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

Chapter 24: The Faerie's Apprentice

While Doug was gone, Mal scanned the building once more. It wasn't a cottage. It was a fortress. At first glance, she decided it was about five times more heavily guarded than Ben's castle, and much more fitting for battle. Though, why, she hadn't the faintest idea. What are they so afraid of? Bears? She chuckled slightly at her own joke. There was nothing out there for the dwarfs to fear. Actually, if Mal were being honest, the whole thing creeped her out just a bit. She recalled Evil Queen's description of the cottage perfectly. They made some serious upgrades to the place!

"Mal," Evie's still weak voice whispered from behind her. "What do we do now?"

The others turned to face her as well. She hesitated, refusing to admit that she had no plan, that she was literally just winging it by this point. "We...we need to lay low for a while," she decided. "At least until we have had time to find out a little bit more about what we're up against."

"But what about the villains?" Jay questioned.

"Yeah, I don't think they're just going to stand around and wait for us to stop them," Carlos agreed, shooting nervous looks between them.

"And what about Dizzy, Celia, and the twins?" Evie put in. "If Morgana...or Queenie...goes looking for us, they could be in danger." Her eyes were wide with fright. Mal knew she was right. But was it really a good idea for any of them to go back? Could they make it before the villains? She doubted it. But, still, the new VKs...

"All right," she sighed. "Jay, you and Ben go back to the cottage and get the kids. Bring them here where they'll be safe."

"Yes, of course, right away," Ben said while Jay nodded.

"In that case, here," Mal handed Jay the Dragonstone. "You might need this." He took it in surprise and smirked, holding it out to Ben. "And don't get any crazy ideas," Mal added hastily. "Use it only when there's no other option."

"Got it," Ben assured her. "Jay, let's go."

They turned and took off sprinting toward the trees. Mal then focused her gaze on the two remaining VKs, and heard Doug come running back around to join them. "So here's what we're going to do," Mal explained as they gathered in close. "Doug, do you have a library in this place?"

He looked as if she had just asked whether oxygen was part of an H2O bond.

Mal saw this. "I'll take that as a yes. In that case, Carlos, you start searching for anything you can find about Morgana or the NeoMerling. We need everything you can get."

"Right," Carlos started running toward the house.

"But I haven't--" Doug began to protest.

"It's okay. He'll figure out his way," Mal interrupted.

"Erm...I meant I hadn't unlocked the door yet."

"Oh."

Everyone laughed at Mal's embarrassed expression, and then hurried after Carlos who was already at the door, leaning against it, arms folded, impatiently. The white-haired boy moved aside to let Doug to the keyhole and retreated to stand beside the others. Unlocking the door, he led the way and the others piled in after him.

The inside was pitch black. Mal blinked, her eyes adjusting painfully. She waved a hand in front of her face but couldn't see it. She frowned, reminded too much of her mother's castle after sunset. It was not a pleasant memory.

"Wow," Evie commented from somewhere to her left. "Dark."

"Oh...yeah...one moment...hang on." There was a shuffle, a thump, and the hum of lights firing up. A moment later, the room was flooded with light and they could get their first look at the inside. The primary thing Mal noticed was all of the wood. While the outside looked modern, made with bricks and clay, the inside had more a home-y feel to it. Wooden floors, logged walls, a spiraling staircase made entirely of varnished wood, it was beautiful.