United as One by Pittacus Lore Read Free Book Online Page B

slouching a little. Lexa sits next to him, the two deep in a hushed conversation. Lexa holds something out for John to inspect, and I recognize it as one of the cloaking devices we recovered in Mexico. That’s our key to getting through the shields that surround every Mog warship.
    John’s gaze flicks in my direction when I enter, and I practically freeze. He nods to me, though, and once I nod back, immediately returns to his conversation with Lexa. I guess we’re staying focused on the task at hand and grieving later.
    Good.
    Nine sits on John’s other side, and next to him is Ella. Her eyes haven’t stopped glowing, which is drawing a lot of stares from the military personnel clustered in the room. As we take seats by them, Nine leans over to Ella.
    â€œSo, Lite-Brite, is this like a permanent thing now or can you turn it off?”
    I study Ella for a reaction. I’m happy to see a small and embarrassed smile cross her face. The girl used tohave such a crush on Nine, and his complaining about her perpetual light show seems to get through. So there’s still a little bit of the old Ella in there. Before responding to Nine, Ella concentrates, and the cobalt energy sparking around her chills out a little.
    â€œBetter?” she asks him.
    â€œJust remind me to keep sunglasses handy when you’re around,” Nine replies.
    Ella smiles, this time more easily, and leans in Nine’s direction.
    â€œSix.” Sam nudges me. “This is Daniela. We met her in New York.”
    Across the table from me sits the lean girl with braided hair who I noticed first in Ella’s dream meeting and then again last night. She waves awkwardly, looking more than a little uncomfortable to be sitting in this room.
    â€œGood to meet you,” I say. “Sam said you’ve already developed a Legacy besides telekinesis.”
    â€œI shoot rays out of my eyes that turn things to stone, apparently,” Daniela says warily. She tosses her head, her braids bouncing. “Would’ve changed my hair up at least if I’d known you people were gonna stick me with such a stupid superpower.”
    â€œI get it,” Nine says, pointing at her. “Because Medusa.”
    â€œYeah, dummy,” Daniela says, rolling her eyes. “You got it.”
    â€œI like her,” I say to Sam.
    Although no one forced us to choose seats at opposite ends of the table, there’s a very clear line between us and the military personnel that outnumber us almost three to one. They’re all arranged at the far end where Lawson sits at the head. The closest one to our part of the table is Walker, a human buffer zone, seats empty on either side of her. She stares down at the notes in front of her, none of the other government types making any effort to chat with her.
    The twins take seats a little behind and on either side of Lawson. They look like bodyguards. Hell, it occurs to me that most of the people in this room are armed and would protect a guy like Lawson before us. Besides the official types sitting at the table, there’s a bunch of straight-up soldiers hanging around against the walls, their rifles pointed down but still very much loaded and ready. I’m pretty sure we could take this whole bunch, guns and all, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a little concerned at being in close quarters with all this firepower.
    On the wall behind Lawson there’s a huge touch-screen display with a map of the entire world. There are zones highlighted with ominous red heat signatures: New York City, Los Angeles, London and about twenty more. Those must be where Setrákus Ra’s warships are posted. Then, in the United States only, there are a bunch of green dots, much smaller than the warships but numerous. As I look closer, I realize that those dots all form loose circles aroundthe Mogadorian hot spots. These must be the cells that Caleb was talking about, small but organized and ready