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.”
Medusa’s snake. The metallic snake held the blood spilt by Medusa on her death, twenty-five-hundred-year-old blood.
Matt gave him a long look. “It is tied to the past. It will not show you the future.”
“You will pardon me if I don’t take your word for it. Once again, you’ve missed the obvious—the Lady led you to it. It worked before, now that I have your power, this will work for me, too,” said Vane. “Where is it, Merlin? Or do I have to tear through you to get it?”
“You’ve done enough of that today, haven’t you, brother?” Matt said in a voice laced with bitterness.
Vane glanced at me with a smirk. I resisted the urge to wince.
“Yes, but there is little time for you to wallow. You will accept what has happened eventually. There is no other choice.” He raised the trident. “Give me the snake, Merlin. I will not ask again.”
Matt crossed his arms across his chest. “I. Don’t. Have. It.”
“Pity.” A shield of ice hooded Vane’s eyes. I had a moment of deep foreboding before Vane fired on Matt.
“Vane!” I moved to block the blast.
Matt instinctively put up a hand to shield himself, but no magic came out. Blake made it to Matt first. He held up a weak shield. Owing to the amount of energy the wizards had already used to protect the city from the tsunami, I knew it wouldn’t hold against Vane’s power. I jumped and caught the blast with the edge of Excalibur’s blade just before it hit the shield. The blast slammed into Excalibur’s unusual metal. It knocked me backwards to the ground and rebounded into Vane. Vane put out a hand and captured the stream of pure energy into his hand. Somehow, he compressed it so that it formed a tight green fireball and bounced it idly in his hand.
My bones jarred by hard concrete, I forced myself back on my feet and shouted, “What are you doing, Vane?”
Thoughtful eyes turned to me. “It seems as if I truly have stripped Merlin’s magic.”
“You knew that!” I said, seething. “You promised not to harm him.”
“I promised earlier. This is later.” Frost firmly obscuring any emotion in his eyes, Vane lifted the trident again at Matt. “I need that snake, Merlin. All our fates depend on it.”
I strode forward, putting myself between Matt and him, and taunted him. “You’ll have to go through me and I know you won’t. You still need Excalibur.”
“Are you so certain?”
He said it so quietly I felt a trickle of unease go down my spine. I raised my chin. I hadn’t given into him when he was being a jerk before and I wasn’t about to now… even if this was a way scarier jerk.
Another figure came out of the door. This one made my stomach clench. He also held a sword. It was the gargoyle king’s traitorous son—Oliver, who’d once been my friend. I’d hoped to never see him again. I wasn’t so lucky.
Oliver mocked, “Am I late?”
He lined up with Leonidas and the mermaids. Disbelief filled me. I’d lost count of how many times the gargoyle had tried to kill me. I turned to Vane. “You’re working with him?”
Vane said steadily, “I needed a backup.”
“You sicken me,” I thought to him.
The Minotaur inside stirred and awoke. Green eyes intensified.
Oliver smiled at me. “I will happily take the sword.”
I spat, “Try me.”
Oliver took a step forward. A barrier of magic blocked his way. Vane said, “We’re not here for that today.”
“Let’s give you a choice, love. Merlin or your friend. Which one will you defend?” Vane’s voice said, except it sounded oddly hollow.
A stream of magic sent Gia flying backwards across the roof. She landed on a ledge. Her head and back collided with the wall in a loud “crack!” Her head slumped forward as she passed out in a sitting position. Instinctively, I took a step toward her.
Vane raised a brow. “Which one will you choose?”
I hesitated.
Vane barked, “Leonidas, take the red-haired witch.”