then suddenly I’m falling, rapidly. My Legacies aren’t working. All I can do is hold on to Ethan and try to position him so that I take the brunt of the fall.
I hear my head bounce off the stone floor the second before everything goes black.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I WAKE UP IN MY BEDROOM STILL WEARING MY dirty clothes from the attack. There’s blood on me, but I don’t know who it belonged to. For a second, I think I might have dreamed the whole thing, but one touch to the sore lump on the back of my head proves otherwise. I glance at the clock. It’s a little after noon, but I have no idea if I’ve been out for hours or days. It takes me a few minutes to put my thoughts in order and realize two things: I don’t know what happened to Ethan, and Setrákus Ra is here.
Before I can even begin to make sense of it all, a Mog scout enters my room.
“Our Beloved Leader will see you now,” he says. I wonder how he knew I’d woken up, but of course there must be cameras somewhere in my room. The Mogs are always watching.
“Ethan,” I say. My head aches as I speak, shock waves radiating from the lump on my skull.
“Our Beloved Leader will explain everything,” the Mog says. “But I wouldn’t keep him waiting if I were you. He’s in Central Command.”
I suddenly remember how I got the injury on the back of my head. I fly off the bed and float in the air while at the same time using my telekinesis to clear the top of a dresser in my room.
Well, at least my powers are back. But what did our Beloved Leader do to me that caused me to fall?
I don’t waste any more time as I jet through the hallways towards the room where Setrákus Ra awaits. My thoughts are tinged with worry. What exactly happened at the base? Did Nine and Four manage to escape? How is Ethan?
And what of my place in the Mog ranks?
I half expect a gloom of mourning or depression to be cast over the compound because of all the casualties we suffered—they had to be in the hundreds, at least. But it’s as though nothing has changed apart from the scorched walls and destroyed doorframes in some of the hallways. My side of the compound doesn’t seem to have any cave-ins, at least, though I don’t know how the rest of the place fared with Four and Nine ripping through it. The Mogs go about their jobs dutifully, nodding to me or saluting as I pass. Some are fixing the things that were damaged in the assault; others are cleaning up the ash that litters the corners and floors. Sweeping up their dead.
Two soldiers move out of the way as I approach the base’s Central Command room. I burst through the doors, and for a moment everyone inside freezes. There are several commanders all standing in front of digital tabletops displaying three-dimensional maps. On huge screens around the room, news reports, security footage and various other videos and images are displayed. Several humans in dark suits stand at the consoles, pointing at files they bring up on the screens. They’re comparing photos of Four and Nine escaping to a few candid shots of people in restaurants and gas stations.
And in the center of it all is the single most powerful person in the galaxy. Setrákus Ra, our Beloved Leader and the Mogadorian ruler who will lead his people to continued prosperity. He leans on a gold staff with a black orb in its handle. His sheer physical presence is staggering, but there’s something else about him that intimidates me. When he looks at me, it’s as if he’s assessed my every flaw and has passed judgment on me before I’ve even said a word. I wish I could tell what his verdict is.
I bow to him. I don’t know what else to do.
“It is an honor, my Beloved Leader,” I say.
He simply stares at me. Everyone remains quiet as all eyes drift to him, wondering what his response will be.
“Clear the room,” he bellows, and before I know it, it’s only the two of us and the slight hum of computers and electronics.
He motions to a big chair in the center
I hear my head bounce off the stone floor the second before everything goes black.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I WAKE UP IN MY BEDROOM STILL WEARING MY dirty clothes from the attack. There’s blood on me, but I don’t know who it belonged to. For a second, I think I might have dreamed the whole thing, but one touch to the sore lump on the back of my head proves otherwise. I glance at the clock. It’s a little after noon, but I have no idea if I’ve been out for hours or days. It takes me a few minutes to put my thoughts in order and realize two things: I don’t know what happened to Ethan, and Setrákus Ra is here.
Before I can even begin to make sense of it all, a Mog scout enters my room.
“Our Beloved Leader will see you now,” he says. I wonder how he knew I’d woken up, but of course there must be cameras somewhere in my room. The Mogs are always watching.
“Ethan,” I say. My head aches as I speak, shock waves radiating from the lump on my skull.
“Our Beloved Leader will explain everything,” the Mog says. “But I wouldn’t keep him waiting if I were you. He’s in Central Command.”
I suddenly remember how I got the injury on the back of my head. I fly off the bed and float in the air while at the same time using my telekinesis to clear the top of a dresser in my room.
Well, at least my powers are back. But what did our Beloved Leader do to me that caused me to fall?
I don’t waste any more time as I jet through the hallways towards the room where Setrákus Ra awaits. My thoughts are tinged with worry. What exactly happened at the base? Did Nine and Four manage to escape? How is Ethan?
And what of my place in the Mog ranks?
I half expect a gloom of mourning or depression to be cast over the compound because of all the casualties we suffered—they had to be in the hundreds, at least. But it’s as though nothing has changed apart from the scorched walls and destroyed doorframes in some of the hallways. My side of the compound doesn’t seem to have any cave-ins, at least, though I don’t know how the rest of the place fared with Four and Nine ripping through it. The Mogs go about their jobs dutifully, nodding to me or saluting as I pass. Some are fixing the things that were damaged in the assault; others are cleaning up the ash that litters the corners and floors. Sweeping up their dead.
Two soldiers move out of the way as I approach the base’s Central Command room. I burst through the doors, and for a moment everyone inside freezes. There are several commanders all standing in front of digital tabletops displaying three-dimensional maps. On huge screens around the room, news reports, security footage and various other videos and images are displayed. Several humans in dark suits stand at the consoles, pointing at files they bring up on the screens. They’re comparing photos of Four and Nine escaping to a few candid shots of people in restaurants and gas stations.
And in the center of it all is the single most powerful person in the galaxy. Setrákus Ra, our Beloved Leader and the Mogadorian ruler who will lead his people to continued prosperity. He leans on a gold staff with a black orb in its handle. His sheer physical presence is staggering, but there’s something else about him that intimidates me. When he looks at me, it’s as if he’s assessed my every flaw and has passed judgment on me before I’ve even said a word. I wish I could tell what his verdict is.
I bow to him. I don’t know what else to do.
“It is an honor, my Beloved Leader,” I say.
He simply stares at me. Everyone remains quiet as all eyes drift to him, wondering what his response will be.
“Clear the room,” he bellows, and before I know it, it’s only the two of us and the slight hum of computers and electronics.
He motions to a big chair in the center
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