The respectful silence that had mostly held during John’s speech breaks when Nine opens his mouth, like we’re in a press conference all of a sudden. There are shouted questions from every direction.
“Is that a Mogadorian at the table?”
“Go back to your galaxy, freaks!”
“How do I quit breaking stuff with my telekinesis?”
“I want to go home!”
“How can we stop them?”
“What’s with your eye patch, bro?”
“Can that scary guy see us?”
“Why do they want to kill us?”
And then, rising above the cacophony, a lanky guy with a bleached-blond Mohawk in the style of some long-retired punk rocker stands up on his seat and stomps down hard. I guess the sturdiness of his combat boots translates to the dreamworld because the sound is loud enough to shut everyone up.
“You lot are in America, right, mate?” the punk asks John, speaking with a thick English accent. “Let’s say I did want to join the fight and take it to these pasty wankers. How the hell am I supposed to get to you? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no bloody transatlantic flights on account of the giant spacecrafts.”
John rubs the back of his neck, uncertain. “I . . .”
Ella’s hands tense on the table. “I can answer that,” she says, her voice ringing and melodious, definitely not Ella. This is Legacy speaking through her.
Above us, dots of light on the world map steadily brighten. Everyone turns their attention to the ceiling. I remember the brightest ones as the locations of the Loralite stones we used to teleport, but there are more, dimmer lights taking shape all over the globe.
“These are the locations of Loralite stones,” Ella says. “The brightest ones have existed on this planet for a very long time. The others are only now beginning to grow as I bond with the Earth. Soon, they will surface.”
Marina speaks up. “We needed . . .” She falters, gathers herself. “We needed a teleporting Legacy to use those before.”
“Not anymore. Not now that I have awoken,” Legacy intones via Ella. “The Loralite are attuned to your Legacies. When you are close, you will feel their pull. All you need do is touch one of them and picture the location of another stone. The Loralite will do the rest.”
“Is that Stonehenge?” the Brit asks, squinting up at the map. “All right, then. That’s doable.”
“Uh, I think one of those is in Somalia,” says someone else.
“There will be more changes to your environment—,” Ella continues, but cuts off suddenly, shaking violently. Her hands grip the table and actually melt into the wood, sparks hissing out from her. When she next speaks, it’s with her own voice, not Legacy’s.
“He’s breaking through!” Ella screams.
The glowing chains binding Setrákus Ra to his seat shatter. The broken links clatter across the table yet harmlessly pass right through us. Ella must’ve lost her telepathic hold on Setrákus Ra’s mute button. He’s no longer isolated from the rest of us. In one fluid motion, the former Elder and current leader of the Mogadorians stands up, his chair toppling over behind him, and whips off his hood. People in the gallery scream and begin to scramble out of their benches, although there’s nowhere for them to go.
First, Setrákus Ra rests a hand on Ella’s shoulder. The light in her eyes flares, but otherwise she doesn’t move. She maintains her focus. Not getting a reaction from his granddaughter, he turns to look at the closest Garde. That just happens to be Five. Setrákus Ra grins.
“Hello, boy. Would you like to be the first to kneel?”
Five recoils in terror, backing away from the table. The Garde are standing up now. I’m ready to charge but, next to me, Nine doesn’t seem all that concerned.
“He can’t do anything in here,” Nine says to me. “Figured that out when I tried to beat Five’s ass.”
Setrákus Ra swings his gaze towards the human Garde in the audience. I know what he’s doing. He’s memorizing faces.
“He can do something,” I say. “Don’t let him see them, Ella! Get us out of here!”
“I don’t know what they told you!” Setrákus Ra bellows at the audience. “I assure you, it is foolishness. If you saw what I saw, then you know how the Loric attempted to murder me for the crime of curiosity. Come! Swear allegiance to your Beloved Leader and I will show you how to truly harness your powers.”
No one in the crowd rushes out to pledge their allegiance to the psychotic Mogadorian, but many of them look justifiably terrified.
“I’m releasing you,” Ella says. “It’ll happen quickly. Be ready.”
And then, the light in her eyes goes dark. She slumps over. I hope that’s not the last time I ever get to speak with her.
“Six . . .” It’s John. He is standing right next to me. “We’ll be in touch soon. Bring everyone back safe.”
Then he and Nine abruptly wink out of existence.
The map on the ceiling begins to fade. The room starts to get dimmer. The vision is ending.
Many of the new Garde have already disappeared, returning to the real world. Sam and that girl next to him are already gone. There are still some left in the gallery, though, and Setrákus Ra zeroes in on them.
“I’ve seen your faces!” Setrákus Ra shouts at the humans, totally ignoring the rest of us. “I will hunt you! I will kill you! I will—”
Well, I’m not going to let this go on.
I hop up on the table, bound across it and put myself right in Setrákus Ra’s face. He stops his rant, his black, empty eyes staring right into mine. I bounce from foot to foot like a prizefighter.
“Hey, fucker,” I say. “When we wake up, I’m going to kill you.”
“We’ll see,” Setrákus Ra replies.
I feel it start to happen. My body here becomes transparent. The details of the room become fuzzy. I can smell the smoke from the fires around the Sanctuary, can feel the dust on my skin. I need to move fast. I’m willing my muscles to snap to as soon as I’m able.
“Let’s go!” I shout. “LET’S GO!”
It’s time to end this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
IT HAPPENS FAST. AS REAL AS THE DREAMWORLD felt, it didn’t do justice to the physical weight of actually having a body. Shoved unceremoniously back where I belong, all the sensations hit me anew. The heat from the fires, the choking dust, my aching muscles. My knees go weak from the impact of it all. I was unconscious for a moment there and my body went limp as a result. I can’t entirely stop myself from falling over.
I crash right into Setrákus Ra as he stumbles, too. The big bastard is as disoriented as I am. I hear a thump at my feet and realize Setrákus Ra has lost his grip on Adam’s sword.
With a scream, I shove him away from me with as much force as I can muster. I scrape my hands on the overlapping metal plates of his armor.
Come on, Six. Come on!
I regain my balance before Setrákus Ra does. It only gives me a second or two of advantage, but that’s all I need. I somersault forward, grab Adam’s sword and am swinging it for Setrákus Ra’s head the instant I pop back to my feet.
At the last second, Setrákus Ra gets his forearm up. The blade sinks into his armor with a metallic shriek. Dark blood spurts out as I pull the sword back. I hoped to at least lop off his arm, but the armor was too strong and I’ve only cut him. Even so, Setrákus Ra’s eyes are wide—I think he knows how close he came. He forces a smile, though, his balance regained, eyes locked onto mine.
“Too slow, girl,” he growls. “Now let’s see if you can really do what you promised.”
I grit my teeth in response and swing with all my might. Setrákus Ra easily deflects the blade aside with one of his armored fists, avoiding the blade’s edge this time, and then kicks me right in the stomach. The wind goes out of me and I’m knocked clear off my feet, landing hard in the dirt. I roll to the side immediately to dodge his follow-up stomp, which probably would’ve caved my whole face in.