I take the opportunity to grab Ella by her shoulders. Up close, she’s even further gone than I expected. Her cheeks are hollow, her face gaunt, and there are dark black veins running beneath her skin like spiderwebs. Her eyes are glazed over and she doesn’t react at all when I shake her. The light from the Loric energy—still being sucked up through the pipeline—is reflected in her eyes. She’s staring at it.

“Ella! Come on! We’re getting you out of here!”

There’s no visible reaction, but her voice finally returns to my mind.

Six. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

She’s lost it. Screw it—I’m going to drag her out of here just like we planned.

“Six!” Marina shouts, her voice raw. “We have to turn it off!”

I glance at the machine, then up at the Anubis. There’s no telling what Setrákus Ra is going to do with the Loric energy he’s capturing, but it obviously can’t be good. I wonder if he’ll be able to permanently take away our Legacies if he sucks up enough of the Entity’s power.

“Do you know how to stop it?” I ask Ella, again getting right in her expressionless face.

This answer takes a moment. Yes.

“How? Tell us how!”

She doesn’t respond.

With an indignant snarl, Setrákus Ra pulls one of his legs free of the rock slide. As he does, Adam reaches him. Stripped of his Legacy just like us, the younger Mogadorian has his father’s sword drawn. The blade is almost too big for him and his arms shake when he holds it. Even so, he puts the tip of the blade right up against Setrákus Ra’s throat.

“Stop,” Adam commands. “Your time is over, old man. Turn off your machine or I’ll kill you.”

Setrákus Ra’s face actually lights up, even though there’s a sword pressed right against that purple scar of his. He laughs. “Adamus Sutekh,” he exclaims. “I was hoping we’d have a chance to meet.”

“Shut up,” Adam warns. “Do what I said.”

“Turn off the machine?” Setrákus Ra smiles. He finishes standing up. Adam has to stretch to keep the blade close to his throat. “But it’s my greatest achievement. I’ve tapped into Lorien itself and bent it to my will. No longer shall we be bound by the arbitrary chains of fate. We can forge our own Legacies. You of all people should appreciate that.”

“Stop talking.”