The blade gets caught underneath me as I roll, making a shallow slice in my upper thigh. I never really trained with swords before, never saw the point. Definitely wish I had now. Without my Legacies, it’s the only weapon I have against Setrákus Ra. He’s stronger than me and just as fast. I’m starting to think that I should’ve listened to Marina.

Speaking of Marina, as I come back to my feet with a few yards between me and Setrákus Ra, I glance around for her. There she is—dragging Adam’s unconscious body up the far side of the crater. As I watch, blaster fire bites into the dirt around her and she’s forced to take cover behind a pile of limestone bricks right on the crater’s lip. From the direction of the shooting, it seems like the Mogs have regrouped around the entrance ramp to the Anubis. The massive warship still hovers over us, its gunmetal underbelly our new sky.

I backpedal as Setrákus Ra comes at me, dodging a couple of big overhand strikes from his metal-plated fists. When I dance out of range of his strikes, he uses telekinesis to fling a few loose pieces of brick at me. I bat them away with my sword, hands sweating on the grip.

“Where is your bravado now, child?” he asks. “Why do you run?”

Let him go on thinking that I’m retreating. I mean, I am retreating. It’s just not all that I’m doing. My real goal is to draw Setrákus Ra as far away from Marina’s side of the crater as possible. Once she’s out of his Legacy-canceling radius and can successfully heal Adam, we might be able to turn the tide.

As I duck under another rock, I see Marina cradle Adam’s head and press her hands against his face. Her Legacies must be working! Now I just need to keep playing cat-and-mouse until—

Oof.

The backs of my feet hit an object and I fall over backwards. My landing is cushioned by something soft and it takes me a moment to realize that it’s Ella’s body I’ve tripped over. She’s pale, completely still, and there’s a coagulated trail of black ooze leaking from both her nostrils. She still looks very much dead. I don’t have time to check for a pulse. Setrákus Ra stands right over me.

He actually pauses. Ella’s body has thrown him off his game. I’m not good at reading that wrinkled face and empty black eyes, but if I had to guess I’d say Setrákus Ra is feeling some creepy mixture of remorse and disappointment. He cared about his granddaughter in the grossest way possible, wanting to turn her into a monster just like him. I hope it eats him up inside to know how badly he failed.