“I’ve been sitting out here praying on our situation,” Marina continues. “I suppose it’s silly to hope for some kind of sign. I don’t know what else to do with myself, though.”

Before I can respond, a shrill buzzing sounds from behind us. At first, I think it’s only Adam’s latest attempt to create a new conduit. The noise is too close. It’s coming from practically right on top of us. Marina’s grinning at me, her eyes wide and excited. My heart starts to beat harder as I realize what’s happening. Maybe Marina’s prayers actually worked.

“Six? Aren’t you going to answer it?”

The thing’s been annoyingly silent for so long, I’d forgotten what the ringer on the satellite phone sounds like. I jump up, yanking the phone out of the back of my pants. Marina stands with me, leaning her head in close to listen, and Adam jogs over to join us. I can feel Phiri Dun-Ra watching us, but I ignore her.

“John?”

There’s a burst of static as the satellite phone establishes a connection, a familiar voice coming through between squeals of interference.

“Six? It’s Sam!”

A wide smile spreads across my face. I can hear the relief in Sam’s voice that I answered.

“Sam!” My own voice breaks a little. I hope he doesn’t hear it over our crackly connection. Actually, I don’t care. Marina grabs my arm, grinning wider. “You’re okay?” I ask Sam, the words coming out half question and half exclamation.

“I’m okay!” he shouts.

“And John?”

“John, too. We’re at a military encampment in Brooklyn. They loaned us a pair of satellite phones and John’s talking to Sarah on the other one.”

I snort and can’t help rolling my eyes a little. “Of course he is.”

“Where are you guys? Is everyone all right?” Sam asks. “Things have gotten nuts.”

“Everyone’s fine, but—”

Before I can tell Sam about our predicament, he interrupts. “Did anything happen down there, Six? While you were at the Sanctuary? Like, for instance, did you push a button for Legacies or something?”

“There weren’t any buttons,” I say, exchanging a look with Marina. “We met, I don’t know—”

“Lorien itself,” Marina says.

“We met an Entity,” I tell Sam. “It said some cryptic stuff, thanked us for waking it up and then, um . . .”

“Spread out into the Earth,” Marina finishes for me.

“Oh, hi, Marina,” Sam says distractedly. “Listen, I think this Entity of yours might have, uh, spread out into me.”

“What the hell does that mean, Sam?”