There was a loud boom as thunder rolled. Lightning lit the sky with streaks of white and blue. A cool wind swept the boat, and Uma felt the presence of something otherworldly. The necklace and the trident called to each other. She felt the pull; it was all around her.
The very air vibrated with power, and the seashell became hot in her hand, glowing fiery through her clenched fist. Light emanated from the shell, turning her face a pale shade of orange, making her fingers glow. The wind blew her hair off her shoulders.
“What’s happening?” said Gil, as the orange glow of the seashell grew brighter and the power Uma sought drew nearer. Soon all of them were lit in shades of red and orange. The light pulsated, washing over them in waves.
“I can feel it!” Uma called. “It’s coming up!”
A vortex formed in the water, a churning, swirling funnel, and there was something at the bottom of it.
Harry peered over the side of the boat into the dark depths. “There!” he cried.
Uma looked down, and she could almost see it, the tip of the trident emerging from the bottom of the vortex. There it was, twinkling gold…just out of her reach….
Closer…
Closer…
Closer…
The trident was rising now, flying out of the water. It was nearly within their grasp. The wind howled, and the rain poured down. The water spun in a furious circle, threatening to draw them down into it, just as the trident came near. The boys whooped in victory. Against the wind and the current, they paddled toward the trident, but the boat pitched violently, side to side, dipping and leaning as the wind and waves cast them to and fro.
“Grab it!” cried Harry. “I can’t keep this up much longer. In a minute, we’ll capsize, and then we’ll be swimming.”
“Or sucked down into that vortex,” said Gil.
Uma ignored their pessimism. The trident was all she cared about. The shell glowed wildly; the trident rose. They were close now, terribly close—but as Harry warned, they were just as close to falling into the water as they were to catching hold of the trident. Uma wouldn’t celebrate until that golden staff was safely on board. None of them would.
“Do it!” Harry cried again. This time they were finally at the trident. They rowed as near as they dared, fighting the current, trying to stay upright as the wind whirled and the water twisted around the mighty golden spear.
“This is it,” said Harry.
“We’re close enough,” said Uma. Through the dark fog she co
uld make out the shape of a speedboat on the other side of the barrier. She was sure its occupants had come for the trident too, but they were too late.
Uma had reached it first.
There it was, rising, like a phoenix from the ashes. Triton’s greatest treasure. It would be hers!
She reached out—it was only a few more feet away…inches…All she had to do was grasp it….
Mal felt the prize slipping away from her, but at the very last second, she chanted the spell again, forcing her immense will on the trident. Suddenly, it hurtled toward her like a missile.
Mal gasped as the trident slammed into her palm, and she clenched her fist around it. It jerked and twisted in her grasp, and Mal could see powerful energy waves around it, attempting to pull it in the opposite direction. Mal tried to hold it with both hands, but the energy from Uma’s necklace pulled off her left glove, sending it soaring away.
Mal yanked the trident through the hole in the barrier. “I’ve got it!”
“The barrier!” Carlos reminded her.
“Elf and gnome, close this dome!” she yelled, and the hole in the invisible barrier shut with a snap. The magnetic energy around the trident immediately disappeared, and her hand dropped suddenly as the tension vanished. The shock of it sent her flying into Evie, who fell overboard.
Mal clutched the trident and crouched on top of the boat, searching the churning ocean. “EVIE!” she screamed. “EVIE, NO!”
Jay steered the boat around the waves as they frantically searched for their friend.
“EVIE!” called Jay.
“Evie, come on!” yelled Carlos.