Page 29 of The Fall of Five (Lorien Legacies 4)

“Definitely not,” Six agrees, smiling at me. I look away, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks.

My dad looks touched. “Putting ourselves in danger for the safety of Earth is a Goode family tradition. But thank you for saying that. ” He rests a hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you found each other. And drop the ‘mister’—Malcolm will do just fine. ”

There are sirens nearby, drawing closer. We might be in a rural part of Arkansas, but the local authorities would definitely notice a spaceship crashing out of the sky. They’ll be here soon.

“We should get moving,” Six says.

John nods, already starting to run towards the trees. “Our car is parked out by the highway. ”

“I’ll ride with Sam and Malcolm,” Six says, “and show them the way. ”

John, Sarah and Five head off towards the highway. Meanwhile, as flashing lights begin crawling through Fouke, my dad and I, along with Six, make for the Rambler. While my dad climbs into the driver’s seat, Six touches my arm.

“I’m sorry if I, um, embarrassed you before with that hug. In front of your dad and all. I hope that wasn’t weird. ”

“No way,” I say hurriedly, wanting Six to know that hug was about the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. “That was really nice. ”

“Don’t get used to me being all emotional,” Six says, giving me a look. I think she’s teasing me. “You showing up just caught me off guard. ”

“So you’re saying I’d have to disappear again to get another hug?”

“Exactly,” Six replies, and then starts to get into the backseat. She hesitates, thinking something over for a moment, and then suddenly hugs me again. “Okay. One more. ”

I hold Six close as my dad starts the car. His face is lit up by the car’s instrument panel and even though he’s pretending not to, I can tell he’s watching us. If I had my way, I’d never let her go—we’d keep right on hugging until the local cops came to arrest us.

Six breaks away from me, looking into my eyes. I try to keep my expression cool and collected, but that’s probably not working.

“For the record,” she says, “I never thought you were Setrákus Ra. I knew you right away. ”

“Thanks,” I reply lamely, scrambling for something better to say, like how I missed her or how amazing it is to see her now. Before I can come up with anything, Six has gotten into the backseat.

She’s just buckling her seat belt when Five clears his throat. “Uh,” he says. “What was that stone thing you threw at me?”

We all turn to stare at him. “The Xitharis stone, you mean?” Six asks.

“Yeah,” Five says. “That. I kind of, uh, dropped it. ”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“WOW, JOHNNY. I SEND YOU OUT FOR REINFORCEMENTS and you come back with an old man, a nerd and this little hobbit guy. Great job. ”

Nine is there to sarcastically greet our group as soon as we enter the foyer of his ridiculous Chicago penthouse. So, my first impression of him during our brief meeting in West Virginia wasn’t off after all. He really is a douche bag.

We’re back later than anyone thought we would be. We searched for the Xitharis stone, but it was gone and we couldn’t stick around any longer than necessary. And while no one seems very happy about it, it’s like they’re trying not to blame Five for losing it. For now, at least.

After it was clear it was gone, after Five had apologized for the hundredth time, Six just tossed her hair and shrugged. “It’s a rock,” she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. “A powerful rock, but we’re pretty powerful on our own. ”

Still, it’s clear that it hasn’t endeared Five to anyone. Especially Nine.

“Be nice,” Sarah warns him. Clearly the others have gotten used to his not-so-witty banter. By the way he and John slap hands in greeting, I’d say they’ve even become friends. Five, though, seems wounded. Next to me, he subtly tries to suck in his belly. “Hobbit guy,” he repeats, under his breath.

“It’s from a book,” I start to explain, but he cuts me off.

“I get the reference,” Five says. “It isn’t very nice. ”

“That’s Nine,” says John, overhearing. “He’ll grow on you. Or, well, you’ll get used to him. ”

Five gives me a deadpan look like he doubts it and I can’t help smiling in return. I think we’re both feeling a bit like outsiders in this penthouse. Six tried to catch me up the best she could on the ride back, but there are a lot of new faces and stories here in Chicago, not to mention the most surreal hideout in history. I still can’t believe the Garde are living in a place like this. It’s the kind of lavish pad they used to tour on that MTV show, the one about rich celebrities and their jealousy-inducing lifestyles. How Nine and his Cêpan managed to put together a place like this and keep it off the Mogadorian radar to boot is pretty impressive.

John introduces everyone to Nine, who has stopped cracking lame jokes long enough to meet Five and my dad.

“And you remember Sam, right?” John finishes.

“Obviously,” Nine says, striding forward to shake my hand. His grip is rough and he towers over me so that I have to crane my neck up. He lowers his voice, not wanting the others to hear. “Seriously, bro, sorry about leaving you in the cave. That was sort of my fault. ”

“It’s cool,” I reply, a bit taken aback by the apology.

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