‘So, then what happened? With the old man?’ Crayton asks.

‘His name was Devdan and he was a very enlightened, spiritual person. He told me all about Hinduism and Vishnu. I clung to his stories. In my mind, they represented how we’re trying to save Lorien. He taught me ancient forms of Indian martial arts, like kalarippayattu, silambam and gatka. I worked with my Legacies, my powers, to see how far I could take what I learned from him.

‘One day, I went to meet him in our usual spot and he wasn’t there. I went back day after day. But he never returned and I was alone again. It was many months later when I stumbled upon Commander Sharma and his army during a training exercise.’ He hesitates before continuing. ‘Unfortunately – or fortunately, I’m not sure yet – it was while I was in the shape of Vishnu and they vowed to protect me from any evils. I knew it was because I was in a form they worshipped, and I hated preying on their beliefs, but I couldn’t resist. I guess I hated being alone even more.’

Marina starts to lead us around the lake. Eight tells her to head for the waterfall we can hear in the distance.

‘Did the Mogs ever come back?’ Crayton asks.

‘Yes. They still return in the tiny silver ships every so often, buzzing around the mountains to see if I’m still here. But I just turn into a fly or an ant and they keep going.’

Crayton says, ‘That lines up with all of the reports of UFO sightings in this region.’

‘Yes, that’s them,’ Eight says. ‘With every visit, they become more careless about detection. I haven’t seen one in a few days, but they’ve been much more frequent in the last six or eight months. I took this to mean the conflict was escalating.’

‘It is,’ I say. ‘We’ve been finding each other, joining up. Marina, Ella, and I just met up in Spain a few days ago. Number Four is waiting for us back in America. And now we’ve found you. That just leaves Five and Nine.’

Eight is silent for a moment. ‘I want to thank you for traveling all this way for me. It’s been so long since I’ve had anyone to talk to. To talk about my real life.’

The waterfall is now just feet away. ‘Now what?’ I have to yell to be heard over the noise of the water.

‘We climb!’ Eight yells back, motioning to a sheer, stone wall in front of us.