The world returned in pieces. First was the deep thundering ache inside her skull. Then came words carried by the gossip of stone, echoing dimly.
"Was it necessary for them to be so harsh? What if they damaged my daughter?"
Mother?
"You question me, Grimhilde?"
Maleficent?!
Head pounding, Evie forced her eyes open. A handful of candles lit the dark stone floor and walls of what she recognized as the dungeon in The Forbidden Fortress, Maleficent's castle. She and Mal had snuck food down to Jay several times over the years whenever he stepped out of line enough to catch Maleficent's ire. But why were they there now?
Anxiety spiked her blood with adrenaline when she realized her hands were tied above her head.. Ocean blue eyes widening, Evie looked over her body. Thick rope bound her wrists and ankles to metal rings on the wall and floor, so tight she could feel the beginnings of rope burn when she pulled against it, her arms starting to go numb.
A long thin shadow stalked down the spiral stairs, rippling in the thin light, horns rising like claws from a narrow head. A soft gasp brought her attention back to the circular room. Carlos. If she strained, she could see him across the room, bound like she was. The white tips of his hair contrasted starkly with the darkness around them while his black roots blended into the shadows. Wide brown eyes met hers and that was when she saw them; runes.
Carlos was surrounded by runes painted on the wall. It was far too dark to make out what they said, but that many runes could only mean magic. And not the kind she ever wanted to experience. Looking around, she saw the same runes around Jay and Mal and herself. But why? Magic didn't work here. So why were there runes?
"Only your methods," Grimhilde replied. Her shadow joined Maleficent's in the stairwell. While not as tall, her shadow glided as smoothly as a sharp blade through skin, regal. Cold.
Fingers twitching for the mirror tucked in her bag, Evie wished she could check her makeup. A perfect balance of blush and bronze for unblemished skin. Red lips without smudges. Eyes lined in coal to accent their shape. Make her beautiful.
Two voices cursed in unison, Jay to her left and Mal to her right. Jay strained against the ropes, dark eyes narrowed, lip curling into a snarl when he spotted her and Carlos.
"Yet you willingly hand your daughter over," Maleficent said.
"This is a benefit to both of us. She's of more use there than she is here."
Two of the most powerful villains on the Isle stepped off the stairs and Evie swore what little heat existed in the room drained away. Even without full access to magic, their knowledge and presence were more than enough to keep Maleficent and the Evil Queen in power. The fact that Maleficent's fae blood ensured her magic never truly vanished meant that the few stupid enough to challenge her died screaming in green flames.
Grimhilde held sway with her knowledge of potions. Magic alone wasn't required for the potions used to treat illnesses or injuries. As one of the few capable of such tricky work, her safety was guaranteed. Especially when a single drop of her poison could kill three men.
When their mothers drew close, Mal snapped, "What do you want, Mother?" Only Mal would risk speaking to the Mistress of all Evil like that, especially considering the position they were in.
"Something we all want," Maleficent replied, golden eyes flickering over each of them. Carlos tried to shrink into himself, shoulders curling forward as much as they could, head and gaze lowering. With an effort, Evie forced her expression not to change from the neutral mask that wouldn't give away any of her thoughts. Unlike her, Jay had no qualms displaying his anger, his face twisted into a snarl, though he didn't challenge Maleficent.
"That's clear as hell," Mal snarked back, but Evie could see her lip twitching, see the unease.
Maleficent scowled and focused on her daughter. As mother's and daughter's eyes met, they locked, green challenging gold, both glowing brighter than the candles scattered through the dungeon. Evie watched Mal's brow crease, her mouth tighten, her eyes tremble, the light inside flickering. Maleficent's gaze remained steady. Everything fell silent, Grimhilde watching idly while she and the others held their breath. Maybe this time…
"Fuck," Mal hissed, dropping her gaze, green giving way to grey.
"Fortunately, your weakness shouldn't be too great a hindrance," Maleficent commented. Turning from Mal, she smiled. Evie had only seen her smile three times before. Each time someone suffered greatly. "You four have been summoned to Auradon."
They were…They were what? Carlos twitched, head jerking.
"And you will be accepting," Maleficent continued.
If she'd been shocked before, Evie didn't know what she was now. Why would a summons come from Auradon? Why for them? It was impossible. As realistic as her mother gaining weight or not applying makeup. And they were going to go? To Auradon?
"Mother?" she whispered and Grimhilde met her gaze.
"The fools seem to believe you four deserve a chance to leave the Isle and live in Auradon," the Evil Queen said. Something in her eyes sent chills down Evie's spine. "Even attend a university of theirs."
"What's the catch?" Mal asked, eyes narrow, chin raised in defiant disbelief.
Maleficent cackled. "Oh clever daughter of mine, you can't see the opportunity can you? There's magic in Auradon."
