Oliver didn’t even think. He threw himself into the river after Esther. Disgusting water went right up his nose and he gagged on it.
He heard a plop from behind. It was Chris. He’d leapt into the water after them.
Oliver thrashed around, searching for Esther. It was too dark and gloomy. He could hardly see a thing.
Suddenly, he remembered the tincture Newton had given him. It was for advanced vision. Could this be the moment he needed it?
He could hear Chris from behind, the sound of his arms slapping the water. He was gaining on him.
He glanced back just in time to see Ralph dive into the water. He began grappling with Chris.
It bought Oliver the time he needed. Treading water with one hand, he grabbed the tincture from his pocket.
“Here goes nothing.” He downed it in one.
Almost immediately, Oliver’s vision began to change. Just like looking through the spyglass Newton had invented to detect magic, Oliver could now see the shimmers, the traces of magic left in the air. If it hadn’t been such a perilous moment he’d have thought it was beautiful.
Suddenly through the water, he saw her. Esther. She had a brilliant yellow aura like a field of buttercups. It was so bright he could see her through the filth of the Thames. She was struggling. She’d clearly lost her bearings and couldn’t work out which way was up and which way was down.
He swam for her, forcing his face under the stinking water.
He reached forward with his hand, reaching for the beautiful yellow glow that was Esther. Then he got hold of her hand and gripped it tightly, even more tightly than the monkey grip she’d used to save him from floating away when gravity reversed.
With every ounce of strength he had in him, he pulled. It was much harder to ascend with the weight of her dragging him down. Oliver felt the air in his lungs run low.
Then suddenly they reached the surface and burst out. Esther took a huge gasp of air.
“The portal,” Oliver stammered. “Let’s swim to it.”
He looked over to the banks. Suddenly, he saw that the two portals were different colors. The one on the left glowed yellow. The one on the right emitted a dark light.
He looked around for Ralph.
“Ralph! Come on! It’s the left portal! The left!”
Ralph dunked Chris and pushed off after him. Together, the three of them swam as fast as they could toward the bank.
Chris bobbed back up from the water and took a huge breath. The dirty water made him retch. He slammed his hands against the surface. Oliver had disappeared.
But then he saw a shimmer of light, just like the footsteps he’d been following. Oliver was clearly the source of the glowing trail. Tendrils of light seemed to pool from him, seeping into the water like shiny ink. Chris smirked to himself. His stupid brother had lit a pathway right to him!
He glanced across the river to the other side. With his special vision, he could just make out the faint outlines of what looked like portals. They reminded Chris of the time portal he’d come through to get here.
Suddenly he realized what was happening. Oliver and his friends were attempting to flee through time! If they reached the other side, they’d jump through the portals and disappear! Chris could not let that happen.
But he couldn’t stop them alone.
He looked up to the bridge. The battle was in full swing. He could just make out Malcolm.
“Malcolm!” he screamed.
But his voice was too quiet to be heard over the noise of the fighting.
Frustrated, Chris tapped into his powers. This time, his voice came out in a boom that echoed all around. “MALCOLM!”
The boy appeared at the edge of the bridge. His eyes looked wide with surprise. And, to Chris’s delight, a little bit of fear.
“There are time portals,” Chris yelled to him in his booming voice. “On the south of the bank. Stop Oliver from reaching them.”
With a soaring sense of power, Chris saw Malcolm turn and direct the rest of the Obsidians to follow his orders. He really was the leader now. Truly.
But there was still work to be done.
He pumped harder with his legs and arms, trying to gain on Oliver. But Oliver was a faster swimmer than Chris and far out of reach.
But Esther wasn’t. She seemed to be a slower swimmer than the boys and was struggling against the force of the water. The satchel with its precious glowing cargo floated alongside her.
Suddenly, Chris was hit with a rare moment of inspiration. Everyone had been harping on about that Orb like it was the most important thing in the universe. It was clearly so important to Oliver, he would never escape through time without it. So if Chris could just get hold of their precious Orb, Oliver would have no choice but to stay behind and fight.
And then I’ll melt his face off with my toxic acid! Chris thought, growing increasingly excited.
He felt a surge of energy race through him as if the powers he’d been imbued with were responding to his thoughts. As if they were on board with his plan. But they felt strangely separate from him in that moment. Like something he contained rather than a part of him. But there was no time to think about that.
Chris pushed through the water, gaining on Esther He had to act quickly before she got the chance to cast one of her shields. He’d have to sneak up on her covertly. Quietly.
He swam forward, just beneath the water’s surface like a crocodile would. Swimming this way made no at all noise. He was able to come up behind the black-haired girl fast.
Then, when she was an arm’s length away from him, he took his moment to strike. He reached forward, grasped hold of the satchel, and dove under the water.
Esther plunged down with him. Her hands were clutching the strap of the satchel like her life depended on it. She wasn’t letting go.
As he descended deeper into the water, Esther came with him.
She thrashed, panic in her eyes. A scream ripped from her throat but the noise was swallowed by the water. Still, it must have been enough for Oliver to hear, because Chris heard his pathetically shrill voice scream out, “Esther!”
Chris pulled the satchel, trying to wrench it away from Esther. They tussled with the satchel, yanking it back and forth between them. The flap worked its way loose. Now Chris could see the Orb inside the satchel, being jostled about.
Just then, Chris noticed that Esther’s eyes were unfocusing. He knew that meant she was about to access her powers and send out one of her sonar shields.
He yanked again, desperate this time, not wanting to get trapped behind one of her invisible walls and drown.
But to Chris’s great surprise, nothing happened. Esther’s powers didn’t work under water.
He felt a surge of glee. Now was his chance to strike!
The Orb was just beginning to float up to the edge of the satchel. He let go of the bag. Using his super-speed, he grabbed the Orb just as it tipped out from the top of the satchel. Then he tightened his arms around it and kicked off with his legs, heading back the way he’d come.
Desperate to take a breath, Chris kicked up to the surface of the water. He popped out and found that he was now facing north. On the bridge, the battle between good and evil was in full force. On the south bank behind him, he could see Oliver’s male friend tinkering with the portal, trying to activate it. But Oliver was not there.
Then Chris saw shimmering streaks on the water, the type left by Oliver. His brother was coming after him. He had to move. And fast.
He swam harder and faster than ever before, heading toward the north bank.
Suddenly, a blinding light filled the sky. It was coming from the south bank. Chris looked back and saw that the portal was opening. The lightning forks that crackled against its surface transformed into blindingly bright lights that flashed. It was like a strobe effect. The sight made Chris’s head spin.
In one of the flashes, he suddenly saw Oliver speeding toward him.
Chris kicked back into gear. He thrust out with his legs, attempting to propel himself up to the bank. But the Orb was weighing him down. It was almost like it had a mind of its own. It felt like it was trying to drag him back to the portal.
Then suddenly, he felt a strange sensation in his arms. It felt like they were sizzling. He looked down and saw steam radiating from the part of his arms that touched the orb. The pain grew worse and worse. Was the Orb defending itself against him?
Chris had only seconds to act. He dropped the Orb. It floated slowly down through the water and came to rest of the muddy river bed, its glow like little more than a weak candle.
The pain in his arms receded.
But his relief was short-lived. Because suddenly he felt the water around him begin to slosh violently, turning into a swirling whirlpool. He spun around and around, growing dizzier with each rotation.
And every time he spun to face southward, he saw a figure growing closer and closer.
Oliver.