The handle starts to vibrate. It's a steady hum for a moment, but then intensifies as I start to push the door open. The door slams shut instead, and before I can react, I am thrown back into the street by a concussive force. Glass bursts from the doors and windows of the precinct and shower me as I hit the parking lot. The wave continues on, pressing me into the asphalt so hard that I think some of my ribs are snapping.

There's no fire accompanying the shockwave. Just pressure, like a telekinetic force. The ground roars beneath me, vibrating with seismic intensity.

A Legacy.

Heldos Elkos.

When the ground stops rumbling and the car alarms are the only sound, I manage to get to my feet. My hair has fallen out of its braid and fans around my head. The sky is a deeper blue than it was when I parked. The precinct is nothing more than a crater now, hilled in by mounds of rubble. Water from destroyed pipes starts to bubble through the chunks of concrete as I make my way to the source of this explosion.

"Raven!" I shout rasping against my broken ribs, over and over, until my vocal cords are raw.

After a while, I see something rise from the incline in the crater. Her blond hair catches in the low sunlight as she stands.

My Garde.

"Ray," I gasp, and with my next breath, I sprint down the crater and over a huge slab of concrete, reaching her in a few seconds. She stands there, unscathed, hunched over in an attempt to hold in this new power. I notice her sandals are torn, the soles blown outward and the straps barely hanging on. This was Terric! "You're alright, girl."

"Ray's dead," she mutters, straightening up to look me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It's not your fault," I reply. I stare into Raven's—into One's—wide, brown eyes, to see if they betray any fear or sarcasm. But I can't find it. Just ñdwoj. "We still need to leave."

"Yeah, but first," One crosses past me and squats in front of the slab on concrete I stepped over, "we need to get them out of here."

She uses both hands and manages to lift the debris by a foot. Veins rise from the muscles of her bare, slender arms, straining against the pressure. I don't react as quickly as I should, instead staring in awe at this girl who looks like the Garde I've Kept for a Sage-Term. When she was younger, it was difficult enough to keep her training for hours on end, but recently I haven't been able to get through to her. Like me, this planet has made her skin thick, her heart stoic. And yet here she is, tank top and boardshorts, helping humans that a year ago she would have left to die.

I fight back the tears after she gives me a flustered look that screams, help me, and join her in lifting the slab. It's heavier than I thought it would be, and the state of some of my ribs does little to help. The concrete vibrates as she unintentionally fills its molecules with her Terric. Any moment now, it could shatter into countless stone shards.

"Hold it for me," I tell her, kneeling down. "Please don't drop this on my head."

"Okay," One strains.

I squeeze beneath the space she made for me. This must've been an office before the building exploded—the metal desk is crunched and stained brown with coffee. A burly police officer and a man in an FBI jacket are tucked underneath the debris. I focus my hearing and listen for their steady pulses.

Still alive.

"Come on," I reach in and grab the cop by her arm, dragging her out of the mound and into the humid evening air. When I set her down, she stirs, tries to sit up. "One, I need you to shove this thing uphill. Can you do that for me?"

"Let's see," she pushes harder against the slab, grunting as it starts to move.

Something underneath it clatters down next to the FBI agent. I peek back down and to my horror, I see that it's a camera. Despite the shockwave, it looks like it's undamaged. And if it belonged to this man, that means it could trace back to us. It's farther back—too far for me to reach.

"Never mind, let's just get out of here," I tell One, backing away from the crawlspace. I help her set it down, tell her to back away. The solid concrete cracks but doesn't explode. We still dropped it hard enough to finish off the camera. The agent will be fine, hopefully. Somebody will come along to fix this place up and assist the dazed officer.

The smell of natural gas goes past my nostrils and infects my brain with its putridity. "We gotta go."

"Yeah," replies One.

We climb out of the crater before the police officer can acknowledge that we've left. For the first time, I see the damage the earthquake caused beyond this police station. In the parking lot, trees have fallen. Utility poles have been stripped of their powerlines. Pillars of smoke rise from the Los Angeles skyline. Some buildings have even lost their windows—the sun falling behind us should reflect against the skyscrapers.

Our station wagon is among the scores of cars that blare their alarms. I pull the keys from my pocket to silence it and open the door. Glass from the broken windows rests in the seats, and I brush what I can out of mine and One's and we hop in the car. Because of One's earthquake, we take surface streets around the traffic and devastation and start the slope upward to our current home.

"We're heading back to the house," remarks One. "But where to after that?"

Where to? We were going to leave the state because of One's arrest. But she's developed a Legacy. A Material one, at that. Something this powerful cannot be tempered around people. Back on Lorien, we'd train Garde on personal compounds in the Outer Territories, far from operational cities or colonies. On Earth, though, where humans rule, we'll need to find somewhere isolated, secure, and out of the country.

Right now, I'm the one who's lost. I'm the one who needs guidance.

"Ohio," I reply. "There's a town, a man, who can help us."

"A Greeter?"

I turn toward her. One's face is calm, relaxed. "You remember them?"

