Page 14 of A Million Suns (Across the Universe 2)

“Things are different now,” I hiss at Luthor, yanking my arm out of his grasp. “You think you can take whatever you want, but you can’t. ”

I step away quickly, determined to escape this room without him laying another finger on me. His laughter rings out, a disgusting sound that sends chills down my spine. “Things are different!” he bellows after me. “We haven’t got a leader anymore!”

I spin on my heel. “Elder is leader!” My voice is high and loud; it comes out as an angry screech. I can’t help but remember the message that flashed across the floppies earlier.

Luthor snorts in contempt. “You think that boy can stop me? You think that boy can stop any of us?” He sweeps his arms wide, indicating the entire crowd of people who are now staring avidly as we scream in the middle of their usually silent hall.

“We can do anything we want,” Luthor says in a low voice only I can hear. He grins broadly and looks around him, then lifts his voice in a mighty roar, “We can do anything we want!”

I see it in the faces of the people around us.

The realization that what he’s said is true.

9

ELDER

“ELDER?” A VOICE CALLS OUT AS ELDEST’S DOOR ZIPS SHUTS behind me.

“The frex?” I mutter, peering around. No one has access to this level but me.

Red hair swings around the door frame of the Learning Center. “Amy?” I ask, shocked, rushing forward.

She smiles—not a grin, just a gentle curve of her lips that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I hoped you’d be here,” she says.

“How—how did you get here?”

She steps all the way out of the Learning Center and into the Great Room with me. She raises her left hand.

“Doc gave it to you!” I say, examining the wi-com encircling her wrist.

Amy nods. “I figured . . . it used to be Orion’s, so it would probably give me access to the Keeper Level, and . . . ” She shrugs. “It did. I tried to com you before, but you didn’t pick up. Or did I do it wrong?”

“No, I got some coms that I ignored. ”

Amy punches me lightly on the shoulder. “Ignoring me, huh?”

“I couldn’t if I tried,” I say.

She smiles again, another wry twist of her lips with no light behind it. We stand a few feet apart—her near the Learning Center door, me closer to the middle of the Great Room, and the silence falls between us like a tangible, awkward thing. She pulls her necklace out from under her shirt and twists the charm in her fingers.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says immediately, dropping the necklace.

I narrow my eyes but let the moment slide by.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” she finally says. She hasn’t moved away from the Learning Center door, so I move closer to her. She puts one hand in her pocket and looks for a moment as if she’s going to pull something out.

“I had to go settle some problems in the City and then . . . on the Shipper Level. ”

“Now it’s my turn to ask you,” Amy says, withdrawing her empty hand from her pocket. “What’s wrong? Did you see the message that was on the floppies?”

“Yeah,” I growl. “The Shippers were able to reverse the hack, but . . . ” I shrug, and although I mean to appear nonchalant, even I know the gesture is bitter. “Damage done. I’ve asked Marae and the first-level Shippers to serve as my police force. ”

“Good,” Amy says with such vehemence that I stare at her. “It’s just—I’m glad you’re finally doing it. Getting police I mean,” she adds when she notices my look.