‘This right here, this is when we rise to the occasion,’ Nine says. ‘You will fight harder than you ever have, Four. You’re going to be a beast. And me? I’m going to rip Setrákus Ra’s head off, wrap it up and send it back to Mogadore with a giant red bow on it. And then Lorien is going to rise from the ashes.’ His voice is shaking with emotion, with all the pent-up anger and fight he has been carrying around with him.

Bernie Kosar barks from the backseat and Nine turns around to look at him with a smile. ‘You, too, BK . You, my friend, are going to kick some major ass.’

I imagine what it will feel like to meet up with all the Garde members, something I haven’t let myself do for so long. I look out over the horizon. My mind is clear and open to all possibilities. It feels good. And that’s when I hear a girl’s faint voice echo in my head. It’s soft and broken like a bad radio signal at first, but it becomes clearer.

Four? Number Four? Can you hear me?

‘Yes, yes! I can hear you!’ I yell out loud, whipping my head back and forth. ‘Who is that? Where are you?’

Nine looks at me, confused. ‘Um, dude. I hope you can hear me. I’m right here.’

‘Not you. I heard a girl. Did you hear her? A girl was just talking to me.’

Number Four? It’s Number Ten. Can you hear me? This may be hopeless, I don’t know if I’m talking to anyone. Maybe I’ll never figure this out without Crayton.

‘There it is again,’ I say excitedly. Nine is looking at me like I’ve completely lost my mind. ‘Nine! She just said something else! Did you hear her? She said she’s Number Ten! I think she’s in my head somehow.’

‘Number Ten! The baby from the second ship! Well, don’t just sit there staring at me! Talk back to her, dumbass!’

That’s easy for him to say. She didn’t know if it was working. I’m guessing it’s a new Legacy kicking in – for both of us! – it takes training to know how to make a Legacy work when, and how, you want it to. I know I don’t have much time to waste figuring it out. I take a deep breath and block out the noise in my head and around me, and focus. I try to re-create the feeling I had right before I heard the voice a few minutes before. I feel calm, open, and somehow . . . connected.

I can hear you, I try saying in my head. Nothing. I wait a moment and try again. Number Ten?

Number Four! You can hear me?

‘She heard me!’ I laugh out loud and look at Nine, victorious.