The Spectrum Force Volume Three by Heather Ray (ready player one ebook txt) 📕

to teach. They are mighty, but they have a great deal to learn if they will prevail against the Empire.* He then smiled, bowing his head. *I bid you farewell, Spectra. May the Light shine on you always.*

Spectra was so surprised, she nearly forgot to bow in return. *How do you know who I am?*

She watched as he slowly pulled on his cloak, gradually vanishing from view. *Your father spoke of you often.*

And then he was gone.

Spectra stared at the spot where her disappeared. Despite all the horrors that had happened in the past few hours, she found a small smile.
Chapter Fifty-Four

It will never be this easy again…

The thought crept into his consciousness, penetrating the haze of astute concentration that always fell over the skilled athlete's mind during a heated competition.

He had touched the Diadem, creating an inexplicable rapport that gave him insights his teammates did not have. He understood their situation more clearly than the others, and the knowledge made the Blue Enforcer pause.

The Dia-Staffs and our Spectrum Stones work in harmony, the staff focusing and amplifying our own powers. But the staffs directly reflect the power of the Diadem. Since we're so close to it now, the power the staffs manifest is at its peak; but when we return to Earth… thousands of light years will separate us from the Diadem. The Dia-Staffs won't be nearly as strong.

After a mere twenty minutes of battle, the six heroes had whittled the great army of Shadows down by nearly a quarter. Resilient as they were against the Spectrum Stones alone, the creatures had no defense against the power of Life and Light, flooding through the arcane magic that formed them and dispersing the darkness.

But next time… the Force wouldn't be so lucky.

Unbidden, the voice of Teddy Mackenzie flowed through Craig's mind.

"Press your advantage."

One of the most fundamental rules in competitive sports. Since there is never an assurance of victory, one must always take advantage of any opportunity that arises.

Craig stole a glance at his gleaming ax, shaped by his memories of chopping down trees in his grandmother's yard over the summer. He had needed a weapon to consolidate his physical and magical strength, and the Dia-Staff had bent to his will.

We're wasting time, he decided. He inclined his head, staring up into the sunrise. Clearly visible was a black spot, hovering over them all like a bad omen.

The Denebian warship.

There're bigger fish to fry…

Chapter Fifty-Five

The rage bubbled like a volcano preparing to rain deadly fire upon some hapless village.

Phaedra stood on the bridge of the warship… so rare an occurrence the bridge crew was set on edge by her mere presence. With blazing eyes, she stared at the small globe floating innocently in space.

Despite the serene appearance, she knew full well of the fierce battle that raged below. She stretched her perception through her Shadows, watching grimly as her personal armies were plowed down by six humans. Six members of a weak, short-lived species dared to stand against her… with success!

Her plan had backfired. Instead of disheartening Spectra and her team by revealing the consequences of opposing the Empire, she had fueled their resolve and self-righteousness.

And somehow, they discovered a power formidable enough to reduce her mighty Shadows to cannon fodder.

Curse them all! They found the Diadem! That is the only explanation!!

Oh… but they wouldn't win the day. She still had the power to wrench victory from the hands of defeat.

"Captain!" she snapped. She had never bothered to learn the officer's name, nor was she interested. She glanced dismissively at his stalwart posture and decorated armor. "Does this ship have the firepower to detonate Edenia?"

The question surprised the captain. Even though his vessel was technically a warship, it had been dedicated to exploration throughout his tenure. "With time, and a few strategic hits, we should be able to destroy a planet this small."

"Then open fire."

The command caused the entire bridge crew to look up from their respective tasks.

"Majesty," the captain bravely objected, "we can't open fire blindly. In order to determine which targets would cause a destructive chain reaction, we will need to perform a careful seismologic analysis."

Phaedra slid her glare to the captain. "How long will that take?"

"Twelve hours."

She folded her arms. "In that time, the entire Spectrum Force will have already left the planet," she hissed. "Begin your study, but open fire on the humans now

."

The captain knew not to argue, and turned on his communicator. "Weapons ready!" he bellowed.

Chapter Fifty-Six

After making sure Gaius was as comfortable as possible, Spectra hurried to the small cockpit of the Starglider 30 and activated its engines. As it was primarily designed to serve as an escape pod, a great deal of effort was invested into making the ship virtually invisible to Denebian warships.

So Spectra dared to lift off, cutting through the heavy atmosphere of Edenia into the vacuum of space.

She programmed the navigation to take her to the Hyperspace Portal, and had begun making adjustments on the portal remote to take her directly to Lumina City, when an alarm beeped to life. She jumped, turning to the sensor.

"Phaedra's ship is charging weapons," she murmured, her eyes widening, "Did she detect me?"

Nervous fingers flew over the keys, commanding the computer to estimate the trajectory. "The cannons are aimed for Edenia!"

Her fear escalating, she relayed an urgent call to the six brave humans that were blissfully unaware of the emergency.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

*Spectrum Force! The warship orbiting Edenia is preparing to fire on your location!*

The Force immediately stopped their fierce fighting, and as one launched into the air to regroup.

"We've got to stop them!" Tamara decided, "What if they blow up the planet?"

"The Midjinari and the Diadem are still down here!" Craig added.

Keith stared up at the small black spot that marred the perfect blue sky. "Think we can unite our powers? Like we did against the monster-worm?"

"I don't think it'll be powerful enough to do major damage," Jocelyn noted. "If it were, we could've blasted Phaedra's ship orbiting Earth."

"Then maybe we should unite these

," Matt proposed, lifting his sai. At his will, the weapon converted back to the Dia-Staff. "They were one big pole to begin with, right?"

Rachel turned to Craig. "Think it'll work?"

Craig relaxed, listening for any additional insights the Diadem might offer. After a few moments, a clear image formed in his head.

He knew exactly what to do.

"Follow me!" he called. The Force watched, startled, as the Blue Enforcer rocketed into space.

"You heard the man," Keith said. Together, the five remaining Enforcers took off into the heavens.

The team reconvened in the uppermost atmosphere, hovering in a circle. Only mere kilometers away, the foreboding warship floated, two barrels glowing with angry, rolling plasma.

*Dia-Staffs up!* Craig relayed.

The team lifted their staffs in synchrony.

Craig then lowered his, pointing directly at Rachel, who floated across from him. *Now, we link them to create the Dia-Star.*

*Dia-Star?* Matt repeated, brow furrowed.

Rachel nodded with understanding, and lowered her own staff. Tendrils of energy stretched between the tips as she drew her staff closer to Craig's. The moment it touched, the tendrils climbed up and down the pole, weaving over both Enforcers' gloves with no harm.

*A six-pointed star, huh?* Keith realized, setting his staff into place. Tamara, Jocelyn, and Matthew followed suit.

The moment the sixth staff joined the others, the colored flashes of light were instantly replaced by a thick, bright web of blinding white light.

The six hovered around the Dia-Star, watching the powerful energy infuse the giant, six-pronged weapon.

*So now what?* Tamara wondered.

In response, Craig grabbed hold of the Dia-Star from one prong. He floated away from the team, closing in on the warship.

*Now… it's the last few seconds of the fourth quarter,* he answered. *The opposing team is two points ahead… but I'm open for a three-pointer.*

Without further explanation, he tossed the Dia-Star like a frisbee. The magical weapon spun so rapidly, to the naked eye it looked like a glowing disc.

The disc tore through the airless void, right on target.