Chapter 18
When they stepped through the door they were all a little surprised to find themselves in a modern city. Instead of the glistening bright city that Auradon was this city was gray, foggy and abandoned. Shops and streets were empty and in the distance only the skyscrapers stood out above the mist. Although, Drac was happy it was cooler then the desert.
"Magic created all this?" Evie asked looking around. "That's crazy."
"How are we supposed to find the Ring of Envy in all this?" Mal asked.
Carlos looked at the maps again, "According to Yen Sid's research it should be in a place called the House of Horrors."
"What does the ring look like?" Drac asked as they made their way down the street. He hadn't realized before that Cruella even had a talisman, she had no magic after all. But apparently – from what the others had told him Yen Sid said – Cruella's ring made everyone who looked at her feel inferior in her presence.
"It's the big green one my mom used to wear." Carlos explained, "I've actually never seen it in person. Only in the portraits of her that hung around the house."
As they walked the scenery seemed to become more and more familiar and Drac wasn't the only one to notice.
"Are we going in circles?" Mal asked.
Evie looked around, "No. If we had made all right turns we might have but I know we took some lefts. Maybe it's a maze."
Drac noticed Carlos was looking around with that calculating look in his eye. Like when he was installing hacks to the video game system in their dorm, or picking a lock on the Isle back when they would mess with Uma.
"I thought the House of Horrors would be. . . well. . . a house. But. . . "
"What?" Drac asked and Carlos pointed behind him. They all turned and saw what looked like a fur shop and when they got closer and peered through the dusty window they saw a sign that read. House of Horrors: Sale Today!
"Well." Drac began as he pulled back from the window, "Have fun shopping."
Carlos swallowed nervously and nodded. Then he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Drac wished he could have gone in with him. He knew how much Carlos was afraid of his mother and anything that brought back the memory of her. Since they were closer in age then the others he and Carlos had been tight since a very young age and when Jay and Mal, being older, would get to go off and have fun he and Carlos would often stay in Dragon Hall and cause mischief. Since it was a school they knew the teachers wouldn't let anything too horrible happen to them, thanks to their parent's reputation. And it kept the other kids from making an example of them until they were old enough to stand up for themselves. Thinking of the parents that taught at Dragon Hall and Cruella and Maleficent Drac couldn't help but let his mind wander to his own father.
Drac had been eleven when Mal had first told him she knew who their father was and while Mal let her anger at Hades keep her from ever seeking him out, Drac had always been curious. He would hang out at the Souvlanki shop, when Mal would run off with Jay and Carlos was busy doing his mother's chores, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ruler of the Underworld with his blue flaming hair. He didn't know if Hades even knew he existed until the one day he did see him strut through the shop and through the back door which led down the stone steps into his cavern. Eleven year old Drac had followed, still innocent enough to believe that he was safe around even the baddest villain on the Isle. He used everything his big sister had taught him, how to creep, how to sneak, how to duck and hide, but it hadn't been enough. When Drac had turned the last corner at the bottom of the stairs he'd smacked right into Hades standing there waiting for him with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Drac swallowed nervously and took a step back realizing he'd bitten off more than he could chew and his sister and mother weren't there to protect him.
After a very long nerve racking moment, Hades' gaze softened and he nodded his head to the room, "Come on, kid. I'll give you the tour."
Drac let out a breath of relief and followed as he was told. There wasn't much of a tour, Hades lair was only the one large cave but Drac was entranced nonetheless. Hades seemed to get a kick out of that as he watched his son look around the room with awe. The corner of his mouth turned up as he watched the boy before falling into his chair and kicking his feet up on the arm.
"So." He began and Drac's attention went back to his father immediately. "Your mother know you're here?"
Drac shook his head.
"Probably for the best." Hades shrugged, "If she did know she'd burn you to a crisp once you got home."
"She doesn't have her magic here."
Hades chuckled, "Doesn't mean she wouldn't find another way."
Drac swallowed again.
"Don't worry kid. I won't tell her." Hades promised, "So. . . what brings you here?"
Drac bit his lip and looked at his boots. He gave a shrug and looked back up at the most powerful villain on the Isle. "I wanted to meet my father."
The corner of Hades mouth turned up in a smirk though Drac got the impression that he was trying to fight off a smile. Then he cleared his throat, "Your sister isn't with you is she?"
