Luckily, Malcolm's family lives on the outskirts of Paradise with large yards separating each neighbor. Alexander, Six, Hilde, Dante and Malcom stop just inside the lip of the forest when Malcolm's house comes into view. It's a small, modest house with white aluminum siding and black shingles, a thin chimney on its right side, a tall wooden fence enclosing the backyard.
Alexander looked at Dante, who nodded.
Dante from a hidden pouch on his belt, pulls out a small, reinforced case. He flips the latches open with practiced ease.
Inside, nestled in foam cutouts, are multiple Snitches — sleek black spheres, no bigger than large marbles, glinting faintly under the moonlight.
Each is smooth and polished, almost liquid in appearance. Dante selects one, holds it between two fingers, and gives a slight tap on its surface.
The Snitch whirs softly, then clicks — its silver, dragonfly-like wings unfurl with a delicate shimmer, twitching in anticipation.
Dante pulls out a slim, custom PDA from his side pocket — fingers dancing across the screen.
Dante softly muttered."Eyes on."
With a final tap, the SNITCHs launches upward with a blur of wing motion. The SNITCH emits a faint chime and vanishes from sight — turning invisible mid-air
He doesn't pause. One by one, he activates more Snitches — five in total, each taking off in different directions with a soft buzz and disappearing into the shadows like silent, watchful spirits.
On his PDA, a grid lights up. Dots begin to populate the screen, updating in real-time as the invisible Snitches sweep the building.
Dante quietly, to himself."Now let's see who's home."
Dante soon finds no one in place and taping the PDA said to Malcom."There is no one here, it seems yours son and wife went out for the Halloween carnival, the FBI guys have followed them."
Everyone survey the backyard and its trees, high grass, a big tree stump, a rusty swing set, and an antique wheelbarrow on its side. There's a back door on the left side of the house and two dark windows on the right.
"There it is," Malcom whispers, pointing.
At first, Alexander thought it was just a tree stump peeking out of the middle of the yard—but upon closer inspection, it revealed itself to be a wide stone cylinder. Crowning its center was a small, triangular object, protruding subtly from the top.
They moved carefully, parting the high grass as they approached the structure. Kneeling before it, they realized it was a sundial, ancient and alien in design. Numbers lined the circumference—one through twelve on both the left and right sides, with zero resting at the top. Radiating between them were delicate, sharp etched lines, like rays of an artificial sun.
In the middle were symbols—faint, nearly overlooked. Nine shallow Loric glyphs were carved into the stone. Alexander immediately recognized the numbers one through three; they matched the scars on Six's ankle. He had seen the rest—newer symbols—with Seven and Nine.
Then Malcom spoke."The password is Sam's birthday."
Alexander gave a single nod. He gripped the triangular pointer and turned it right, clicking it into place on the Loric number one. Then left, lining it up with what must be four. He continued—one, nine, then around again to nine, and finally five.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—a hiss. Smoke began to spill from the edges of the sundial, and the stone lid lurched, opening with a deep, echoing crack. They all instinctively stepped back—Six, Alexander, Hilde, Dante, and Malcom—watching as the well yawned open, revealing a ladder descending into darkness.
One by one, they climbed down.
At the bottom, they found themselves in a curving hallway, dim and dust-choked. The air was musty, stale with time.
Alexander raised his hand, summoning a cluster of softball-sized glowing light orbs—non-lethal luminescence, hovering weightlessly in the air. He mentally guided them ahead, lighting the passage as they moved forward.
As the hallway straightened, the glow revealed a room up ahead—a cluttered desk, walls covered in hundreds of papers pinned chaotically.
Then something caught in the light. A long, pale object in the doorway.
"Is that . . ." Six trailed off.
Alexander's voice was low, reverent."Yeah. That's him."
The skeleton sat slumped against the wall. Marina—Seven—rushed in. The sight stopped her cold. She stumbled backward, bumping into the desk.
"That's our leader," Dante whispered.
The remains were massive—easily over eight feet tall, with giant feet and hands. Long, thick blond hair still clung to the skull, cascading past wide shoulder blades. Around its neck, a blue pendant—a Loralite stone, similar to Six's, yet slightly larger—hung silently.
Malcom stepped forward, eyes lowered. "He was badly wounded when he arrived. Said his injuries were too deep—stabbed with a weapon made from a plant called Voron. But he told me about all of you... and spoke of uniting the Phoenix Stones."
Six narrowed her eyes."In Calakmul, Mexico."
Malcom nodded. Alexander knelt before the body, gently brushing his fingers over the pendant. The connection was instant—deep, intimate, ancient.
"The Elder's Sanctuary," Alexander said, "was meant to be the key to reviving Lorien."
He looked up at the others, his voice softer now."Let's give your leader a proper burial," he said. Then his eyes scanned the room. "And take everything important from here."
Around him, Six, Marina, Hilde, Katrina, and Dante silently nodded in agreement.