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