His words hit me hard. I know that Henri would agree with him, but I will not turn my back on Sam again. I don’t know if it’s Nine’s arrogance or the urgency of the vision I just had or the fresh air and the walking, but my mind seems to be clear and strong for the first time in days.

‘Sam saved my ass more than once, and his dad was there to meet our ship when we landed on Earth. His dad may have even died for us, for Lorien. You owe it to both of them to go back to the cave with me. Today.’

‘Not a chance.’

I step towards him and Nine doesn’t hesitate. He grabs me and throws me against a tree. I pull myself to my feet and I’m about to swing at him when we hear twigs cracking behind us. Nine turns towards the noise. I flatten myself against the tree, dimly lighting my palms to be ready to blind whoever it is with my Lumen. I hope I haven’t overestimated how much of my strength is truly back.

Nine looks over at me, and whispers, ‘Sorry about you and the tree. Let’s go find whoever’s tracking us and kill them before they kill us.’

I nod, and we step forward. The noise came from a patch of pines, thick with needles and offering excellent cover. If it were up to me we’d wait and see who or what we’re facing, but not Nine. He’s wearing a strange little smile as we move towards the pines, ready to destroy whatever emerges. The pines rustle again, and one of the lower branches moves. But what we see isn’t a Mogadorian cannon or gleaming sword. Instead, the small black nose of a brown and white beagle emerges.

‘Bernie Kosar,’ I say, relieved. ‘Good to see you, buddy.’

He trots over and I bend down to pet his head. He’s the one creature who has been with me since the beginning. Bernie Kosar tells me he’s happy to see me back on my feet.

‘He took long enough, right?’ Nine says. I’d forgotten Nine had also developed the Legacy to communicate with animals. I know it’s immature, but it bothers me to share that power with him. He’s already the biggest and strongest Garde I’ve ever seen, has the ability to transfer powers to humans, an antigravity Legacy, super speed and hearing, telekinesis, and whatever else he hasn’t told me yet. My Lumen sets me apart from the rest, but unless I find a source of fire to combine it with, it’s practically useless. My ability to talk to animals was something I was looking forward to developing further, but now I’m sure Nine will find a better use for it before me.