Chapter Twenty-Five
John
"Six! Get out of the way!" I yell at her frozen figure. I'm seeing double. In my mind's eye, I'm replaying the premonition about her in this very moment while in reality I'm watching it from Meredith's force field. I can't move myself. My legs feel like jelly. I can't stand. I can't go over to her and push her out of the way. My chest aches at the sight of this. But Six does something risky, something untold in my dream. "Sam, the stone, toss it here!" she yells, and Sam throws the cylinder at Six. She catches it and waits. The death ball is coming closer and closer. I can't watch this happen, but I have to. Just before the ball of flame collides with her fragile body, she opens the cylinder, revealing the same stone Sethos used on us at the motel. Instead of her, the ball of energy hits the rock, and everything is absorbed by a bright light. Past the light, I can just make out a tiny figure being thrown backward by the impact. A shower of ashes and sparks fill the air. The impact of the collision made the cave crash down into a heap of large boulders, hopefully burying the last of those bastards. I wait for the light to disappear before I run out of Meredith's force field. I run over to Six, who is lying flat on her back with a blank look in her eyes. I trip over a rock and scrape my chin on my way to her. When I reach her, I pull her close to me, like the way I did when Henri was dying. "Six?" I say, shaking her softly. She doesn't move. Six is still staring into the open space blankly, her blue eyes reflecting the light from the sky above. "Six!" I say louder, now shaking her shoulders violently.
Six blinks hard, and just before she opens her mouth to speak, I pull her into a tight embrace. I did it. I saved her. I feel more complete than ever. "You're alive. I thought I lost you," I whisper in her ear. I help her stand up, and Crayton says, "Come on. That won't hold him for long. We have to move into the open clearing. We can't fight him here." He is right. That is part of our plan originally. Crayton said that with his cane, Setrákus is indestructible. Soon enough, the rocks on where the cave was standing moments before begin to shake. That's when we take off into the woods.
Nine carries both Sam and Malcolm, who look like they're on the verge of vomiting. Their faces are a sickly shade of green. Six and I run hand-in-hand as we follow the others to the clearing Crayton was talking about. In the distance, I can hear the footfalls of the remaining Mogadorians. Somewhere in our destination, I can hear the Chimæras growing. Six slows the enemy down by leaving a trail of huge tree trunks in our wake. We run and run until we reach the clearing, which is beside a lake, greatly resembling the scenery where I almost got caught. Meredith and Ella stash our things in a nook inside a tree. Crayton fills us up with every weapon he has, especially to Sam, Malcolm, Rebecca and Ella. The rest of us Garde open our Chests and take out whatever weapon that can be used—for Nine, his spear and some assorted gems; for Meredith, a spear that looks like two knives wedged together by the hilts; for Marina, poison in which she dipped her arrowheads in; for Cole, a sword that resembles a gladius and few gems; for Six, her most wicked knives, the ones that split into two at her touch, and, as usual, my dagger. "Remember; there's probably still a few thousand Mogs that were saved by Setrákus' power. Six, don't use your Legacies until we know that we're losing. You have to save your energy," Crayton says, "Be ready for them."
I slip my dagger in the waistband of my jeans because, unlike Six, I don't have a matching sheath for it. The Chimæras grow to the size of eighteen-wheelers with thick, oblong scales protecting their already-thick skin. They, particularly Bernie Kosar, Elizabeth, Linda and Jake, have two feet-long teeth dripping with drool. The three babies are also big, but unlike their parents, they're teeth are only a few inches long. It's their claws that are sharp, resembling curved knives. We wait for them, our bodies poised to attack. Before the war starts, I cup Six's face in my hands and give her a long and lingering kiss, hoping that this will not be our last one. I pull away but let our foreheads remain in contact. "I love you," she says, tracing my jaw line with her fingers. I kiss her forehead and say, "I love you too." And then I see them.
They stop at the other edge of the clearing, tense. Crayton's right; there are more than a thousand Mogadorians, along with five large pikens with big teeth uncontainable in their mouths and a handful of krauls. We stare at each other's eyes. The line between us is very thin. I eye Sethos and whisper, "Sethos is mine."
"I'll take on Setrákus," Six says, and laces her fingers with mine. At that moment, we lunged for each other.
The battle is unlike the one I had in Ohio. This is more brutal, deadlier. The Chimæras clashed with the pikens and the krauls, their roars shaking the entire planet. Setrákus yells a battle cry in Mogadorian and charges, bringing forth his army. At Six's lead, we charge too. The wails of agony from the beasts make my ears ring. We clash, swords swinging, cannons firing. I pull my dagger from the waistband of my jeans and slice the Mogadorians that come in my way. They explode to ashes and dirt that covers my face. Adrenaline is coursing through my entire being. I can see everything; from the tiniest spectacle of dust to the mess of Six's curly hair in the middle of the clearing fighting with Setrákus. Sethos fires his gun everywhere randomly, seldom hitting his own comrades. Cole flies above and manages to convince at least a dozen Mogadorians to fight against their own kind using his Convinco power. Ella sticks by Crayton's side, firing and occasionally chucking a boulder at one of the Mogadorians using her quick-developing telekinesis. Marina and Meredith are fighting side by side, with Marina in her protective barrier while she fights outside it. Rebecca gets overpowered by a sheer number of krauls, but luckily Nine is there to help her. Six nearly gets hit by Setrákus, but she jumped lightly on the balls of her feet before Setrákus swings his cane. I finally reach Sethos, and I lunge for his unguarded back, my dagger held high. He turns just before my dagger pierces his back. My dagger collides with his cannon, and with the amount of force he exerted while he turned plus the molecular density of my dagger, the cannon snaps in half. I get over my surprise and jab at him, but even without his cannon, he's still wearing some thick armor. Damn it. If only I can weaken him…
As soon as the idea snaps into my head, I explode in flames, making Sethos take a cautious step back. The dagger in my hand reflects the flames on my body. I step forward, confidently swinging my dagger and occasionally throwing balls of flames everywhere. A look of worry and fear streaks across Sethos' face, and I push him harder. I swing my dagger left and right, until my arm brushed his. He wails, trying to put out the fire now spreading on his arm, but with no such luck. He sinks to his knees, crying "Father! Father, help me!" out loud. I can feel the flames on my body increases in heat in anger. He managed to destroy an innocent planet without help for his father. He doesn't deserve any help. He deserves to die. And to die he shall.
I loom over him, making my power known to him. He is but a bug under my feet. I kick him on the shoulder so that I can make a clean cut on his neck. He lies flat on his back, convulsing as his arm dissolves to ash. I hold my dagger high, and let it fall. I behead him as easily as a child can break a toothpick. I didn't even break a sweat. Sethos' body explodes to ash, and seconds before his head dissolves, he says, "We will kill you all." With that he disappears. My purpose is done here. I've done what I came for, now I'm going to kill every single damn Mog in this place. For Henri. For Nick. For everyone.
My senses pick up a charging Mog behind me, but I was ready, more ready than I ever was before. I turn and pierce the Mogadorian's body with my dagger, and hold my breath when he explodes. I kill everyone in sight until I see Six take a hit to the gut, sending her on the ash-coated floor. Setrákus raises his cane, and even from here I can see the wicked black eye of the cane pulse.
Without hesitating I rush to where they stand.