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“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.
