Except, Nine doesn’t hit him. He passes right through Five and ends up sliding on his face into the pile of books I tossed off the shelves.
“Son of a bitch!” Nine growls.
“Huh,” Five says, looking down at his chest, which sure looks solid enough to hit.
“There can be no violence here.”
We all turn to look at the room’s far wall, where a doorway just manifested. Standing there is a middle-aged man with a muscular build, his brown hair graying at the temples. He looks exactly the way I remember him.
“Henri?” I exclaim.
At the exact same time, Nine shouts, “Sandor? What the hell?”
Five doesn’t say anything. He simply glares at the man in the doorway, his lips curled into a sneer.
Nine and I exchange a quick look. It only takes us a second to realize that we’re all seeing different people. If it’s really Ella running this trippy dreamland, she must have plucked someone from our subconscious that we’d feel comfortable with. Except that doesn’t really seem to have worked with Five. He keeps balling and relaxing his fists, like he might spring forward at any second. I can’t help but smile looking at Henri, even though the moment is definitely bittersweet. “Are you . . . are you real?” I ask, feeling stupid asking this question.
“I’m as real as a memory, John,” Henri replies. When he speaks, I see a glow inside his mouth of the same energy that Setrákus Ra was mining from Lorien. It’s similar to the way Six described her group’s encounter with a briefly reincarnated Eight. I don’t think it’s just Ella pulling off this telepathic masterpiece anymore. She’s got some high-powered support.
“I’m sorry I got the penthouse blown up,” Nine says. He pauses for a response, then says, “Yeah, it was totally Five’s fault, you’re right.”
I glance first at Nine and then to Five, who still hasn’t said anything but appears to be listening intently, and finally back to Henri. We can’t see or hear each other’s visitors, only our own.
“What are you . . . ?” I’m about to ask Henri what he’s doing here, but I think better of it. Him being here actually makes as much sense as anything. There’s a much more important question that needs answering. “What’re we doing here?” I ask.
“You’re here to meet the others,” Henri replies, then turns around and walks through the open doorway that wasn’t even there a second ago. He motions for us to follow.
“What others?”
“All of them,” Henri says, and smiles at me in that same frustratingly knowing way that he used to. “Remember, John. You’ve only got one chance to make a good first impression. Better make it count.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I follow anyway. He’s my Cêpan, after all. Even manifested here in this crazy dream state, he still feels like the real deal. I trust him. Nine heads to the door too, following a version of Sandor I can’t see, chatting about the Chicago Bulls. Five begrudgingly follows a few steps behind, still silent.
When I get close to him, Henri puts a hand on my shoulder. He lowers his voice even though the others can’t hear him, like he’s letting me in on a secret.
“Start with the ones you’ve felt, John. Those will be easiest. Remember what it was like. Visualize.”
I stare at Henri, not sure what the hell he’s talking about. In response to my look, he flashes that knowing smile again. Holding back on me, making me work out the details myself. The Henri way. I know it makes me stronger and smarter in the long run, but man does it piss me off.
“I don’t get what you’re trying to tell me,” I say.
Henri pats my shoulder, then starts down the hallway.
“You will.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
I’M IN A BIT OF A DAZE, MOSTLY BECAUSE I’M being led down a long hallway by Katarina, my dead Cêpan. Marina and Adam lag a few steps behind me. We didn’t have much to say to each other when we “woke up” in some lavish private library. All of us were either still stunned from what we’d just seen or else in a bit of shock from the vicious battle we were suddenly teleported out of. Anyway, it wasn’t long until Katarina came to collect us.
Except, I don’t think the others are seeing Katarina. Marina addressed the figure leading us as Adelina and Adam’s been keeping his voice purposefully low so we can’t hear what he’s saying. They’re both having separate conversations from me. It’s like we’re here together, but not really existing on the same wavelength.
Adam’s expression has been clouded with guilt since we woke up here. Now, though, he gets a little ahead of me and Marina, moving closer to the figure that I identify as Katarina. Marina and I exchange a look, both of us getting the urge to eavesdrop. We inch up behind Adam.
“Did I do the right thing?” he asks whatever form the Ella-Entity has taken for him.
