1. The Power of Six by Pitacus Lore
I AM NUMBER FOUR INTRODUCED READERS TO JOHN SMITH, ONE OF THE NINE LORIENS WHO FLED THEIR HOME PLANET AGAINST THE EVIL AND DESTRUCTIVE RACE OF MOGADORIANS. ONCE ARRIVING AT EARTH, THE NINE SPLIT UP AND ASSUMED NEW IDENTITIES, TRYING TO HIDE UNTIL THEIR LEGACIES DEVELOPED SO THEY COULD FIGHT BACK. THE LORIENS WERE ABLE TO SURVIVE FOR MANY YEARS BECAUSE OF A SPECIAL CHARM --- THEY HAD TO BE KILLED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR NUMBERS. THE CHARM WAS BROKEN, HOWEVER, WHEN NUMBER SIX CAME TO THE AID OF JOHN. NOW THE RULES ARE BEING REWRITTEN.
FORCED TO LEAVE OHIO AND HIS LOVE, SARAH, BEHIND, JOHN IS ON THE RUN WITH HIS BEST FRIEND, SAM, AND NUMBER SIX. IN ADDITION TO BEING HUNTED BY THE MOGADORIANS, THEY ARE ALSO FUGITIVES WITH THE FBI. THIS MAKES IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STAY IN ANY AREA FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING THEIR SAFETY. AT THIS POINT, THE TRIO HOPE TO STAY AT A PLACE LONG ENOUGH TO FURTHER DEVELOP THEIR LEGACIES AND LEARN HOW TO FIGHT. JOHN ALSO PLANS ON OPENING THE ONE THING THAT MAY PROVIDE FURTHER CLUES INTO HIS PAST AND FUTURE: HIS LORIEN CHEST. HE'S BEEN RELUCTANT TO DO THIS AS IT MEANS FINALLY ACCEPTING THE FACT THAT HIS MENTOR AND GUIDE, HENRI, IS DEAD. BEFORE HE CAN DO THAT, THOUGH, HE MUST EVADE THE PESKY FBI.
IN AN EFFECTIVE DEPARTURE FROM THE FIRST BOOK, THE POWER OF SIX INCLUDES A PARALLEL STORYLINE WITH ANOTHER ONE OF THE NINE. MARINA, OR NUMBER SEVEN, TOOK A DIFFERENT ROUTE INTO HIDING. HER GUIDE, ADELINA, STRUGGLED TO KEEP THEM ALIVE UNTIL THEY FOUND SAFE HAVEN IN A CONVENT IN SPAIN. NUMBER SEVEN HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN WHO SHE IS, BUT AS THE MONTHS STRETCHED INTO YEARS, ADELINA BECAME MORE STUBBORN AND REFUSED TO LEAVE. NUMBER SEVEN HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY SEARCHING FOR THE OTHERS EVER SINCE SHE ARRIVED, AND SHE WONDERS IF THE STRANGE TALES ON THE INTERNET ABOUT A JOHN SMITH FROM OHIO COULD BE THE INFORMATION SHE NEEDS TO CONVINCE ADELINA TO FINALLY MOVE ON.
MARINA, THEREFORE, FACES A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STRUGGLE TO ESCAPE THAN JOHN AND NUMBER SIX. AS MARINA HOLDS FRUITLESS ARGUMENTS WITH ADELINA, JOHN AND NUMBER SIX ARE BUSY FIGHTING OFF THE MOGADORIANS AND THEIR STRANGE BEASTS. MARINA SLOWLY EXPERIMENTS WITH HER LEGACIES WHILE JOHN AND NUMBER SIX ARE FORCED TO USE THEM EVERY MOMENT IN ORDER TO STAY ALIVE. THEIR STORIES COLLIDE, HOWEVER, WHEN THE MOGADORIANS FINALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO DEFEAT THE REMAINING LORIENS. IT'S A FIGHT TO THE FINISH, AND THE TWISTS AND TURNS WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS.