I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore Page 0,8

lab table yesterday. That could be me, the first to test this new augmentation.

But it is his will.

“It is my purpose to serve you, Beloved Leader. Thank you for honoring me in this way, despite my failure to capture the Loric fleeing the Sanctuary.”

He lets out a few short laughs.

“Don’t concern yourself with the Loric right now, Phiri Dun-Ra. Their fate is sealed. I’ve foreseen the end of the Garde and their allies. Their downfall will come from within.” His lips curl up into a smile, dripping black ooze over his sharp, gray teeth. “I haven’t just been healing down here in the dark. I’ve been dreaming.”

Before I can get any sort of explanation of what that means, he begins to sink back into the vat.

“A few more hours, I think,” he says to Zakos before the ooze rises above his lips. “Then I want to see how our new soldier has turned out.”

“Of course, Beloved Leader.”

And then he’s completely covered.

Once he’s disappeared, I can hardly contain myself. I realize that I’ve been holding my breath, and letting it out causes my vision to momentarily go hazy as a rush of adrenaline jolts through me.

I am the voice of Beloved Leader. I am the fist that will smash the Loric, and then the humans. I am fulfilling my purpose.

When I finally look up, Zakos is standing over me. He’s stowed the tablet in one of his big lab coat pockets and now holds what looks like a bone saw in one hand. He points to the door of his lab with it.

“Well then,” he says. “You heard Beloved Leader. He’s pleased with you and looks forward to seeing how I might be able to improve upon your abilities. So . . .” He grins. “Shall we begin?”

PART TWO

VINTARO ÜSHABA

CHAPTER SIX

HUMANS ARE WEAK PIECES OF KRAUL SHIT.

At least the Loric put up a fight.

I was new to war when we invaded Lorien. Practically fresh out of the vats. Raised and trained to annihilate an entire civilization. There was a blaster in my hand as soon as my fingers could curl around the trigger. I was part of the youngest batch to fight in the invasion. We had one directive: to live the words of the Great Book. Conquer. Consume. Cauterize. To make Beloved Leader proud.

Hail our Beloved Leader!

We were told that the Loric were a people who upheld peace above all else. But they didn’t accept their fates without resistance. The so-called Garde—the Loric with powers—fought hard. I lost half my squad to a girl shooting lasers out of her hands and a man who could control flames—and those weren’t even the strangest things I saw that day. But the Garde didn’t live up to their purpose. They failed to protect their planet and their people. Of course they did. They had no chance against us. Against me. But they died honorably, fighting until their last breaths.

Most of them, that is. I destroyed buildings where Loric cowards were holed up, hiding and praying to their useless leaders. Hoping someone would save them, or that we’d just keep on moving and forget about them.

I’m not sure how long it took for the planet to fall. Everything happened in a blur of bombs, blaster fire and blood. And then it was over. What I do know is that the fight was finished too soon. When we left Lorien, I felt feral, like I could have spent the rest of my years torching that planet’s fields, destroying its cities—or better yet, pulling the last of the survivors from their hiding places and slitting their throats in Beloved Leader’s name.

Instead, our ships finished off the planet, destroying any hint of life that managed to survive our assault. And Setrákus Ra was pleased.

Forever may he reign!

Afterwards I was sent to Earth. In many ways, it’s a combination of Mogadore and Lorien, inhabited by a people who somehow worship peace and war in equal measure. At first, I had high hopes. I thought I was lucky to be stationed here. That the humans would make worthy prey.

They don’t, for the most part. They submit. They’re easy to control. I’ve found no sport in dominating them, no thrill in the victory of beating them.

Here on this blue-and-green planet I’ve been working in the shadows for years, long before we made our presence known. I was one of the many sent to seek out the last of the Garde, who proved to be much better at hiding than they