Page 17 of The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies 2)

“What the hell are you guys doing out here?” Sam asks. He’s standing at the sliding glass door.

“Um. Six was talking smack, so I decided to put her in her place. Can’t you tell?”

I remain upside down, hovering four feet over the pool’s center. I can feel Six’s grip around my right ankle, and the sensation is the same as if she were literally holding me up with one hand.

“Oh, totally. Got her right where you want her,” Sam replies.

“I was about to make my move, you know. Biding my time. ”

“So what do you think, Sam?” Six asks. “Should I let him have it?”

A smile breaks across Sam’s face. “Take it away. ”

“Hey!” I say just before she lets go and I fall headfirst into the water. When I resurface, Six and Sam are laughing hysterically.

“That was only round one,” I say, climbing out. I peel off my shirt and slap it to the concrete. “You caught me off guard. Just wait. ”

“What happened to being tough and rugged?” Sam asks. “Isn’t that what you said when you buzzed your head?”

“Strategy,” I say. “I’m just giving Six a false sense of security, then when she gets comfortable I’m going to pull the rug out from under her. ”

“Ha! Yeah, right,” Sam says, then adds, “God, I wish I had Legacies. ”

Six stands between us in her solid black one-piece bathing suit. She’s still laughing, and water runs down her arms and legs as she leans slightly forward and twists her hair to ring it out. The scar on her leg is still discolored, but it isn’t nearly as purple as it was the week before. She whips her hair back over her head. Sam and I are both mesmerized.

“So, training this afternoon then?” Six asks. “Or do you still feel like I might get hurt?”

I puff my cheeks and release the air slowly. “Maybe I’ll take it easy on you. I mean, that scar on your leg still looks kinda nasty. But, yeah, we’re on. ”

“Sam, is that a yes for you, too?”

“You guys want me to train? Seriously?”

“Of course. You’re one of us now,” Six says.

He nods, rubbing his hands together. “I’m in,” he says, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. “But if you just want me for target practice, I’m going home. ”

We start at two o’clock, but by the look of the gloomy sky I don’t anticipate training for very long. Sam bounces on the balls of his feet, wearing gym shorts and an oversized tee. He’s all knees and elbows, but if heart and determination could be counted, I think he’d be nearly the size of the Mogadorian I’d seen aboard the ship.

To start, Six shows us what she’s learned of combat techniques, which is far more than I know. Her body moves fluidly and with the precision of a machine when she throws a kick or punch, or when she does a back flip to evade an attack. She shows us how to counterassault and the merits of skill and coordination, and drills the same maneuvers until they come instinctively. Sam eats it up, even when Six pounds him backwards and he flips head over heels or has the wind knocked out of him. She does the same to me, and even though I try laughing it off like I’m playing around, I work my hardest and she still kicks the crap out of me. I can’t fathom how she learned all this on her own. After my mouth is filled with grass and dirt for the second time, I realize just how much she can teach me.

The rain begins a half hour later. A light drizzle at first, but soon the skies open, sending us indoors for cover. Sam paces through the house throwing kicks and punches at phantom enemies. I sit in the chair, my fist around my blue pendant, and stare out the front window for a very long time, simply watching it all happen while remembering that the last two storms I saw both raged because Six told them to.

When I turn back I see that she’s sound asleep in the corner of the living room, curled around Bernie Kosar, holding him in her arms like a pillow. It’s how she always sleeps, wrapping herself into a ball on her side, her features losing their sharp edges.

The white bottoms of her feet are aimed right at me, and I use telekinesis to lightly tickle the bottom of her right foot. She twitches it as though shooing a pesky fly. I tickle her again. She twitches her foot a little harder. I wait a few seconds and then, as softly as I can, I tickle the length of her foot, from her heel up to her big toe. Six pulls her foot back and kicks her leg straight out, the telekinetic force of which sends me flying into the nearest wall, leaving a hole revealing the interior wires and studs. Sam charges into the room and jumps into the perfect fighting position.

“What happened? Who’s here?” he yells.

I stand, rubbing my elbow, which took the brunt of the hit.

“Jerk,” Six says, sitting up.

Sam looks from me to her.

“You guys are ridiculous,” he says, retreating back to the kitchen. “Your flirting just scared the hell out of me. ”

“Scared the hell out of me, too,” I say, ignoring the flirting comment; but he’s already gone and doesn’t hear it. Am I flirting? Would Sarah think that was flirting?

Six yawns, raising her arms to the ceiling. “Still raining?”

“Totally, but look on the bright side; the weather saved you from any further bruises. ”

She shakes her head. “The tough-guy routine is pretty tired, Johnny. And don’t forget what I can do with the weather. ”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say. I try to change the subject. I hate myself for flirting with another girl. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you: who’s the face in the clouds? Every time you whip up a storm I see this crazy, ominous face. ”

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