21
Nine and I ride the elevator down in silence. I’m furious and utterly humiliated, and it’s got nothing to do with the feelings welling up inside me. When we enter the apartment, Bernie Kosar jumps off the couch to ask if we are finished with all the nonsense.
‘I don’t think it’s up to me. What do you say, Johnny?’ Nine mutters. He opens the fridge and pulls out a slice of cold pizza. He flips the tip of it into his mouth, takes a huge bite and chews noisily.
I lean down and scratch BK’s chin. ‘I hope so, buddy.’
With a mouth full of pizza, Nine says, ‘Pack up your doggie bags, BK, because we’re hitting the road. We’re heading back to Paradise city, where the girls are pretty. And, damn, Four, take a shower already. You smell like smoke.’
‘Shut up,’ I say, falling onto the couch. Bernie Kosar climbs into my lap and looks up at me with sad eyes.
Nine walks away, down the hallway. He calls back to me, ‘A deal’s a deal, man! We leave for Paradise in a couple of hours, so you may want to grab a quick nap after your shower. And, hey! It’s a road trip! You can’t be bummed about a road trip!’
I’m exhausted, but I slump towards my room. A deal is a deal. The bed moans when I fall onto it, but after a few minutes, I can’t bear my own smell. I drag myself into the shower. The water can’t get hot enough on my skin, a side effect of my Legacy. As I stand under the spray, so tired I’m swaying on my feet, I replay the fight on the roof in my mind. I try to figure out how I lost against Nine, but I can’t. I’m so tired. I think I’m mumbling to myself. I turn off the water and listen to the drops fall onto the shower floor. I grab a towel as I stumble back to bed. I need to rest.
I climb in between the sheets and using telekinesis, turn off the light. I hear Nine’s thudding steps as he moves towards the surveillance room and I close my eyes. Sleep blankets my mind for a second before I hear a noise. Nine is lightly tapping on my open door. I have my back to him and I don’t move, even when he clears his throat and starts to speak. ‘Hey. Johnny? I’m sorry that I can be such a dick. I could blame it on being locked up for so long, that does something to you. But, honestly, I’m pushing here because I really do think I’m right. We need to go to Paradise. Now. So I hope we can be friends. I want to be friends. And I’m glad you’re here.’
I haven’t moved a muscle the whole time he’s speaking and I’m stunned by this moment of sensitivity. I’m not sure what to say, even as I flip over. He’s a slouched shadow leaning in the doorframe. ‘I’m glad I’m here, too. Thanks.’
‘Sure.’
Nine slaps the wall twice, looks down at the ground, then turns and walks away. As his footsteps move down the hall, my eyes drift closed. After a few minutes, I hear faint whispers. I know a vision or nightmare is coming. I’m aware I’m in bed, yet I’m frozen in place. I feel myself floating, and when a dark doorway forms above me, I start to spin in the air incredibly fast. I rocket through the doorway and I’m moving through a black tunnel with my arms stuck to my sides. As the black turns to blue, the whispers grow louder, repeating the same thing, over and over, ‘There is more to know.’
The blue tunnel turns to green, and green turns back to black. Then, bam, I fall out of the tunnel and my bare feet land on a familiar rocky floor. I swing my arms and find I have control of my body once again. I’m back in the arena at the top of the mountain. I whip my head around, looking for Sam, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is the other Garde member. The space is completely empty, even the bleachers.
But then, in the center of the arena floor, a black stone flips over, and on the other side crouches a large Mog soldier, wearing a ragged black cloak and black boots. His waxy pale skin shines and the sword he holds above his head shimmers, as if lit from within. When he sees me, he stands and points the sword at me menacingly. It’s pulsing, as if somehow alive, an extension of the evil that wields it.
I don’t hesitate. I rush right at him, my palms lighting up and emitting a powerful beam. When I’m ten yards away, I aim the Lumen at my feet and light them on fire. The flames climb up my body as I leap. The soldier jumps at me and when we meet, I burrow a smoldering hole right through his chest. He turns to ash before hitting the ground.
To my right, another black stone flips over; it’s another sword-wielding Mog. Two more flip to my left, and I hear others appear behind me. The stone under my feet starts to vibrate, and I dive away just as it rotates to produce a Mogadorian holding a cannon. After punching a hole through the closest soldier on my left, I start launching fireballs, battling with a newfound strength. My red bracelet comes to life, blasting open to sever the head of the giant soldier. In a minute, I wipe them all out. My adrenaline is pumping, and I’m listening for more stones to reveal my next round of suitors.
A dozen stones flip in front of me, and then fifty on both sides. The largest, best-equipped Mog soldiers I’ve ever seen surround me. I create a small ring of fire around myself and move backwards, the fire maintaining its perimeter until I’m against the wall of the arena. The fire burns between the Mogs and me. Somehow, though, I don’t think my position is particularly secure.
I widen the ring of fire around me until it hits a row of soldiers. They catch fire, but don’t turn to ash. In fact, they walk right through the fire with their weapons up. I throw dozens of fireballs, but this time they have no effect. Something red zips in the air over my head, and I watch it puncture the chest of a Mog soldier who continues to march forward. I recognize the item. It’s Nine’s staff. Nine drops out of the empty bleachers to the spot right next to me. Even in the middle of an attack, I feel relieved to see him. I immediately feel safer, more confident that even these fire-resistant Mogs will be defeated now that it is the two of us.
‘Nice of you to join me!’ I yell.
He stands right next to me but doesn’t seem to hear my voice. ‘Hey, Nine!’ I try again, but he doesn’t still react. He just keeps staring at the advancing Mogs.
When the soldiers are only a few feet away from us, the ground below our feet starts to tremble and quake. I try and hold on to the wall, but I can’t keep my balance. Next thing I know, a tremendous boom shakes the opposite end of the arena and pieces of black rock rain down on us. Nine dodges a large boulder that slams into the wall behind me, leaving a giant hole that leads to the outside. Looking through, I can see blue skies.
From the swirling dust and flying debris a large stage rises out of the explosion. There, in the middle, is Setrákus Ra. Like an evil rock star, I can’t help but think. The purple scar around his neck burns brightly above the three blue pendants on his chest. To my horror, the moment he appears, my fire goes out. I try to illuminate my legs with my Lumen, but my palms suddenly won’t light. Setrákus Ra slams the end of his golden staff with the moving eye onto the ground and roars for silence. The soldiers in front of me snap to attention, turning from me and Nine to him. One by one, they rest their weapons at their sides.
‘All of you have been chosen to end this fight!’ Setrákus Ra yells. ‘You will go forth and you will destroy the Loric children. When they are dead, you will bring me their pendants and their Chests. You will crush their human friends. You will not fail me!’