I don’t hear what response he gets. Whatever it tells him, all Adam does is shake his head.
“That doesn’t change what I tried to do, One.”
Ah. I know what he’s asking about. Adam pretty much tried to kill Ella right before . . . well, right before she basically killed herself. I’ve got my own guilt about that considering I sure as hell didn’t spring forward to stop him. I was planning to let the whole thing go, just chalk it up to being in the heat of battle. Apparently, Adam can’t do that.
Neither can Marina. She grabs Adam by the elbow, turning him away from the shape-shifting Katarina-Entity so she can confront him. Knowing her, this anger’s probably been stewing for a while now.
“What the hell was that back there?” she asks him. I almost expect Marina to start radiating her icy aura. I guess that doesn’t happen here in Ella’s headspace, though. Her wide-eyed death stare gets the point across.
“I know . . . ,” Adam replies, hanging his head. “I lost control.”
“You could’ve killed Ella,” Marina snaps at him. “You would have!”
“He didn’t, though . . . ,” I say, trying to keep things peaceable. They both ignore me.
“I don’t expect you to understand this,” Adam says, his voice soft. “I’ve never—I’ve never actually met Setrákus Ra before. But I’ve spent my entire life in his shadow, under his thumb, a prisoner to his words. When I got the chance to kill him, to free myself . . . I just couldn’t help it.”
“You don’t think we want to kill him?” Marina asks incredulously. “He’s been hunting us our entire lives. But we knew Ella would’ve died first so we . . . we stopped ourselves.”
“I know,” Adam replies, not even trying to defend himself. “And in that same moment I became the thing I’ve always hated. I’m going to have to live with that, Marina. I’m sorry it happened.”
Marina runs a hand through her hair, not sure how to respond to that.
“I just . . . I just can’t believe she’s gone,” Marina says after a moment. “I can’t believe she did that to herself.”
“I don’t think Ella’s gone,” I tell Marina, waving a hand at the deep blue marble walls of the hallway surrounding us. “I think she’s got something to do with our current situation, you know? I saw a bunch of Loric lightning bolts shoot out of Ella’s body before we went under.”
Marina smiles tightly, looking at me now instead of glaring at Adam. “I hope you’re right, Six.”
“The charm is broken, though. I tested it before we came here,” I tell them, remembering with no small amount of satisfaction how it felt to crack Setrákus Ra’s head with a rock.
Marina pinches the bridge of her nose. It’s a lot to take in, going from fighting Setrákus Ra to seeing him as a normal Loric to this.
“Is he . . . ? Could he be killing us right now?”
“No, he went down to whatever Ella did, too. We should make a plan, though, because I’ve got a feeling once this little trip down memory lane is over, we’re going to be right back in the shit.”
Adam frowns, looking embarrassed. “I’m in a bad way. I think he broke my whole face.”
br /> “I’ll heal you,” Marina says curtly. “I was about to do it anyway.”
“Good, good,” I say. “And then you guys can help me kill Setrákus Ra.”
Adam and Marina both stare at me.
“What?” I ask. “You think we’re ever going to get a better shot at him? We’ve got his troops on the run, he’s hurt, it’s three-on-one . . .”
“We don’t have our Legacies,” Marina says. “He drained them. I’m going to have to drag Adam out of the crater just to heal him.”
Adam nods, studying me. I can tell he’s not sure if I’m being crazy or if he thinks it’s a good plan. Either way, I don’t miss the admiration in that look. “It won’t be three-on-one right away, Six. It’ll be one-on-one.”
“I don’t care. I’m not wasting this chance,” I tell them. I look around at our surroundings, wishing that I could figure out a way out of here. “As soon as this is finally over, I’m going to end him.”
Marina forgets about her anger with Adam long enough to exchange a quick look with him. I guess I might sound a little crazy. At this point, we’ve entirely stopped walking down the hallway to have this discussion. Katarina, or whoever or whatever has taken her form, notices our delay and stops, clearing her throat impatiently.
“We don’t have much time,” she says in that same stern tone she used to take when I really annoyed her. “Let’s go.”
We start walking again. Marina gets close to me, leaning her shoulder into mine.
