A sequence of chaotic thoughts flashed through Indira’s brain.

Joey survived.

And now he has Phoenix.

Oh, and I’m about to drown.

The third thought pulsed loudest. Her limbs responded. She clawed upward, fighting toward the surface. Her lungs felt like they were on the verge of bursting.

She came gasping out, legs kicking to keep her afloat. Her eyes darted to the sky. Phoenix’s form was sweeping through the clouds. She saw him spiraling and lashing his neck and guessed he was doing his best to resist Joey. It wouldn’t last long. The Author had proven his ability to bend the rest of the world to his will. He’d overpower Phoenix soon enough.

There was a shout. Indira braced herself for a blow until she saw the source. Across the canal from her, one of the townspeople was calling to her. It was the baker who had handed Indira a pastry that first morning. “He’s coming back! Get moving! Take cover!”

His warning shocked her back to life. Indira looked up and saw that the baker was right. Phoenix was circling around. He let out a great roar, and Indira imagined the fury he must have felt at being forced to follow Joey’s commands.

Her mind raced. She had to escape somehow. “The boat!”

She’d landed in the canal on the backside of the building. There was an abandoned boat on the other side by the front steps. Kicking her legs in the water, she turned. Her eyes landed on a back corner of the building. There was a door there. She started swimming.

Another roar sounded in the sky. She looked up in time to see Phoenix pulling out of a dive. “Keep fighting!” she whispered. “Keep fighting him, Phoenix.”

Indira climbed up the slick steps and lowered her shoulder. The bell tower’s bottom floor looked like a church. There were rows for seating. Great stained-glass windows brightened the path ahead of her. She wasted no time as she darted across the main room and out through a pair of double doors.

She was trying to get her bearings when a location pinged in her second vision. Did Gadget know what had happened? Was this her escape route? Indira didn’t have any other options. She leaped into the back of the waiting boat and grabbed the controller.

The location pinged again. Indira hoped her friend was smart enough to lead her on an escape route. She punched the same button she’d seen Phoenix use, and the boat jolted forward. At least the location wasn’t far. One more turn and then down a long straightaway.

Another shout caught her attention. Indira whipped around in time to see a body arching out over the water. Angling toward her. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten about Ledge.

His upper body collided forcefully with the back of the boat. The whole thing shook. Indira barely kept her footing, punching the accelerator again as he dug his claws into the ship’s hull. The boat kept picking up speed, but Ledge clung on desperately. The back half of his body dragged through the water. Indira reached for her hammer. Ledge shouted something as she turned and attempted an awkward one-handed swing.

He slid his hand to the right along the railing, dodging. Overhead, Phoenix had swept lower. She could tell Joey was winning that battle. Indira took another distracted swing with her hammer, but Ledge dodged again. This time the movement cost him. His right claw slipped a little and he nearly went under. She was about to swing a third time and finish him off when she looked up. Her boat was heading straight for a wall.

She shoved her hammer into her belt and dove for the controller. A quick pull on the joystick brought the boat into a hairpin turn. It still slammed into the side of the nearest building, shaking a little before darting forward again.

Indira glanced back. Ledge was barely hanging on now. She found herself on a final straightaway. Gadget’s pinged location was just a few hundred paces in the distance.

It took effort to keep one hand pressing the B button down as she used the other to reach for her hammer. Ledge shouted louder and louder, and finally Indira understood. He wasn’t shouting at her. He was making noise, trying to get Joey’s attention.

Indira reached for her hammer again. As she straightened, Phoenix came flying around the corner ahead of them. Those beautiful wings swept outward to block her path. They were wide enough that the tips grazed the buildings on either side of the road.

Even at a distance, she could see the pain in his eyes. He was no longer controlling his own body. Joey sat on his back, lacrosse stick held up like a sword. It wasn’t hard to figure out what would happen next, what someone like Joey would force Phoenix to do in this moment.

Indira’s boat was hurtling straight at them. She saw the flex of neck muscles, the jaw opening wide. Joey’s intentions were clear. Indira clutched her hammer tight and leaped over the side. Fire sprang out of Phoenix’s open jaws.

She felt the heat of it press against her neck before she broke the water’s surface. The bolt hit her stolen vessel and she heard wood crack, exploding in every direction from the pressure. All the sound and heat, however, was cut off by the water around her.

Her feet touched the bottom. Looking up, she saw that everything was chaos. Wooden pieces scattered. Ledge floated to one side of the wreckage, unconscious. Flames licked over the surface of the water. Above all of that, she saw a darker form hovering, waiting for her to surface. Indira felt like she was having a panic attack. There was nowhere to go. Eventually, she’d run out of air. Forced out of the water, she’d be captured by Joey.

And then she saw it.

The ping on the map in her second vision. It glowed as bright as a guiding star. She realized she was nearly standing in the right spot. Her eyes were drawn ahead. The dot was there.

Gadget had marked an exit for her.

It was not a typical grate. Indira swam forward carefully, staying as close to the canal bottom as she could, and trying not to make sudden movements that might stir the water. Each stroke brought her closer to a massive drainage grate. There must have been a creek that ran through the town, flowing out below this section of the outer wall. Indira reached it, lungs protesting, and realized the gaps were too small. Why would Gadget highlight this for her?

Even a child couldn’t fit through the openings in the grate. She glanced up. The great shadow was still circling, wingbeats stirring the surface, searching for her.

Indira was running out of time.

But there was no latch on the grate. Nothing at all.

And then a bright line of text flashed across her vision:

Your hammer!

It was a message from Gadget. Indira’s vision was starting to blur. Her hammer? How would that…?

…The idea took root. Of course. She’d thrown her hammer plenty of times, but only ever through the air. That didn’t mean it couldn’t work underwater. Indira pressed herself against the grate and—with great care—slid her hammer through an opening.

If this didn’t work, she’d drown.

She released the weapon. It floated downstream, and she felt the familiar tug. The hammer’s magic dragged her across the barrier. She was still underwater, however, and it took all her remaining strength to reach out and seize the hammer’s grip. She nearly fumbled before grasping it again. Indira held the weapon as tightly as she could.

And then the dark undertow claimed her.