by Ardis, Priya
I looked at the lion. His eyes were open. Matt’s eyes were open! With effort, the fallen lion expended what little strength he had to turn so that he lay on his belly. His massive head rose up off the ground. Blue magic flowed from him to me. Matt was trying to protect me. All I had to do was hold on to Matt’s magic.
Vane said, “The lives of everyone, the fate of this entire region, rest in your hands, Ryan.”
My body shook under the trident’s assault. My eyes locked on Matt’s, and I knew what Vane wanted from me. My heart ached with the decision.
“I’m sorry,” I thought to Matt, and instead of holding on, I let go. As soon as I did, the lion let out a roar. Green magic greedily gobbled blue. It peeled away from me and was reabsorbed back into itself… back into its owner as Vane stripped Matt of his magic. Matt let out another pained roar, but Vane didn’t stop.
Seconds stretched into infinitely long moments of time. When Vane finished, my body shook. My palms and knees dug into the coarse fibers of the carpet. Even on all fours, I struggled not to collapse completely. Matt let out a low moan. His head lowered to the ground. I crawled over to him.
With extreme effort, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and cradled the lion’s head in my lap. His eyes were closed again. He lay still. I put a shaking hand on rough, yellow cheeks and to my relief, felt a hot, steady breath. He still lived.
“I told you he would,” Vane said, reading my mind.
I blinked away the film of tears that obscured my sight. I looked up at him. The Fisher King stood tall. The trident, which he held like a staff, rested confidently in his hand.
“Did you finally get what you wanted?” I spat at him.
Vane crossed over to me. For the first time, the ice in his eyes shrank back. Around my neck, the Dragon’s Eye heated. Ignoring Matt’s head in my lap, Vane knelt down on one knee. He caught the back of my head with one hand, his fingers tangling in the dark blond strands, tugging and straining the follicles on my scalp.
His lips twisted into a small smile. “I haven’t gotten everything. I’m working on that part.”
He jerked my head so that my face tilted up to his. He gave me a hard kiss, one that didn’t promise pleasure, only possession. One laced with icy control, except that it sparked heat wherever it touched me. My body yearned to press closer. It didn’t care that there was no respect in the act. It didn’t care that he made me betray someone I should have protected. It just craved his touch. The knowledge startled me, shamed me, and quickly sprouted into anger.
I bit down on his lip. Vane pulled back. Fresh blood beaded on his bottom lip.
I had to stop myself from putting a hand up to the cut. “You don’t own me.”
His eyes flashed. He wiped the blood with a thumb. Reaching down, he grabbed the Dragon’s Eye gemstone and smeared blood across the gem. Then with casual arrogance, he said, “It’s only a matter of time.”
I looked at him steadily. “We have a deal. It’s your turn. Save them.”
He smirked. “As you wish.”
With those words, Vane disappeared. I sat in the library all alone with Matt. I closed my eyes. Around my neck, the ruby gem of the Dragon’s Eye glowed with green magic. I realized with a sinking feeling that the amulet was still bound to Matt’s magic; and now that Vane possessed Matt’s magic, it bound me to him without any barrier. From somewhere off in the distance, I heard Vane’s dark laugh.
“Worry later, Dorothy,” he said. “Right now, you need to wake up.”
***
Opening my eyes, I found myself back on the rooftop. I was smack in the middle of the battlefield with a sudden heart-pounding jerk.
“Sword-bearer,” Hari shouted at me. “It is coming!”
Hari, Gia, Blake, Grey and the remaining fifty or so wizards all ran to the edge of the rooftops. The air shifted once again. Another eerie pall fell over the beach. Water receded rapidly in anticipation of the colossal wave. The hand of a higher power pulled back the water and became poised once again to teach us a humbling lesson. I jumped up from the cot.
“Ryan,” Matt said weakly from behind me.
I turned back to him. “Are you all right?”
He struggled to get up. I moved to help him. I touched his shoulders. He flinched. Then, with a shake of his head, he hauled himself up. He asked, “What’s happening?”
“Another tsunami,” I said.
