The power of six : book two of the Lorien Legacies

The second book of the #1 New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series! In the beginning, nine aliens left their home planet Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorians. They scattered on Earth and went into hiding. They look like ordinary teenagers but have extraordinary powers. The Mogs have come for them. They killed Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. They tried to get John Smith, Number Four, in Ohio—but they failed. Now John has joined forces with Number Six, and they are on the run. But they are not alone. Already John and Six have inspired Marina, Number Seven, who has been hiding in Spain. She's been following the news of what's happening, and she's certain this is the sign she's been waiting for. It's time to come together. Michael Bay, director of Transformers, raved: "Number Four is a hero for this generation." This epic story is perfect for fans of action-packed science fiction like The Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. The battle for Earth's survival wages on. Don't miss the rest of the series: #3: The Rise of Nine, #4: The Fall of Five, #5: The Revenge of Seven, #6: The Fate of Ten, and #7: United as One. Don't miss the first book in the brand-new I Am Number Four spin-off series: Generation One.

Chapter One

My name is Marina, as of the sea, but I wasn't
called that until much later. In the beginning I was known
merely as Seven, one of the nine surviving Garde from the
planet Lorien, the fate of which was, and still is, left in
our hands. Those of us who aren’t lost. Those of us still
alive.
I was six when we landed. When the ship jolted to a
halt on Earth, even at my young age I sensed how much
was at stake for us—nine Cêpan, nine Garde—and that
our only chance waited for us here. We had entered the
planet’s atmosphere in the midst of a storm of our own
creation, and as our feet found Earth for the very first
time, I remember the wisps of steam that rolled off the
ship and the goose bumps that covered my arms. I hadn’t
felt the wind in a year, and it was freezing outside. Somebody
was there waiting for us. I don’t know who he was,
only that he handed each Cêpan two sets of clothes and a
large envelope. I still don’t know what was in it.
As a group we huddled together, knowing we might
never see one another again. Words were spoken, hugs
were given, and then we split up, as we knew we must,
walking in pairs in nine different directions. I kept peering
over my shoulder as the others receded in the distance
until, very slowly, one by one, they all disappeared. And
then it was just Adelina and me, alone. I realize now just
how scared Adelina must have been.
I remember boarding a ship headed to some unknown
destination. I remember two or three different trains after
that. Adelina and I kept to ourselves, huddled against
each other in obscure corners, away from whoever might
be around. We hiked from town to town, over mountains
and across fields, knocking on doors that were quickly
slammed in our faces. We were hungry, tired, and scared.
I remember sitting on a sidewalk begging for change. I
remember crying instead of sleeping. I’m certain that
Adelina gave away some of our precious gems from Lorien
for nothing more than warm meals, so great was our need.
Perhaps she gave them all away. And then we found this
place in Spain.
A stern looking woman I would come to know as Sister
Lucia answered the heavy oak door. She squinted at
Adelina, taking in her desperation, the way her shoulders
drooped.
“Do you believe in the word of God?” the woman asked
in Spanish, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes in
scrutiny.
“The word of God is my vow,” Adelina replied with a
solemn nod. I don’t know how she knew this response—
perhaps she learned it when we stayed in a church
basement weeks before—but it was the right one. Sister
Lucia opened the door.
We’ve been here ever since, eleven years in this stone
convent with its musty rooms, drafty hallways, and hard
floors like slabs of ice. Aside from the few visitors, the
internet is my only source to the world outside our small
town; and I search it constantly, looking for some indication
that the others are out there, that they’re searching,
maybe fighting. Some sign that I’m not alone, because
at this point I can’t say that Adelina still believes, that
she’s still with me. Her attitude changed somewhere over
the mountains. Maybe it was with the slam of one of the
doors that shut a starving woman and her child out in the
cold for another night. Whatever it was, Adelina seems to
have lost the urgency of staying on the move, and her faith
in the resurgence of Lorien seems to have been replaced
by the faith shared by the convent’s Sisters. I remember
a distinct shift in Adelina’s eyes, her sudden speeches on
the need for guidance and structure if we were to survive.
My faith in Lorien remains intact. In India, a year and
a half ago, four different people witnessed a boy move
objects with his mind. While the significance behind the
event was small at first, the boy’s abrupt disappearance
