United As The Ten- Part One Of The Conclusion To The United Series

Chapter Twenty Two

Max's POV:

I unsheathe my Voron sword as Ivan unsheathes his sword as well. After a moment of tense silence, the door is ripped off its hinges with a blast of green fire.

Ivan and I dodge to the right as six Mogadorian soldiers pile into the room, all aiming blasters at us. I hold out my free hand to them, ready to set them on fire with my Lumen, until another figure steps inside the room. The Mogs immediately make way for him and Bryce Lawrence steps inside.

"I can definitely get used to this, but now Max, we need you more than ever. So if you can just spare yourself the pain and come with us? We want Beloved Leader back," Bryce tells me, smirking down at me, and I try to control the anger building up inside of me. I shake my head at Bryce.

"I'm not helping you," I reply, gripping my sword tightly. Bryce chuckles cruelly and flicks his wrist at Ivan, who's blasted into the wall, banging his head and knocking out. I rush up to him but Bryce pulls me back with telekinesis. He rips my sword away from me and throws it out of my reach. I struggle against him as he grabs my arms tightly and a Mog in front of me handcuffs me.

"Leave us alone," I order Bryce, pouring all my anger and fear into my voice. Bryce hesitates but he doesn't let go of me. Instead he holds out his sword and rests the hilt on the side of my head.

"Don't worry, Max. It'll be painless," Bryce says before slamming the hilt of his sword onto my head and I'm knocked out before anything else can happen.

---

I wake up on a cold, hard surface, lying on my back. At first I don't want to open my eyes. I don't want to see the bright light of the testing room on the Anubis.

Then I realize that there is no light. Wherever I am, it's dark.

I open my eyes and I'm in an empty cell. I'm obviously on the Anubis, but definitely not in the testing room.

I sit upright and look around. The door is closed and locked and all the bars seem to crackle with electricity. An electric cell. Really? Gods, these Mogs are so extra.

I look around for anything that might help me escape but I don't see anything.

Just then, the cell door is unlocked and opened. I look up and see Bryce Lawrence smirking down at me. I jump to my feet and glare at him but he just continues forward, grabs my shoulders, and pins me against the wall behind me. I try to control my shaky breathing, but the way Bryce is looking at me- as if he's ready to do anything to me- honestly kind of scares me.

"We don't need the experiment anymore, Max," Bryce informs me and I'm shocked. Why don't they need it? Have they figured out another way to do it? Have they already figured out how I was resurrected?

I'm snapped back to reality from my questions as Bryce lets go of one of my shoulders and reaches into his pocket then pulls out a familiar pale yellow stone.

I gasp. It's the Xitharis stone from John's chest. Any Garde can transfer any legacy using it.

"How'd you get that?" I ask him, remembering that we lost it in Arkansas looking for Five.

"Number Ten had it with her when we brought her here. We were able to get it back," Bryce tells me. He leans in closer to me, twisting the Xitharis stone in his hand. "And we were wondering how all the Cêpans have suddenly come back to life. So we figured that one of you have a...resurrection legacy?"

I freeze up, unsure of what to say.

"If you think it's me, you're wrong. I don't have that legacy," I bluff, hoping that Bryce buys it. He just shakes his head at me, chuckling.

"So the Mogadorian who told me he saw you resurrect Nico di Angelo in Chicago was lying, then?" Bryce asks me, smirking wider.

"I didn't resurrect him, I healed him. It's a healing legacy," I lie, now growing anxious and even more nervous. I try my best not to fidget or look away from Bryce.

He just shakes his head and puts the stone in my hand. "Charge it. Or else," Bryce orders me.

"Or what? You'll kill me? Torture me?" I snap back, gripping the stone tightly. Bryce smirks again, shaking his head slightly.

"Kill you? No, not yet. But did you really think that you're the only Garde we captured?" Bryce whispers to me and my heart drops into my stomach.

Without breaking eye contact with me, Bryce shouts an order to a Mogadorian soldier behind him and I realize that Bryce didn't close the cell door when he walked in. It's still wide open.

"Bring him in!" Bryce orders the Mog, who nods his head once before rushing out of the cell, leaving the door open again.

"You're going to charge it, Max, whether you like it or not," Bryce taunts and I know that it's now or never. Without another thought, I slam the Xitharis stone against the side of Bryce's head. He shouts in pain and stumbles back, holding his head where I hit him. I punch him in the face repeatedly then rush to the open cell door.

Before I can make it out, though, there's a horrible stinging in both of my legs, exactly as it felt when Ivan turned me in to the Mogs in Chicago. I shout in pain and fall to the floor, holding my legs as they're being electrocuted. I feel Bryce grab my arms and slam me against the back wall again. The awful pain in my legs stop and I can see the same remote in Bryce's hand.

"Where'd you get that?" I ask Bryce, rage filled in my voice.

"I knew where it was. Did you know that Ivanick was carrying this with him the whole time?" Bryce smirks again. "Maybe waiting for the perfect opportunity to stab you in the back."

I'm about to charge at Bryce again but he unsheathes his glowing Mogadorian sword and places the cold blade against my throat, forcing me to stay pinned against the wall. I exhale, hoping he'll take the sword off my throat a bit more, but unfortunately he knows this trick. He digs the sword deeper into my neck.

Bryce quickly snatches the Xitharis stone from the ground and puts it in my hand again.

"You'll charge it, don't worry," Bryce tells me. Just then, I hear grunting and someone being dragged in. I look behind Bryce and gasp when I see a fellow Garde being dragged in by two Mogs- Nine.

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