wizards called themselves. As a “Regular,” I’d only been taught enough to stay alive.
“Every city along the coast has been readied per the orders of the Council. We have formed a line of defense from here to Kolkotta. We are ready to do whatever it takes.”
“I doubt any of us are truly ready,” Matt said.
I elbowed him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t being dramatic. Whether we succeeded or failed, I had no illusions that stopping a tsunami in its tracks was a task we’d survive. I took out a knife from my pocket and held it up to him.
“Aayat,” Matt said.
In a faint whisper of blue light, the knife lengthened into a sword. The blade glinted in the dim light, its power throbbing for all to see. Across the rooftops, all eyes turned in my direction.
A slim girl in braids hurried to Hari. Her eyes locked on Excalibur. “You brought her. We are saved.”
I tried not to cringe from the expectation in her eyes. Unconsciously, I took a step closer to Matt. My fingers curled around the famous sword. I had to believe I could do this.
Hari put an arm around the girl’s shoulder. “Merlin has brought us hope, Sangeetha. He will not let this defeat us.”
Sangeetha put her head into Hari’s shoulder. Her young face lighting up, she told him, “Neither will you, husband.”
Hari grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The tender look he gave her hit me like a sucker punch. A sudden vision of Vane’s smile (arrogant with a hint of reluctant sweetness) flashed in my mind, and I had to look away. It was all too fresh.
I walked to the edge of the rooftop, raising Excalibur in the air, my palms slippery with sweat. Gia, Blake, and Matt fanned out on either side. Grey and the gargoyles gathered just behind. Another string of wizards extended down both sides of me, all looking toward Excalibur. I prayed they would not be disappointed.
“It’s coming,” Hari said.
The surf on the beach receded. Further out in the ocean, a wall of water, the tsunami, rose up like the giant hand of an ancient god.
Then, it was upon us.
It rushed toward the rooftops. For a moment, its colossal majesty froze me solid and my world became a giant fishbowl. To my right, Matt muttered, “Sphara,” and faint blue magic flowed from him. The other wizards followed his lead and chanted along.
I lifted Excalibur higher in front of me. Magic flowed to it from the wizards. I could feel the sword absorbing and magnifying it. The weight of the magic pressed down on me and I struggled to stay upright under the onslaught. A magic veil spread out from the sword and solidified to form a shield, an invisible wall, between the colossal wave and us.
Water bombarded my shield like a hurricane pouring down on a single umbrella. The wizards kept chanting their magic, trying to reinforce the umbrella. The tsunami deluge was ceaseless.
I dug my heels in and braced against the power of the wave that threatened to blow me backward into a watery oblivion. My hand, now squeezing tighter than I ever thought possible, clutched the sword and I hung on for… one second… one minute… one hour… forever.
Finally, an undefined moment in time later, Gia fell to her knees with a defeated gasp. Blake pulled her back up, supporting her. One-by-one, the wizards started to collapse. The shield was weakening. From the corner of my eye, I saw the edge of the rooftop. Hari and about half the wizards struggled to hang on.
My hands, grasping Excalibur, throbbed and I tried not to drop it.
Grey walked up from behind me, grabbing the hilt from one side. I blinked as Excalibur’s weight eased. On my other side, Matt stood completely still.
His eyes were closed. “Hold on, Ryan.”
“We won’t let you fall.” Blake moved to the open spot at Matt’s right.
The shield held with renewed fortification. I could almost see power draining from them into the blue shield. From the cold weight of the Dragon’s Eye around my neck, I felt their souls emptying. He and the remaining wizards were going to flame out; and when that happened, nothing would be left alive in the shell of their bodies. Flaming out was every wizard’s worst nightmare—to use up your life force to strengthen your magic. I couldn’t let that happen. But I wasn’t sure how to stop it.
I held onto Excalibur even as my arms throbbed and my muscles burned for relief.