United as One (15 page)

“Excuse me, sir,” he says to Lawson before he turns his attention to John. “You should probably come down to our monitoring station. Something's happening.”

That can't be good.

The three of us, plus Lawson, the twins and Noto, hustle down to where Adam is monitoring the Mogadorian
transmissions. On the way, Noto brings us up to speed as best he can.

“The Mog warship captains were going back and forth like they've been all day, especially since the one disobeyed orders and moved his ship to Niagara Falls,” Noto explains hurriedly. “Just now, a new voice came on—”

“Setrákus Ra?” I ask.

“No, a woman,” Noto replies. “She's been giving a speech, putting everybody in their place by the sounds of it. Adam looks . . .”

He looks pissed, that much is obvious as soon as we enter the room. Adam sits on the edge of his chair, hands clasped tightly in front of him, his dark eyes glaring at the Skimmer console. Of course I recognize the voice that's got Adam looking so murderous.

“Phiri Dun-Ra,” I say.

“Who?” John asks, turning to me as we all crowd around Adam.

“A most unpleasant person, even in terms of Mogadorians,” Marina says.

“She's the bitch who was in charge of breaking into the Sanctuary,” I tell John. “We had some run-ins.”

“She almost killed me and Dust,” Adam says quietly, not taking his eyes off the console, listening to Phiri's every harsh-sounding word.

“Last I saw her, she was dragging Setrákus Ra onto the
Anubis
,” I say.

General Lawson clears his throat. “Son, what's she saying?”

Adam takes a deep breath and lets it hiss through his teeth. “She's putting the fear into the trueborn captains, taking them to task for doubting their Leader. She says the delay in the attack is inconsequential, as humanity is weak and a Mogadorian victory is all but assured.”

Lawson stiffens at that.

“Did she mention that I impaled their Beloved Leader?” I ask.

“Of course not,” Adam grumbles. “She claims Setrákus Ra has been busy finishing his life's work of elevating the Mogadorian race. She says that what he's accomplished is nothing short of a miracle and that the faithful will be rewarded. The doubters? She says there's nothing in store for them but pain beyond belief.”

“Lead with the carrot or the stick,” Lawson mutters.

“What kind of miracle could that monster work?” Marina asks.

“We know what his life's work is,” I say. “We saw it in that vision.”

“The energy he stole from the Sanctuary,” John says quietly. “The process we saw in Ella's vision, turning it into that black ooze of his. He must be back to that.”

“I don't know what the hell all that means,” Lawson interrupts. “But it sounds like our time is running out.”

Adam holds up a hand as Phiri Dun-Ra's speech reaches
a crescendo. His mouth hangs open, like he can't believe what he's hearing.

“She claims . . . she claims that, thanks to the wisdom of Beloved Leader, she's been granted Legacies,” Adam says, the sound of Phiri Dun-Ra's happy laughter almost drowning him out.

“Bullshit,” I say. “Even assuming that's true, whatever they've got
are not
Legacies.”

“We saw him do it,” Marina says, a low note of dread in her voice. “The people working with him on that machine, he'd given them telekinesis.”

“Those people looked sick. Monstrous.” That observation comes from Caleb, the first words he's said since we came down here. I look over at him, and he's staring down at the backs of his hands as if looking to see if there's anything running through the veins there. His brother, Christian, meanwhile, remains completely still and silent.

“He's had hundreds of years to perfect his experiment,” John says. “He only needed access to more of the raw materials.”

“And we unlocked it for him,” I say, shaking my head.

A new voice comes over the broadcast. Not a voice at all, actually—a scream. An anguished cry from what sounds like a boy being tortured. Everyone in the room falls silent as Phiri Dun-Ra resumes speaking over the screaming, her tone upbeat and chipper.

“What in the hell is that?” Lawson asks.

Adam swallows hard. “She says it's a Garde they captured in Mexico City. A human. They're extracting his Legacies. Killing him.”

“Turn it off,” Marina says, looking like she's going to be sick.

Adam turns first to me, then at John. Both of us nod. This kind of thing can't go unanswered.

“Do it,” John says.

Adam reaches forward but doesn't turn off the broadcast. Instead, he picks up a microphone and opens up a channel.

Lawson starts forward to stop Adam, and the twins follow suit; but John puts a hand on the older man's chest, stopping him.

“Can they track our signal?” Lawson whispers with wide eyes.

“No,” John whispers back. “He already took care of that. We're a ghost.”

Lawson doesn't seem entirely convinced. He shoots a look in Noto's direction. The agent nods curtly, affirming what John said.

Anyway, it's too late. Adam's already started talking.

