Page 51 of The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies 2)

“Because I opened the Chest?”

“Yes. Go ahead, open it up now. ”

I let go of Ella’s hand and grab hold of the lock. I’m sick thinking that I’m able to open it on my own, now that Adelina is dead. I remove the lock and toss the lid open. The small crystal is still glowing a faint blue.

“Don’t touch that,” he says. “The fact that it’s glowing means a Macrocosm is in orbit somewhere. If you touch it now, it will tell them exactly where you are. I don’t know whose Macrocosm is operational, but I’m pretty sure the Mogadorians have stolen somebody’s,” he finishes. I haven’t the slightest idea of what he’s talking about.

“Macrocosm?” I ask.

He shakes his head, frustrated. “There isn’t time to explain it all,” he says. “Relock it. ” He opens his mouth to say more, but is interrupted by banging on the door at the bottom of the stairs. We can hear muffled bursts of foreign voices.

“We have to go,” Crayton says, rushing to the back of the room and grabbing a large black suitcase. He flings it open, revealing ten different guns, a handful of grenades, several daggers. He shrugs his coat to the floor and reveals a leather vest, and he rushes to strap every piece of weaponry to it before slipping his coat back on.

The Mogadorians ram the door below with a heavy object, and we hear footsteps enter the stairwell. Crayton removes one of the guns and snaps a clip into it.

“The burning symbol on the mountain,” I say. “Was it you?”

He nods. “I waited too long, I’m afraid, and when you opened the Chest it became impossible to slip away under their gaze. So I created the biggest beacon I could, and now we have to hope the others have seen it, and that they’re on the way. Otherwise . . . ” He trails off. “Well, otherwise we’re out of options. We have to get to the lake now. It’s our only chance. ”

I have no idea what lake he’s talking about, or why he wants to go there, but my whole body is trembling. I just want to get away.

The footsteps are closer. Ella grabs hold of my hand, back to her eleven-year-old self. Crayton pulls the slide on the gun, and I hear a bullet clicking into place. He aims it at the belfry’s entryway.

“You have a very good friend in town,” he says.

“Héctor?” I ask, suddenly understanding why the two of them were talking in the café this morning. Crayton wasn’t spreading lies, but rather telling the truth.

“Yes, and let’s hope he keeps his word. ”

“Héctor will,” I say, certain that’s true regardless of what Crayton has asked him to do. “It’s in his name,” I add.

“Grab the Chest,” Crayton says.

I reach down and take the Chest in my left arm just as we hear the footsteps reach the last curves of the stairwell.

“Both of you, stay close to me,” Crayton says, his eyes moving from Ella to me. “She was born able to change ages, but she’s young and hasn’t developed any Legacies yet. Keep her close. And don’t let go of that Chest. ”

“Don’t worry, Marina. I’m fast,” she says, smiling.

“You two ready?”

“Ready,” Ella says, tightening her hand around mine.

“They’re all going to be wearing body armor that would stop almost every bullet here on Earth,” Crayton says, “but I’ve soaked mine in Loricyde, and there isn’t a shield here that could stop them. I’m going to mow every damn one of them down. ” His eyes narrow. “Keep your fingers crossed that Héctor’s outside the gates waiting for us. ”

“He’ll be there,” I say.

Then Crayton pulls the trigger, and he doesn’t let go until every bullet’s been fired.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

WE KEEP THE WINDOWS DOWN, SAYING LITTLE, unnerved by the task ahead. Sam keeps a firm grip on the wheel as the highway winds through Virginia.

“You think Six will make it?” Sam asks.

“I’m sure she’ll make it, but who knows what she’ll find. ”

“That was a hell of a kiss you two had. ”

I open my mouth and then shut it. A minute later I say, “She likes you, too, you know. ”

“Yeah, as a friend. ”

“Actually, Sam, she like-likes you. ”

Sam blushes. “Sure. I could tell by the way she shoved her tongue in your mouth. ”

“She kissed you, too, dude. I saw it. ” I slap him in the chest with the back of my hand, and I can see he’s replaying the kiss in his mind. “After I kissed her I asked if she knew you liked her and—”

We’re jerked over the double yellow line on the road. “You did what?”

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