Free The Fall of Five (I Am Number Four) by Lore Pittacus Page A

right up to Eight; they’d be nose to nose if Eight was a few inches taller. Eight doesn’t back down, still smiling, like it’s all just a goof.
    “Come on,” says Nine, his voice low. “I’ve seen you in the Lecture Hall playing patty-cake with Six. You ain’t trained with me yet.”
    Eight glances down at an imaginary watch. “Sure, dude. I’ve got some time to kill.”
    Nine smiles. He looks over his shoulder at me. “You too, Nurse Marina. Your boyfriend’s gonna need you.”

CHAPTER NINE
    “I’M GOING TO WHIP YOU INTO SHAPE,” DECLARES Nine. “That way, the next time there’s a mission, we won’t be the ones left sitting on our asses.”
    Eight and I stand in the Lecture Hall side by side, watching as Nine circles around us, sizing us up like some kind of army drill instructor. I feel like rolling my eyes, and I can tell Eight is barely suppressing a fit of laughter. Still, I do feel sort of guilty about basically sneaking out with Eight, and I’m sure a little training couldn’t hurt. Plus, I think Nine is still bummed about being left out of Four’s rescue mission, and he seems really into this whole training thing. I decide to humor him.
    “Unless you’d rather just be benchwarmers? You want to hang out and go eat pizza while the rest of us kill Setrákus Ra?” Nine snarls as he stops in front of us, staring us down.
    “No, sir,” I say, trying to be serious. Eight immediately bursts out laughing.
    Nine ignores Eight for now, focusing instead on me. “Healing and night vision. That’s about it, huh?”
    “I can breathe under water,” I add helpfully.
    “All right,” says Nine, considering my Legacies, “maybe you’ll develop a good fighting Legacy one day. Maybe you won’t. We’d still all be dead if it wasn’t for you, I guess. I know Johnny’s supposed to have the healing thing now, too, but I think he only heals girls he’s dating, so the rest of us still need you. Anyway, we’ll need to practice your speed and agility, so that when one of us goes down, you’ll be able to get to us. And maybe your healing will, like, evolve into something else if we practice with it enough.”
    To my surprise, most of what Nine says actually makes sense. Except one thing nags at me. “How are we going to practice my healing?”
    Nine’s smile is sinister, something I’d be really afraid to see from across the battlefield. “Oh, you’ll see. As for you,” he continues, turning to Eight, “I thought you were pretty badass when we first met, and then you took a sword to the chest first chance you got. Nice job.”
    Eight’s expression darkens as he’s reminded of his run-in with Setrákus Ra. “He tricked me.”
    “Uh-huh,” says Nine. “Way I remember it, you were so focused with copping a feel—er, hugging—fake Six that you got stabbed. You give a lot of hugs in the middle of abattle, bro? Use your head.”
    “It seems like you could use a hug right now,” says Eight, grinning mischievously.
    Before Nine knows what’s happening, Eight shape shifts into his four-armed Vishnu form, leaps forward, and wraps Nine up in a tight embrace. I can see the muscles in Nine’s neck and shoulders tense as Eight squeezes him.
    “Let me go,” warns Nine through gritted teeth.
    “You’re the boss.”
    Eight teleports, taking Nine with him. He reappears just inches away from the ceiling and releases Nine. Disoriented, Nine doesn’t have a chance to gather himself and crashes to the floor on his back. Before Nine even lands, Eight has teleported back to my side.
    “Ta-da,” he says, reassuming his normal form.
    “You’re just going to make him mad,” I whisper. Eight only shrugs.
    Nine hops back to his feet and rolls his head from side to side, cracking his neck. He nods, looking almost impressed.
    “Pretty good move,” he says.
    “Maybe I should be training you,” quips Eight.
    “Try it again.”
    Shrugging, Eight shape shifts again. He wraps Nine in the same hug, this time