inside a battle-scarred soul, their brilliant depths banked with faint power. Lelex’s torture still lingered, and now I was asking for more. My fingers intertwined with his. He inclined his head in tacit support, unruly, auburn curls brushing his forehead.
Grey took up my left. After him, Gia stood holding hands with Blake. The four of us, tied together by our common bond as Candidates to pull Excalibur from the stone, faced a horror from which only the sword could save us. In my free hand, I gripped it. It was King Arthur’s sword once, a long time ago. Now, it was mine. Its power hummed in my hand, and sweat filled my palm. It was ready. But was I?
In my free hand, I gripped Excalibur. It was King Arthur’s sword once, a long time ago. Now, it was mine. Its power hummed in my hand, and sweat filled my palm. It was ready. But was I?
Earlier this morning, Matt, the gang, and I left Greece to fly to Indonesia. Three volcanoes had exploded, spewing smoke, ash, and lava across the island chain. In the northern region of Sumatra, the Toba caldera was the site of a supervolcano. The eruption had caused a massive global climate change about eighty thousand years ago. Only two hundred years ago in 1815, Mount Tambora’s eruption, a nearby stratovolcano, instigated a volcanic winter, resulting in a worldwide famine that reached all the way to North America.
No matter which scenario we faced this time, it wasn’t good.
On our way, though, we were derailed. Matt and I saw a vision of a massive underwater earthquake farther north in the Indian Ocean. This one occurred near the Andaman Islands, sending shockwaves across the Bay of Bengal to the eastern coast of India.
One call from Matt to the head of the Wizard Council, the First Member, and the private plane carrying us changed course, making an emergency landing at the Chennai International Airport. Several black Mitsubishi SUVs whisked us from the airport toward the beaches. Twelve of us came from Greece—my brother Grey, my best friends Gia and Blake, Colin, three gargoyles, three wizards, and of course, Matt and me. I glanced at my friends. They’d all become my family. After what we’d gone through in Greece, I wouldn’t have blamed them if they’d wanted to stay behind. They refused to leave my side.
Blake’s words had been memorably British. “Not likely you’re going to leave us out of the adventure.”
Adventure, this was not.
Sirens started blaring through the city in the middle of our drive as the Indian Ocean disaster warning systems finally caught up to what we already knew. We dodged panicked pedestrians, scooters, and an occasional cow randomly wandering through the dusty streets. The leader of the local underground contingent of wizards, a surprisingly young twenty-year-old named Hari, drove down the crowded streets with a grim expression. Half an hour later, we pushed through the stampede of evacuees to reach the beaches at the edge of the city.
Hari stopped in front of a row of white buildings. I could smell the ocean behind them, and hear the rush of the waves. It evoked memories of cawing seagulls, gentle sunny days, beach blankets, and sweet ice cream. However, this was not that beach. Not today.
Beyond the building, past the solitude of the beach, impending rage simmered in the roaring darkness. I stared up at sulky, grey clouds as we got out of the SUV. Residents hurried past us with bulging suitcases, so focused on their own escape they didn’t even give us curious looks.
With Matt beside him, Hari led us into the building and up a narrow, concrete staircase. Hari told him, “I’ve asked everyone to gather in the other buildings. This house is at the center, so it will be the best for you, Master-ji.”
“Good work,” Matt replied.
Hari beamed under the simple praise, giving Matt the awe-struck expression that all the wizards inevitably seemed to get around him. We emerged from a short doorway. I looked out across what seemed like a never-ending sea of rooftops. In either direction from us, men and women spread out in what must have been a mile-long line. Those nearest to us watched the quiet ocean with petrified expressions.
I asked, “How did you gather so many wizards so quickly?”
Hari gave me a curious look. “Keltoi magic originated from here, of course. Many live close to this region.”
Of course. I knew practically nothing about the origin of magic, or the Keltoi, as the