shortly thereafter created much buzz in the region, and
a hunt for him began. As far as I know, he hasn’t been
found.
A few months ago there was news of a girl in Argentina
who, in the wake of an earthquake, lifted a five ton slab of
concrete to save a man trapped beneath it; and when news
of this heroic act spread, she disappeared. Like the boy in
India, she’s still missing.
And then there’s the father-son duo making all the
news now in America, in Ohio, who the police are hunting
after the two allegedly demolished an entire school by
themselves, killing five people in the process. They left no
trace behind other than mysterious heaps of ash.
“It looks like a battle took place here. I don’t know how
else to explain it,” the head investigator was quoted as
saying. “But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom
of this, and we will find Henri Smith and his son, John.”
Perhaps John Smith, if that’s his real name, is merely
a boy with a grudge who was pushed too far. But I don’t
think that’s the case. My heart races whenever his picture
appears on my screen. I’m gripped with a profound
desperation that I can’t quite explain. I can feel it in my
bones that he’s one of us. And I know, somehow, that I
must find him.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore Copyright © 2011 by Pittacus Lore. Excerpted by permission of HarperCollins. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. (source: http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-power-of-six/#gsc.tab=0) **The Power of Six** by Pittacus Lore is the second volume in a series that began with the book "I Am Number Four." It is a saga that pits good against evil on an interplanetary scale. Nine children and their guardians (*Cepans*) have been sent to Earth from the planet Lorien which is under siege. The Mogadorians have used up their own planetary resources and are now expanding outward, seeking greener pastures to sustain them. Lorien, the closest inhabitable planet to them is their first target. In an effort to save their race, nine children entrusted with the gifts of the elders are sent away in the hopes that when their Legacies develop, they will be strong enough to return to Lorien and reclaim their birthright. A tenth child, just a baby at the time, is sent to Earth on a second flight with a ship loaded with Chimaera. Number Seven or Marina as she is known in her current Earth disguise, is living with her Cepan Adelina in the Santa Teresa convent/orphanage in Spain. Adelina has settled into convent life and has convinced herself that Lorien and Mogadorians are all part of an elaborate fairy tale. She has resigned herself to serving God. Marina is just beginning to understand the Legacies that are revealing themselves to her. So far, she's discovered that she has telekinesis, she can breathe under water, and she can heal with her touch. She spends all of her spare time in a cave she found nearby, storing food and honing her skills in preparation for the day that the Mogs will find her. The scars on her ankle reveal that Numbers One, Two, and Three are already dead. They are protected, but only as long as they stay apart. As long as that remains true, they can only be killed in order, and the others gain a scar for each loss as a warning. John, who is Number Four is traveling in America with Number Six, his Chimaera named Bernie Kosar (*Hadley originally*) and his best friend Sam Goode. Though they defeated the group of Mogs who attacked them in Ohio, John lost his Cepan, Henri in the battle. Six lost her Cepan, Katarina years earlier, and now they are on the run, hiding from the police and from the Mogadorians. They head to West Virginia where the Mogs have hollowed out a large mountain. It is the site where Six was held captive for many months, and after her Legacy of invisibility developed, was finally able to escape from. Before leaving the region, she drew and hid a careful map. Now they are returning to retrieve the Loric chests taken that are their Inheritances and contain the tools necessary to beat the Mogs once and for all. Before this can occur, Six begins to 'hear' a call for help from Spain, and knows that one of them is in trouble. Compelled, she can do nothing but respond while John, Sam and BK attempt to retrieve the chests on their own. Each group will face life and death battles, gaining ground as they find each other and losing loved ones in the process. Six will help to beat back the Mogs in Spain with Marina (*Seven*), Ella (*Ten*), and friends of their cause while John (*Four*) and Nine manage to retrieve two chests and escape. However, they are forced to leave Sam behind in the Mogadorian stronghold. Battered and beaten back for now, they can only hope to regroup, find the others, and defeat the Mogadorians once and for all.

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.

In a Spanish convent, seventeen-year-old Marina longs to join forces with her fellow Loriens to prepare for battle with the Mogadorians who destroyed their home planet, while in the United States, John, Six, and Sam elude authorities who think John is a terrorist.