“Let’s just be careful, okay, Six?” she says quietly. “The Sanctuary, maybe Ella . . . We’ve already lost a lot today.”
I nod, not replying. Marina was the one who wanted to stay behind and protect the Sanctuary from Setrákus Ra in the first place. But now that we have a real chance to kill him, she’s getting gun-shy.
Eventually, the hallway opens up onto a domed room with a large circular table that grows right out of the floor. Katarina steps aside to let us enter and when I turn around to check on her, she’s disappeared.
The room is an exact replica of the Elders’ Chamber from the vision we all shared. The only difference is the glowing map that’s drawn across the ceiling. Instead of Lorien, it depicts Earth. There are glowing dots on the map in places like Nevada, Stonehenge and India—the locations of the Loralite stones. The gallery is currently empty, but one of the nine seats around the table is already filled.
Lexa looks majorly uncomfortable sitting in one of the high-backed chairs. She drums her hands on the table, the woman obviously not sure what she’s supposed to be doing. She looks relieved when we enter the room.
“I don’t think I’m supposed to be here,” Lexa says, rising to greet us.
“I’ve got the same feeling,” Adam replies, staring at the huge Loric symbol in the table’s center.
“I’m not Garde. I’d never even seen one of these meetings until that vision thing. You guys saw that too, right?”
We all nod.
“If you’re here, it’s for a reason,” Marina says.
Lexa looks towards me. “I heard the explosions from the jungle. How’s the fighting going?”
Adam touches a hand to his face where Setrákus Ra struck him, then wanders off towards one of the empty seats. I try to figure out the best way to tell Lexa about our current situation.
“We’re surviving,” I say eventually. “We pushed the Mogs back and I think we’ve got a real chance to get Setrákus Ra. If we ever get out of here.”
Lexa nods approvingly. “Hell yeah,” she says. “I’m keeping the engines warm, though. In case you need to bail.”
“We very well might,” Marina says, giving me a look.
“You were the one that wanted to stay and fight in the first place, Marina. Now we’ve got to finish it.”
“But don’t you get it, Six? The knowledge—it’s what we needed. We know what Setrákus Ra is after and we know how to stop him. We broke the charm. Ella wrecked his machine so he can’t mine any more of the Entity. Just being here—” Marina gestures around the room. “This is a victory. Adam’s hurt, Ella is . . . we don’t know, and I’m sure Sarah, Mark and Bernie Kosar won’t be able to cover us forever. Maybe retreating is the smart move. Ella did tell us we should run, after all. Run or . . .”
“Oh, now you want to listen to her,” I reply, shaking my head. “Look, I don’t know what you took away from that vision, but if I learned one thing it’s that Pittacus Lore should’ve manned up and killed Setrákus Ra when he had the chance.”
“Boom. See, Johnny? Six agrees with me.”
John and Nine enter from a side passageway. In spite of everything, I can’t help smiling when I see them. That smile falters quickly, though, when Five trudges in behind them. Marina tenses up immediately and takes a step towards him, but John puts himself between them, widening his eyes like now isn’t the time. I put a hand on Marina’s arm to keep her calm. To his credit, Five seems to realize that he’s a really unwelcome presence. He lingers on the edge of the room, avoiding eye contact.
John and Nine rush over to us and we all hug. We quickly introduce them to Lexa, who John already heard about from Sarah.
“So, you’re in the middle of fighting Setrákus Ra and we’re about to be swallowed by a giant piken,” Nine says, crossing his arms. “Some timing with this shit, huh?”
“How’s Sarah?” John asks me.
“She’s fine,” I tell him, leaving out the part where I haven’t actually laid eyes on her for the last few minutes. There’s no reason to worry him. His girlfriend can handle herself. “She’s gotten to be a pretty good shot.”
John smiles and looks relieved. “What about Sam?” I ask him.
John shakes his head. “I don’t know. He’s got Legacies and I saw him pass out right before I did. He was definitely pulled into Ella’s telepathic group chat. I’m not sure where he ended up, though.”
“He’ll be here in a second.”
