up her hard drive. I pay my waitress and leave, continuing my aimless wandering.
Zane is dead. So is Zophie. And Janus.
I’m alone again, just as I was on Lorien.
Well, not technically, I suppose. Assuming the other Garde and Cêpan survived and that Ella and Crayton are still in hiding, there are twenty other Loric who I know of on Earth.
I consider flying back to Egypt, trying to track down Crayton and Ella. But they must be long gone by now. And even if I did find them, what if I unintentionally led the Mogs to them? What if somehow my presence ruined things?
I do better on my own, anyway. Sitting behind a computer screen. Gathering information. Piecing things together.
When I think of what happened to Zophie, I have to swallow down the urge to vomit. I blame myself. I should have been up-front with her about Janus as soon as I knew he was dead. I realize that now, but there’s nothing I can do. She’s gone.
My blood fills with rage and fire when I think of the Mogadorians. I’m still not sure why the Elders chose to send such a small number of our people to Earth, but I know that they must be important. Why else would the Mogs be here, going after them? Janus said they had scattered. I don’t know if that was the truth or one final lie he was able to keep from his captors, but going their separate ways would make the most sense. The photo of the duo headed to Africa seems to corroborate his claim.
And so, what Zophie and I were trying to do—to find them all—was really dangerous for everyone. For the remaining Loric. I realize that now. It would be much better for them to stay hidden. At least until the Garde are strong enough to fight.
I can still help, though, and by doing so hurt the Mogs. From afar. Because the closer I get to people, the more they tend to get hurt. And I can’t go through losing someone else. I just don’t think I have it in me.
What I can do is work behind the scenes. I can be a phantom. Anonymous. The ghost in the machine. Just like I did with the blog—I can watch out for my people in the digital world. Cover up their tracks when I can. Help ensure that their mission, whatever it is, is completed. Find any information that might help them along the way. Train myself in this planet’s technologies until I can control them fully.
I can try to help protect my people.
Maybe I’m not a ghost. Maybe I’m something else. Something more like a guardian.
I can gather resources for them should the day come when they are ready to rise against the Mogs. There are many powerful and dangerous weapons on Earth. And some not of this world too. There’s still a Loric ship that can fly. Janus’s ship. Maybe the Mogs have it. Maybe it’s still hidden somewhere.
I wonder how hard it would be for me to find it.
DON’T MISS BOOK FIVE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING I AM NUMBER FOUR SERIES
CHAPTER ONE
THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER. WHEN I OPEN MY EYES, there’s nothing but darkness.
I’m in a bed, that much I can tell, and it’s not my own. The mattress is enormous, somehow contoured perfectly to my body, and for a moment I wonder if my friends moved me to one of the bigger beds in Nine’s penthouse. I stretch my legs and arms out as far as they’ll go and can’t find the edges. The sheet draped over me is more slippery than soft, almost like a piece of plastic, and it is radiating heat. Not just heat, I realize, but also a steady vibration that soothes my sore muscles.
I try to remember what happened to me, but all I can think of is my last vision. It felt like I was in that nightmare for days. I can still smell the burned-rubber stench of Washington, D.C. Smog clouds lingered over the city, a reminder of the battle fought there. Or the battle that will be fought there, if my vision actually comes true.
The visions. Are they part of a new Legacy? None of the others have Legacies that leave them traumatized in the morning. Are they prophecies? Threats sent by Setrákus Ra, like the
Zane is dead. So is Zophie. And Janus.
I’m alone again, just as I was on Lorien.
Well, not technically, I suppose. Assuming the other Garde and Cêpan survived and that Ella and Crayton are still in hiding, there are twenty other Loric who I know of on Earth.
I consider flying back to Egypt, trying to track down Crayton and Ella. But they must be long gone by now. And even if I did find them, what if I unintentionally led the Mogs to them? What if somehow my presence ruined things?
I do better on my own, anyway. Sitting behind a computer screen. Gathering information. Piecing things together.
When I think of what happened to Zophie, I have to swallow down the urge to vomit. I blame myself. I should have been up-front with her about Janus as soon as I knew he was dead. I realize that now, but there’s nothing I can do. She’s gone.
My blood fills with rage and fire when I think of the Mogadorians. I’m still not sure why the Elders chose to send such a small number of our people to Earth, but I know that they must be important. Why else would the Mogs be here, going after them? Janus said they had scattered. I don’t know if that was the truth or one final lie he was able to keep from his captors, but going their separate ways would make the most sense. The photo of the duo headed to Africa seems to corroborate his claim.
And so, what Zophie and I were trying to do—to find them all—was really dangerous for everyone. For the remaining Loric. I realize that now. It would be much better for them to stay hidden. At least until the Garde are strong enough to fight.
I can still help, though, and by doing so hurt the Mogs. From afar. Because the closer I get to people, the more they tend to get hurt. And I can’t go through losing someone else. I just don’t think I have it in me.
What I can do is work behind the scenes. I can be a phantom. Anonymous. The ghost in the machine. Just like I did with the blog—I can watch out for my people in the digital world. Cover up their tracks when I can. Help ensure that their mission, whatever it is, is completed. Find any information that might help them along the way. Train myself in this planet’s technologies until I can control them fully.
I can try to help protect my people.
Maybe I’m not a ghost. Maybe I’m something else. Something more like a guardian.
I can gather resources for them should the day come when they are ready to rise against the Mogs. There are many powerful and dangerous weapons on Earth. And some not of this world too. There’s still a Loric ship that can fly. Janus’s ship. Maybe the Mogs have it. Maybe it’s still hidden somewhere.
I wonder how hard it would be for me to find it.
DON’T MISS BOOK FIVE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING I AM NUMBER FOUR SERIES
CHAPTER ONE
THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER. WHEN I OPEN MY EYES, there’s nothing but darkness.
I’m in a bed, that much I can tell, and it’s not my own. The mattress is enormous, somehow contoured perfectly to my body, and for a moment I wonder if my friends moved me to one of the bigger beds in Nine’s penthouse. I stretch my legs and arms out as far as they’ll go and can’t find the edges. The sheet draped over me is more slippery than soft, almost like a piece of plastic, and it is radiating heat. Not just heat, I realize, but also a steady vibration that soothes my sore muscles.
I try to remember what happened to me, but all I can think of is my last vision. It felt like I was in that nightmare for days. I can still smell the burned-rubber stench of Washington, D.C. Smog clouds lingered over the city, a reminder of the battle fought there. Or the battle that will be fought there, if my vision actually comes true.
The visions. Are they part of a new Legacy? None of the others have Legacies that leave them traumatized in the morning. Are they prophecies? Threats sent by Setrákus Ra, like the
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