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‘For me to be you, you must stay alive,’ he says in my voice, ‘but only for now’ He lifts a pal and another in ainst the ceiling, and dangle there, fifty feet off the floor I feel a painful buzzing in ain to call for Ella in my head, but I can’t even hear myself think When I touch , it, too, turns black The heavy stiffness that weighed downI can move at this point are my eyes My entire body is now black Black rock

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Once again I take the lead Marina trails side her Ella still hasclose behind My fire has adorian soldier that coh a door The fire has not only taken over my body, but also my mind I have never felt so confident, so determined, so ready to defeat our enemies before

‘She still hasn’t responded to me!’ Ella yells as we enter another hallway filled with sirens and flashing lights ‘I don’t know if she can hear anything I’’

‘Well, she isn’t dead yet because we don’t have any new scars,’ Nine says, sticking out his leg as if to adher and wider, licking the walls and ceiling of the corridor as I pass through It’s hard to describe ht explode with it I’ht Setrákus Ra and I know the others feel the sa down the hall, pounding soldiers into oblivion, bouncing fro fearlessly, using all means available to toss soldiers into the air Ella, with fewer powers revealed, looks on a bit enviously as ay the soldiers I wish I had the time to stop and tell her how vital she is, how important her ability to coether How she, as the youngest Loric, represents our long life and the power of our Garde We’re ready to take back Lorien and that’s only possible because of everything we bring to the fight, each one of us The hallway splits off and we need to quickly decide which way to go Separating is never going to be an option again

‘Okay, Fire Boy, which way?’ Nine asks

Marina steps up and says, ‘This way’ Her ability to see in the dark is better than the liuish my fire and we all follow her to the left

Marina doesn’t even hesitate at the entryway of a long wide room filled with tall brown columns Neither do the rest of us We have our weapons ready e first hear the noise of people e Marina’s aruessing they’re governs There are a lot of them I don’t knoenty, thirty? There could be more than that’ She turns and moves towards the their guns with our telekinesis We blow through the big room, pass another corridor door, and turn left, where we find a dozen govern a heavy metal door As soon as they see us, they step into for As if prearranged, Marina and Eight both raise their hands, stopping the bullets as they are fired, inches away from their barrels Immediately, Nine joins the action and uses his uns out of the soldiers’ hands and lifts the soldiers up, dangling froes the tip of his staff into the doorfraes

Behind the doorway is another hallway, this one lined with doors on both sides Nine runs ahead to each of the doors and briefly presses his ear to each one

He reports one unmanned control room after another Further down the hall we find what look like e Six She could be behind any one of these doors

I spot a trail of blood in front of one of the doors From ten feet away I rip the door out of its frame The cell is pitch black inside Before I have a chance to use my Lumen, Marina pushes by me ‘There’s a person in here!’ she cries

We hear a whihts into the darkness There, scared and dirty, is soain Sarah I fall todimly I open ain: ‘Sarah’ I can’t believe she’s sitting in front of lance up at s her knees to her chest and looks afraid Afraid of me She drops her head into her knees and sobs ‘Please don’t do this to me, please don’t trick me anymore Not like this I can’t take it, I can’t take any her head over and over I don’t think she’s even registered I’ behind me, cloaked in darkness

‘Sarah,’ I whisper ‘It’s s back, but I can hear hiood, even dirty’

Sarah pulls her legs to her chest even htly and peeks over her knees She looks so vulnerable and scared; I just want to scoop her up But IThis could be a trap I haven’t co When I touch her shoulder, she screams in panic I can feel everyone behind me flinch with the sudden noise, the sheer terror in her voice

She presses her back against the wall, her hair sticking to the rough concrete Then she lifts her face to the ceiling and cries, ‘Don’t trickPlease don’t trick me any next to ives me a shake, then pulls etWe need to take Sarah with us!’

Sarah finally looks beyondthere, looking down at her Her eyes widen and she looks back at me, then she looks around at the others who have stepped closer Tears streak the thick layer of dirt on her cheeks ‘What’s happening? Are you really here? Are all of you really here?’

I kneel down next to her again ‘It’s me It’s us I promise Look, even Bernie Kosar wants to say hi’ He trots over and licks her hand, his tail wagging

I layup and down her wrists, ers to my lips ‘Sarah, listen to me I know I left you once I proain Do you hearats I’ve been thinking about for so long race through le to say round, moments before the police took me away ‘Hey, Sarah Do you remember when I said that I think about you every day Do you remember that?’ She looks at me and nods ‘Well, I did and I do Every day’ She allows herself a tentative sain ‘Sarah Hart, I love you I love only you Do you hear me?’

She looks so relieved, it makes me want to pick her up and tell her it’s over and I will keep her safe Always She kisses me, her hands on each side of ht shouts He and the others haveboth directions of the hallway