I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore Page 0,23

because she’s a senior officer, but because maybe I’ll actually get some answers if I talk to her.

As we approach the door to the bridge, Denbar enters. He looks surprised to see us.

“Where are you two going?” he asks.

Mirra ignores him, walking forward. Denbar keeps talking.

“The captain specifically requested that Officer Saturnus plot—”

“You’ve completed your assignment, correct?” Mirra asks me, turning around, putting Denbar between us.

I nod. “That’s right.”

She tilts her head back and looks down at Denbar over the tip of her nose. “Scans detected an anomaly in our geo-mapping systems earlier this morning. It’s probably nothing, but I’m having Officer Saturnus double-check the hardware to ensure everything is in working order before our mission. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with the captain. Or I can leave Saturnus here, and if something goes wrong later, you can explain to the captain why our systems failed yourself.”

Even I can’t tell if this is true or not. I start trying to recall everything I know about geo-mapping, just in case.

Denbar looks taken aback for a few seconds, but that quickly morphs into something else. His eyes narrow, and a glint of teeth show through his lips. He glances at a nearby monitor.

“We’ll be heading out soon.”

“I’m aware,” she says, turning on her heel and leaving.

Denbar’s glare then falls on me. I shrug, and he walks off in a huff.

I meet Mirra in the hallway.

“That egotistical little kraul,” she mutters under her breath as she continues walking, not looking at me. “Still can’t handle that high command appointed me as his superior.”

She moves so fast that I have to double my normal pace to keep up. Eventually she takes a sharp right, heading into an elevator that leads down to the belly of the ship where many of our vital systems are housed. As a top-ranking officer on the warship, she’s one of the few people with access to such a place.

As soon as the doors close, she turns to me.

“Your questions yesterday,” she’s says. “Where did they come from?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

Her lips purse a bit. “You don’t seem to trust the way things are going right now. You were wondering why the captain was asking for orders. Questioning his judgment, perhaps.”

This is quite an accusation, but she doesn’t seem angry, which makes me think this might be her attempt at a joke.

“It just seemed odd.”

“Agreed,” Mirra says. She starts to say something a few times before she actually speaks again. “I’m talking to you in confidence, Rexicus. Because I think some big things are about to happen, and if that’s true, I’ll need someone like you to . . .” She searches for the right words.

“Be a friend,” I offer.

She called me Rexicus.

“To navigate the ship,” she clarifies.

We’ll work our way to “Rex.”

The elevator stops, the door opening to a pristine, empty hallway leading to the systems core. But Mirra doesn’t get out. Instead, she leans on the entryway, blocking the door from closing. There’s something different in her eyes. Excitement, confusion and just a hint of fear.

“Things haven’t been going well lately,” she says. “You heard what the captain said.”

“Ashwood.”

She sighs a little, nodding. “My family stuck around after the first attack by the traitor Adamus. I’m not sure how long they stayed. I’m not sure . . .”

She trails off, and I’m stuck thinking how strange it is to hear Adamus’s name coming out of her mouth. Sometimes I forget that others don’t know him like I do. Or like I did. Even though I’m not sure how I’m supposed to think of him. It’s a reminder that though Mirra is opening up to me for the first time, this isn’t the same as Adamus and me talking as we hopped trains. This is business. In fact, she and Adamus would probably try to kill each other if they were ever in the same room.

“There have been more defeats and setbacks,” she continues, shaking off any thoughts of her family. “And rumors. It’s said that Beloved Leader himself was at the attack in Mexico. The one where reinforcements had to be called in.”

My mouth drops open. If Beloved Leader was on the battlefield, the Loric or humans or whoever fought against him shouldn’t have stood a chance. At least, not according to the Great Book. He is the personification of invincibility. Any time he’s retreated from battle or appeared to be overpowered—like at the United Nations—it’s only been