There Can Only Be Six

by Andrea Levesque

  “But?”

  “Before I did, I saw a brick with the names of the six families carved into it. Like they were making their mark or something.” Valentina’s lips parted in surprise. “And there was some other writing on it I couldn’t quite make out. I’m not sure, but I think there was some symbol carved into it too.”

  “This symbol?” She held up the scroll, the crest of the Order of the Six hanging inches from my face.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  Valentina flipped the scrolls back over to show the writing once more, possibly searching for some clue that links the rose emblem to the final riddle.

  Adan walked over and kneeled beside us, leaving Nina hunched over her phone on the other side of the room. “Anything?” He asked hopefully, the good-natured guy from my first day in Newport shining through.

  “I don’t know…” Valentina said thoughtfully, her fingers to her chin.

  Adan and Valentina chatted somewhere in the background. My eyes scanned each scroll, my mind wandering to the challenges we faced for each. The last riddle didn’t give up much, so if we are supposed to find something, or someplace, Cunningham would surely have left clues either on the scrolls or in the challenges.

  The first scroll was left in my bedroom. Not much to analyze there. The second scroll was recovered from a boat in the middle of the ocean. What was Cunningham trying to tell us? Is there a meaning behind the boats? There was a ship logo printed on the wine label from the last challenge. Or was it the ocean we were supposed to pay attention to? I thought of Valentina’s naked body pushing through the frigid water and her slow, deliberate movement as she jumped from boat to boat. I imagined the way we’d swum back to the beach so close I could practically feel her body heat. And then there was the determination in her eyes as she dunked my scrolls deep into the water, only to be ruined.

  It was funny to think about that girl, the one who so easily ruined Nina’s and my chances at the Order, ended up working so closely with us.

  Wait, I thought, my mind racing. When I pulled that scroll out of the ocean, there were numbers in the bottom right corner. I hadn’t thought much of it that night since the rest of the scroll was completely smudged. But now that I’m looking at it, there were no numbers in the corner. There was nothing. I squeezed my eyes shut and searched my memory. When Nina had dried my scroll off in the powder room at the Cunningham’s party after I’d gotten out of the water, the rest of the writing was smudged, and the numbers were gone. I was sure of it. I looked around the room frantically, silently wishing my own damaged scroll would appear. But it didn’t, and it would only confirm what I already knew.

  I stood up and grabbed the water pitcher sitting untouched on a tea tray left for us by one of the staff. Before anyone could stop me, I dumped the water on all four scrolls at once, splashes of lukewarm liquid spilling everywhere.

  “Harper!” Valentina screamed and jumped up, grabbing my wrists, but it was too late. The pitcher was empty, and the scrolls were soaked, clear h2o seeping through the thin paper.

  Valentina’s grip tightened on my wrists, and her eyes were ablaze. “Why would you do that?! Is this payback for before?” Valentina shook me a little bit as she yelled, but my gaze stayed intent on the scrolls. The writing blurred immediately, the words now illegible. I held my breath and waited. Seeing my expression, Valentina followed my gaze but did not release me. There, in the bottom right corner of each scroll, appeared a series of numbers. Invisible ink.

  “What?” She breathed, and the two of us dropped back down to our knees, eager to soak up this new information.

  “How did you know to do that, Harper?” Adan asked, but I ignored him.

  “Four sets of numbers.” I pointed to each scroll as I read the numbers out loud. “41. 4621. 71. 3629.” I spoke quickly, and Valentina jumped in and read them aloud with me, determined to make sense out of this new information.

  “Sounds like coordinates,” Adan said casually. Our heads whipped in his direction. He shrank back a little bit from our gaze. “Uh, yeah. Coordinates are set up just like that.”

  “Can we put them in a GPS or something and find out where they lead?” I practically shrieked, the thrill of the mystery unfolding becoming almost too much. Valentina was already slipping her phone from her back pocket and typing aggressively.

  “41.4621° N,” she said under her breath as she clicked away. “71.3629° W.” Her hand went to her mouth. “They are coordinates. To somewhere here in Newport. This is it! This has to be it.”

  My hand went to her arm. “Where?”

  “The Castle Hill Lighthouse.” She said. I drew back. Huh. That wasn't what I was expecting. I had barely heard of that place before. It was, what, less than a couple of miles from here? Strange, it had never come up during any of our challenges, yet that’s where the scrolls were pointing.

  Valentina stood up abruptly and started grabbing her things.

  “Uh, where are you going?!” Nina shouted from her end of the room.

  “Castle Hill. Either there’s something there that Cunningham wants us to find, or that’s where the induction ceremony is being held tomorrow morning. Either way, I’m going to find it, and I’m most certainly going to be there. Who’s coming?” Valentina was standing at Nina’s doorway now, looking at each one of us.