We all recognize the voice. Ella appears out of thin air, sitting in the same chair Loridas occupied in the vision. Her eyes are overflowing with crackling Loric energy. She rests her hands on the table in front of her and sparks flare out across its surface. Ella’s hair floats out from her head, surrounded as she is by static electricity. We all stare at her, stunned to silence.
“Ella . . . ?” Marina is the first to speak. She steps towards Ella. “Are you okay?”
Ella flashes a quick smile, although she never looks in our direction. Her eyes remain focused on the empty space in front of her. Her demeanor reminds me of the Entity. It’s like they’re sharing a body now.
“I’m fine,” Ella answers. There’s a ringing quality to her voice, as if she’s not the only one speaking, or there are snatches of other conversations coming through. “I can’t hold this for much longer, though. We have to get a move on. Don’t be scared by what’s next.”
“Scared of what?” John asks.
In answer, Setrákus Ra appears in the chair next to Ella, wearing the same ornate armor as when he attacked the Sanctuary. All of us flinch backwards. The Mogadorian leader doesn’t notice us, though. He can’t, on account of his head being covered in a black hood. Chains made from glowing blue Loralite are wrapped around Setrákus Ra’s chest and shoulders. They keep him pinned to the chair, even though he struggles.
“What the hell?” Nine asks, taking a cautious step towards Setrákus Ra.
“Why is he here?” I ask Ella.
“I had to pull in everyone who’s been touched by Legacy,” Ella replies. “It was all or none.”
“Legacy . . . you mean?”
“The Entity,” she replies. “I gave it a name. It doesn’t seem to mind.”
Marina chuckles. That makes me smile too, actually. It sounds like the old Ella in there.
“Is this Legacy thing going to come out and introduce itself?” Nine asks. “I want to say what up and ask for new powers.”
“It’s here, Nine,” Ella replies, and I think I see a corner of her mout
h perk up in a smile. “It’s in me. It is this room. It is all around us.”
“Oh, okay,” Nine replies.
“Can he hear us?” John asks, staring at the shrouded Setrákus Ra.
“No, but he knows something is happening,” Ella says. “He’s fighting me. Trying to break through. I’m not sure how long I can hold him. We better do what we’re here for.”
“What are we here for?” I ask.
“Everyone, sit down,” Ella replies.
I look around to see if anyone thinks this is as nuts as I do. John and Marina immediately pull up chairs at the table, with Lexa and Adam quickly joining them. Nine catches my eye, flashes me a cock-eyed grin and shrugs like what the hell. He sits down next to John and I squeeze in between Marina and Ella. That leaves only one seat, the one next to Setrákus Ra. No one was eager to sit there.
Grudgingly, Five walks over from the room’s edge and sits down next to his former master. He looks like he’d rather be just about anywhere else right now and avoids making eye contact with any of us.
“Perfect,” Nine sneers.
While everyone gets settled, I lean over and whisper to Ella. I can’t keep my mind off my impending showdown with Setrákus Ra.
“Ella, you said run or die,” I begin, not really sure how to approach clarifying a prophecy with my maybe-dead energy-riddled friend. “Is that . . . are those still our only options? If I fight Setrákus Ra will I—will any of us . . . ?”
Veins in Ella’s forehead throb. “Six, I can’t. I can’t tell you what to do. It’s all . . . it’s all too uncertain.”
“Now what?” John asks Ella, breaking up our conversation.
It takes her a moment to answer. There’s clear strain on her face. She’s concentrating hard on something.
“Now, I’m going to bring in the others.”
“What others?” John asks.
In answer, there’s a rush of noise from all around us. All of a sudden, it seems like we’re in the middle of a crowded party. That’s because the gallery surrounding the Elders table is now completely filled with people. They’re all our age—some maybe a few years younger—and at first glance seem to come from all over the world. Many of them talk excitedly among themselves, some making introductions, others discussing the vision they just saw, analyzing the details of the Setrákus and Pittacus story. Others sit by themselves, looking nervous or afraid. A tanned boy with dark hair and a beaded necklace won’t stop crying into his hands, even though he’s being comforted by a pair of blond girls who look like they belong in a commercial for hot cocoa. The way they’re acting, it’s like these people have been sitting here the whole time and we’re the ones who just teleported into view. I guess, from their perspective, that’s exactly what happened.