Morgassa's hoarde

“Morgassa isn’t alone,” Russell said. “She travels with all the people she has claimed and with her army of figments.”

“Living seemings?” Skye verified.

“More like blank seemings,” Russell said. “She controls them. They look like people, but kind of blurry, without features. You can see through them a little. They don’t seem to hurry, but they’re fast. They kind of glide. When they reach people, they merge with them, and Morgassa takes control.”

“Her figments merge with people?” Skye asked.

“You’d have to see it to fully get it,” Russell said. “The people she has taken run ahead. They fight anyone who resists. They’re stronger than they should be. They hold people down. Then the figments swoop in and take them over. The same people who were running away start helping her, like they’ve completely lost their minds. They get changed. Each person who gets taken swells her ranks.”

“How many figments?” Cole asked, unsure if he was supposed to be part of the conversation, but unable to help himself.

“A vast horde,” Russell said. “As many as she wants. You can see her making more like it’s nothing. She waves an arm, and twenty spring into being. She waves her other arm, and thirty more appear. She’s already claimed thousands of people. All of them drones. Changelings. There are always more figments. She’s going to control every corner of Elloweer. It won’t take long. She won’t even break a sweat.”

Chapter 21