Page 25 of The Fall of Five (Lorien Legacies 4)

Keep her safe, I direct the thought at BK.

The Mogs that I scattered before are already regrouping, or maybe it’s just another group descended from the ship. I sling two more fireballs in their direction. That should keep them busy for a moment.

I grab Five and shake him until he looks at me. The shoulder of his shirt is singed from where my hand was still too hot from the Lumen. He flinches, staring at me with wide eyes.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” I yell.

“I’m—I’m sorry,” he stammers. “I’ve never seen a Mogadorian before. ”

I look at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?!”

“No! Albert, my Cêpan, he told me about them. We trained for—for fighting. I’ve just never actually done it. ”

“Great,” growls Six, suddenly materializing next to us. “We’ve got a total rookie. ”

“I—I can help,” Five mumbles. “I was just caught off guard. ”

I’m not feeling too convinced, and although we fought the first wave of Mogadorians off, I can still see their shapes moving through the darkness nearby.

“Is it over?” shouts Sarah from her position. “Because I’m almost out of bullets!”

“There are more coming,” I yell back to Sarah, and then look at Six. “Can you take down their ship?”

Six concentrates for a moment. Lightning shears through the night sky, right into the side of the Mogadorian ship. It rocks back and forth, and I can see some Mog soldiers lose their grip on their ropes and plummet fifty feet to the ground. She’s cooked up one serious storm and is just waiting to unleash its full fury.

“They might’ve flown in here,” Six says, “but they sure as shit won’t be flying out. ”

I look down at Five. His shaky hands have retrieved those two balls from his pockets once again. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

I glance over at Sarah and see her taking aim and hitting a Mogadorian that was trying to creep up on us. Not long ago, this is the kind of fight we would’ve run from, happy to just escape with our lives. Now, though, I feel like it’s a fight we can actually win.

I lock eyes with Six. “Let’s send Setrákus Ra a message. If he wants to get one of ours, he’s going to need to send more than one ship. ”

“Hell yeah,” answers Six, and raises both her hands to the sky.

The dark clouds around the Mogadorian ship begin to roil and swirl. Three bolts of lightning slice through the tumultuous sky, striking the side of the ship in rapid succession. I can see pieces of the metal hull breaking loose and careening to the ground below.

Probably realizing that they’re in trouble, the Mogs try to gain some altitude and get away from the localized storm. The Mogs already on the ground redouble their efforts to get to us, blaster fire sizzling through the air. I inch closer to Six so that my shield will deflect any stray shots that come her way. Sarah stays hunkered down behind the car, firing blindly over the hood.

“You need to hurry up!” I shout at Six through gritted teeth.

“Almost there,” she snaps, her face tight with concentration.

Hailstones the size of fists buffet the ship, causing it to shake erratically. Just when it seems like it might be able to pull upwards, Six twists her hands over her head. The clouds suddenly coalesce—I can feel the force of the winds from back here—a tornado gathering right beneath the ship. The ship lurches and then tips sideways, its pilots losing control.

The ship plummets to the ground, landing with a thunderous crash in the woods by the highway. Seconds later, a tower of flame shoots into the night sky, followed by a thunderous explosion. Then, everything is quiet. The storm overhead clears and the night is peaceful once again.

“Wow,” murmurs Five.

“Nice work,” I tell Six.

Her eyes have already moved to her next targets. We might have taken down their ship, but there are still plenty of Mogadorians approaching. A couple dozen, at least. Blasters and swords at the ready.

“Let’s finish them off,” Six says, turning invisible.

I’m eager to jump into the fight. First, I look down at Number Five. He’s peeking at the incoming Mogadorians uncertainly.

“It’s okay if you’re not ready for this,” I tell him. “Hang back. ”

Five nods mutely. I step out from behind what’s left of the Boggy Creek Monster statue. Immediately, there’s a Mogadorian leveling his blaster at me. Before he can shoot, something hits him in the back of the knees from behind. The sword he carries strapped across his shoulders is unsheathed by invisible hands and plunged through his spine. He disintegrates and, briefly, through the cloud of ash, I can make out Six’s silhouette.

I run to where Sarah is still crouched behind a parked car. The side that faced the Mogadorians is melted in spots but Sarah appears unharmed. As soon as I slide to the ground beside her, Bernie Kosar sprouts wings and takes off, hurling himself at a pair of Mogs. The remaining Mogadorians look almost confused. Their ship destroyed, half their number already killed—I doubt they were expecting a fight like this. Good, let them be the scared ones for once.

“You okay?” I ask Sarah.

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