He looked out at the ocean. His body moved sluggishly, like someone who’d just woken from a long sleep or coma. The lines on his face had deepened, making him appear older than he was. His shoulders drooped just a bit from the weight of the world that still seemed to rest on them.
“Merlin!” Blake exclaimed. He, Gia, and Grey turned to us. Gia gave a happy cry at the sight of Matt standing. Blake rushed to us. I felt a little disheartened when Matt quickly moved to lean on Blake for support.
Hari grinned at Matt. “Our prayers are answered. Master Merlin, what should we do?”
“Hold it off,” I answered. “We hold it off for as long as we can. It’s the only thing we can do. We hold and hope for a miracle.”
Hari looked at Matt for confirmation. Matt nodded. Hari took off and shouted across the adjoining rooftops to the other wizards. “Master Merlin says we hold.”
They passed the word along, and the thin rainbow of bright cotton shirts and tanned faces turned resolutely toward the impending doom of the ocean. They started to line up again along the ledges of each rooftop.
Matt said to Blake, “Take me to the ledge. We’ll line up again to make the shield. We have to hope Vane works fast.”
He was pissed. I took in a sharp breath. “You remember.”
Matt’s lips tightened in an unhappy expression. He didn’t look at me. “I remember everything. We’ll talk about it later.”
He urged Blake to take him forward.
I watched Matt hobble along at his loyal companion’s side. Something I could no longer call myself. I closed my eyes. My hand tightened around Excalibur. For the first time since losing Vane, I was completely alone. But there was no time to dwell on the feeling. If Vane didn’t come through, I doubted I would even survive long enough to feel guilty about the cruel blow I’d dealt Matt.
It took another minute before we were all in the same position across the rooftop we’d been in before the last devastating wave. I held Excalibur in front of me and waited.
I didn’t have to wait long. In an instant, the air turned sinister; the grey in the sky darkened and became black in color. The sharp scent of algae combined with the silent screams of the underwater creatures that were unable to escape. The wave hurtled down on us with ferocity. Unanimously, we all took a step back. We couldn’t help it.
This wave looked twice as high as the last one. Where the last one touched the sky, this one penetrated the heavens. It scraped the bottoms of clouds as it threw itself against us.
“Sphara,” the wizards cried. With clasped hands, the magic whip lashed through me and into Excalibur. A green magical shield rose to block the massive, oncoming wave.
My eyes widened at the color. I glanced at Matt. He had his eyes closed, and sweat beaded on his forehead. Then, I didn’t have any more time to wonder. The magic intensified and I had to hold on to Excalibur again with all my strength. My teeth felt as if they would be ground to dust under the pressure. A giant battering ram of water pounded the shield. I felt Excalibur wobble.
“Hold on,” Matt’s faint voice sounded inside my head. “Just—”
“Enough!” Vane’s voice shut out Matt’s. “Are you a champion or not, DuLac? This isn’t difficult.”
I tightened my grip on Excalibur, expending every fiber of my being into holding the heavy blade upright, knowing that any slip was equal to the plight of a million souls. It was the only means of providing protection to the whole city and I struggled to balance it.
“Hurry up,” I said to him.
“I’m underwater now, DuLac,” Vane replied. “Need I
remind you that you’re the one who insisted on me moving around this whole wretched ocean? I’m working as fast as I can.”
“So much for being the Fisher King,” I said grumpily. “What… are you moving one stone at a time?”
Excalibur wobbled in my hand once more. My grip loosened. The shield wobbled and the tenacious water closed in on us until the wall of water was brushing our noses.
“DuLac, shape up,” Vane shouted again. “If I have to come rescue you, our deal is off and the rest of these unfortunate souls will drown. Hold the line.”
Taking an unsteady breath, I pulled myself up straighter. The shield strengthened and pushed back the water just a fraction. I begged Vane, “Hurry.”
