Escape from the Isle of the Lost (Descendants 4)

Hades nodded. “Shape-shifter. I get it. So why are you here? Why aren’t you out there with your pirates?”

Uma studied her fingernails, affecting insouciance. “I don’t want to let anyone know I’m around until my plan is in motion.”

“You’ve got a plan?”

“I do,” she said with a crafty smile.

Hades picked up his real guitar and began to pluck a few discordant notes. “Fine. Tell me.”

“We should team up, you and I. Together we could bring down the stupid barrier that holds everyone here. Then we could all be free!”

Hades listened. Then he smiled. Then he grinned. “Bring down the barrier, huh?”

“Yes. And I would finally beat Mal.” That’s all Uma wanted: to show Mal that she could beat her, that Mal didn’t get to win every time. So Mal had won the trident, and Ben’s heart, but Uma would have this. She would show her old friend, her forever rival, that

Uma would have her revenge. Mal would never forget her name, or who freed the Isle of the Lost: UMA.

“Think about it. Once the barrier is down, you could go anywhere and do anything you wanted!” said Uma.

“You don’t say?” said Hades. He played a chord and let it echo around the cave.

“I do say,” said Uma. “How long have you been here? Twenty years? And how long were you in the Underworld? They don’t remember you up on Olympus anymore. Hades? He’s over. He’s nothing. That’s what they say.”

“Is that so?” He waggled his eyebrows in frustration.

“I’m afraid so,” said Uma with a faux-sad frown. “No one remembers you. All they talk about is Hercules. I’ve met his kid, Herkie. He’s huge as a bull and even more famous than his father.”

Hades threw off his guitar and paced the rocky cave floor. Soon he would overturn the lamp and kick the television set. His bad temper was as predictable as the weather.

“And Zeus, well, he’s just having a ball up there on Mount Olympus. Every once in a while he throws down his lightning bolts just to remind everyone who’s in charge,” said Uma. At this point she was completely spitballing. She had no clue what they were doing on Mount Olympus. But Hades didn’t have to know that.

“But I’m the boss!” cried Hades. “ME!”

“Then help me. Show them,” said Uma. “Show them who’s boss!”

“I will!” he said, his eyes lighting up. But Uma thought she saw something else flickering there, until he went on, “I’ll go back to ruling the world and causing destruction. We must take down the barrier and escape from the Isle of the Lost!”

“Now you’re talking,” said Uma. She held out her hand. “You know, you’re not too bad for a has-been.”

Hades cackled. “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

ades paced on the beach and considered his situation. He was not without options. He had to try something. He couldn’t just rot on this island forever. Come on, were they kidding? He was the lord of the Underworld, the god of the dead! In Olympus, they would be laughing if they saw him looking like some washed-up little minion. Yesterday he’d been offered the most disgusting stew, made by some deluded she-octopus at some little shack. And yet he had forced himself to choke it down, because he was hungry. He had no choice. But he vowed he would not spend one more day on this gods-forsaken rock.

He had an idea.

If there was an invisible barrier around the island, there had to be an end to it, right? It couldn’t go on forever, could it? While there were rumors it was a dome, it seemed like it was basically a fence, which meant that he just had to find the top so he could jump over it into freedom! And if it was a dome, maybe the top would be weaker somehow—since the air was thinner up there and maybe the magic was too.

He had corralled a bunch of pirates and promised them treasure chests full of gold if they helped him. Once they were convinced, he had ordered them to build a ladder using some old ships’ masts tied together with rope and assorted pieces of wood they found in junk piles. Somehow, they made it work.

The ladder was so long it went almost the entire length of the beach. All they had to do now was set it upright. Then Hades would climb it all the way to the top, punch a hole in the dome with his little invention that he was carrying in a bag strapped across his chest, scale the barrier, and then slide down. He was a god. Immortal. Even if he fell from a great height he’d survive. Probably.

“On my count!” he told the crew.

“One, two…THREE!”

They heaved the ladder upright. Hades was delighted. “That’s what I’m talking about! Now hold it still.”

And then he began to climb.