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Before I can even ask—go where?—a wave of Loric energy sweeps me away. I’m no longer floating along in the peaceful darkness. Instead, I’m inside Earth itself. It’s like one of those cross-sections where you can see the different layers of Earth’s crust—the tectonic plates, dinosaur bones, hot molten lava near the planet’s core. I can visualize it all. I feel tiny in comparison.
Running through every layer of the Earth, intertwined with the core itself, are glowing veins of Loralite. The energy is thin in some places, stronger in others, but there’s nowhere on the planet that isn’t close to its gentle glow.
“Whoa,” I say. “You really made yourself at home.”
Yes, Legacy replies. This is not all.
We rise up. Once again, the battlefield appears beneath me. My friends and Setrákus Ra are still moving like they’re stuck in molasses. Six is in the process of picking up a rock, hopefully to clobber my grandfather with.
In Six’s chest, right over her heart, there’s a glowing ember of Loric energy. Marina and Adam have it too. So do I, although my ember looks a little weaker than theirs, probably on account of the whole dying thing. Even Setrákus Ra has a spark of Lorien in him, although his looks partially molded over by some black substance. He’s corrupted himself in ways I don’t understand. The thought makes me glance up towards the Anubis. There, housed in the ship’s belly, is a throbbing glow of severed Loralite. It’s nothing compared to what I just saw underground, but still . . .
“What is he going to do with it?” I ask Legacy. “I mean, with you?”
I will show you. First, you need to gather the others. I have decided they should all see why they fight.
“What others?”
All of them. I will assist you.
Without warning, my mind begins to stretch. It’s like I’m using my telepathy, groping out for familiar minds, except my range is way extended. It actually doesn’t feel so great, like my brain is being pulled in all directions by some really strong magnets.
“What . . . what are you doing?”
I am augmenting your abilities, child. It may be a bit uncomfortable at first. I apologize.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Gather up the ones I have marked.
Crazily enough, I actually know what this means. When I reach out with my telepathy, I can actually sense all the Legacy-touched people out there. I aim for Marina’s sparkly blue core, snatch it up with my telepathic hand and reel her in. It’s just like how I was able to pull John into my visions except now it’s so much easier. I snap up Adam too, bringing them into the warmth of Legacy’s consciousness. Then, I hesitate.
“What about him?” I ask, gazing down upon my grandfather.
Even him. It must be all.
Feeling a little grossed out that I have to come into telepathic contact with that twisted brain and his spoiled Loric heart, I pull in Setrákus Ra. I try to absorb Six next, but her consciousness fights against mine. Distantly, I’m aware of her physical body yelling something.
“What’s she saying?” I ask Legacy.
She does not yet understand that I do not interfere, Legacy intones. All will see, or none. No advantage will be given.
I don’t know what Legacy means and I don’t have time to think about it because as soon as Six’s consciousness gives way to mine, we’re spreading out even farther.
The entire world unfolds before me. Hundreds of little Loralite embers dot the continents. These are the new Garde, the humans only recently given powers. Legacy wants them, too. I reach out with my mind, plucking them up one by one.
A boy in London who stares up at a Mogadorian warship, his hands clenching and unclenching as he tries to decide what to do. The gravel on the street hops and pops with his every motion, caught in his uncontrolled telekinesis.
A girl in Japan who just days ago was confined to a wheelchair. Now, she finds herself moving through her parents’ small apartment with speed she didn’t think possible.
A boy in a remote Nigerian village, where they haven’t even heard about the invasion yet. His mother and father burst into tears as he floats above them, emanating an angelic glow.
I snatch all their minds up. Wherever Legacy is taking us, they’re coming with.
Some of them are scared. Okay, a lot of them are scared. The Legacies were one thing but now this—a sudden, uninvited telepathic experience? I get that it’s a little much. I talk to them. Comfort them. I find that my mind is strong enough that I can hold multiple conversations at once while still zipping across the telepathic plane.
I assure them that they’re going to be okay. That it’s like a dream. I don’t tell them that I have no idea what I’m doing.