I closed my eyes. A picture of him flashed in my mind. He was swimming underwater, trident in hand. I felt myself going underwater, almost as if I were beside him, even though I knew I wasn’t. Two sides of the sea floor, the fault lines of two plates, slowly met and slipped past each other. To relieve the strain, the ground rumbled. Vane used the trident and magic to suppress the rumble. He aimed the trident at two parts of the sea floor that moved to rub against each other. Then, emitting some kind of warbling song, he extended his hand and let loose a stream of green magic, which managed to move the rock, piling it high. The new rock formation was the beginning of a new mountain range.
“I’m directing it south,” he told me. “Out into the Indian Ocean, instead of at the coastlines.”
I watched him blast away with the trident in awe.
“It’s like you really are Poseidon.” The thought leaked out before I could stop it.
Vane laughed. “How do you think we’re going to survive what’s coming if not with the power of a god? Now, go away, DuLac. You’re distracting me.”
He blasted another expanse of rock with the trident and simultaneously pushed me away. I opened my eyes and found myself back on the roof, Excalibur faltering in my hand. The giant wave pressed down on us. For a moment, the water pressed so close, a mere breath of wind would have brought the violent force crashing down on us.
Then, as suddenly as it came, the giant wave pulled back. We all stumbled forward with relief as the weight eased against the shield. The shield winked out.
I stood up, panting, my arms heavy with the weight of Excalibur. I lowered it slowly. My body would have easily dropped the burden, but after all the mental energy I invested to keep it upright, it took a while for my mind to let go.
As the first daring rays of sun peeked through the clouds, I glanced to my left across the line of rooftops. To my relief, most of the remaining wizards were either kneeling or standing. I glanced to my right. I said to Matt, “Vane did it. He stopped it.”
His expression was unreadable as he stood up. “Hari. Call around. Let’s find out if the tsunamis have indeed dissipated.”
Hari sat on the other end of the roof, holding a dazed Sangeetha in his arms. On Hari’s other side, Raj took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to his brother. Hari’s worn expression cleared. He swiped a thumb across the touch screen. “Kolkotta reports the tsunami has abated. I’ll check the other disaster centers.”
Wind fluttered and ruffled the wavy ends of his longish hair. He stared out across the rooftops at the long rainbow of faded, colored sheets still covering the wizards who sacrificed themselves in the defense of their city.
Hari typed rapidly on the phone. “The other centers are reporting the same. The tsunami warning will remain in effect, but no alerts are going off. They are only seeing small tremors, no quakes worse than 3.0.”
“Vane kept his word,” I murmured.
“At what cost?” Matt said.
I took a step toward him. “Matt—”
He didn’t look at me. His eyes fixed on the wizards who lost their lives to save the city. “Hari, we will have to leave them.”
Hari nodded. “I will inform their families. I’m sure they will want to claim them. The news media will no doubt speculate that it was some kind of suicide pact.”
Beside me, Gia got up. “That doesn’t seem right.”
“I agree.” Blake rose and pulled her close. “We can’t have their families thinking that of them. They gave their lives for us.” Fierce eyes peered over stylish black frames. “People should know the truth. They should know who died while protecting them.”
Matt shook his head. “Now is not the time. We don’t have the resources to handle such an undertaking and we can’t get caught up in the spectacle. We have more important things to do.”
“Master Merlin is correct.” Hari rose up. “The end is coming. We must ask you to concentrate on that, or none of this will matter anyway. We must prepare.”
Grey snorted. “Prepare for what? Do you think if something like this is coming, we can do anything about it?”
I looked out at the ocean. Its waves were soft and tranquil again, disguising the danger that lay beneath them, out of sight and out of mind. My hand tightened on Excalibur. “We can do something about it, Grey. That’s why we were given the sword. That’s why Vane did what he did—”
“You’re being blind, Ryan.” Gia snapped as she stood up. “Vane wanted power. Now he has it. If he really wanted to help, he should have allowed Merlin to take it instead.”
“What’s done is done.” Matt sighed, rubbing his forehead. He turned toward the roof access door, a concrete staircase that occupied the middle of the rooftop. “It’s been a long day. Right now, we need to get to a safe place. Then, we can figure out what to do next. Vane is too close here—”
“What do you mean close?” Grey asked.
