The Fate of Ten

“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.

The blade gets caught underneath me as I roll, making a shallow slice in my upper thigh. I never really trained with swords before, never saw the point. Definitely wish I had now. Without my Legacies, it’s the only weapon I have against Setrákus Ra. He’s stronger than me and just as fast. I’m starting to think that I should’ve listened to Marina.

Speaking of Marina, as I come back to my feet with a few yards between me and Setrákus Ra, I glance around for her. There she is—dragging Adam’s unconscious body up the far side of the crater. As I watch, blaster fire bites into the dirt around her and she’s forced to take cover behind a pile of limestone bricks right on the crater’s lip. From the direction of the shooting, it seems like the Mogs have regrouped around the entrance ramp to the Anubis. The massive warship still hovers over us, its gunmetal underbelly our new sky.

I backpedal as Setrákus Ra comes at me, dodging a couple of big overhand strikes from his metal-plated fists. When I dance out of range of his strikes, he uses telekinesis to fling a few loose pieces of brick at me. I bat them away with my sword, hands sweating on the grip.

“Where is your bravado now, child?” he asks. “Why do you run?”

Let him go on thinking that I’m retreating. I mean, I am retreating. It’s just not all that I’m doing. My real goal is to draw Setrákus Ra as far away from Marina’s side of the crater as possible. Once she’s out of his Legacy-canceling radius and can successfully heal Adam, we might be able to turn the tide.