The Legacy Chronicles: Out of the Ashes

By Pittacus Lore

The X-Files meets The X-Men in this digital original companion series that's set in the world of Pittacus Lore’s #1 New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series. Fan-favorite characters Six and Sam Goode return in this riveting 100-page novella that begins a new saga that coincides with the events of Generation One.

In the aftermath of a thwarted alien invasion, teenagers across the globe have begun to develop incredible powers known as Legacies.

Most are sent to the Human Garde Academy, where they can learn to harness their powers for the good of humanity. But there are still countless others who slip through the cracks, who prefer do things their own way, or who are being kept from attending the Academy by people with very different plans for these gifted teens.

That is where Six and Sam come in. They’ve just joined a convert group tasked with investigating suspicious incidents around the world which might be Legacy-related. Their first mission has them looking into the connection between a string of disappearances—but as they dig deeper into the mystery, they stumble upon an unexpected and dangerous Human Garde underworld.

The Legacy Chronicles novellas are published as individual digital originals, and the first three stories are also available together in one print volume: The Legacy Chronicles: Trial by Fire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9780062493866

Pittacus Lore

Pittacus Lore is Lorien's ruling Elder. He has been on Earth preparing for the war that will decide Earth's fate. He finished recounting the story of the invasion of Earth in the I Am Number Four series and is now ready to tell another story. His whereabouts are unknown.

Book preview

9780062493866_Cover.jpg

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Excerpt from Generation One

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Back Ad

About the Author

Books by Pittacus Lore

Copyright

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

SIX

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE CITY WAS COMING BACK TO LIFE.

As Six and Sam walked up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s middle latitudes, they were surrounded by crews repairing the damage from the Mogadorian invasion that had taken place more than a year earlier. While huge swaths of the city had been reduced to rubble, new buildings were rising from the ashes of the old. All around them, New Yorkers went about their lives: cabs honked, shoppers peered into storefront windows at mannequins wearing the latest fashions, a dog walker stopped to let her six charges anoint a tree that still bore the scars of a piken’s claws.

It was the first time either Six or Sam had been to the city since the battle that almost destroyed it. During the time they’d been traveling the world, they had seen other cities that were recovering from the invasion, but mostly they’d stuck to places where they were not reminded of those terrible events. The point of their trip had been to enjoy the beauty in the world, and to give them time to be alone with one another. Being in New York put them right back where so much of it had happened.

Passing a bus stop, Six noticed a poster about an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History commemorating what was being called the Battle for the Boroughs. It featured an image of a huge dinosaur-like creature. The Mogosaur, Six thought, remembering Daniela’s name for the monster that would have killed her friends and thousands of others had it not been turned to stone by Daniela and John. She hadn’t faced it herself, as she’d been dealing with her own problems in Mexico at the time, but she’d heard all about it. She glanced at Sam to see if he’d noticed.

I guess they fished the pieces out of the river, he said. He looked at the poster for a long moment before adding, We should visit him.

John? said Six, knowing he didn’t mean the petrified beast. We will. Soon.

She thought about the Loralite pendants their friend had left for her and Sam on that beach in Montenegro. They could have used them at any time to travel to John’s compound in the Himalayas. But they hadn’t. They hadn’t even talked about the possibility much other than to agree that they weren’t quite ready to go. They weren’t angry with John or anything like that, even if he and Six had disagreed about how to handle both the Loric’s relationship with the human world and the issue of the emerging Human Garde. She and Sam just wanted some time to be normal—or as normal as they could ever be, given who and what they were.

Then, a week ago, just after they’d returned to the United States and were hiking the first part of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, an email had arrived in their in-boxes. It was from someone asking to speak to them about possibly working on some kind of task force involving the Human Garde. Six had deleted it without finishing it. Sam, however, had read it, and a few days later brought it up while they were eating dinner by a particularly beautiful lake. Six immediately objected. But Sam worked on her over the next few days as they continued on the trail, and eventually she’d agreed to meet with the sender, if only to shut Sam up.

Now, after hitchhiking to Bangor, taking a bus to Boston and then a train to New York, she wasn’t so sure about it. Seeing the poster for the exhibit only reinforced her belief that it was too soon to get involved in Garde activities again. She stopped and readjusted her backpack. Sam, what are we even doing here?

