Chapter Four

John

Crayton leads us to the deserted vacation house just miles away from the Mog Camp. Six made a pretty good job of erasing our tracks. After minutes of driving, we reach a cottage with gray stoned pavement that looked like amethyst under the early morning sky. With the light of the headlights, the cottage had only one floor with mahogany walls instead of cement. It's typically a wooden box with a green roof and a chimney. The shutters and curtains are closed. The house is surrounded by trees, like every part of this forsaken forest. Crayton stops in front of the house, gets out and asks Nine to unlock the door. Six gets out and opens the door for Bernie Kosar. My mind has been doing flashbacks of the beasts' conversation about Six. Master says that we leave the girl alone, what did that mean? Was it about Six, Marina or even little Ella? Even so, they're my family, like sisters. Well, maybe except Six. I know I have to protect them.

Marina and Nine carry everything else as we moved into the cottage of someone else. Ella has a good grip on Six's hand. I help Crayton camouflage our vehicles. Once he's satisfied, we settle in for the night. We didn't dare open the curtains, no matter how chilly it seems in this eerie cottage. I shine my Lumen faintly, aimed toward the ceiling. On my right was a living room with a couch, a rectangular coffee table and a fireplace. Further down the corridor was the dining room and the kitchen. At the end of the hall were two doors that led to the bedrooms.

Six carries a younger version of Ella to one of the bedrooms and tucks her in. "Can Bernie Kosar sleep with me?" I hear Ella ask. Six whistles softly and Bernie Kosar trots with his tail lazily wagging into Ella's room. Six walks out a little while later. My fellow Loric and I sit in the circular dining table. "John, tell me, what happened when you were attacked?" asks Crayton, his hands interlocked in front of him. Six sits beside me, her thigh against mine. Nine and Marina look expectantly at me. Nine nods and helps me recall the events, omitting the monster's conversation. After we were done, Crayton shifts in his seat. Six holds my hand under the table. Marina gets up and says, "I'll watch over Ella, make sure she's asleep." She walks down the hall. We hear the door close. Crayton bows his head down, his forehead touching his fingers like in prayer. Nine has his hands on his temple. "They—the pikens—said something about sparing a girl," I say, my own voice shaky and weak.

Crayton's head snaps up from his fingers. Six looks at me questioningly. "Did they tell you why they were ordered to spare a girl?" Crayton asks me. I shake my head. "They didn't tell you who the girl is?" asks Crayton.

"No."

"Then it can be Six, Marina or Ella," says Nine hopefully, but Crayton shakes his head. "There's a reason why you three were cornered. If my hunch is right, they were after Six and her alone," he says.

"But why me? Why not Marina or Ella?" Six asks.

"Setrákus Ra has plans for you, Six, and I fear it might be because of your power."

"Crayton, why Six? I'm more trained than her. I've spent half my life in that god damned cave. So why Six?" asks Nine, the distaste in his voice evidently directed to Six. He obviously doesn't want to be compared to others. I got angry for that, but Six's hand gives mine a gentle squeeze. I calm down a little, though I can't shake the feeling of distaste toward Nine. Only now do I realize that I find myself very protective of Six even though I know she can handle herself.

"Six's powerful enough to bring forth the destruction of the Earth itself. Setrákus wouldn't have to break a sweat in the destroying this world. He sees you as an advantage, as you may call, on his side of war. With you, he can wipe out as many planets as he pleases. The Mogadorians knew that the time you were in Spain. That's why they're hunting you down, Six. And for that you should be careful," says Crayton. A minute stretches to ten as he let that sink in. The air around us begun to smell like ozone. Six's eyes were beginning to glow faintly. "Six…the power of…" Henri's last words enter my brain, and the pain of him being killed overpowers me again. I'm beginning to suspect it had something to do with our situation now. Had Henri planned everything, even before he died? Had he foreseen that one day Setrákus Ra would be after Six?

"What would make that asshole think I'll be there on his side?" growls Six, who had started to shake with anger. I put one arm around her and try to rub a portion of tenseness on her shoulder. It helped a little, but the smell of ozone still fills the musty air. I fear that any moment now Six would let lightning strike the roof.

