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

Chapter 28: Wicked Dawn/Part 2

"Evie," Mal hissed as the group ducked to safety behind a cluster of trees and bushes. "Queenie, stay back with the kids. Ben, Jay, Carlos, come with me. We need a plan." Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Mal began to creep across the crunchy leaves, making the least amount of noise possible.

"I have a plan," Evie grumbled. "I'm going to get Doug back."

"Okay, one, that's not a plan," Mal pointed out. "Two, how? You'd be up against Morgana, your mother, and Doug. Trust me. Stay here. It will be better that way. Jay? Ben? Carlos? Come on."

Evie watched silently as her friend led the boys away. She felt the younger VKs' eyes on her and she took a deep breath, putting on a reassuring face. "They'll be all right," she told them, opening her arms to Dizzy as the girl leaned up against her worriedly.

"Of course they will," Dizzy replied quietly.

Evie glanced over at Celia who was leaning against a tree, fiddling with her magic cards. "Hey," she said. "Your cards showing you anything helpful?"

Celia looked up. "Define 'helpful'."

Evie sighed. "Something that can tell us how to save Doug?"

Celia frowned. "You really don't know how the cards work, do you?" When Evie gave no response, Celia rolled her eyes. "They don't show the solutions to problems. They just show parts of one's future and past. Happiness, darkness, fear, betrayal..." she trailed off here.

"Is that what you see?" Evie questioned, sitting up and gently leaning a sound-asleep Dizzy against a tree. "Who's future? Mine?"

Celia shook her head. "No..." She glanced toward the clearing. "It's...someone else...and their future...it keeps changing."

"Doug?" Evie barked, coming over to kneel down beside her, stepping cautiously around Squeaky and Squirmy who were also asleep.

"I thought you might ask that," Celia confessed. "But no, it's not him. It's..."

"Who?"

"Let's just say, even villains don't often start out that way." Celia refused to say more and just peered through the shrubbery at the scene unfolding. Evie did the same. She spotted Mal and Jay flanking in from the left, Ben and Carlos from the right. But her eyes kept coming back to the center. Both Morgana and Evil Queen stood there, the latter keeping watch for trouble while the former moved around a ring of burning fire. Doug lay unconscious in the center. He did not seem to be aware of anything...certainly not that Morgana was only moments from killing him and seizing his powers. He was more still than death and was positioned like an offering to whatever evil Morgana was conjuring.

Hurry, Mal, Evie thought pleadingly. I don't know how much longer he can hold on.

Mal seemed to hear her desperate prayer. "NOW!" the purplette bellowed, thrusting a fist into the air. Immediately, the villains whipped around, but it was far too late. The VKs had already made their move, and it took the villains only moments to recognize that they were greatly outnumbered. Still, they fought back. Evil Queen moved to challenge Mal, Jay, and Ben simultaneously, while Carlos crept toward the ring of fire where Morgana was speeding up her spell.

Be careful! Evie mentally warned Carlos.

Evil Queen held up the fight, skillfully taking on all three teens...and overpowering them, sending all three tumbling to the ground.

Evie watched all of this in horror. "Morgana's given her some of her powers!" she hissed to Queenie. "She's stronger than ever. They don't stand a chance!" She hastily got to her feet and reached for her sword.