The Break

* CRACK-BOOM.*

The bolt hit the Aerie’s main lightning rod.

The lights in the Conservatory exploded.

The smart-home system died. The hum of the servers vanished.

And the pump for the Conservatory’s irrigation system surged. A pipe in the ceiling burst.

Rainwater poured down. It hit the floor. It washed away the line of salt.

Ezra held his breath, his lungs burning.

Above him, the darkness shifted.

The ghosts entered.

They didn't look like men anymore. They were masses of water and rot, shaped like anguish. Three of them.

They swarmed Julian.

Julian screamed. He dropped Ezra.

Ezra sank to the bottom of the pool.

But the adrenaline of the drowning was fighting the paralytic. His survival instinct kicked in, overriding the chemistry. His fingers twitched. Then his arms.

He pushed off the bottom of the pool. He broke the surface, gasping, coughing up water.

Julian was thrashing in the center of the pool. He was being held down by invisible hands. His white suit was stained with mud that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Ezra!" Julian screamed, reaching out. "Help me! They're dragging me down!"

Ezra dragged himself to the edge of the pool. He hauled his paralyzed legs over the stone coping. He lay there, panting, watching the man who had tortured him.

"Caspian!" Julian pleaded, his head bobbing under the black water. "Save me! I did this for you!"

Ezra looked at the wheelchair. Julian had left it right at the edge.

Ezra reached out. His hand shook, but his grip held.

He didn't reach for Julian. He reached for the chair.

He shoved it.

The heavy motorized wheelchair tipped over the edge. It splashed into the pool, landing directly on top of Julian.

The heavy metal frame pinned Julian to the bottom.

Julian’s scream was cut short by a mouthful of black water. Bubbles rose to the surface. Then nothing.

The water calmed. The ghosts dissolved into mist, their job done.

Ezra lay on the wet tiles, listening to the rain fall through the shattered roof.