Page 88 of Suffer No Fools
"On their way," Vadim confirmed after a brief silence. Stan guessed Vadim had communicated with Yvette and Niall using telepathy.
"I need them to push back the ocean," Hugo said. "When they do, Tovey, I need your air to dry them and hold them in place while Stan and I light them on fire."
"While we what?" Stan asked. He'd manifested fire at his fingertips, but he didn't know any fire weaves.
"It'll be like sharing power with Tovey," Hugo said.
When Efren, Hannah, and Nola arrived on the beach, Stan helped Renald and Trin shore up the docked ships so they didn't list over on their sides. Efren and Nola intended to push the tide out further than they'd ever pushed it before, beyond the second shoal line.
Hannah stripped down and followed the tide out like a body surfer. Stan watched in awe as they stood on the second shoal and called their lightning, sending it sparking and jutting into the water.
"Won't they electrocute themself?" Trin asked.
"No." Klaus draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her temple. "They have protective footwear."
"They aren't wearing anything!"
Klaus laughed. "Trust me. They'll be fine."
The children gasped when the first wave of undead walked through the shoal like they were walking through anopen doorway. They showed no resistance to earthen things, though they were damaged by Hannah's lightning. Some of them burned from the inside out and dropped to the ground in flames.
"There's still so many of them," Klaus said.
Stan could feel the dead, now, a mass so large the island seemed to shake with the tree's alarm. The tree's vibrations acted as sonar, rippling across the sea floor. Each disturbance he sensed was an undead creature.
When Hannah paused to regroup, Klaus raised his hands toward the shoal. Vadim grabbed him around the waist when he started to list to the side and kissed his neck. "You can't kill them all. Don't wear yourself out."
"But—"
"I can help," Hugo said.
"What are you waiting for?" Vadim glared up at them.
"They're waiting for me. I haven't done anything yet." Klaus stood straighter in Vadim's grip. "I'll kill as many as I can."
Stan couldn't see his power, but he saw a shock wave spread out over the ocean beyond the second shoal.
Vadim lowered Klaus to sit on the sand. He looked dazed, but he frowned at the exposed shoal. "That might have been too many," he whispered.
"Tidal wave!" Hannah shouted.
"On it." Efren and Nola grabbed hands, which made it easier to combine their power. Stan and Tovey had been swapping weaves so long they didn't need the added comfort of physical touch, but Stan missed it sometimes.
The water weavers worked together to prevent a giant wave, and the water leveled inside the barrier Trin and Renald had fortified with their weaves. Beyond the barrier, Stan saw fins and tentacles galore. Efren had called the sea creatures to help them in their fight. Hannah launched themself off the shoal and ran toward them, their feet never touching the sand.
"They're so fast," Klaus said. "Faster than they were at the academy."
"Clear the beach!" Hugo shouted.
Hannah grabbed Renald around the waist and hosted him to their hip as they ran. They and Trin scurried to safety behind Vadim.
"Are you ready?" Hugo asked Stan and Tovey.
"Aye," Tovey said.
More undead crawled through the earth barrier. Some had gaping holes in their torsos, and they dripped nothing but seawater.
Hugo motioned for Tovey to act first. He ramped up the wind and pinned the creatures against the shoal.