  “No, V.” Nina stormed over to her. “According to Shane, if we finish the challenge, Jamie is stuck behind bars for good.” She held up her phone. Her text messages open probably to a message from Shane. “If we all quit, he’ll get Jamie released today. We have to quit.”

  Valentina’s nostrils flared. “I’m doing this. Who is coming?” She repeated, her eyes first landing on Adan, who didn’t move. When she focused on me, I froze. My eyes flicked between her and Nina, their faces pleading. Well, Nina was pleading. Valentina’s eyes were intentionally vacant, but the intensity peering from deep behind them said it all.

  At that point, I had loyalty to both girls. Nina was my best friend, and Valentina was… well, she was something. But what was more. I was torn between Zeke and Jamie. Both were incarcerated because of the Order. Because of me and my involvement. If I helped V get into the Order, I had a chance at getting Zeke out of juvie. But if I did that, Jamie would never be released. Of course, if I sat back and did nothing, Jamie would get out, and Zeke would be left to rot.

  Jamie helped free me from Rose Island. If he hadn’t left my phone, I’d surely been stranded there for days, maybe longer. He had my back multiple times when I’d give him no reasons to. And sure, Zeke had sold me out, but he didn’t really have a choice. We were friends for years before the fire, and I knew he wouldn’t have framed me if someone hadn’t forced his hand. I also couldn’t deny that he had it much worse than Jamie. At least Jamie’s family was swimming in cash. They could at least try and get him out. Zeke, if anything, was the one who took care of his family. He truly had no way out.

  But none of those facts made my next move clear. Either way, someone was screwed, and if I didn’t do something to help, I was partially responsible.

  So, I just stood there dumbly, mulling over the shitstorm that this whole induction into the Order had caused. But Valentina’s eyes bore into me, so I had to say something.

  “I don’t know, V,” I said, my voice soft. Her face twitched.

  “Don’t call me V,” she said, pushing through the door and letting it close with a loud thud.

  THIRTEEN

  I pulled the strings on my boots and tied them off tightly. If I was going to go searching for Valentina after dark, I would be prepared this time. Forget about Zeke, forget about Jamie, I thought. My obligation had to be to myself first, and what I wanted was to find Valentina.

  As I stood up, my phone rang. I reached out and grabbed it quickly, hitting the answer button without really looking at the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “She’s still not here.”

  “Adan?”


  “Yes. I checked Castle Hill hours ago when V first left, and she wasn't there. I even waited for her. And then I just spent the last four hours searching for her all over Newport, and she’s nowhere. I decided to come back to Castle Hill just in case, but she’s still not here. I don’t get it. This was where she was headed when she left. And now no one has heard from her?”

  There was a pause, then Adan spoke again, his voice cracking. “Harper, what if Shane took her? What if he got rid of her phone for good this time? What if he did something to her?”

  Adrenaline pumped up my spine. Adan was right. Maybe something did happen to Valentina.

  I sighed as if to force the worry from my chest. I needed to keep Adan calm. “Well, I’m guessing she checked Castle Hill and didn’t find anything before you got there. She’s probably…” If she had gone somewhere, where would she go? I let my mind wander. “She’s probably following another lead. You should stay at Castle Hill in case she shows up. I think I know where she is. I’ll call you.”

  “Wait -”

  I ended the call and opened a search engine, looking for the ferry schedule. Growing impatient, I found a phone number and dialed it.

  “Newport Ferry, how can I help you?” An older lady with a thick accent said.

  “Hi, when is your next ferry to Rose Island?” I spoke quickly into the receiver.

  I heard a rustling sound before the woman spoke again. “That would be tomorrow afternoon.” My throat tightened.

  “Nothing for tonight?”

  “Honey, look outside the window. A storm’s a brewing. Can’t you see the fog rollin’ in? No one’s allowed to set sail tonight. It’s too dangerous. Our last ferry went out a couple of hours ago. Now, if you want to buy a ticket for tomorrow-” I ended the call and rushed to my dad’s closet, finding his warmest windbreaker. It was at least a couple of sizes too big, but it would do the trick.

  I scurried over to my dad’s safe, tucked not-so-subtly under his desk, and punched in the code. I grabbed a stack of cash and shoved it in my pocket, then closed the safe securely.

  “This should do it, thanks Dad,” I muttered to myself.

  I made it to the harbor about fifteen minutes later. The lady on the phone wasn't wrong. Even through the darkness, I could see the fog rolling in, and there sure was a lot of it. I could barely make out the boats to the left and right of me as I trekked down the dock, the sounds of birds, bells and wind blending together like music.

  “Hello?” I shouted, my voice as unsure as I was feeling. “Is anyone around? I need a ride.”

  A clunking sound resounded to my right, and an old man appeared on the front of his boat.

