Of course, he couldn’t allow Dai She to get in his way either.

He glanced once more at his only son. He would have no remorse when this was over. Dai She could have been good, but never great. There were mental and emotional flaws that could not be overcome or corrected. In the language of war, he was expendable.

“Open the door!” Dai She squealed with delight.

Markhor shifted his eyes in a look that could kill, and obeyed one last command.

Tainted or not, Randall withdrew the Urania Wand. It seemed like eons had passed since he’d last used it; the day that changed his life forever. Whether it was luck, skill, or a remarkable combination of both, the wand had given him the power to foresee the future. What he saw had brought him to this place at this moment.

He hadn’t foreseen all the random events and detours that had led to hitching a ride on a vulture, but that had only added spicy seasoning to the adventure.

Using the wand wasn’t an exact science, after all. It could foresee a future, but not tell what might happen to alter it.

With the moon’s greatest shower of evil power just moments away, he needed to use it one more time. Interesting, he thought, I almost said one last time.

The time for speculation had passed. With no further hesitation, he grasped it firmly in his beak and willed it to show him what he needed to know.

Unfortunately, his earlier thought was correct.

Henry, Lois, Serena, and Joseph positioned themselves as corners of a square. Coralis stood in the middle. At his instruction, they withdrew their wands. “This is not the time for gadgetry. We must focus every ounce of our essence through our wands and into the uranium. Joseph, I’m assuming you’ve prepared your students?”

“They await my mind-link. You will have the full power of my people behind you,” Joseph answered proudly.

“I will gather our collective energy and focus it into a single stream,” Coralis said. “The only way to win is to create a chain reaction that will ignite every gram of uranium and use it to form a shield that will take the bad energy head-on.”

“What if it’s not enough?” Henry nervously rubbed the top of his head.

“Then we will need a bit of luck.” Coralis honestly didn’t know if there were any more lucky cards in his charmed deck, but they were out of options. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to connect with the other four warriors. Once more unto the breach, he thought. One more time.

Interesting, he thought, I almost said one last time. Then he realized that thought had come to him from another place. Good luck, my son, he projected to a solitary figure in a lone valley.