Uma scanned the horizon. Countless waves dotted the sea, crashing higher and higher, curling into whitecaps, the wind catching the water and throwing it into the air. The sky was dark with clouds, but even so, she thought she saw something in the distance, headed toward them from the opposite side of the bay—the Auradon side. She thought it might be driftwood at first, but it was moving quickly against the wind. “Do you see something over there?” she asked, focusing on a small dot that she could barely make out through the wind and fog.
Harry picked up a telescope. “Yeah, I see it. It’s on the other side of the barrier, and it’s heading toward us.”
Uma gnashed her teeth, annoyed at this unexpected arrival from an unknown party. “What does it look like?”
“I don’t know. We’ll need to get closer, but it must be some sort of boat,” said Harry.
“They’re moving against the wind, which means they’ve got a powerful speedboat of some kind,” said Uma.
“But why are they here and why now? Fishing? No one ever comes this close to the Isle of the Lost. All the Auradon folks like to stay on their side of the channel,” said Harry. “They know what’s good for them.”
“I don’t think they’re out here to fish,” said Uma. “It’s not exactly fishing weather.” The waves were taller now, and each time they struck them, the ship was cast upward, then quickly set down again, loudly thumping into the gap between the waves before the next one hit and sprayed the deck with water. All in all, it was miserable progress, but at least they were moving quickly. Just not quickly enough for comfort. Uma took to the telescope to monitor the progress of the boat they’d spotted. She had a bad feeling about this.
Worse, it began to pour. The skies cracked with thunder and all around them the air darkened as raindrops pelted the ship.
“Harry! Can’t you make us go faster?” she ordered. The necklace kept tugging toward the right, and it appeared the trident was somewhere close by. But Goblin Beach was almost endlessly long.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” said Harry. “I believe we’ve done all we can, short of throwing over any excess cargo. A light ship is a fast ship, if either of you would care to jump over the side? Or maybe I can make the wind blow a bit harder?”
“Well, if anyone can do it, you can,” said Uma.
“I’m on it,” said Harry, raising his chin and mockingly blowing toward the sails. “There,” he said. “Now I’ve done everything.”
Uma balled her fists in annoyance. In truth, she knew Harry had done everything possible to get them moving as quickly as their sails would allow. They were cruising at a considerable clip to the other side of the island, but so was the other ship—and there was no doubt now that they were both headed to the same place. Plus she didn’t need the telescope to know it was moving faster than they were.
“It’s below there,” said Uma, as the necklace in her hand began to heat up. “I can feel it. We’re at the right place. Can you get us closer?”
Harry squinted, measuring the distance. “Too many rocks for this big a ship, and with all the sails unfurled we’re moving too fast to navigate those waters. We’ll have to anchor and take out the rowboat.”
He stowed the sails as quickly as possible, while Gil tossed out the anchor. They had to fiddle with it a bit, waiting until the great hook caught hold of the sea bottom. The rope snapped tight, and they were moored.
Harry indicated a small boat with only a pair of paddles. “That’s our ride, if you want your trident. It’s the only way into those rocks,” he said.
It didn’t look promising, but it was all they had, so Uma, Harry, and Gil clambered into the rickety boat, and Harry and Gil rowed Uma closer to the edge of the beach. The rocks made it difficult to navigate, and since both of the boys were facing the wrong direction, they had to rely on Uma to tell them which way to go.
“Right!” she exclaimed, but the boat went left. “My right, you idiots,” she said, correcting them. “Left now, just a bit. Now right again.” Uma had to stand at the bow and push off the rocks to keep from colliding with them. It was a veritable maze and they were forced to go this way and that, back and forth. At points the rocks were so dense they had to stop paddling altogether. All Harry and Gil could do then was push off manually against the stones.
“Come on, faster,” said Uma. “This is taking too long.”
“You’re welcome to get out and pull us,” huffed Harry, straining with exertion.
Uma frowned, but she got up and pushed against the rocks as well until they were clear, finding themselves in a circle of clear blue water not far from the beach. She stood and glanced down into the depths, spotting something gold glinting through the seaweed.
King Triton’s trident!
Her heart leaped with wicked glee. “This is it!” she said, readying to dive down and take it.
The trident was hers!
The Isle of the Doomed loomed larger and larger through the mist as they got closer to their destination. Mal had forgotten how foreboding the mysterious island looked, especially with Maleficent’s fortress built right on the top of the tallest cliff, casting gloomy shadows everywhere.
“Hurry!” said Mal urgently, as Evie checked her mirror.
Jay scanned through the fog, just as it began to rain. “Look!” he yelled, as a huge pirate ship came into view on the other side of the beachhead.
“Uma!” cried Evie. “She’s already here!”
“Ben! Faster!” urged Mal.
“I’m trying,” said Ben. But it was hard to navigate the three-foot-tall waves, and all of them were drenched.
“Turn left again!” said Carlos, tracking the trident’s possible location on the map and attempting to navigate the rough waters.
Ben steered the boat left, and they all leaned forward and tried not to fall off.
“Uma’s found it!” yelled Evie, as she watched Uma stand up from the little rowboat. “She’s diving for it!”
“No!” cried Mal. “She can’t have it! Ben, come on!”
Ben zoomed the boat over to an inlet by the Isle of the Doomed. They couldn’t see anything in all the fog and rain, and as he turned the boat, it crashed against the barrier. “This is as close as I can get us,” he said, trying to keep his eyes open against the howling wind and rain.
“Mal, do it now!” said Carlos.
“Jay, take the wheel,” said Ben, as he jumped to the boat’s hood, balancing himself as it was rocked by the waves. He offered a hand to Mal. “Come on!”