Then I get to New York. I snap up Sam first, mostly because I’m so excited he’s been awarded a Legacy, I just want to hug him. That creep Five, handsome Nine who I would also very much like to hug, some new girl—they all get pulled into my telepathic embrace. And then I get to John. I’ve had more practice using my telepathy on him than anyone; it should be easy. But like Six, he struggles against me. That’s when I notice the biggest and ugliest monster I’ve ever seen is looming over him and the others. John wants to fight. Or, well, he doesn’t want to get stepped on. I can’t say I blame him.
“Will this knock him out?” I ask Legacy. “Will he, like, get eaten?”
No. All will pass in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t worry, John,” I say triumphantly. “It’ll only take a second.”
I pull in John’s consciousness, too. That’s everyone. Every Garde on Earth. All their pulsing Loric heartbeats, pulled into my vast consciousness.
“So, what now?” I ask Legacy.
Watch.
CHAPTER
TWENTY
I’M SOMEWHERE ELSE. A PLACE THAT’S BOTH strange to me and familiar. I float through the air, able to see the entire scene around me, but not able to take any action. I can sense the hundreds of other minds along for the ride with me.
This is what Legacy wants to show us.
It is a warm summer night. Two vivid white moons hang in the cloudless dark purple sky, one in the north and one in the south. That means it’s a special time for my people. Two weeks out of the year the moons are like that and for those two weeks the Loric would celebrate. That’s where we are. Lorien.
I know this because Legacy knows this. What I don’t know is how far back in time we’ve gone.
We’re on a beach, the sand dyed flickering orange from the light of a dozen bonfires. There are people everywhere, eating and laughing, drinking and dancing. A band plays music like nothing I’ve ever heard on Earth. My gaze drifts towards a teenaged girl with a curly mane of auburn hair as she dances to the music, her hands thrown over her head, not a care in the world. Her dress shimmers and twirls, caught occasionally by the warm ocean breeze.
Down the beach, at the edge of the party, two teenaged boys sit in the sand, taking a break from the festivities. One is tall for his age with close-cropped dark hair and sharp features. The other, smaller but more handsome than the first guy, has a shaggy mop of dirty blond hair and a square jaw. The blond is dressed in a loose-fitting white button-down, untucked and cas
ual. His friend is dressed more formally in a dark red shirt, ironed and perfect, the sleeves meticulously rolled up. The two of them, but the taller boy in particular, seem super interested in the dancing girl.
“You should just go for it,” says the blond, elbowing his friend. “She likes you. Everyone knows it.”
The dark-haired boy frowns, sifting a hand through the sand. “So what? What would be the point?”
“Uh, are you watching her dance? I can think of a lot of reasons, buddy.”
“She isn’t Garde. She’s not like us. We wouldn’t be able . . .” The dark-haired boy shakes his head gloomily. “Our worlds are too different.”
“She doesn’t seem to mind not being Garde,” the blond boy counters. “She’s having fun anyway. You’re the one hung up on it.”
“Why do we have Legacies while she doesn’t? It doesn’t seem fair, that some should be stuck being so . . . normal.” The dark-haired boy turns to his friend, an earnest look on his face. “Do you ever think about that stuff?”
In answer, the blond boy holds out an open palm. In it, a tiny ball of fire comes to life and quickly shapes itself into the form of a dancing girl.
“Nope,” he says, grinning.
The dark-haired boy concentrates for a moment and the little fire-dancer suddenly winks out of existence. The blond boy frowns.
“Stop it,” he complains. “You know I hate when you do that.”
The dark-haired boy smiles apologetically at his friend and turns his Legacies back on.
“Stupid Legacy,” he says, shaking his head. “What good is something that only works against other Garde?”
The blond boy waves towards the dancer. “See? You’re perfect for Celwe. She doesn’t have any Legacies, and you’ve got the crappiest one there is.”
The dark-haired boy laughs and punches his friend playfully in the shoulder. “You always know the right things to say.”