Drac bit his lip again and shook his head. He didn't want to be the one to tell Hades how much his daughter resented him. But thankfully Hades seemed to already know.
"Yeah. . . I figured. She doesn't seem too happy that I came home, only to leave again." Drac wasn't sure Mal would even remember that, she would have been only a toddler at the time, but he supposed his very existence was proof that Hades had left Mal not once, but twice. "For the record, I tried to make it work with your mother. After a year with a baby, in this place, I felt I owed it to your sister to give it another try." He shrugged, "Didn't last too long though. . . I didn't even know you were on the way when I took off. . . now I've let two people down."
"It's not your fault." Drac said noticing his dad looked. . . hurt? "Mom's not easy to get along with. Mal and I try to stay out of her way."
Hades gave him another one of those smirks that lit up his eyes and even though he was trying to look tough the clear blue irises showed how happy it made him to hear that from his kid.
"So, you must have questions." Hades went on, "I doubt you've spent this much time in my shop because you love half rotten Souvlanki."
Drac and Hades talked for hours that afternoon. Drac had years worth of questions and Hades seemed fine with answering all of them. How did he and his mom meet? - Pain and Panic apparently got into a fight with some of Maleficent's goblins down at the barges. And by fight, Hades meant they mouthed off to the wrong minion and were seen running through the alleys causing a ruckus. And only a second rate villain doesn't keep their minions in check. Why had they gotten together in the first place? – Power mostly but there was intrigue. Hades detailed one of their first 'dates' where Maleficent had come into his shop to 'look around' and made veiled comments about the stink and grunge of the place. As if every place on the Isle didn't suffer from that. And Hades made the same backhanded comments about the Slop Shop which earned him a crooked smile and quirked brow from the dragon witch. The banter became routine and the excuse that combined they had more power than any villain on the Isle could match worked so they could be seen together and no one questioned if they were growing soft or developing feelings for each other.
As Drac's questions went on they went from serious topics to more childlike ponderings. Things like, "Where was Cerberus?"
"The Gultch." Hades shrugged.
"The what?"
"The Gultch. It's where every villain's worst pets are kept. Without their powers the villains have no control over them and back in the beginning of our banishment to the Isle when they started to starve on half rotten food like their masters the worry that they'd turn on us arose, so the villains put them all in the Gultch. It's an open chasm at the far north reaches of the Isle so deep that none of the beasts and monsters have a hope of ever getting out. It houses things like my hydra and Cerberus, the Queen of Hearts pet Jabberwocky and the Jub Jub Bird. The Chernabog is even trapped down there. And no villain can go around it because on one side there is the Cobra Caves where Kaa lives and some have said they've even caught a brief glimpse of Shere Khan - before they ran back to their homes knowing how much he hated humans. And on the other side is the Elephant Graveyard where Scar and his hyenas live."
Then Drac asked why his father was living down in the caves instead of above ground. Surely he could have his pick of whatever lair on the Isle he wanted. Hades sighed and told him it reminded him more of his home in the Underworld down here. It helped keep him away from the riff raff.
Riff raff. Drac thought again coming back to the present. Then he looked around at the city that had been created by magic. Then he scoffed to himself, Dad you liar, he thought. He wasn't bitter about being lied to though, it was obvious why Hades hadn't told his teenage son the truth. Hades wasn't living underground because he wanted to stay away from people, at least that wasn't the biggest reason. Drac was willing to bet that one of the tunnels his father had access to underground was part of the Endless Catacombs. Had Hades been searching them for a way off the Isle long before Yen Sid, Cruella, Jafar and the Evil Queen ever knew of it? And, the question popped into Drac's mind, Did Hades get lured in by his talisman too when the earthquakes had started? He glanced at Mal who was talking to Evie, how would she react if they encountered their father down here?
- - LONG LIVE EVIL - -
Footsteps echoed through the tunnel in a steady beat. The feeling of magic grew with each step and Hades smirked as he felt his talisman calling to him – his Ember. He'd become familiar with the Endless Catacombs in the past twenty years and finally all the time had paid off. The Ember had grown thanks to the repressed magic and it was now strong enough to call to him. Bits of his hair began to glow but he couldn't yet ignite a full flame, besides that was just a trick, like what he'd taught Drac to do, it wasn't anything powerful enough to be dangerous or get him what he wanted.
