I shake my head. “Anyway, Rex is only one Mog. Even if he wanted to betray us, what do you think he could really do?”
What I leave unspoken is that I’ve just killed an entire ship’s worth of Mogadorians. One left alive isn’t going to stop what I’ve got planned. As for my question about Mogadorians learning to change, I’m not sure I want to know the answer to that myself. It’s easier if I imagine them as vicious enemies that would never listen to reason, that are incapable of knowing justice or mercy. But the more I get to know Adam and now Rex, the more I see of Mogadorians like that one who died thinking his “god” Setrákus Ra had abandoned him, the more I wonder if they haven’t just been completely brainwashed as a people. Given time, could they change? I’m not going to stop fighting and ask the invaders if they’d like to be rehabilitated. It’s too late for that. But I wonder what will happen once I cut off the head of their twisted society—once I kill Setrákus Ra.
I intend to find out soon.
“He doesn’t have any bad intentions.”
Nine visibly jumps, and my shoulders tighten as Ella creeps up behind us. She smiles a bit, and for a moment I wonder if she’s having some fun with how spooky she’s been lately. Her eyes spark with Loric energy as she scans the two of us.
“Goddamn, Ella,” Nine says, catching his breath. “Did you read his mind or something?”
“Yes,” she responds. “He has harbored doubts about the morality of his people ever since he first encountered Adam. He’s been too frightened to act on them until you gave him an opportunity, John.”
“Well, that’d make me sleep easier if I planned to sleep anywhere on this gross-ass ship,” Nine says, already losing interest. “Maybe we should just have Adam talk all nice to the rest of the Mogs, huh? Go all social worker on ’em.”
Ignoring Nine, I turn to Ella. “The Loralite stone near the falls that you turned off. Can you reactivate it?”
“Yes,” she replies.
“Then let’s go.”
“Okay, bye,” Nine says, frowning as we exit.
I lead Ella through the empty halls of the warship. The traces of my battle with the ship’s crew are everywhere: burns, debris, damaged panels. The two of us don’t say anything until we’re almost at the docking bay. Ella finally breaks the silence.
“You’re mad at me.”
I run a hand through my hair, find it sticky and matted with sweat. “I . . . no. Yes. I don’t know.”
“You wish I had warned Sarah. Or warned you.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?” I slow my walk down and turn towards her. “In your visions—”
“I told you; I’m not looking at the future anymore.”
“When you were, then. Did you see me like this? Did you see what I’d become?”
“What have you become, John?” Ella asks, tilting her head.
I bite the inside of my cheek before answering. I remember the looks I was getting from Six and Adam during our attack on the warship.
“Something my friends are afraid of.”
Tentatively, Ella reaches out and brushes her fingertips against mine. “They aren’t afraid of you, John. They’re afraid for you.”
I shake my head. Whatever that means. I’ve already wasted too much time here. There’s still so much to be done.
Of course, even though I’m doing my best not to show it, I’m feeling tired in a way that I’ve never felt before. It’s beyond exhaustion. It’s like my every atom is splitting apart, like I’ve exploded, except my body doesn’t know it yet. Pushing so much power through me, using so many different Legacies, it takes a toll. I was running on adrenaline by the end of the battle.
But I’m still standing. That means I’m still fighting.
We enter the docking bay. Lexa stands next to her ship, the Loric vessel sticking out like a sore thumb among all these Mogadorian Skimmers.
“Need a ride back down?” Lexa asks, seeming eager to get off the warship.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.”
I pick up Ella around the waist, and we fly through the reopened docking bay blast doors, into the blue sky. My body aches from the exertion, but I’m not wasting even the seconds it would take for Lexa to power up the ship.
It’s a short journey back towards the falls and dormant Loralite stone. Down below, I catch glimpses of Skimmer wreckage, the result of our turning the Mogs’ own guns against them. I can also see the bulk of our Canadian friends, now securing a perimeter around the Loralite stone.
“You’re getting good at this,” Ella says as I set us down.
“Yeah, thanks.”
The nearby soldiers gape at us. Still not used to seeing people flying around, I guess. As we walk towards the Loralite stone, Ella turns to me.
“You’re going to go after Setrákus Ra soon, right?”
I nod.
“You’ll need my Dreynen,” she says.
“I know.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t tried learning it already.”
I look up at the warship hovering above us. “I needed the other Legacies first. Needed to make sure I had the power to push through Setrákus Ra’s guards and get to him. Dreynen’s only got one use.” Like all the Legacies I’ve observed, I think I can feel the Dreynen lurking inside me. A negativity, a vacuum, a cold absence. In truth, I haven’t wanted to try it out. It feels wrong.
As if reading my mind, Ella gives me a grim look. “When I was prisoner on the Anubis, Setrákus Ra made me practice on Five. It wasn’t fun.”
“Practicing on Five. I should’ve thought of that,” I say, only half joking.
“Setrákus Ra can take away Legacies with a thought. I haven’t gotten to that level yet. I’m still stuck charging objects. Maybe you’ll learn it faster than me. . . .”
“That’s a stretch,” I say. “I haven’t even tried yet.”
Ella purses her lips. “Actually, that might be for the best. Make a Dreynen-charged weapon, like Pittacus Lore had. That way, even if he stops your Legacies first, you’ll still have that to fall back on.”
“Good idea,” I reply, subconsciously touching Five’s blade, which is sheathed and concealed on my forearm. “Thanks.”
From our left, one of the higher-ranking soldiers timidly approaches holding a satellite phone. I pause to acknowledge him, and Ella wanders on, heading for the Loralite stone.
“Your CO is on the line,” the soldier says, holding out the phone.
“I don’t have a CO,” I reply. The soldier only shrugs, like he’s just the messenger.
I take the phone from him, knowing that it’s going to be Lawson expecting a progress report. Before speaking with him, I watch Ella wrap her arms around the Loralite stone. It goes from dull, ordinary gray to a glowing azure in a matter of seconds. Some of the soldiers watching ooh and ahh. Ella rests her cheek against the stone, letting its restored energy pulse over her.
“This is John,” I say into the phone.
“What’s this I hear about you taking over a Mogadorian warship?” Lawson barks into the phone.
“I figured since I was already up there . . . ,” I reply.
Lawson sighs into my ear. “Well, I suppose that’s one less of the big bastards we have to take down. On the other hand, probably only pissed off Setrákus Ra even more. Feel like this cease-fire won’t last much longer, you keep taking his ships.”
“It won’t have to,” I say. “We got what you wanted. You get coordinating with the other armies. Tell them to go to the Loralite locations I showed you, and I’ll have my people deliver the cloaking devices.”
“I hope it’s enough,” Lawson grumbles tentatively. “Eggheads here haven’t made much progress. Then again, if all we need is you to bring down these warships . . . Hell, you know we’ve got ones hovering over Washington and Los Angeles still, right? Not to mention the big bitch herself in West Virginia.”