Free Villain School by Stephanie S. Sanders Page A

burying her face in her hands. “If I hadn’t stolen the crystal from Master Dreadthorn’s office …”
    â€œYeah, but it was Dodge who first suggested the idea,” said Wolf. “Remember?”
    â€œYeah! Because he couldn’t pick the lock on my dad’s cabinet,” I realized. “He was using you, Ileana. He fooled all of us. So, what happened after that?”
    â€œWell,” Jezebel said, “while I was spying from the bookshelf I got a snout full of dust and sneezed. I didn’t think Morgana had heard, but I was wrong. As soon as Dodge left, she cast a spell that forced me to change back into a girl. She tied me up with an enchanted rope so I couldn’t transform and hauled me onto a ship. Then we sailed straight here.”
    â€œHow did you escape?” I asked.
    â€œThe rope may have been magical, but it wasn’t fang-proof,” said Jez with a smirk. “I chewed through it while we were sailing and flew to find you.”
    â€œWe have to do something!” said Ileana.
    â€œBut what?” Wolf asked. “Dodge, or Deven, or whatever his name is, will be long gone with the Dread Master.”
    â€œI could tell my dad,” said Jezebel uncertainly. Weall knew Jez’s dad, Dracula, was really just a rich jerk and probably wouldn’t help.
    â€œI have a better idea!” said Ileana.
    But then something happened. Suddenly I couldn’t move or talk. We were all frozen.
    â€œWell, well, well,” said a voice, and Morgana emerged from the dark shadows of the winding staircase. “Aren’t you all so very clever! It seems you’ve found me out, but I don’t think we need to burden Count Dracula with your discoveries. Besides, when he hears that you’re all traitors, he won’t believe a word you say.”
    Morgana was gloating. Didn’t she know
anything
about being a villain? Never monologue! It gives your captives a chance to form a plan and escape. And at that moment, I really hoped one of my allies was forming a plan, because I had nothing.
    â€œYes,” she said, casually circling us, trailing her long fingernails over our shoulders. “You were working together with that goody-goody Deven to get rid of Master Dreadthorn. Shame on you! Helping him steal the Dread Master’s crystal ball. Tsk. Tsk.”
    Lies!
I wanted to scream, but I was still frozen.
    Morgana stopped circling us and rested her hands on the door where the old prophecy had been etched.
    â€œAnd to think this is where it all began. A seed of suspicion was sown here in this little cave—a seedthat grew into a bitter rivalry. All because of this,” she said, tracing the words on the door with her red fingernails. “And here it shall finally end!”
    I had no idea what she was talking about. What did the prophecy have to do with any of this? It was about villain twins. My thoughts were cut short, though, because Morgana snapped her fingers, and her beefy headsmen came thundering into the little room to haul us all away.
    And that is how we ended up hanging upside down over boiling cauldrons in the Detention Dungeon. Morgana announced to the entire school that the traitors responsible for the Dread Master’s disappearance had been caught and were being punished. She did not, however, mention anything about Deven Do-Good or where my dad was now.
    â€œAll this steam is ruining my hair,” said Princess Ileana, who was hanging over the cauldron next to mine.
    â€œYour hair?” asked Wolf Junior, who hung directly across from me. “You should see what it does to fur!”
    â€œMy dad is
so
going to hear about this!” said Countess Jezebel, who was dangling on my other side.
    We were bound in enchanted chains, so we couldn’t escape by magic. Ileana was trying to swing herself away from her cauldron. She’d already managed to pick the lock binding her hands.
    â€œIf I can just pick this