The Fading Waves
For thirty-five years, the world lived by a clock that should never have existed. Every twenty-eight days, waves of impossible energy swept across the Earth. With the first wave in 1995—and....
For thirty-five years, the world lived by a clock that should never have existed. Every twenty-eight days, waves of impossible energy swept across the Earth. With the first wave in 1995—and every eight years thereafter—came a generation of 19- and 20-year-olds forever changed. Some gained powers beyond imagination. Others helped build and sustain nations, organizations, and entire cultures around the new reality. Most did so benevolently, but not all. Humanity adapted. Humanity mostly prospered. Then the waves began to decay. After a couple of decades, their fading became a problem. Now, that problem has become a crisis. Because magic is no longer merely fading. It is disappearing. At first, nobody noticed. A winsome Japanese maiden becomes one of the U.N. Security Council's mightiest warriors. She leads her teams while carrying the weight of a world, serving faithfully under leaders who trust her—and others who do not. A charismatic Nigerian youth becomes a rebel leader, burdened by responsibilities no one else can bear. He guides a sprawling movement of superhumans—a collection of troublesome 19- to 30-year-olds who refuse to remain where society insists they belong. On both sides stand allies, rivals, dreamers, and survivors drawn together by forces none of them yet understand. Yet an undeniable truth hangs over them all: the powerful essence that feeds magic is about to dwindle into nothingness. Then one day, the next wave never comes. As the foundations of the modern superhuman age begin to crack, humanity faces the unexpected end of magic. Far from the halls of power, beneath the roof of a secluded villa overlooking the sea, a small group of unlikely companions is about to become entangled in events that will reshape the future of their species.