Page 7 (1/2)

I clearon?"

Both girls turn around to look at un

"Hey, babe," she says "Six was just helping me learn to shoot"

"Yeah, cool I didn’t realize that’s soe look, like ouldn’t want to learn to shoot? An aardal Sarah this lesson without my per The whole situation hasflustered, and I un out of Sarah’s hand She clicks the safety on and holsters it

"I think that’s good for now," Six says "Let’s do so disappointed "All right"

Six pats Sarah on the arht suys," she says, and breezes past me out the door

Sarah and I stand in silence for aoverhead

"So," I begin, aardly

"You’re being weird," she says, eyeing me, her head tilted to the side

I pick up the paper Mogadorian, exaure out what to say "I know Sorry I just never took you for the arerous type"

Sarah frowns atto be with you, I don’t want to be a damsel in distress"

"You’re not"

"Co I would’ve rotted in New Mexico if you hadn’t shown up? And then, I ht me back to life"

I slideto think about Sarah athappen to you"

She shrugs , John"

"Yeah," I say, "I’ to realize that"

Sarah looks up atmy parents today It’s been weeks I wanted to tell theood idea The Mogadorians or the govern your house for phone calls They could be tracking us"

The words sound so cold and I regret the into paranoid-and-practical-leader mode But Sarah doesn’t seem offended In fact, it looks like it’s exactly what she expected"That’s exactly what I thought, and it’s why I didn’t actually go through with it I don’t want to go hoht But I don’t have any Loric superpowers I’ so I can be rab Sarah’s hand "You are more than that I need you here withet it," she says "You’re going to save the freaking world and I’reat reat woreat woh, the tension between us breaking I lift Sarah’s hand and kiss it She wraps her ar I don’t knohat I was so tied up in knots about; having Sarah here justup with a battle plan to take down the Mogadorians? No problem And as for that one kiss with Six, it just doesn’t seeht teleports into the room with a puff of displaced air He’s wide-eyed and excited, but turns sheepish when he sees us

"Whoa," Eight says "Sorry, I didn’t expect canoodling"

Sarah snickers, and I glare jokingly at Eight "This better be good"

"You should go to the workshop and see for yourself I’ve gotta go get the others"

With that cryptic e a look, then rush out of the Lecture Hall and into Sandor’s old workshop

Nine is already there, his arms crossed as he watches the bank of television screens on the wall They’re all tuned to the sae, a newscast from some local station in South Carolina Nine pauses the broadcast e enter, freezing a still iray-haired anchor

"I turned on sorams the other day," Nine explains "They scan news feeds for weird shit that ht be Loric related"

"Yeah, Henri had the sa Cêpan stuff, right? Except this popped up tonight"

Nine restarts the broadcast, the anchor resu

"Authorities are at a loss to explain the vandalis The prevailing theory is high-school prank, but others have suggested"

I tune out the anchor’s theories as the i, ht look like a juvenile prank to the newscaster, but we recognize it ied precision is the Loric symbol for Five

CHAPTER SEVEN

"IF FIVE’S TRYING TO FIND US, THIS IS ABOUT the dumbest damn way possible," Nine says

"She could be scared and alone," counters Marina, softly "On the run"