“Phiri Dun-Ra is a liar,” Adam announces in English, though he amps up the harshness in his voice, utilizing that guttural Mogadorian accent. He must be using English for our benefit—so that Lawson knows he's not giving away any secrets. “What she's telling you is only
meant to advance her own power.”

The screaming cuts off. A few confused voices answer in Mogadorian. Phiri Dun-Ra's voice carries over them all.

“Is that you, Adamus?” she asks, laughing. “How did you get on this channel, little boy?”

Adam ignores her, presses on. “My name is Adamus Sutekh, son of General Andrakkus Sutekh. I faced my father in single combat and defeated him. I pried his blade out of his dead hand, and I put it to its intended use. I used it to kill a Loric. A Loric who called himself Setrákus Ra.”

Now there's shouting. Outraged cries in Mogadorian from a dozen different voices. I can't help but smirk at the chaos and panic created by just a few words.

Phiri Dun-Ra screeches to be heard over the others. “These are the fabrications of a disgraced trueborn! A traitor to our race!”

“Then let Beloved Leader answer me!” Adam shouts back. “Perhaps he can speak through the hole I put in his chest! Phiri Dun-Ra knows the truth, brothers and sisters, and she now seeks to rule us through the same lies that Setrákus Ra used for centuries. Do not let it happen!”

“These are blasphemies—!” shrieks Phiri.

“Let him answer, then!” Adam yells again. “Let the immortal Setrákus Ra answer, if he still draws breath.”

For a moment, all lines go quiet, waiting for something to happen.

Only silence from Phiri Dun-Ra.

“You will pay,” she says finally, her voice filled with hate. “You will pay for your lack of faith.”

There's a sharp beep, the sound of her cutting off communication. Immediately, the dozens of warship captains who have been listening to this entire exchange begin to shout at each other.

Adam turns off his mic and swivels around to face us.

“Now,” he says. “We let them kill each other.”

SYDNEY GETS IT THE WORST.

The warship captain there begins a full-scale bombardment of the city a few hours after Adam interrupted Phiri Dun-Ra's speech. This captain claims the destruction is in honor of Beloved Leader, a fiery sacrifice for Setrákus Ra's death. Adam explains that he's showing off; the captain wants to look good in case Setrákus Ra is alive, and position himself for leadership if he's not.

Images of the opera house in flames, the bridge behind it collapsing, are broadcast on the world's few remaining news channels. It's hard to watch, knowing that our lie about Setrákus Ra caused this. Adam looks like he's going to be sick. Lawson shakes his head, his lined face grim.

“Psychological warfare has costs,” he says matter-of-factly. I get the feeling he'd have a different outlook if this was an American city burning. “If it's any
consolation, my sources tell me that Sydney was mostly evacuated.”

“Mostly,” Adam repeats.

“Yes, mostly,” Lawson replies. “Collateral damage can't always be avoided. It's horrible, but you learn to live with it.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Wouldn't have expected so much empathy from one of your kind.”

Adam eyes the general. “Right.”

I don't say anything. I just make a mental note of the Mogadorian's name. Rezza El-Doth. I add him to the list of Mogs that I'm going to kill.

It's the middle of the night. The three of us—myself, Adam, Lawson—are the only ones still down in the monitoring room hours after Adam's surprise broadcast. The others went to get some rest, something that I should probably be doing but don't feel at all capable of. Instead, I slouch in a chair and listen as Adam robotically describes the various transmissions going out over the Mog comms. Next to me, Lawson keeps an eye on a tablet computer, monitoring reports from around the world.

“I admire the moxie it took for a stunt like that,” Lawson continues. “You had to know there'd be consequences. You did the math and calculated that the benefits outweighed the costs. Of course, if it hadn't played out in our favor, we'd be having a different conversation, wouldn't we?”

I glance at Lawson. He stares at me, appraising. Again I stay silent. He's right, though. As soon as Adam told me about the dissension among the Mogs in Setrákus Ra's absence, I knew we had to exploit it. Adam agreed. Like Lawson said, I knew there might be dangers.

I didn't care.

Sydney went bad, but in other locations, Adam's announcement had better effects.

In Beijing, where the Chinese army has been resisting the Mogadorians heavily and pursuing some pretty reckless counterattacks, the Mogs actually pulled their Skimmers back to the warship. The captain declared he wanted to hear from Setrákus Ra before he wasted any more of his vatborn on securing the city. No response has come from West Virginia, which means a reprieve for the Chinese.

Meanwhile, the warship captain in Moscow declared himself the new Beloved Leader. I guess he got himself a big head after seeing how quickly the Russians complied with his occupation effort. This declaration didn't sit well with the captain of the warship stationed in Berlin; he diverted his ship to attempt to assassinate the usurper.

