Page 33 of The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies 2)

I do. “But here’s the thing. In Henri’s letter he says that Sam’s dad actually was abducted, or maybe even killed, by the Mogadorians. ”

We sit in silence watching the sun slowly come up over the horizon. Bernie Kosar jogs out of the forest and rolls onto his back to have his belly rubbed. “Hey there, Hadley. ” He flips onto his feet instantly when I say it, tilting his beagle head. “Yeah,” I say, jumping down to scratch his chin with both hands. “I know. ” Sam walks out. His eyes are red. He sits next to Six on the bench.

“Hi, Hadley,” Sam says to Bernie Kosar. BK barks in response and licks his hands.

“Hadley?” Six asks.

The dog barks again in approval.

“I always knew it,” Sam says. “Always. From the day he disappeared. ”

“You were right all this time,” I say.

“Do you mind if I read the letter?” Six asks. Sam hands it to her. I aim my right palm at the front page and turn on its light. She reads the letter in its radiance, then folds the pages and hands them back.

“I’m really sorry, Sam,” she says.

I add, “Henri and I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for your dad. ”

Six then turns to me. “You know, it’s ridiculous that your parents were Liren and Lara. Or it’s ridiculous I didn’t realize that myself. Do you remember me from Lorien, John? Your parents and my parents—their names were Arun and Lyn—they were best friends. I know we weren’t around our parents all that often, but I remember going to your house a few times. You were just a toddler at the time, I think. ”

It takes me a few seconds to remember what Henri once told me. It was the day Sarah had gotten back from Colorado, the day we confessed being in love with one another. After she left, Henri and I were eating dinner and he said, Though I don’t know her number, or have any idea where she is, one of the children who came to Earth with us was the daughter of your parents’ best friends. They used to joke that it was fate that the two of you would end up together.

I almost tell Six what Henri said, but remembering how that conversation came about because of my feelings for Sarah brings back the same guilt I’ve felt since Six and I went for our walk.

“Yeah, that is pretty crazy. I don’t really remember it, though,” I say.

“Regardless, this is some heavy stuff about the Elders and how we’re supposed to assume their roles. No wonder the Mogs are so relentless,” she says.

“Definitely makes sense. ”

“We have to go back to Paradise,” Sam interrupts.

“Yeah, right. ” Six laughs. “What we need to do is find the others somehow. We need to get back on that laptop. Train some more. ”

Sam stands. “No, I’m serious, guys. We have to go back. If my dad left s

omething behind, that transmission device, I think I know how to find it. When I was seven, he told me that my future was mapped on the sundial. I would ask him what he was talking about, and he’d just say that if the dark stars ever fell, I was supposed to find the Ennead and read the map by my birth date on the sundial. ”

“What’s an Ennead?” I ask.

“It’s a group of nine deities in Egyptian mythology. ”

“Nine?” Six asks. “Nine deities?”

“And what sundial?” I ask.

“It’s starting to make sense to me now,” Sam says. He begins walking around the picnic table as he puts it together in his head, Bernie Kosar nipping at his heels. “I used to get so frustrated because he was always saying all this weird stuff that only he understood. A few months before he disappeared, my dad dug a well in our backyard and he said it would collect the rainwater from the gutters and whatever; but after the concrete was poured, he put this elaborate-looking sundial on the stone lid. Then he stood looking down at the well and he said to me. ‘Your future’s mapped on the sundial, Sam. ’”

“And you never checked it out?” I ask.

“Sure I did. I twisted the sundial around, trying my date and time of birth and a few other things, but nothing ever happened. I thought it was just a stupid well with a sundial on it after a while. But now that I read Henri’s letter, the part about the dark stars, I know that it has to be some kind of clue to all this. It’s like he told me without telling me,” Sam beams. “He was so smart. ”

“So are you,” I say. “This could very well be suicide, us going back to Paradise, but I don’t think we have much of a choice now. ”

Chapter Nineteen

I WAKE WITH CLENCHED TEETH, A SOUR TASTE IN my mouth. I tossed and turned all night, not only because the Chest is finally in my possession and I’m anxious to try to talk Adelina into opening it with me this morning, but also because I revealed too much to too many people. I put my Legacies on full display. How much would they all remember? Will I be exposed before breakfast? I sit up and see Ella in her bed. Everyone is still asleep in the room, except for Gabby, La Gorda, Delfina, and Bonita. Their beds are empty.

My feet are about to touch the ground when Sister Lucia appears in the doorway, her hands on her hips, her mouth twisted into a frown. We make eye contact and I lose my breath. But then she takes a couple steps backwards and allows the four girls from the nave to wobble into the room, dazed and bruised, their clothes ripped and dirty. Gabby stumbles to her bed and falls face-first onto it, the pillow enveloping her head. La Gorda rubs her double chin and lies back onto her bed with a grunt, and Bonita and Delfina slowly crawl under their covers. As soon as all four girls are motionless, Sister Lucia yells that it’s time to get up. “And that means everyone!”

As I try to pass by Gabby on the way to the bathroom, she flinches.

La Gorda stands at the mirror inspecting the discoloration of her skin. When she sees my reflection over her shoulder, she immediately turns on the faucet and tries to focus on washing her hands. I can get used to this. I don’t really want to intimidate people, but I like the idea I might be left alone.

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