Adam lunges at him. The Mogadorian slams Mark hard against the wall of the ship and presses his forearm right up against his throat. Mark struggles against him, so Adam just slams him against the wall until he stops.
“Stop! You could kill her, shaking her like that,” Adam growls.
“I have to—” Mark pleads. Adam shakes his head firmly.
“There’s nothing you can do,” he says, trying not to sound cold.
Mark presses his forehead against Adam’s and screams, “We never should have come here!”
All the chaos doesn’t seem to bother Sarah. She looks up at me and smiles peacefully. She’s paler than I’ve ever seen her. A second ago, I gave her my satellite phone to call John.
“John . . . Listen, I don’t have much time,” she says, her voice thin and weak.
My hands are covered in Sarah’s blood. I’m doing my best to stop the bleeding, but the wound is huge. I don’t even know what hit her exactly, there were so many objects flying through the air. Something jagged and large. It tore right through her side, above the hip and out. Took a big part of her midsection with it. I took some bad shots during that exchange with Setrákus Ra, but I’m going to make it.
Without Marina, Sarah doesn’t have long.
She dragged me away from the landing strip when I was still stunned. I don’t know how she did it, bleeding so much. Adrenaline? Her strength faltered when we hit the jungle. I had to carry her the rest of the way to Lexa’s ship.
The floor is covered in her blood. So are my clothes. It’s all over my hands, in more ways than one.
This happened because of me. Because she wouldn’t leave me to face Setrákus Ra alone.
Stupid girl. She probably saved my life.
“Please, John, don’t talk, just listen . . . ,” Sarah says. “You have to know, from the moment I saw you outside Paradise High, I knew. I knew we were going to fall in love. And I’ve never regretted even a second of it. Not even now. I love you with all my heart, John. I always will. It was . . . it was all worth it.”
The ship banks hard to the left. If I killed Setrákus Ra back there, it hasn’t stopped the Anubis from trying to chase us down. How am I going to explain this to John? How am I going to live with it?
It should’ve been me.
“I wish . . . I wish I could’ve seen you one more time,” Sarah says quietly, tears welling up in her eyes. “Maybe I still will. I’ll be waiting for you, John, wherever is next. Maybe it’ll be . . . it’ll be like Lorien. Or like Paradise.”
Bernie Kosar lies down next to Sarah. He whines and licks her cheek. She actually laughs a little.
“BK is here,” she tells John, sounding increasingly distant, out of it. “He says hi.”
Sarah gasps. Coughs. Blood leaks from the corners of her mouth, coming from inside her. I see her try to fight it. She’s trying so hard to stay.
“Promise me, John . . . promise me you’ll keep fighting. Promise you’ll win. Don’t let it all be for nothing, my love. Please, just remember, I love you, John. I always . . .”
Sarah stops talking. Her mouth keeps moving for another second, no sound coming out, and then it stops. I keep one hand braced against her stomach and press the other to her neck, even though I already know.
She’s gone.
BACK ADS
DISCOVER
your next favorite read
MEET
new authors to love
WIN
free books
SHARE
infographics, playlists, quizzes, and more
WATCH
the latest videos
TUNE IN
to Tea Time with Team Epic Reads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR PHOTO © HOWARD HUANG
PITTACUS LORE is Lorien’s ruling Elder. He has been on Earth preparing for the war that will decide Earth’s fate. His whereabouts are unknown.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
THE LORIEN LEGACIES BY PITTACUS LORE
NOVELS
I AM NUMBER FOUR
THE POWER OF SIX
THE RISE OF NINE
THE FALL OF FIVE
THE REVENGE OF SEVEN
THE FATE OF TEN
NOVELLAS
THE LOST FILES #1: SIX’S LEGACY
THE LOST FILES #2: NINE’S LEGACY
THE LOST FILES #3: THE FALLEN LEGACIES
THE LOST FILES #4: THE SEARCH FOR SAM
THE LOST FILES #5: THE LAST DAYS OF LORIEN
THE LOST FILES #6: THE FORGOTTEN ONES
THE LOST FILES #7: FIVE’S LEGACY
THE LOST FILES #8: RETURN TO PARADISE
THE LOST FILES #9: FIVE’S BETRAYAL
THE LOST FILES #10: THE FUGITIVE
THE LOST FILES #11: THE NAVIGATOR
THE LOST FILES #12: THE GUARD
THE LOST FILES #13: LEGACIES REBORN
NOVELLA COLLECTIONS
THE LOST FILES: THE LEGACIES (CONTAINS NOVELLAS #1–#3)
THE LOST FILES: SECRET HISTORIES (CONTAINS NOVELLAS #4–#6)
THE LOST FILES: HIDDEN ENEMY (CONTAINS NOVELLAS #7–#9)
THE LOST FILES: REBEL ALLIES (CONTAINS NOVELLAS #10–#12)
CREDITS
COVER ART © 2015 BY CRAIG SHIELDS
SERIES DESIGN BY RAY SHAPPELL
COPYRIGHT
THE FATE OF TEN. Copyright © 2015 by Pittacus Lore. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938996
ISBN 978-0-06-219475-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-06-242751-9 (int’l ed.)
ISBN 978-0-06-242452-5 (special ed.)
EPub Edition © July 2015 ISBN 9780062194770
15 16 17 18 19 CG/RRDC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street