Even though I’m not entirely comfortable taking coaching from Five, I still extend my arms from my sides. I concentrate and try to imagine strings looped around me, connecting me to the ceiling, just like Five said. I pull at those strings with my telekinesis. I picture my feet leaving the ground, my body weightless on the air.
And then it happens. Something clicks, and I feel my sneakers lose contact with the floor. It’s only a few inches at most but still—it’s happening.
“Easy now,” Five says, his voice a whisper. “That’s good. Focus on keeping your body straight. Keep pulling yourself up on your strings.”
Even as Five says this, I can’t help but glance down at the floor to check on my progress. There’s a foot of empty space beneath where my feet dangle, and seeing that is somehow completely disorienting. My instinct is to wave my arms like I’m losing my balance. Suddenly, I’m pitched forward, still floating, but horizontal now, facing the floor.
“Focus!” Five snaps. “Remember the strings!”
The yelling doesn’t help. I do remember my imaginary strings, but instead of gently pulling on them to straighten back up, I give them a frustrated mental tug. I rocket upwards, feel my spine smack hard against the ceiling and then fall onto my face. Lucky for me the floor of Five’s room is padded.
Behind me, I hear Nine trying to stifle laughter. I push myself onto my hands and knees and glare at him.
“You could’ve caught me.”
Nine grins and mimes waving his arms in the air for balance. “Oh man, it was too good. I wasn’t thinking.”
I stand back up. Five still effortlessly floats in front of me. At least he doesn’t think my failure is hilarious like Nine does.
“It’s a start,” he says, and shrugs through his straitjacket. “I don’t recommend practicing where there’s a ceiling, by the way. I learned mostly over water, so the falls don’t hurt so much.”
“How long?” I ask. “How long did it take you to master?”
Five snorts. “It’s not like shooting fireballs, John. It’s more like learning to walk again. It took me months.”
I shake my head. “I don’t have months. I need to fly up to one of the warships as soon as possible.”
Five raises an eyebrow. “Well now, that sounds interesting.”
“You aren’t invited,” Nine says quickly.
Five sighs. “If you’re determined to do it yourself, there’s another training technique we could try.”
“What is it?”
I’ve barely gotten the question out when Five hits me in the stomach with his shoulder. The air goes out of me immediately. He’s like a cannonball. He doesn’t have arms to grasp me, so it’s all force that keeps my midsection pressed firmly to Five’s shoulder. We careen straight out the door of his cell, right past Nine, who doesn’t react quickly enough. The marines outside scream in surprise.
We let our guard down for one second and this is what happens. How stupid could we be?
Five slams me up against the wall opposite his cell, high up, so the top of my head actually brushes the ceiling. I hear shouts from the soldiers, hear their weapons cock.
“Don’t!” Nine shouts. “You’ll hit John!”
Five flies away from me, and I start to slide down the wall. But he isn’t letting me go; he’s just getting a better position. As I fall, his legs wrap around my chest. One of my arms is pinned against my side in his leg-lock. The other I manage to squeeze free.
I fire up my Lumen on my free hand and grasp at Five’s leg, trying to pry myself loose. I burn through the front of his pajama pants, hear the skin on his leg crackle and pop and then—
Whoosh!
All of Five’s skin becomes fire, his Legacy kicking in. Even though I’m immune to being burned, I still jerk backwards, surprised. The straitjacket burns clean off him, fiery shreds falling to the hallway floor beneath us. Now he doesn’t need his legs to grasp me. He reaches down and wraps his flame-covered hands around my throat.
“Thanks for the fire, John, you predictable, arrogant prick!”
He flies us up, hard, and slams me against the ceiling. Then, immediately, back down, dashing me against the floor. Nine leaps at us, and Five swings me around like a human shield. I hear Nine grunt as my legs hit him across the side of the head. Then I’m rising up again, Five flying me down the hall at great speed.
“That first time I took you flying? God, how bad I wanted to drop you! You don’t even know. Time to make up for that!”