The two warships met over Kazakhstan and started blowing each other apart. Luckily, this happened over the Kazakh Steppe, which is hardly populated. Because of the lack of eyes on the scene, reports out of the area are sketchy. We aren't sure if they destroyed each other,
fought to a stalemate, or if one of them came out victorious. There's no bad result for us, though.

And, maybe best of all, the warship positioned over São Paulo simply left. It floated up, out of the atmosphere, and is apparently orbiting the moon. The ship has gone completely radio silent. No idea what's going on with that guy.

The rest of the Mog fleet ignored Adam, choosing to believe Phiri Dun-Ra. Still, the cracks were beginning to show. They weren't an unstoppable force. Three warships out of the fray, and we never left Patience Creek. Still twenty to go, but we're making progress.

Yet something about this victory feels hollow to me. It isn't satisfying. My hands are too clean.

With both Adam and me lost in thoughtful silence, Lawson continues to reflect on our success. “A strategic risk,” he says thoughtfully. “You boys would make fine generals one day.”

“I intend to do the rest of my fighting on the front lines,” I say, finally breaking my silence.

“Well, that's a young man's prerogative,” Lawson replies. He stands up and cracks his back. In the hours since we hijacked the Mogadorian discussion, things have calmed down. No new developments have come in for some time, just the usual status reports. I think our ploy has produced all the results it's going to.

Lawson looks down at me. “It's late. Or rather, it is now very early. I'm going to get some shut-eye before we
mount this operation. You should do the same, John.”

I give the general a lazy salute, and he replies with a thin smile. The old man nods curtly to Adam and exits, leaving the two of us alone. Adam sits slumped in front of the console, his eyes bleary.

“You planning to sleep at all?” I ask him.

“Are you?” he counters.

We settle in.

I cross my arms and let my chin rest against my chest. I get an occasional jolt from a snarling Mogadorian's voice coming over the comm, but Adam doesn't bother translating any of it, which means it can't be important. We're going to board one of those warships in just a few hours. It's going to be the first combat I've faced since I started collecting Legacies, my first chance to test out these new powers.

My first chance for some revenge.

I really should sleep. It's irresponsible of me to keep avoiding it. But the last time I tried, all that I could see was her face. . . .

I can't keep doing this to myself.

I stand up and stretch my arms over my head. They feel heavy. Everything does. The air feels thick, almost like I'm swimming through it. Finally, that feeling of exhaustion I've been chasing after since we got here is beginning to set in.

“You'll come get me if anything major happens, right?” I ask Adam.

He doesn't reply. He keeps his face turned away, intently staring at the console. The Mogadorian communications have gone eerily silent. For some reason, instead of asking Adam what the hell is up, I say nothing and just step out of the room.

And into a cavern.

This isn't Patience Creek.

I've been here before.

I'm in a long, dimly lit corridor. The walls are rust-colored stone augmented with steel beams. The air is hot and musty and stinks like something rotten and alive. I do a quick 360 and try to orient myself. If I go down the hall in the direction where it gently slopes down, I know I'll reach the breeding area where piken, krauls, and any number of other twisted beasts are created. If I go uphill, towards where the lights are brighter, I'll eventually reach a row of cells.

This is West Virginia, under the mountain. The headquarters of the Mogadorians.

I feel pulled towards the cells, so I begin to walk slowly in that direction. Muffled screams reach me from up ahead. Even so, I keep my walking pace casual and relaxed.

I'm not stupid. This is a dream. And I'm happy to play along.

I know who's waiting for me up ahead, and I'm glad. I want to look him in the eyes.

I reach the area where an alcove in the cave has been
filled with claustrophobic cells. Each reinforced door is equipped with a bulletproof glass porthole to spy on the dank conditions inside. The first few cells I pass are empty. Then I come across one where a dark-haired girl presses her face against the glass. Her eyes and mouth have been stitched permanently closed with wire.

It's Six.

I stare at her. I make a point to let my eyes linger, to let the terror and revulsion wash over me.

It isn't real. He's trying to mess with me, and it isn't going to work.

Another horrific vision greets me in the next cell. Nine, back when I first met him, except now there's a bedsheet tied around his neck, and he dangles from a rafter. I don't spend so much time staring at that one, mostly because I don't buy it for a second.

“Why don't you cut the shit and show yourself?” I say out loud, knowing he can hear me. “This is getting boring.”

Up ahead, the screaming grows louder. I approach a room that I remember the Mogs set aside for interrogation. There's a window to watch through. In the middle of the chamber, a set of thick chains hangs from the ceiling.