Then he turned another corner and came to a new chamber he'd never seen before. The magic that was causing those earthquakes was stronger then he'd originally thought. He had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly and he was. A large blue lake filled with shimmering souls swimming in the water was before him and far off was his old home, the cavern that resembled a skull. At the edge of the water was the ferry man, a skeleton ready to paddle his boat to take his master where he needed to be. He nodded to his servant and stepped in the boat. He stood the whole trip with his arms crossed like nothing had changed in the past twenty years. He remembered this was where the Fates would meet him and give him versed prophecies about the future. He ran a hand through his hair trying to keep his cool as he remembered the last one they'd given him, the one that all went wrong.
When he reached the cave he followed the pull of the Ember and found himself in the one place he loathed the most. He peered over the edge of the rock he was standing on and looked down into the swirling pit of green souls. Don't touch me! Get your slimly souls off me! At the bottom of the water he could see a small dot of blue and took a deep breath. Of course, he thought to himself before bracing for what needed to be done.
"You won't do it." A mocking voice called from behind him and he turned to see the one person he could go his whole life without seeing again – Maleficent herself. "You're too much of a coward."
"Me? A coward?" he asked in disbelief smiling at her.
She scoffed.
"Yes a coward." A new voice called and he looked to the left and saw Mal standing there, the green light from the pit of souls illuminating her purple hair and making her look like the daughter of Maleficent she was. "Only a coward is scared enough of a baby to leave and never come back."
"That is not what happened." He said pointing a finger to her then he turned to Maleficent, "Is that the lie you raised her with?"
"It's the truth." He turned to his right and saw Drac looking heartbroken like the day he'd fled Auradon and came to him seeking shelter. He could see the tears in his blue eyes and hated that he'd put them there, "You're ashamed of us. Of me. Even when I needed you, you refused to tell people I'm your son."
"You know why I did that." Hades replied taking a step toward him. "It gave you the chance to make a reputation for yourself. Without them." He nodded to Mal and her mother.
"Liar." Maleficent mocked. "You only did that for yourself."
"Oh because I'm the one who uses the kids for my own selfishness?" He sneered, "I'm not the one who sent them to Auradon on a suicide mission for the Fairy Godmother's wand. I didn't put them in harm's way like you did." He accused remembering Drac telling him about the guards who had chased him as he'd fled the coronation.
"That was for all of us." Maleficent replied, "So I could have the power to get us all off this rock!"
"Well your plan failed miserably didn't it?" he mocked with a smile again, "But I won't fail our children like you did. I'm here when they need me. And with my Ember I'll have the power to give them more help then you ever could!"
Then he turned and jumped off the cliff into the green water full of souls. He felt the slimy fingers of the dead trying to pull at him but he kept swimming down, down, down. The blue dot got bigger until he could see the Ember clearly and he reached his hand out and grasped it.
Everything changed. The green water and the souls were gone. He was bone dry and in a dark cave, the only light coming from between his fingers – the Ember. He stood and turned to see the tunnel he'd come from and with the Ember clutched in his hand he headed back to his lair. He wouldn't act like Maleficent and jump the gun, he'd be patient, he'd wait for the right moment. And when it came, when certain things were ready to be set in motion then he'd finally get his freedom back. For him, and his family.
- - LONG LIVE EVIL - -
"Jay." Drac called and the son of Jafar turned from where he'd been peering into the shop window. "What was facing the Golden Cobra like?"
Jay sighed and leaned against the large glass window. "Tempting." He replied, "All my life my father has had me stealing so we can make gold. I'm not sure if it was real, but the treasure that the Golden Cobra led me to was everything I knew my father had ever been after. And it made everything I ever stole look like trash, even the nice laptops and watches I was nabbing when we first went to Auradon."
Jay went on to detail how inside the cavern there had been mountains of shimmering gold coins that reached the ceiling. He could see hundreds of every precious jewel in the world. There was a feast before him and people bowed with fear in their eyes. He had looked down to see he was dressed in white robes like the Sultan of Agrabah.
"These talisman's are worse then what Yen Sid warned us about. They play on everything you've ever been tempted by and try to convince you to give up everything else, your friends, your family, and mine almost won." He saw Jay repress a shiver, "I just hope Carlos comes back soon and we can get out of here."
Drac suddenly found himself hoping for the opposite, because when Carlos came back this place would collapse and then it would be his and Mal's turn to face their talisman and it would be the worst of them all.