"I wasn't exactly a baby when we got here, Hilde. Of course I remember."

"Well, the guy who organized them lives in Paradise, Ohio. He'll know where we should go."

"Oh. Okay."

"But we're gonna need to find another car."

"I think I know someone who can drive us," she says with a grin. "I'm totally kidding, by the way."

"Yeah," I answer quickly, "you better be."

We pull off the main road and onto the dirt path, leading up to the driveway of our house. The one-story structure sits nestled in a thicket of massive oak trees with a looming forest that stretches for miles behind it. Like all of the others, it's secluded while simultaneously hidden in plain sight. Its brittle roof has survived the Pacific hurricane season. Its wooden and brick structure persevered through forest fires that raged in these mountains for weeks.

Out of the few places we've stayed, this is probably the one with the most history behind it.

Now we have to leave.

I put the car in park, pull the keys free and set them on the dashboard. We get out and enter the house. Luckily, I had enough sense to get us prepped to leave without packing—nonperishable foods on the counter, empty bags waiting on the dinner table, the Loric Chest waiting in the oven for easy access.

The Chest is the first thing I go for. I pull it from the oven and set it on the island in the kitchen. My hand rests on the padlock. "One, come here."

She trots over, standing on the other side of the Chest, and interlocks her fingers with mine. The Chest clicks open after a moment and I lift it open. There are several artifacts from the First Epoch, but most of them would be useless in our current situation. I remove the thick roll of Deloonian kelp.

"What's that?" One asks.

"Give me your arm," I reply. She holds her arm out in front of me and begin binding it around her wrist, stopping an inch before her elbow. "You know what you have?"

"Uh, spontaneous earthquakes?"

"It's called Terric. You'll be able to control the blasts in time, but the earthquakes will typically result from early use."

"Kind of a shitty Major Legacy if you count the ones I have. Telekinesis, super balance, earthquakes. Not the best combination to fight the Mogs."

"It's not your Major, but something this powerful means you're nearing the end of your development. Besides, there's more to Terric than just earthquakes, One. But until then, you'll need to wear this on you."

When I finish tying off her left arm, she flinches. "It's too tight."

"I know, but it has to be in order for it to actually work at subduing the Terric for a little while," I explain. "Other arm."

She sighs and then outstretches her right arm. "What is this stuff, anyway?"

"This is a kelp that was native to Lorien. It once grew like crazy near this beachside city, Deloon, but most people just used it for food."

"It's edible?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good. When we're done worrying about your Legacies, maybe I'll make you some."

"That'd be nice."

I finish tying her right forearm up, then I drop the remaining roll into the Chest and shut it. "There, all done. Now go get ready. I want to be out of this house in fifteen minutes."

"How long do I have to wear this stuff?"

"Until we find a safe place, so for a couple days. Let me know if the pressure from your Legacy gets too intense so I can change the kelp."

"Okay."

I let her go off into the house to get ready. As she goes, I start to pack.

The Chest.

Two pairs of clothes.

A map of the United States.

A compass.

Raincoat.

Water bottle with a portable filter.

A first aid kit.

I throw it all into my travel pack. The bag is heavier than last time I packed, heavy on my shoulders. This planet takes more and more away from me every passing year. I wonder if I'll even live to see two hundred—at the rate I'm going, my body will probably fail within the next few decades. By then, however, I pray to the Elders this war will be over and One will be able to survive on her own.

After packing my own essentials, I go into the bathroom and change clothes. Combat boots, jeans, and a form-fitting button-down shirt. In the mirror, I tie my once brunette hair back into a braid, trying not to focus on how stringy and gray it has become over the past five years. With every breath I take, I feel the sharpness of the ribs that are broken. Twenty years ago, I could withstand the consequences of sparring and battle with ease. Standing here, staring at myself, it's frightening how little I resemble the woman I once was.

"Ready to go?"

I turn around and see One standing in the doorway. She's in ripped jeans and high tops, and is hiding the kelp on her arms with a plaid lightweight hoodie. A dark green canvas backpack is slung over her shoulder, and her blond hair is in a messy bun.

"Yeah," I reply. "Let's get outta here."

The low roar and heat of fire hit me as we walk toward the front door. Through the windows, I see a wall of smoke rising from above the tree line. I hope it doesn't block our way down to the main road. To ensure that our presence here isn't found, I open the oven and turn on the stove, where I leave our documents—our lives as Hilde and Raven Dufort—to burn away.

I leave the front door open as we begin our trek down the mountain and back to the city.

"Did I do all of this?" One asks when we get to the main road. The smoke fills the street as we walk on. "Is this my fault?"

"No. That's the risk of developing Terric. The damage it causes always seem to overshadow the benefits of it. I'm proud of you."

She smiles.

"Then again, your little boyfriend's the reason you were even put in this situation."

Her smile almost fades, until she nods in acknowledgment. "Yeah."

"Where does he live?"

"Who, Wade?" One asks. She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Why?"

"Because I changed my mind. Let's see if he'll give us a ride. After all, he does owe us."