“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