‘It was inside a Mog ship at the bottom of the lake,’ I say, walking out of the water.
Eight disappears again and teleports directly in front of me, our noses practically touching. Before I can register how nice his warm breath feels on my face, he picks me up and kisses me hard on the mouth as he twirls me around. My body stiffens and I suddenly have no idea what to do with my hands. I don’t know what to do at all, so I just let it happen. He tastes salty and sweet at the same time. The whole world disappears and I feel as if I’m floating in darkness.
When he sets me down, I pull back and look into his eyes. One glance and I know this huge, romantic moment was a spontaneous and grateful gesture for him. No more, no less. I’m an idiot. I really need to let this crush go.
‘I never swim over here. From the start, I always dived off on the other side there,’ Eight says. ‘Stuck in the same area.’ He shakes his head. ‘Thank you, Marina.’
‘Um, you’re welcome,’ I whisper, still dazed by the first part of his thank-you.
‘Now that you’ve hugged it hello, don’t you want to open it?’ Crayton asks. ‘Come on, already!’
‘Oh! Right, of course!’ Eight yells, and he teleports back to the Chest.
Six walks towards me. ‘Marina! That was so awesome!’ She hugs me, then pulls away to shake me by the shoulders, smiling at me meaningfully. In a low voice, she whispers, ‘And am I seeing things, or did you just get kissed?’
‘Kind of weird, right?’ I whisper, watching her for any signs of jealousy. ‘But I don’t think it means anything.’
‘Not weird at all. I think it’s kind of great,’ she says, clearly thrilled for me, like a friend, or a sister. I’m ashamed of myself, for feeling jealous of her earlier. We both look over at Eight as Ella begins to make a drumroll noise to announce the Chest’s opening.
Eight has his palms on the lock. Almost immediately, it shakes and the Chest falls open. He quickly dives in elbow-deep, trying to touch everything all at once. He’s like a kid in a toy chest; he’s so excited. We all crowd around and watch. I can see some of the stones look like mine, but other items are completely different. There’s a glass ring, a curved antler, a black piece of cloth that shimmers blue and red when Eight touches it. He grabs a thin piece of gold the length of a pencil and holds it up. ‘Ahh, good to see you again.’
‘What is that?’ Six asks.
‘I don’t know its real name, but I call it “the Duplicator.” ’ Eight holds it above his head, like a wand. Then he snaps his wrist and it expands out, and down, like a scroll. Soon, it’s the size of a doorframe. He lets go and the frame hovers in front of him. Eight steps behind and we can see the occasional pair of hands and feet when he starts doing jumping jacks.
‘Okay,’ Six says. ‘That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.’
Eight teleports to her side and stands there, head cocked to the side as he scratches his chin, like he’s judging a show. Our heads snap back to the golden doorframe. The hands and feet are continuing their steady pace. Wait. There are two of him now! The one standing next to Six claps, opens his palm, and the piece of gold contracts and zips back into his hand. Immediately, the second Eight disappears.
‘Impressive,’ Crayton says, clapping his hands slowly and loudly. ‘That will come in very handy sometime soon. At the very least, you will make an excellent distraction.’
‘I used it to sneak out of our house a few times,’ Eight admits. ‘Reynolds never figured out what I could do. Even before he died, I was always trying to figure out how to do the most with my Legacies.’
Crayton throws Eight’s clothes to him, and picks up my Chest. ‘Now, we really need to get going.’
‘Aw, come on,’ Eight says, pulling on his pants. As he hops about, he bats his eyes at Crayton and says in a wheedling voice, ‘I just got my Chest back. Can’t I get reacquainted with it? I’ve missed it so much.’
‘Later,’ Crayton says curtly. When he turns towards us, though, I can see he is smiling.
Eight drops the piece of gold inside the Chest and pulls out a green crystal, stuffing it into his pocket. He closes the Chest and picks it up with a dramatic sigh. In his most pathetic voice he says, ‘Oh, all right. Our reunion will just have to wait. Follow me, everybody.’
‘How often has Setrákus visited you in your dreams?’ Crayton asks. We’ve been walking more than five hours and we’re making slow progress up the mountain. Eight is leading us up a winding path that is more ledge than road. There’s a thin blanket of snow everywhere, and the wind is brutally strong. We’re all freezing, but Six protects us with her Legacy, pushing the wind and snow out of our way. Weather control is one of the more useful Legacies, that’s for sure.
‘He’s been talking to me for a while now, trying to trick me and get me to lose my temper,’ Eight says. ‘But now that he’s on Earth, it’s a lot more frequent. He taunts me, lies, and now he’s trying to get me to sacrifice myself so that you can all go back to Lorien. He’s been getting to me more than usual lately.’
‘What does that mean, exactly? “Getting to you”?’ Crayton asks.
‘Last night in a vision he showed me my friend Devdan hanging from chains. I don’t know if it’s a vision of something that’s actually happening or just a trick, but it’s really messing with my head.’
‘Four sees him, too,’ Six chimes in.
Eight spins around with a surprised look on his face and walks backwards, his mind clearly putting the pieces together. His foot comes dangerously close to slipping off the ledge, making me gasp and reach out nervously. But he never wavers as he continues. ‘You know, I think I saw him last night. I forgot about it until now. He has blond hair? Tall guy?’
‘And better looking than you? Yup, that’s him,’ Six says with a smile.
Eight stops backpedalling and looks thoughtful. The drop off to our left is almost two thousand feet. ‘You know, I always assumed it was me, but guess I was wrong,’ he says thoughtfully.
‘Assumed you were what?’ I ask, willing him away from the edge.
‘Pittacus Lore.’
‘Why would you think that?’ Crayton asks.
‘Because Reynolds told me that Pittacus and Setrákus were always able to communicate with each other. But now that I know Four can, too, I’m confused.’
Eight starts walking forwards again when Ella asks, ‘How can anyone be Pittacus?’
‘Each of us is supposed to take on the roles of the original ten Elders, so I guess that means one of us will take on Pittacus’s role,’ Six explains. ‘Four’s Cêpan told him so, in a letter. I read it myself. Eventually, we’re supposed to become even stronger than them. That’s why the Mogs are moving so quickly now, before we become more dangerous, better able to protect ourselves and attack them.’ She looks over at Crayton, who is nodding as she speaks.
I feel like I’m the only one who knows so little – nothing, really – of my history. Adelina refused to tell me anything, to answer a single one of my questions, or even hint at what I would one day be capable of. Now, I’m so far behind everyone else. The only Elder I even know of is Pittacus, never mind knowing which one I might become. I just have to believe I’ll figure out who I am when the time is right. Sometimes, I get sad when I think about everything I wish I already knew and when I think about what my childhood should have been. But there’s no time for me to mourn what can’t be changed.