Mal climbed up from the dashboard next to Ben, holding her spell book tightly. Waves lashed against the boat, and it was hard to stand upright. She stumbled, but Ben caught her. “I’ve got you,” he said, his hands steady against her waist.
She shot him a quick smile and opened the book to the spell she needed. A simple one—even a child could use it. “Spark and fire, elf and gnome, open up this invisible dome!” she cried. For a moment nothing happened; then a small, pinprick-size hole appeared in the invisible barrier. It grew larger and larger until Mal was able to thrust her arm through the unseen wall.
“It worked!” she said, laughing in relief.
“Get the trident!” yelled Ben.
“Too late!” cried Evie, watching the mirror. “Uma’s got it!”
Mal wanted to curse, until she realized creating a hole in the dome meant that she could use a little magic within the barrier for a change. And a little magic was all she needed. She checked her watch; it was not yet fifteen after the top of the hour.
“Time and tide, wind and night! Turn the clock back to the top!” she chanted, and time went backward for everyone else just enough to give Mal time to grab the trident before Uma could lay her hands on it.
“Whoa, what just happened,” said Carlos, confused.
“Mal turned the time back; it’s okay, you’ll get used to it,” said Evie. “Mal, now! Uma’s back on her boat, she doesn’t have the trident yet!”
Mal opened her palm. She’d written the spell on her own, and hoped it would work. “Demon heart and all things abhorrent, bring me the sea king’s missing trident!”
But no trident appeared, only more sheets of rain.
What was going on?
It turned out a little bit of magic was all her opponent needed as well, and with the hole in the barrier still open, Uma was tapping into a power of her own. She stood on the rowboat and held a golden seashell necklace, which glowed in the darkness.
“Uma’s using Ursula’s necklace—it’s pulling on the trident too!” said Evie, watching the mirror intently.
Mal’s spell and Uma’s necklace each drew the trident, causing a magnetic force that roiled the seas, angering and confusing the waves. The wind lashed with fury, and rain stormed on the water.
Mal wiped her hair from her eyes. She was soaking wet and shivering in her leather jacket. Lightning struck the skies, thunder rolled, and the waves got bigger and bigger, threatening to overpower the speedboat. They wouldn’t last out here much longer. She had to get that trident away from Uma.
Evie was almost thrown overboard, but Carlos caught her hand in time. “One hand for you, and one hand for the ship,” he advised, as the skies cracked open overhead once again.
“Bring me King Triton’s trident!” Mal called, her arm straining across the barrier. She felt the power of the spell through her body as she bent her will toward recovering that trident from the ocean floor.
From afar, she could see the golden trident as it wavered in its rise toward her enemy. It stalled, floating in the ocean, then slowly began to wrench toward her.
“It’s working!” yelled Evie.
The energy around their boat crackled as the necklace and the spell fought for supremacy over the trident and the trident moved toward the speedboat.
“To me!” Mal cried, using every last ounce of her will and magic to bring it forward.
It jerked toward their boat, just a hairbreadth away.
But at the very last second, the trident twisted around, moving closer to the Isle of the Lost, closer to Uma.
Magic! What was this? There was magic in the air. It crackled with furious energy. Uma could feel it emanating from the seashell necklace and pervading the very atmosphere around her. She had no idea why it was there, or how it happened, or why she had a strange, vague memory of swimming down to the bottom of the sea and actually placing her hands on the trident, but she could feel magic all around her and she knew exactly what to do.
Uma held up her mother’s necklace. “Bring me Triton’s greatest treasure!” she called, and she held up the necklace a bit higher. For a moment, she felt the wind swirl, picking up the necklace and twirling it around her fingers. The sky darkened to a deeper shade of gray and the boat pitched back and forth. Water splashed the deck.
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 could 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….