JAMES POTTER AND THE VAULT OF DESTINIES

       'I know what you are thinking, Ms. Morganstern,' Merlin said. 'And I understand. I have been following your progress—all of you—very closely. I applaud your ingenuity and spirit, but this must end here.'

       'You big sneak!' Zane suddenly exclaimed, glaring up at Merlin. 'You kept the third Shard of the Amsera Certh, didn't you? You've been using it to listen in on all of us!'

       Merlin ignored him. To Petra, he called, 'Come back, my dear. Join us. We cannot stop what is about to happen, but we do not have to watch it. We have all seen enough terrible things.'

       'But we have to stop it!' James exclaimed, boggling up at Merlin. 'They mean to kill my dad! You're Merlin! Stop the engine of the helicopter with your magic! Freeze it to the ground or something!'

       'The woman who calls herself Judith has foreseen every possibility,' Merlin answered, gravely apologetic. 'Their combined magic is like a shield around the helicopter, preventing even myself from interfering with it. It will take off and it will have your father inside it, along with Mr. Hardcastle. What happens after that, I'm afraid, is beyond our control. I am sorry, James.'

       In the intersection, the whine of the helicopter began to cycle up. The rotors spun faster as Harry Potter and Titus Hardcastle were led to it, surrounded now by the police in their armored riot gear. Grit and confetti began to spiral up from the intersection under the force of the helicopter's backwash.

       Petra did not move to join Merlin at the edge of the crowd.

       'Ralph!' James cried suddenly, turning and grasping the bigger boy's shoulder. 'Give me your wand!'

       James expected Ralph to waste several seconds asking for an explanation, but to his credit, he simply hugged Lucy's body to him with one arm and dipped into his back pocket with the other. Wordlessly, he handed his oversized wand to James. It wasn't the first time that circumstances had required such an exchange.

       James gripped Ralph's wand and leapt into the street. He pointed the lime-green tip toward the police helicopter even as the doors shuttled closed on its side, enclosing Titus Hardcastle and his father.

       'Protego!' he shouted, putting as much force into the command as possible. Rather than the bolt of bluish light he had expected, enveloping the helicopter with a spell of protection, Ralph's wand merely emitted a muted flicker, hardly brighter than a Muggle camera flash. James stared at it furiously, and then leveled it again at the helicopter.

       'Congelo!' It was a Freezing Charm, meant to lock the helicopter onto the ground or seize up its engines. Instead, there came only a puff of cold air, which blew back into James' face. He tried again, crying out in frustration. 'Salvio hexia! Stupefy! Confundo!'

       He felt the magic of each spell snuff from the wand the moment it appeared. Nearby, parade watchers observed him with worried confusion, wondering at the odd boy with the green-tipped stick.

'Let me try, James,' Petra said firmly. She raised her hand again, fingers splayed.

       'Petra!' Merlin warned sternly, but the bolt of light shot from her hand even as he spoke. It leapt toward the helicopter, but exploded after only a few feet, illuminating the street around Petra brilliantly but briefly. The crowd recoiled in alarm, but the scene around the helicopter remained unchanged.

       'Morgan's power is identical to yours!' Merlin roared. 'She is preventing you from interfering! There is no way to thwart their plan! If there were, I would do it myself!'

       'Don't listen to him, my dear!' Judith called out suddenly, cupping her hands to her smiling mouth. 'He is weak! Only you know how weak he is!'

       James glanced helplessly toward Judith. Next to her, Morgan had regained her feet. She had been hurt by her encounter with the lamppost—blood trickled from beneath her hair, staining her face—but her eyes were clear and cold, studying the scene before her.

       Petra narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at Merlin.

       'Don't let them hurt my dad!' James cried, unable to contain himself. 'Please, Petra!'

       'I don't intend to,' she answered immediately, her eyes still locked upon Merlin.

       'There is nothing that can be done, Ms. Morganstern,' the Headmaster announced, raising his voice. He stepped into the street now, moving to get between Petra and the police helicopter. 'Awful as this may be, Morgan's magic is far too great for us to defeat by subtle means, and the consequences would be disastrous if you intervened using overt methods. There are too many observers. You must recognize that.'

       When Petra spoke again, her voice was calm yet unnaturally loud. 'You're wrong,' she said flatly.

       And then, to James' surprise and dismay, she turned around. Together, the two girls began to walk down the center of the New York street, away from the police helicopter as its rotors whooshed faster and faster, turning into a blur.

       'Petra!' James called again, but his voice was drowned out by the increasing whine. Merlin's voice, however, rang out as clear as thunder over the packed, watching street.

       'Petra Morganstern,' he called. 'Stop! Return to me.'

       'I think the Lady is right,' Petra declared without looking back. 'Your strength is in the vast expanses of nature. Here, in the deepest heart of the city, you are cut off from your powers. You are diminished almost to the point of helplessness.'

       'It would be a mistake to assume that, Ms. Morganstern,' Merlin warned, and yet Petra walked on, increasing her stride as purpose seemed to pour into her. At her side, Izzy matched her sister's pace, hand in hand.

       'I am different from you, though,' Petra called out. 'I am a sorceress. My power does not come from the wastes of nature. I sensed this truth the first time I set foot in New Amsterdam. My power comes from the web of the city, from the interconnected knot of humanity that lives and strives here. The thrum of their lives empowers me. I am a new kind of sorceress and this is my element. Here, you are no match for me. Here, I will do what no one but me can do. I will protect those who have protected me using whatever means are necessary.' Petra raised her hand and one of the halted parade floats jerked sideways, sliding out of her way. It rammed into a line of dumpsters with a rattling crash.

       The crowd observed this with growing alarm. Throngs began to break out into the street, running in all directions. Oblivious of this, the police helicopter first tilted forward on its skids, and then began to float upward, its engines falling into a steady roar. Above it, the W.U.L.F. agents swirled into position, raising their wands.

       'You are mistaken!' Merlin cried out, beginning to follow Petra down the broad thoroughfare. 'Petra! Remember the error of Eve! You will do far more harm than good!'

       'Enough killing,' Petra said with calm ferocity. 'Enough death. No more. I cannot allow it, no matter the price.'

       'Petra!' Merlinus cried, and raised his staff to strike her. A bolt of white light sprang from it, connecting with the slight girl, but it had no effect upon her. Neither Petra nor Izzy looked back.

       Above the din of the crowd and the roar of the rising helicopter, James heard Judith laughing triumphantly.

       'Go forth, my sister Fates!' she cried shrilly. 'Do what you were made to do! Together, you are more powerful than life and death! Call forth the chaos you have earned!' She laughed again, and at her side, Morgan blinked. She looked askance at Judith and frowned.

Oblivious of this, Petra raised her hand again and a second parade float lofted into the air, spinning gently. It crashed into a gas station, knocking the canopy over and shattering the windows of the small convenience store beneath it. Another float flew over the crowd and smashed against the columns of a bank before crashing onto the