The whirlpool finally lost its momentum and the water smashed back into place, swallowing Chris with it. As water swamped over his head, a surge of terror overwhelmed him like none he’d ever felt before. The weight of the water plunged down on him, pushing him down all the way into the darkness at the bottom of the Thames.
He hit the river bed, then felt himself sink like a stone into the mud. His feet became stuck. The silt was like quicksand.
Is this how I die? he thought desperately, his chest aching from lack of oxygen.
After everything he’d been through, he’d failed. And now he was going to drown in a dirty river in 1690.
As black stars started to flash in his oxygen-deprived vision, a sudden image flashed in Chris’s mind: Oliver cradling the Orb.
Immediately, anger flooded through him. Red-hot anger. It was so strong it drove out every semblance of fear he’d been feeling.
He was Chris Blue! He would not be defeated by his pathetic little brother! He would not die here at the bottom of the river, sinking in the quicksand! He would not be beaten. Not by anyone. And especially not by Oliver.
Reaching down, Chris grabbed his right leg. He heaved upward. It was stuck fast but he wasn’t giving up. He gritted his teeth and tugged again. He felt the silt shift. It was moving. He was doing it. Freeing himself.
With every ounce of strength he possessed, he heaved his leg out of the mud. Then he grabbed the other and heaved that one out too. Finally, he was freed.
As he fought his way upward, he felt the final bits of oxygen in his lungs dwindle away. Weakness overcame him.
A flash from the sky above the water showed him he was just inches from the surface. He could do it. Just one more push.
Christopher burst out of the water and took a huge gasp of breath. His lungs filled quickly. He spluttered, coughing, gasping, flailing around his arms to stay afloat. Then his breathing began to slow. He’d done it. He’d saved himself from drowning.
Chris looked about and saw his Obsidians had made their way to the banks and were now battling with Esther and the tall boy, who were both shivering, looking like drowned rats. The flashing of opposing light and flame were blinding, disorienting.
Beside them, the two portals were activated.
But Oliver himself was still in the water, the Orb tucked under one arm, forcing him to swim with only one. It was slowing him down.
Chris still had a chance. One last chance. If Oliver went through the time portal he would never get this opportunity again.
He went for it. He had to throw everything at this.
He tapped into his powers, summoning a jet of bubbles to push him from behind. They surged him across the water, pushing him closer and closer to Oliver. He gained on him at a frightening speed.
In the next flash of light, Chris saw Oliver reach the banks. Esther and the boy tried to help him up but Oliver was shouting at them.
“Take the Orb!”
Esther grabbed it. Then she turned and leapt through one of the portals. The tall boy jumped after her.
Chris used his booming voice, now frantic. “Go through the portal!” he screamed at the Obsidians.
But his dumb gang hadn’t seen which portal they’d entered. None of them knew which to jump through. They looked perplexed.
“Idiots!” Chris screamed.
Oliver was floundering onto the banks, trying to heave himself from the water. He seemed significantly weakened from the swim.
But Chris was not. Despite almost drowning, the powers racing through his veins made him feel stronger than ever. He pushed even harder. He was so close.
The banks came up to him just as Oliver leapt to his feet and hurried for the portal.
Chris rose out of the water and stretched his clawed hand out, attempting to grab hold of Oliver’s ankle. His fingers just caught the fabric of Oliver’s overalls.
Oliver fell, his stomach slamming against the bank.
Chris tried to get a better purchase, to pull Oliver back into the water. His brother kicked him, but the blows barely registered. Chris didn’t even feel the pain.
He reached out with his other hand, trying to get hold of Oliver’s next ankle. But he lost his grip.
Suddenly, there was nothing in Chris’s hands. Oliver had wiggled free like a slippery eel.
Chris’s gaze darted upward in time to see Oliver fling himself through the left portal. Lightning crackled across its surface.
“Follow him!” he screamed at the Obsidians.
Madeleine ran for it. But it was too late. With a zap, the portal closed. She fell back on the ground with a thud.
Oliver was gone.
A scream of rage ripped from Chris’s chest.
Chapter Fifty-One
All around Oliver, the portal’s walls were shaking violently. Lights flashed by so quickly they were a blur.
He had no idea whether Chris or any of the Obsidians had made it through the portal after him. Esther and Ralph had gone through first but Chris was right behind him. What if he’d come through too? There’d be no way of knowing until he reached the exit. If he reached the exit, that was.
The portal seemed to take forever. It twisted and turned like a rollercoaster. Oliver felt the contents of his stomach sloshing.
Then just as quickly as it had started, everything around Oliver changed. He felt his knees bump into something hard. A marble floor. He went skidding across it and hit his head into a wall.
Oof.
Before he regained his senses, he heard the screams of Esther and Ralph. Both came careening toward him. They slammed into him and all three ended up in a heap.
“Where are we?” Ralph cried, untangling his limbs from Oliver.
Oliver managed to pull himself to sitting just in time to see the wormhole close up. No one else had come through. They’d lost Chris! They’d left him on the other side in 1690!
But they’d also left the dark army of rogue seers in a bitter battle with Sister Judith and the students from the London School of the Future-Sighted. Oliver prayed they be okay. That they understood why he, Esther, and Ralph had had to take that one opportunity to dive through the portal.
Now certain there was no one pursuing them, Oliver glanced around. They were in a room that was peculiarly empty. Black marble floor. Dark tiled walls. And it was clearly enormous because their voices seemed to echo on forever.
Suddenly, Oliver realized. Though it appeared different every time he entered, Oliver was certain they were back at the School for Seers. Even though it was technically a void, he’d recognize Professor Amethyst’s office anywhere.
“We’re in the sixth dimension!” he exclaimed. He jumped to his feet. “Quick, hand me the Orb.”
Esther passed the Orb of Kandra to Oliver. She was completely dark, no light glowing in her at all.
“We need to find the plinth!” he cried, cradling it.
They ran, heading into the blackness.
Then Oliver saw it, glittering in the distance. The empty pedestal upon which the Orb of Kandra belonged. He ran up to it.
He held the Orb out and slowly he let go.
Oliver held his breath, hoping, praying they’d gotten her home in time. The Orb floated there, a few centimeters above the plinth, right where she belonged. Then suddenly, a light at her center began to flicker.
“She’s okay…” Oliver said with a gasp.
The flickering light grew stronger and brighter.
“I don’t believe it!” Oliver cried, realizing that the Orb was coming back to life. “We did it. We really did it.”
Esther and Ralph started to jump up and down, cheering with joy. The shaking around them ceased. The Orb of Kandra returned to her full beauty, radiating a brilliant, beautiful, bright white light.
At that moment, a voice floated through the darkness. A familiar voice that Oliver knew so well. The voice of Professor Amethyst.
“Oliver Blue. I knew you would not let me down.”
All around Oliver, Esther, and Ralph, colors began to melt down the walls like paint. The black void transformed into the main atrium of the School for Seers. They were back, standing beside the kapoc tree.
And all was calm.