Sam is wrapped in the chains. Those are his screams. A viscous black acid trickles down the metal links and burns fresh scars into his wrists.

Setrákus Ra stands in front of Sam, but not the way
I'm used to seeing him. His head isn't pale and bulbous and black veined, he's not eight feet tall and he doesn't have that thick purple scar around his neck. This Setrákus Ra is a young man, like the guy I saw in the vision of Lorien's history. His dark hair is slicked back from a widow's peak, his features are sharp and stern and he looks distinctly Loric.

He's one of my people. The thought is still mind-boggling.

He acts like he hasn't noticed me, although I know that isn't true. After all, he brought me here. I stand outside the interrogation room and watch him. Setrákus Ra paces back and forth, and every time he crosses in front of the chains, momentarily blocking them from view, the person tangled up in his torture device changes.

Sam becomes Six, her screams filling the room.

Then Adam.

Marina.

Nine.

Sarah.

I punch through the glass that separates the hallway from the interrogation room. It shatters easily and doesn't hurt at all. I float over the waist-high wall and land a few strides away from Setrákus Ra. He turns to face me, smiling like we just bumped into each other on the street.

“Hello, John.”

I try to keep my gaze from drifting towards the vision of Sarah, tortured, unconscious, that hangs behind him.

She isn't real. She's not here. She's at peace.

I make a show of looking around the room and whistle through my teeth.

“You know, back in the day, these dreams used to spook me.”

“Did they?”

“Now I know it's just you casting about in desperation.”

Setrákus Ra smiles indulgently and crosses his arms. “You remind me so much of him,” he says. “My old friend Pittacus Lore.”

“I'm not like him.”

“No?”

“He showed you mercy. I'm going to kill you.”

Setrákus Ra circles around, putting Sarah's body between the two of us. He gives her a gentle shove, and she begins to swing back and forth.

“How is my great-granddaughter?” he asks, making small talk.

My eyes track Sarah, then flick back to Setrákus Ra.

“Much better than when she was stuck with you.”

“She'll come around,” he replies with a smile. “When I'm done with the rest of you, she'll come back to me.”

“Will your army come back to you too?” I ask, tilting
my head. “While you lick your wounds and hide out in my dreams, they're abandoning you.”

His expression darkens, and I feel glad that I've struck a blow to his ego. He steps away from Sarah and towards me.

“The Mogadorians were always just a means to an end for me, John. A neutered species of beasts that made their own home world unlivable with their thickheaded love of war and pollution.” He spits on the floor. “The humans will make for much better subjects once they're brought to heel. The others will be ashes on the wind.”

“Is this why you brought me here?” I ask, staring at this younger version of my most hated enemy. “To drive home how evil you are? Because I get it.”

Setrákus Ra smiles, comes closer, studying me. His eyes aren't the pure inky black that I've seen before. They're dark but normal, not changed through years of experimentation. The sick mind behind them is still the same.

“I am old, John,” he intones. “Those visions my great-granddaughter put us through, to see my youth again. . . . I felt something like nostalgia. Once Pittacus Lore was my friend. If he had only listened to me, if we had worked together, we could have spared the universe so much death. We could have uplifted all life.”

“Aww—do you need a friend? Is that what this is?
The part where you offer me a chance to join forces?”

Setrákus Ra sighs. We're only separated by a few feet now. I have to remind myself that it isn't real. That there's no point in reaching out and trying to rip him apart.

Even though I so badly want to.

“No, John. When I allowed you to live in New York, I promised that I would let you watch this world burn. I intend to keep my word.”

“Then what?”

“Like I said, you remind me of Pittacus,” Setrákus Ra responds. He drifts back towards Sarah, strokes a hand up her bluish arm and grabs hold of the chain supporting her body. “I tried to show him, just like I will now show you. I wanted you to know what you're missing out on.”

Setrákus Ra yanks down hard on the chain. Impossibly, with a logic available only in nightmares, the entire ceiling collapses. The room is flooded with that viscous black ooze.

“I wanted you to feel my power.”

It's like a dam breaking. Within seconds, the interrogation room is completely lost to me, and I'm awash in the inky liquid. It's ice-cold and slimy against my skin. I try to swim against it, but it's quickly over my head, stinging my eyes, creeping into my lungs.

I panic and thrash. For a moment, I forget that this is only a dream.

There's a heaviness inside me now, like my guts are filled with thick sludge. My skin prickles. It feels like thousands of tiny mouths are trying to gnaw on me.

But I can breathe. I'm alive. The realization helps me to calm down.