Never mind." She waved it off. Must be an Isle thing. Then, to Carlos, "Can we swim it?"

The boy looked a bit doubtful. "I doubt it. I mean, I can doggy-paddle. But you can't swim at all. And I don't think either of us could carry you across."

Evie chuckled darkly. "Where's Jay when you need him?"

"Well," Doug coughed uncomfortably. "We may not be able to swim, but there's got to be another way across, right?"

"Yeah, but what?" Carlos scanned the riverbed.

"Let's spread out," Evie suggested. "See what you can find and meet back here, okay?" The boys nodded and the three of them headed off in different directions. Evie went right, toward the flowers and continuing wall. She was painfully aware of how fast the sun was sinking behind the horizon. The light wouldn't last too much longer. She couldn't help but wonder how Mal's group would handle the darkness. Had they found a way inside? Had Mal used the Dragonstone to destroy Morgana? What about the other villains?

She reached the end of the courtyard and turned once more towards the shadowed clearing. She squinted, picking out Carlos near the water. He seemed to be looking for stepping stones. She couldn't spot Doug right away but she guessed he was around somewhere.

"Pssst. Evie." A voice hissed behind her. "E, is that you?"

Evie recognized the voice immediately. She whipped around towards the darkness and narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Mal?" she snapped.

"You're angry," Mal continued in a whisper, still not emerging from the shadows. "I understand. You have every right to be. But we can talk about all of that later. Right now, you and Carlos hae to get out of here. It's not safe. Doug--"

Evie felt the fury brimming. "Stop," she growled. "Just...stop. I don't want to hear it. Mal, what has you so against him? Did I ever say anything about you and Ben? Did I? No! I stood there! I supported you! I love Doug! Why can't you just accept that!"

"Evie, just listen. It's not about that. Doug isn't who you think--"

"Stop talking," Evie snarled. "You know, Mal, I thought you were my best friend. I thought you'd always stand up for me. But this is not the action of someone who cares. So, until you start acting like my best friend again, stay away from me." With that, she straightened back up and started running back to the others.

"Hey," Carlos waved her over. She hurried to join him. Doug appeared from the opposite direction a moment later. "Did you guys find anything?"

Evie pushed the conversation with Mal from her brain. "No. Nothing useful."

"I...I think I...might have found...something," Doug spoke up. "Over...over on the o-other side."

"Show us," Evie demanded. Doug nodded and headed off toward the left half of the yard. Evie took a deep breath and shoved her worry away, following him.