I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore Page 0,3

question unless it’s headed to the West Virginia base.”

“Of course it’s not,” I say.

“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have to abandon your pursuit.” His face gets serious. The self-satisfied smirk disappears. “Beloved Leader needs my attention. Now. His wound is serious, and every second that passes, it grows worse. The Anubis is not equipped to handle his injuries.”

“Beloved Leader will not be killed by a pathetic Garde,” I say, my voice getting louder. “He will rise again to conquer this world.”

“Of course he will,” Zakos says. “But he’ll rise much faster if I can get him into the healing vats. The longer you chase the Loric ship, the longer Setrákus Ra will be out of commission. He’ll have to spend more hours in the vats while you are free to . . . do what, exactly? Command the Anubis? That sounds an awful lot like treason, Phiri. However, a disgraced trueborn such as yourself would likely find favor with Beloved Leader if he awoke and heard that you had sped up his recovery by rushing him into my hands.”

I grit my teeth, unable to respond at first.

“He told me to crush them,” I say.

“If he holds that against you, I’ll take responsibility for it myself,” Zakos says. “Time is of the essence, Phiri Dun-Ra. I’ve alerted General Krah that Beloved Leader is . . . unable to be reached right now. He agrees that this is a matter that no one outside of the Anubis needs to know about. Understood?”

I nod.

“Good. I’ll be awaiting your arrival personally.”

The feed cuts out.

I don’t move for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do. If we let these Loric slip through our fingers, who knows when we’ll have the chance to kill them again? This will be yet another failure on my part. And dammit if I don’t want to watch each and every one of those bastards beg for mercy as I torture them.

But Zakos is right. Beloved Leader comes first, always. Though he told me to crush the Loric, I can’t be responsible for prolonging his recovery. And besides, the best way to ensure their demise is to have Setrákus Ra giving orders. He saved our people. He crushed Lorien. Earth is his whenever he decides that he wants it.

If I should be put to death for letting the Loric escape, so be it. So long as Beloved Leader walks among his subjects at full power once more.

I go back to the bridge.

“Update me,” I say.

“We’ll be crossing the United States border in ten minutes,” the navigator says. “We’ve gained on them slightly, but they’ve got a hell of a pilot. We’re having trouble closing the gap, and they’re outside of our weapons’ range.”

I nod.

“Send as many Skimmers as we can spare after that ship, but the Anubis is disengaging,” I say. “Plot us a course for the West Virginia base.”

“Would Beloved Leader . . . ,” the navigator says, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

“Now,” I shout.

And then I’m forced to watch as the Loric ship disappears from our radar screen.

CHAPTER THREE

I GO BACK TO THE MEDICAL BAY AS WE SHOOT towards West Virginia. The doctors there have removed most of the pipe in Beloved Leader’s chest using some sort of laser. Now it sticks out just an inch above his body.

“He’s alive, but barely,” the trueborn in charge whispers to me when I pull him aside.

“He is fine,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “To say otherwise would be heresy. Remember that.”

“Of course,” he says quickly. “I’ll make sure my staff remembers that as well.”

It’s early morning when we land, still dark. Before we move his gurney out, I instruct the doctors to put a sheet over him, just in case there are stray troops roaming around somewhere. They shouldn’t see him like this. No one should.

Dr. Zakos is waiting for us outside along with half a dozen other trueborn scientists who serve as his staff.

“Straight to the vats,” he says to two of his men, who sprint inside with Beloved Leader’s body. Then he motions to the others. “The rest of you retrieve any Loric energy the Anubis managed to siphon out of the ground at the Sanctuary. You know what to do.”

The men grunt and make haste. Zakos then turns to me. “You did well, Phiri Dun-Ra. Beloved Leader will surely commend you.”

“How long do you think he’ll be out?” I ask.

“Hard to tell based on the reports the doctors sent. But he should