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He shifts then, and I can finally make out Five’s outline. He’s sitting on the edge of my bed, his skin the dark, slick texture of my sheets. He blends right in to my covers, and it must be because he’s touching them, using his Externa. That means his Legacies are back. It also means that he’s seriously creeping me out, like a monster came crawling out from under my bed.
‘I know you’re awake,’ Five says to me without turning his head. ‘The ship is descending, we aren’t in orbit anymore. If you want to go, now is the time.’
I scoot up in bed, keeping the covers close. For a second, I consider making Five powerless again by charging the sheets with my Dreynen. But what good would that do? I decide not to attack him. For now.
‘I thought you were on their side,’ I say. ‘Why would you help me?’
‘I’m not on anybody’s side. I’m done with this whole thing.’
‘What do you mean, done?’
‘For a while, after my Cêpan died, I was alone. It wasn’t so bad. I’d like to go back to that,’ Five says. ‘You know how many little islands there are in the oceans? I’m going to pick one out and stay there until this is over. I don’t give a shit who wins, so long as they stay far away from me.’
‘That’s cowardly,’ I reply, shaking my head. ‘I’m not going to some deserted island with you.’
Five snorts. ‘I didn’t invite you, Ella. I’m getting off this ship and I thought you might want to come along. That’s as far as we go.’
I consider the possibility that this could be some kind of test orchestrated by Setrákus Ra. But remembering the way Five acted earlier, I decide to take my chances that he’s for real. I hop out of bed and pull on my thin-soled Mogadorian slippers.
‘Okay, what’s your plan?’
Five stands up and his skin reverts to normal. As the automatic lights come on in my room, I can finally see his face. He’s changed the bandage over his eye so that it isn’t crusty with blood anymore, but he still hasn’t gotten it healed. His remaining eye twinkles like he’s excited to get into some trouble. Seeing him makes me second-guess my decision to join forces.
‘I’m going to open up one of the airlocks and jump out,’ Five says, illustrating his brilliant plan.
‘That’s nice for you. You can fly. What am I supposed to do?’
Five reaches into his back pocket and casually tosses me a round object. I catch the stone in my hands and cradle it. I recognize it as one of the objects from John’s Chest.
‘Xitharis stone,’ Five explains. ‘I, uh, borrowed it from our friends.’
‘You stole it.’
He shrugs. ‘I charged it with my flight Legacy. Use it to fly off and save the planet.’
I hide the stone inside my dress, then look up at Five. ‘So that’s it? You think we’re just going to walk off this ship?’
Five raises an eyebrow at me. I notice that he’s not wearing any shoes or socks, probably so his bare feet are in constant contact with the metal paneling of the Anubis. Also, attached to his forearm is some kind of contraption that looks like it might be a weapon.
‘They won’t be able to stop me,’ Five says, a dark confidence in his voice. It isn’t exactly inspiring, but it’s the best hope I’ve got.
‘Okay, lead the way.’
The door to my room slides open for Five. He pokes his head out, checking to see that the coast is clear. When he’s satisfied, Five hustles into the hallway, motioning for me to follow. We navigate the labyrinthine halls of the Anubis at a brisk walk.
‘Just act normal,’ Five tells me, keeping his voice low. ‘He’s got scouts watching us, always. But they’re also afraid of us. You, in particular, are supposed to be treated like royalty. They won’t interfere if we don’t look suspicious. And, even if they do think something’s wrong, by the time one of them actually works up the guts to tell Beloved Leader, we’ll be gone …’
He’s talking a lot. That tells me that he’s nervous. Without thinking about it – because if I actually thought about it, I might get too repulsed – I reach out and take Five’s hand.
‘We’re just a newly betrothed couple, getting to know each other,’ I say. ‘Enjoying a nice walk through the cozy halls of a massive warship.’
Five’s hand is sweaty and cold. He tries to jerk away from me, his initial instinct not to be touched, but after a moment he calms down and lets his dead-fish hand be held.
‘Betrothed?’ he grunts. ‘He wants us to get married?’
‘That’s what Setrákus Ra said.’
‘He says a lot of things.’ Five’s face is red, the blush traveling all the way up into his scalp. I’m not sure if he’s embarrassed or angry or some combination of the two. ‘I didn’t agree to that. You’re a child.’
‘Um, obviously I didn’t agree either. You’re a gross, murdering, weirdo –’
‘Shut up,’ Five hisses, and for a second I think that I’ve actually offended him. But then I realize we’re passing by the open entranceway of the observation deck.
I can’t help but slow my steps as we sneak by. The empty darkness of space I’d gotten used to has been replaced by the familiar, bright-blue atmosphere of Earth. The Anubis is still making its descent, but already the outline of civilization is visible, roads boxing up green fields, tiny houses arranged into perfect suburbs. Dozens of Mogadorians have gathered to watch Earth approach, an excited energy in the air as they whisper to one another, probably talking about which swath of land they’ll pillage first.
Five leads me around the next corner and crashes right into two Mog warriors who were jogging towards the observation deck. The nearest one lifts a corner of his mouth in a disdainful sneer, eyeing us.
‘What are you two doing?’ the Mog asks.
In response, I draw myself up, trying to look as regal as possible. I fix the overcurious Mog with a cold stare. The Mog’s sneer quickly fades as he remembers himself – or, more likely, remembers that I’m not just some Lorien but the blood of his Beloved Leader – and he looks down at the floor. He begins to mutter something apologetic when a metallic shink cuts him off.
A needlelike blade extends from the leather contraption on Five’s forearm. In a blur, Five drives
the blade right through the first Mog’s forehead, instantly turning him to ash. The other Mog’s eyes widen in panic and he tries to run. A delighted grin spreads across Five’s face. Before the Mog can get even a few steps down the hall, Five’s non-blade arm takes on a rubbery consistency and stretches after him. Five’s arm snakes around the Mog’s neck and then yanks him backwards so Five can finish him off with his blade.
The whole thing is over in about ten seconds.
‘We were supposed to be acting normal,’ I say to Five in a loud whisper, mindful that we’re not all that far from the crowded observation room.
Five blinks at me, almost like he’s not sure what just came over him. Carefully, he presses the blade back into its holster.
‘I lost my cool, okay?’ Five anxiously rubs his hand across the stubble on top of his head. ‘It doesn’t matter now. We’re almost there.’
I stare at this unhinged monster standing in front of me. He gulps down a few deep breaths, his shoulders shaking, fists balled from the excitement. Minutes ago, he sounded almost fragile, rambling in the darkness of my room. He’s broken, a total mess – I have to remind myself that he murdered Eight in order to squelch the swelling of sympathy I feel for him. Sympathy, yes, but also fear. He flew off the handle with zero provocation, and almost seemed happy killing those Mogs.
This screwed-up, violent, cowardly traitor is my only real hope of getting off the Anubis.
I shake my head. ‘Let’s go,’ I sigh.
Five nods and we jog on, tossing out the whole hand-holding thing, and just careening towards our destination. As we run, I notice Five clenching and unclenching his hands. They’re both empty.
‘How’d you do that with your arm?’ I ask him, thinking about those rubber and steel balls he used to change his skin in the Lecture Hall. ‘I thought you needed to be touching something …’
Five turns his head so his good eye is on me. He touches the fresh bandage over his face.
‘Losing an eye gave me some new, uh … storage possibilities,’ he says.
‘Ugh,’ I reply, grossed out as I picture the rubber ball shoved into Five’s eye socket. ‘How’d you lose it, anyway?’