Sam, a few steps ahead of her, turned around. Dressed in hiking boots and clothes better suited for the woods than for the concrete jungle, he looked out of place in the sea of smartly dressed people who walked around him. He also needed a haircut and a shave. We’re just going to have a talk, he said. That’s all.

I don’t see the point, Six told him. Her head was rapidly filling up with memories—ones she had worked hard to put behind her—and she suddenly wanted to be anywhere else. Whatever it is, I’m saying no. I said no to John about the Declaration. I said no to heading up the Human Garde Academy. How is this any different?

Sam looked at her for a long time before replying, and for a moment she thought he might agree to turn around and leave. Maybe it won’t be any different, he said, shrugging. "But what else are we going to do? We’ve been wandering around the world for over a year, Six. We’ve been to more countries than I can count. It’s been great having you all to myself, but I’m tired of living out of a backpack. And I want to do something. Something to make a difference. It’s time to figure out what’s next."

Can’t you just volunteer with a rebuilding team or something? Six asked.

Sam walked back to her. He took her hands in his. Let’s just hear what this guy has to say, he said. Please?

Six looked into his eyes. Does this mean you don’t want me all to yourself anymore? she teased.

Ten minutes. That’s all I’m asking you for. Give him ten minutes.

She sighed. All right, but I’m only doing this for you. And when the time’s up, I’m out that door and headed for Penn Station. That trail isn’t going to hike itself. Got it?

What was the nickname that guy had for you at the sleeping shelter the other night after you lectured him? Sam asked, putting his index finger on his chin and pretending to think. Screech Owl?

Very funny, Six said. "Especially since he was the one snoring and keeping everyone awake all night."

They walked until they reached the southern edge of Central Park, then followed it over to its western side and continued north. Like the rest of the city, the park was recovering, and here nature had worked more quickly than humans. Already it looked almost as it had before, with the exception of a few ruined buildings scattered across the green landscape and some deep gashes where Mog ships had crashed and burned.

The towering stone buildings of the Upper West Side rose like castles into the sky. Six and Sam passed through the doorway of one of them, entering a lobby tiled in marble and ornamented with gold accents. It looked more like a hotel from a bygone era than the office building Six had been expecting. Despite her reservations, she found herself intrigued.

In the elevator, she leaned against the wall as they rode to the twenty-third floor. When they stopped and the doors opened, she stepped out into a small room that felt like it belonged in an old mansion. The gleaming wood floor was covered by an elaborately patterned carpet straight out of a Persian marketplace, and two leather couches sat on it, facing each other. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, filling the room with soft, warm light. Opposite the elevator were two closed pocket doors made of the same dark wood that paneled the lower half of the walls, the upper halves being covered with a red paper featuring an Art Deco design of black-and-gold flowers.

Standing in front of Six and Sam, his hands held behind his back, was a man. Six estimated him to be in his late twenties. He was wearing a tailored blue suit over an obviously well-muscled body. His skin was colored by a fading tan, his light-brown hair was cut short, and he looked at them with pale-blue eyes.

McKenna? Six asked, retrieving from her memory bank the name of the man who had written to her and Sam.

Before he could answer, the doors on the other side of the room slid open and another man appeared. He walked towards them. He wore a brown suit, and Six quickly appraised him: late thirties or early forties, shorter than average, medium build, reddish-brown hair and beard, green eyes. He met her gaze head-on and, she could tell, was performing his own assessment of her even as he held out his hand and said, Peter McKenna.

Six took his hand. His grip was firm, but not overly aggressive. Thank you for coming, McKenna said, releasing her hand and turning to greet Sam. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you.

His accent was Irish, but from which part of the country, she couldn’t identify. It didn’t matter, as this would be the one and only time they met. She would listen to what he had to say, then leave. She was only here because Sam wanted this meeting, and she wanted to make him happy.

McKenna gestured to the open doors behind him. After you, he said, indicating that they should walk through. He followed, shut the doors, then led them down a hallway lined with more closed doors. He opened one, and they stepped into an office or library. Large and