"Oh, they have their ways," says Nine. He stands up to full height then stretches, his fingertips a foot below the ceiling. "Get some rest, all of you. I need to think about something," says Crayton. Our chairs creak as we stood up. Six's eyes return to their normal state. Six grabs a sleeping bag then walk in the other room. I hesitate when I got to the door. Nine will be eavesdropping again, no doubt. I walk back to the dining room, where Crayton had his computer set turned on. He kind of reminds me of Henri, but I push that thought aside. With one of his laptops, I open a document program and type, I need a sedative.

Crayton raises his eyebrows at me. I give him a pleading look. He stands up and goes to his bag, opens it and rummages in it for a few minutes. He hands me a shot then returns to the dining room. With my hearing focused in the other room, I hear Nine and Marina talking about our discussion with Crayton and something else that got Marina giggly. I enter their room and ask, "Can I talk to Nine for a few minutes?" Marina nods then sleeps beside Ella, who's hugging Bernie Kosar like a stuffed toy. Nine gets up and faces me. "What?" he asks. With lightning speed I jam the needle in his arm. I push the plunger down. Nine's face was contorted with rage and drowsiness. His eyes close as he falls to the floor with a loud thud. Marina sits bolt upright, but I tell her it's okay, hiding the syringe in the back-pocket of my jeans. Marina raises her eyebrows at me then hefts Nine up with telekinesis. He lands on his side on his sleeping bag. I mouth Thank you to Marina then close the door. Finally, some real privacy with Six.

My heart's beating as fast as I can run, the blood in my ears pounding. As I reach for the door knob, I can feel my face heating up. I remember the night Six and I went on a walk. "John?" she had said, even before I reached her door. I knew how hard it was for her to sleep on the floor. I remember how fragile-looking her hand was in mine. I remember purposely slowing down to spend more time with her. I remember regretting the explosion from the upper floor of the house. Until now I think of the possibility of what could've happened then. I take a deep breath then clutch the door knob.

When I open the door, I see Six hugging her knees, crying again. When she sees me she stands up and flings her arms around me, still sobbing. I close the door behind me without letting go of Six. I settle Six down on the floor, where our sleeping bag waits. She buries her face in my shoulder as I stroke her hair, trying to calm her down. "Hey, everything will be alright. You have me. I'll protect you no matter what," I say, lifting her face with my finger under her chin. I wipe her tears away and put loose strands of hair behind her ear. She smiles slightly, than says, "What, you don't think I can't handle myself out there?"

I smile back and kiss her, my hand cupping her cheek. Six runs her hand through my hair again, only this time her hands stay there. My free hand rubs the small of her back. Ever so slowly, a certain hunger for Six builds up inside me, a feeling I have never felt with Sarah before. I kiss her back, more hungrily this time. She kisses me back with the same pressure. I can feel her smile against my lips, and in a swift move, Six has me pinned flat on my back like when we spar in the yard back in Florida. Her nose brushes mine. Her pendant begins to glow faintly, and so does mine. Six is so close I can feel her breath, which smelled of something like strawberries. "I love you, Six," I say, putting her hair behind her ear. The words escape my mouth flawlessly. Our pendants begun to glow, but I didn't mind it. "I love you too, John," Six says, and as she kisses me, our pendants got heavy. A bright pale blue light swallows the amulets. Six pulls away just as the light fades all at once. "What was that?" she asks. She pull away at arm's length, enough for her necklace to hover inches above my chest. Her pendant was spinning, and as it rotated, I saw my symbol. "No way," I say, holding her pendant in front of her. On the front of the amulet is her symbol and at the back it was mine. I tug on the chain of my necklace until I reach my pendant. They were exactly the same.

"Should we tell Crayton and the others?" she asks. I shake my head and pull her close to me. My lips found hers. Six seemed to forget what just happened. Her fingers runs through my hair again. I place my hands on her hips and roll, so it's me on top of her. It didn't break our kiss though. I didn't know what went through my mind but I fingers found the hem of her tank top. I pull it over her head, our kiss momentarily broken. I toss her shirt across the far corner of the room. After a few minutes, Six returns the favor. I risk a glance at her face, which was as red as mine. My heart begins to race. Her hands trace my chest, her fingers as smooth and soft as rose petals despite her physical strength. She pulls away slightly, our upper lips brushing. Six places her palm on my chest, where my heart does a flip. "You look beautiful, Maren Elizabeth," I say, kissing her cheek lightly. She chuckles then brings my lips to hers.