Magic? They already knew there was magic outside the barrier. How did that change things? Her gaze darted to the runes. Could magic be triggered outside of the barrier? Could a curse be started inside and complete itself once magic was available? That didn't obey any of the rules she knew.
"You want us to break the barrier," Carlos whispered, flinching when everyone focused on him, realizing he'd spoken aloud.
"Even your runt figured it out," Maleficent mocked Mal, walking over to Carlos and trailing a hand slowly through his hair. His naturally pale skin paled further as he stiffened, eyes going blank. The barrier couldn't be broken. It was a fact of life. The sky was blue. Her mother was a queen. The barrier would never break. How were they supposed to accomplish that?
Jay nearly growled, body flexing against the ropes. Even Evie couldn't maintain her mask, her own jaw flexing to keep back a string of curses.
"So we go, find magic, and break the barrier," Jay said. "What's in it for us?"
"Revenge," her mother replied. "The chance to destroy everyone who trapped us here and stripped us of our power. Countries to rule and conquer."
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Maleficent added, "Your lives."
Only the faintest twitch of her mother's lips told Evie that Maleficent meant exactly what it sounded like.
As if oblivious to the fresh tension in the air, Maleficent touched Carlos's throat and gestured to Grimhilde. Collecting ink and a brush from a small table covered in dried herbs, the Evil Queen joined her. "This is not a negotiable task," Maleficent continued as Grimhilde began to write on Carlos's skin. The ink was a sickly red. The color of flesh just starting to rot, of a sore crusty and cracked. It was a color that didn't belong on him. "You will go to Auradon and you will break the barrier. As my daughter, you have ambition, weak as you are. So we're going to add some extra incentive."
Kraa-Kraa. The deep gurgling call echoed throughout the dungeon and a large black bird swooped down to perch on Maleficent's shoulder. Beady eyes watched them and Mal gasped.
Evie couldn't breathe.
They were screwed.
"Diablo?!"
With a smile that Evie swore had a hint of affection in it, Maleficent reached up and Diablo stepped onto her finger to accept long strokes along his inky feathers.
"Yes. It took some time, but I've restored him. He will watch you. Act as my eyes and my ears. I will know everything you do," Maleficent said. "Fail and die. Betray us and die."
That couldn't be possible. Trapped inside the barrier, even Maleficent couldn't reach them using magic. Yet there was nothing but certainty in her voice. And somehow she had managed to bring Diablo back from stone. Which meant the runes…!
Before any of them could speak, Grimhilde stepped away from Carlos and Maleficent took her place. Two runes, one Evie translated as "mine", the other as "death", stained the base of his throat, dark as a tattoo. One set of long, slender fingers caressed the ink while the other pressed against Carlos's chest above his heart.
No. No no no!
Green lightning crackled.
The ink glowed a deep impossible black.
And Carlos screamed.
Only a nightmare should sound like that and she'd heard it in her nightmares before. Hearing it in reality, in what she desperately wished was a dream, was so much worse.
"What the fuck did you do?!" Jay snarled. Rope tore at his wrists, but he either didn't notice or he didn't care.
Green lightning jumped across the youngest's body again, surging through the runes painted on the wall. Another shriek split the air and Evie tried to wriggle free of her ropes. She needed to stop it. She needed to make sure that sound never happened again.
Gold eyes drifted from Carlos to Mal when she demanded, "What did you do?"
"Just a little curse to ensure you don't lose focus," Maleficent replied. "Grimhilde, if you would."
Brush and ink in hand, Grimhilde moved towards Jay, pausing briefly at the table to select a pinch of powder. Jay sneered at her, blood starting to seep from his wrists where the skin had rubbed raw.
"Get the fuck away from me," he spat, only to get a face-full of powder. Coughing, he cursed before slumping back in the restraints, unconscious.
"Filthy thing," Grimhilde sniffed as she began to paint the same runes at the base of Jay's throat.
Eyes wide, Evie stared at him. Logically she knew he was fine. She'd used that same powder more times than she could count. But to watch him just stop fighting…
"This isn't possible!" Mal shouted, her eyes bright. "Magic like that can't happen here!"
It shouldn't be possible. None of it should be possible.
The glowing runes on and around Carlos proved that it was.
"Oh, but it is, Mal," Maleficent laughed. "It is. You and your little 'pack' are mine."
Finished with Jay, Grimhilde straightened and made her way to Evie. "Do not move or the runt dies," she instructed, taking a knife and severing the rope around Evie's left wrist. Evie didn't move, frozen still. Each stroke of the brush felt like a corpse's kiss, and Evie trembled. A scream from Jay made her flinch and she could dimly hear Mal cursing beyond the pounding of her heart.
"Mother," Evie whispered, not knowing what she was trying to say. To ask.
"Make sure you find yourself a prince," was all her mother said before walking towards Mal.
There was a moment of staring into Maleficent's eyes before she felt sharp nails touch her skin.
The world went red. She heard a third voice scream. Then she knew nothing.