“He pushed back the tsunami,” I told him. “He was in the middle of the ocean.”
“Yes, but he started off here in Chennai, I would wager,” Matt said. “He wouldn’t have been able to talk to you otherwise.”
Grey frowned. “Talk to her? How?”
The Dragon’s Eye amulet felt heavy around my neck. No one besides Vane and Matt knew that the small charm linked our minds. Vane and Matt both wanted to keep it secret, considering it too dangerous for anyone else to know that we were thus connected. Now that Vane had turned though… it was also fast becoming our biggest weakness. Still, the time for secrets was past. I opened my mouth to tell Grey, but never got the chance.
“My girlfriend and I have a special connection,” a voice drawled from the general direction of the ocean behind us. My head whipped around.
“I doubt you can call me that anymore,” I said.
“I can simply call you mine,” Vane challenged.
Beside me, Matt gnashed his teeth.
Vane grinned. He stood perfectly balanced on the rooftop ledge. The red shirt I’d seen him wearing earlier, inside my mind, molded to the hard muscles of his chest. It was a posh exterior that hid the animal underneath. In real life, the sight of him felt even more electric and my body reacted just as swiftly. Every nerve stood on end. Not necessarily in a good way. For the first time since we’d met, a sliver of real fear slid through my veins. Fear for myself and everyone around me.
Green blazed from his eyes. Words sounded in my head. “You wouldn’t have to be afraid, love, if you just listened to me. I am only doing what is best for us all.”
An image of him ripping out Matt’s heart swam in my mind. I replied, “Not going to happen.”
In the depths of his icy irises, the Minotaur stirred. Vane smiled. “I rather hoped you would say that. I do so like a challenge.”
***
He floated off the ledge and landed a few steps in front us.
“Lost your superhero cape, Vane?” Grey said with a small, cynical laugh.
Vane’s hand shot out. A flash of green magic flew at Grey. With a strangled sound, Grey dropped to his knees. Four gargoyles rushed to stand in front of Grey. Vane raised an amused eyebrow at them before flicking his hand. The gargoyles sailed across the roof, their heads smacking hard against the ledge. I could hear their skulls crunch.
Grey got up w
ith a livid expression. Matt warned him. “Don’t. The gargoyles will heal.”
Gia pushed away from Blake’s side with an angry howl. “Why don’t you crawl back under the rock you crawled out from?”
Matt stepped forward, and Blake, ever the loyal to Merlin, rushed to his side. Hari and the wizards on the other rooftops started to gather. The ones farthest away began jumping across the top of the buildings and closed in on us. Matt smiled. “You’re outnumbered, Vane.”
“Am I?” said Vane.
Vane raised his hand. A green bubble formed around our rooftop. A wizard, leaping from an adjacent rooftop to ours, hit the bubble and was repelled backwards. I winced when he fell onto the concrete with a hard thud.
The access door blew open. I turned my head to see a line of armed men streaming through its shattered wood. I immediately recognized their leader. Leonidas. My hand tightened in a death grip on Excalibur. I ignored the urge to hurl the blade at him. We’d already spent the better part of a month hacking each other up. He brutally made sure I suffered through that time. I couldn’t look at him now without wanting to tear him apart.
The mermaids quickly surrounded us. On the island of Aegae, they wore uniforms that I’d only seen in pictures of ancient Spartans—metallic breastplates, red leather skirts, and helmets with red plumes. Now they wore military-style, black cargo pants and black T-shirts. But they couldn’t hide their green-tinted skin. In the dull light, it took on an eerie, ghostly pallor. Dark green gills were slashed across their throats. Vane’s throat also bore the gills, firmly establishing him as one of them.
I lifted Excalibur and held it in front of me. Beside me, the gargoyles changed to show their beast—their foreheads extended and fangs stuck out from the sides of their mouths. We all shared the same feeling. With the unforgiving gazes of savage mermaids penning us in, we knew we were well and truly trapped.
I turned back to face their king. “What do you want, Vane?”
“What I always want—more.” He looked at Matt. “Give me the snake, Merlin.”
