The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore Read Free Book Online Page B

pick Ella up and start carefully moving away from the truck, shielding her with my body. I almost trip over Marina and Crayton, who are huddled behind another piece of debris.
    ‘Come on! Ella’s hurt! We have to get out of here!’ 
    ‘There are too many of them. If we try to run now, they’ll kill us. Let’s treat Ella first, then fight back,’ Crayton says.
    I set Ella down next to Marina. She’s still wearing the dark glasses. I can see her wound clearly now; her blood is flowing steadily. Marina places her hands on Ella’s leg and closes her eyes. Ella inhales sharply, her chest beginning to rise and fall at a rapid pace. It really is amazing to see Marina’s Legacy in action. Another explosion sounds nearby and a blast of dust sweeps over us just as Ella’s wound contracts, pushing the bullet out of her flesh. The gash turns from black and red back to the color of her pearly-white skin. An outline of a small bone shifts just below the surface of her skin and Ella’s body slowly begins to relax. I rest my hand on Marina’s shoulder, relieved, and say, ‘That was incredible, Marina.’
    ‘Thanks. It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?’ Marina removes her hands from Ella, who slowly props herself up onto her elbows. Crayton gives her a hug.
    A helicopter roars overhead and decimates two trucks with a spray of bullets. A chunk of metal lands close to me; it’s a piece of smoldering truck door, the red number eight just barely visible. The sight of it fills me with anger. Now that Ella is healed, I’m ready to fight back.
    ‘Now we move on them!’ I yell at Crayton.
    ‘Is it the Mogadorians?’ Marina asks, clicking the lock of her Chest shut.
    Crayton looks over the top of the debris heap we’ve been hiding behind, and ducks back down to report. ‘It’s not the Mogs. But there are a lot of them and they’re coming closer. We can fight here, but it would be better to take it to the mountains. Whoever they are, if they aren’t here to attack us but are battling Commander Sharma, I see no reason to reveal your powers.’
    An explosion behind us pushes another cloud of dirt our way, and I watch the helicopter circle back around and head straight for us. Marina and I look at each other and we can tell we’re both thinking the same thing. There’s no way to honor Crayton’s request that we not use our Legacies and do what we need to do. She takes control of the helicopter and reverses its flight path. Its passengers will never understand what happened but we know it’s out of our way. And regardless of who’s inside, we don’t want anyone to be in danger’s path unnecessarily. Ella and I cheer with relief as we watch the spinning blades disappear into the distance while Crayton watches with a frown. Then Commander Sharma dives behind our cover.
    ‘Thank God, you’re alive,’ he says. I’m tempted to say the same thing to him. I thought he was killed when that first rocket struck. Blood trickles from a large cut on his temple, and his right arm hangs awkwardly at his side.
    ‘I’m holding you responsible for this,’ I say, glaring at him.
    He shakes his head. ‘Those are soldiers of the Lord’s Resistance Front. They are who we were trying to avoid.’
    ‘What do they want?’ I ask.
    Commander Sharma scans the horizon before looking me in the eyes. ‘To kill Vishnu. And destroy all of his friends. Like you. More are on their way.’
    I move to a crouching stance and carefully peer over the demolished truck. A large brigade of heavily armed vehicles is moving towards us, several helicopters hovering above them. Tiny flashes of light appear from the long line of the trucks and jeeps, and seconds later I hear the bullets zip past us.
    ‘Let’s go kick some ass,’ I say.
    ‘It’s not possible to defeat them here,’ Commander Sharma says, picking up a machine gun with his good hand. ‘No more than twenty of my men are still fighting. We must take it to higher ground if we want a chance to