of the room—one that looks like it’s reserved for the person in charge—as he walks towards one of the computer terminals.
“Have a seat,” he says.
I do, because his orders are the only ones that matter. Somehow I manage not to ask a thousand questions as I wait for him to speak. He takes his time, studying a monitor with Four’s photo on it.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” he finally asks.
“What?” I don’t know what he’s talking about. All I feel is a pulsing pain in my head and nagging confusion in my mind.
He turns to me and grins, showing off his pointy teeth. His hand waves, and my chair spins a little, turning a full 360 degrees until I face him again.
“Being in the seat of power. It suits you. You look comfortable in it.”
I stare at him as a few seconds tick by, trying to soak in what he’s just said to me. Our Beloved Leader thinks I look comfortable with power.
“Thank you,” I finally manage to say.
There are so many questions shooting through my brain that I don’t even know what to ask first. How did the Garde manage to attack us? Where is Ethan? What does this mean for my future? And so I try to ask one question that will encompass all of them.
“What happened?”
Setrákus Ra pauses briefly, allowing a small grimace before he launches into his explanation.
“Number Four,” he says, his voice a low rumble. “It appears that he and a human conspirator were able to sneak into this compound. Our best guess after reviewing security footage is that they were able to use a Legacy to make themselves invisible during their infiltration. They stole a few items we had in lockup—slaying several pikens in the process—and then proceeded to slaughter countless Mogadorian soldiers, scouts and trainees as they made their way across the compound to the detention cells. They killed without discretion. Many of our visiting guests were murdered.”
I swallow hard as I think of the elegant women and young-looking Mogs I’d seen passing through the main hall before everything went nuts. They were in the compound for the ceremony. I was the reason they were here.
“I believe that’s where you caught up with the Garde, am I correct? As the prisoners escaped?”
I nod. “I led a small group of Mogs. We tried to stop them.”
“And what happened then?”
“The tunnels were blocked, so I chased them through an alternate route. Eventually we had to split up, and the group I wasn’t leading found them. By the time I got there, most of that team had been annihilated.”
“And?” Setrákus Ra asks.
“Ethan was still alive. He fell. I caught him and brought him back to the main hall. Where I saw you. And you . . .” I shake my head, touching the back of my skull. “I fell. What happened to me? What happened to Ethan?”
“Your Legacies are gifts that can be taken away by those with the power to do so. I blocked your use of them in the chaos because we were unsure of what was happening.”
“You can just cancel out my abilities?” I ask. This seems impossible—losing my powers is a nightmare I’ve never even imagined.
“It is within my ability,” Setrákus Ra says. “There’s little that is not.”
Without my Legacies, I am as normal as a human. Even if I’m not from Earth.
Do the Garde know about this? Did Rey? Or was this some cosmic joke we were all supposed to find out about as we got our asses kicked? I almost laugh at the idea of the Garde, confident in their superpowers, discovering that their enemy can strip them of their abilities with little more than a wave of his hand.
“And Ethan?” I ask again.
Setrákus Ra begins to pace around the room. My chair turns so that I am always facing him. He must be using some kind of telekinetic ability to twist it. I wonder what other powers our Beloved Leader can command. Are there any limits to what he can do? He’s conquered planets. My Legacies, while powerful, are probably nothing compared to the scope of his
“Have a seat,” he says.
I do, because his orders are the only ones that matter. Somehow I manage not to ask a thousand questions as I wait for him to speak. He takes his time, studying a monitor with Four’s photo on it.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” he finally asks.
“What?” I don’t know what he’s talking about. All I feel is a pulsing pain in my head and nagging confusion in my mind.
He turns to me and grins, showing off his pointy teeth. His hand waves, and my chair spins a little, turning a full 360 degrees until I face him again.
“Being in the seat of power. It suits you. You look comfortable in it.”
I stare at him as a few seconds tick by, trying to soak in what he’s just said to me. Our Beloved Leader thinks I look comfortable with power.
“Thank you,” I finally manage to say.
There are so many questions shooting through my brain that I don’t even know what to ask first. How did the Garde manage to attack us? Where is Ethan? What does this mean for my future? And so I try to ask one question that will encompass all of them.
“What happened?”
Setrákus Ra pauses briefly, allowing a small grimace before he launches into his explanation.
“Number Four,” he says, his voice a low rumble. “It appears that he and a human conspirator were able to sneak into this compound. Our best guess after reviewing security footage is that they were able to use a Legacy to make themselves invisible during their infiltration. They stole a few items we had in lockup—slaying several pikens in the process—and then proceeded to slaughter countless Mogadorian soldiers, scouts and trainees as they made their way across the compound to the detention cells. They killed without discretion. Many of our visiting guests were murdered.”
I swallow hard as I think of the elegant women and young-looking Mogs I’d seen passing through the main hall before everything went nuts. They were in the compound for the ceremony. I was the reason they were here.
“I believe that’s where you caught up with the Garde, am I correct? As the prisoners escaped?”
I nod. “I led a small group of Mogs. We tried to stop them.”
“And what happened then?”
“The tunnels were blocked, so I chased them through an alternate route. Eventually we had to split up, and the group I wasn’t leading found them. By the time I got there, most of that team had been annihilated.”
“And?” Setrákus Ra asks.
“Ethan was still alive. He fell. I caught him and brought him back to the main hall. Where I saw you. And you . . .” I shake my head, touching the back of my skull. “I fell. What happened to me? What happened to Ethan?”
“Your Legacies are gifts that can be taken away by those with the power to do so. I blocked your use of them in the chaos because we were unsure of what was happening.”
“You can just cancel out my abilities?” I ask. This seems impossible—losing my powers is a nightmare I’ve never even imagined.
“It is within my ability,” Setrákus Ra says. “There’s little that is not.”
Without my Legacies, I am as normal as a human. Even if I’m not from Earth.
Do the Garde know about this? Did Rey? Or was this some cosmic joke we were all supposed to find out about as we got our asses kicked? I almost laugh at the idea of the Garde, confident in their superpowers, discovering that their enemy can strip them of their abilities with little more than a wave of his hand.
“And Ethan?” I ask again.
Setrákus Ra begins to pace around the room. My chair turns so that I am always facing him. He must be using some kind of telekinetic ability to twist it. I wonder what other powers our Beloved Leader can command. Are there any limits to what he can do? He’s conquered planets. My Legacies, while powerful, are probably nothing compared to the scope of his
Similar Books
