have a plan?”
“Yup,” Zoë said. She nodded across the pool. “I may not have my powers, but if a big fish can take out that Protector, I think you and I should be able to hold our own.”
Deena just blinked, her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Come on,” Zoë said, bursting from their hiding spot. “We’re going to go help that dolphin.”
* * *
If there was one thing every Protector learned during his rigorous training sessions, it was never to do anything without a plan. Jason had already ignored, mangled, and tossed aside
that
rule. Yet even without a plan he’d managed to knock down the shape shifter.
He knew, of course, that the maniac calling the shots on stage had to be a shape shifter. The man looked like him, but Jason had not gone mad and was not holding his son hostage at the moment. Ergo, the bad guy had the ability to assume his form. Of course, no one except Jason and Shamu knew that. Worse, Davy’s introduction to the likeness of his father was as a first-class creep. That wasn’t going to help in forging a father-son bond.
He’d deal with that little problem later, though. Right now, Jason needed to rescue his son. He focused on the water, shaping the molecules with his will. A column rose from the pool, up and up toward the boy, faster and faster as it got closer, building up speed so it could carry him to freedom....
Except it didn’t work. The water didn’t touch Davy. Instead, it slapped against an invisible wall and then splattered down like raindrops in a summer storm.
A force field
. Sweet Hera, Hieronymous’s minion had surrounded Davy with a protective force field.
On the concrete, the shape shifter climbed to his feet, brushing off his pants as he glared at Jason. Then he held up his hands, as if imploring the sky.
“Now would be good,” he shouted, his voice much less confident than it had been earlier, almost as if he’d run out of script and had moved to improvisation.
Even before the shifter’s voice faded on the breeze, clouds formed in the sky, darkening so quickly that Jason had the illusion he was watching time-lapse photography. The wind kicked up again, violent and demanding, turning the pool into a whirl that tossed Jason about on its waves. Jason fought to stay at its surface, his eyes on Davy, as he looked for a solution: a break in the force field, a mistake,
anything
.
Jason
? Shamu called.
What’s going on
? The whale surfaced, breaking the water in a leap, then splashing down to shower the Outcast. The Outcast didn’t even notice; he just stood, his arms raised as if he were conducting a symphony. The wind swirled around him.
Davy bounced and swung in the wind, fear reflected on his little face despite an obvious effort to remain stoic.
What’s the plan
? Shamu called.
Jason wished he knew.
I’m working on it
. He took a breath.
I won’t let anything happen to Davy
.
Shamu moved his head, a slight nod, then looked at Jason.
I know, so what do we do
?
“Aunt Zoë!” Davy’s scream pierced the air, and Jason looked up to find the boy caught in the wind. The ropes binding him had been ripped away, and the boy flailed, trying futilely to get some purchase on the air swirling around him. The cyclone lifted him higher and higher above the whale’s pool—as if he was Dorothy and the wind was taking him straight to Oz.
Which was good and bad. Bad in that Hieronymous was trying to steal Jason’s little boy. Good in that Hieronymous couldn’t move the child while his force field was in place. Which meant he must have dropped it.
Immediately Jason concentrated on conjuring another column of water, but it was no use; the water bubbled and sputtered but wouldn’t congeal. His powers were tapped out; he couldn’t even return to human form. The massive effort to save the Sky Tower and then become a dolphin had exhausted his energy, and it would take time to recharge.
Time Davy didn’t have.
“Aunt Zoë!” the boy shouted again. The fear on
“Yup,” Zoë said. She nodded across the pool. “I may not have my powers, but if a big fish can take out that Protector, I think you and I should be able to hold our own.”
Deena just blinked, her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Come on,” Zoë said, bursting from their hiding spot. “We’re going to go help that dolphin.”
* * *
If there was one thing every Protector learned during his rigorous training sessions, it was never to do anything without a plan. Jason had already ignored, mangled, and tossed aside
that
rule. Yet even without a plan he’d managed to knock down the shape shifter.
He knew, of course, that the maniac calling the shots on stage had to be a shape shifter. The man looked like him, but Jason had not gone mad and was not holding his son hostage at the moment. Ergo, the bad guy had the ability to assume his form. Of course, no one except Jason and Shamu knew that. Worse, Davy’s introduction to the likeness of his father was as a first-class creep. That wasn’t going to help in forging a father-son bond.
He’d deal with that little problem later, though. Right now, Jason needed to rescue his son. He focused on the water, shaping the molecules with his will. A column rose from the pool, up and up toward the boy, faster and faster as it got closer, building up speed so it could carry him to freedom....
Except it didn’t work. The water didn’t touch Davy. Instead, it slapped against an invisible wall and then splattered down like raindrops in a summer storm.
A force field
. Sweet Hera, Hieronymous’s minion had surrounded Davy with a protective force field.
On the concrete, the shape shifter climbed to his feet, brushing off his pants as he glared at Jason. Then he held up his hands, as if imploring the sky.
“Now would be good,” he shouted, his voice much less confident than it had been earlier, almost as if he’d run out of script and had moved to improvisation.
Even before the shifter’s voice faded on the breeze, clouds formed in the sky, darkening so quickly that Jason had the illusion he was watching time-lapse photography. The wind kicked up again, violent and demanding, turning the pool into a whirl that tossed Jason about on its waves. Jason fought to stay at its surface, his eyes on Davy, as he looked for a solution: a break in the force field, a mistake,
anything
.
Jason
? Shamu called.
What’s going on
? The whale surfaced, breaking the water in a leap, then splashing down to shower the Outcast. The Outcast didn’t even notice; he just stood, his arms raised as if he were conducting a symphony. The wind swirled around him.
Davy bounced and swung in the wind, fear reflected on his little face despite an obvious effort to remain stoic.
What’s the plan
? Shamu called.
Jason wished he knew.
I’m working on it
. He took a breath.
I won’t let anything happen to Davy
.
Shamu moved his head, a slight nod, then looked at Jason.
I know, so what do we do
?
“Aunt Zoë!” Davy’s scream pierced the air, and Jason looked up to find the boy caught in the wind. The ropes binding him had been ripped away, and the boy flailed, trying futilely to get some purchase on the air swirling around him. The cyclone lifted him higher and higher above the whale’s pool—as if he was Dorothy and the wind was taking him straight to Oz.
Which was good and bad. Bad in that Hieronymous was trying to steal Jason’s little boy. Good in that Hieronymous couldn’t move the child while his force field was in place. Which meant he must have dropped it.
Immediately Jason concentrated on conjuring another column of water, but it was no use; the water bubbled and sputtered but wouldn’t congeal. His powers were tapped out; he couldn’t even return to human form. The massive effort to save the Sky Tower and then become a dolphin had exhausted his energy, and it would take time to recharge.
Time Davy didn’t have.
“Aunt Zoë!” the boy shouted again. The fear on
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