  “I’ll take ya wherever ye need to go there, missy.” He smiled a dirty smile, and I shrunk back. “Where ya goin?”

  I hesitated. “Rose Island.”

  He laughed. “That’s not far. It might take a while in this storm here, though. Conditions are no good tonight. Come on, girl, it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better.” I didn’t move. I’d seen this movie before, and I so didn’t want to be the desperate girl who hitches a ride with a questionable serial killer type.

  He spoke again. “I don’t bite. Come on now, girlie, do you want a ride or not?”

  “I’ll take you.” A woman’s voice echoed behind me. I turned to see a girl maybe a few years older than me, her cropped auburn hair tucked into the hood of her raincoat. She stood on the edge of a medium-sized boat, which certainly wasn't anything like the yachts I was used to seeing around here, but it was large enough to house a small cabin.

  “What?” I blinked.

  “I said I’ll take you. And you don’t have to worry about being murdered, stolen from, or made otherwise uncomfortable.” She shot a glare at the guy who called me “girlie,” and he waved her off.

  “What’s the catch?” I asked, my hand raised to cover my eyes from the raindrops that were now starting to pitter down.

  “You have to tell me why you’re going out there in this storm.” She yelled, our voices starting to drown out in the sounds of the wind. “You’re clearly not sightseeing.” She added, and I paused, thinking up an appropriate response. Before I could reply, the girl spoke again.

  “A boy?”

  “A girl,” I replied, locking eyes with her through the wet haze.

  “Good enough.” She said, then waved me onto the boat. “Come on.”

  “I can pay you,” I said, my fingers searching for the wad of cash in my pocket. “I know it’s risky going out right now.”

  The girl puttered around the ship, and I followed as she spoke. “Yeah, it is,” she said, and I noticed for the first time the hint of an Australian accent. “Which is why I can’t wait for you after I drop you off or stick around for whatever you’re doing out there with this girl.” She flipped a switch, and the boat's motor purred to a start. “We’re going to cut it really close timewise, so I’m going to have to leave you there. Still want to go?”

  I bit my lip, fully realizing for the first time the risk I was taking on a hunch. “That’s fine.” I was glad the weather drowned out the crack in my voice.

  “Okay, then we’re good. I’m Mila, by the way.” Mila grabbed hold of the steering wheel and eased us deeper into the water. I squinted, my eyes focusing on the moving light from the Rose Island Lighthouse.

  “Harper,” I replied. “And thank you. For doing this, I mean.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to get stuck with someone like Hank there. If you take a ride with guys like that, it’s not the fog you’d have to worry about.” I shivered, feeling stupid. She glanced over at me, and I got a good look at her face for the first time since we set sail on this thing. Her eyes were dark blue, and her lips were full, the tiniest gap sitting between her two front teeth. Instead of looking like a girl who was likely raised catching fish, she could pass for a high fashion supermodel posing for Vogue’s nautical issue. Not because she was tall and thin like V, she wasn’t. She was about my height, but she just had one of those faces, the kind you want a closer look at to make sure it’s real.

  I blinked, attempting to refocus when instead, my eyes dragged down the rest of her body in curiosity. You couldn’t tell how gorgeous she was from the docks, but maybe that was how she wanted it.

  “What’s her name?” Mila asked, her eyes straight ahead. It took me a second to figure out who she was talking about.

  “Oh, Valentina,” I answered, looking down at my boots, blending in with the darkness.

  There was a moment of silence, and then Mila cleared her throat. “Well, I really hope this Valentina girl is alive out there.” Her tone was casual. My jaw dropped, and Mila laughed. “I just mean, it would be a shame if she weren't. With you going after her like this, she’s a lucky girl.” My lips still parted, I kept my eyes on her. She caught my eye and held it for a moment, then smiled.

  “Why would she…” I cleared my throat. “Sorry, why would she… not be alive?” I stumbled across my words a bit, halfheartedly attempting to regain my composure. I hadn’t said a word about the Order, Shane, or literally anything about why I was going out there. Could she mean the storm?

  Mila kept her eyes straight ahead, the boat’s light barely tearing through the fog as we grew nearer to the island. “You haven’t heard the ghost stories? I’m not even a local and I’ve heard them.” My jaw unclenched at her mention of “ghost stories”. Okay, so this had nothing to do with any of the actual threats V and I were facing.

  I shook my head. “What kind of ghost stories?” The wind was picking up, and I had to lean in closer to Mila to hear her answer.

  “Oh, you know,” she shrugged. “Tourists who’ve stayed overnight have seen and heard some weird things over the past hundred years. Like, hearing people talking, only to find they were alone in the house. Same with footsteps. That was a big one, lots of people heard footsteps only to find no one was there. And there’s one story of a g
uy seeing someone standing outside the window, but then,”

  “No one was there.” I finished for her, the rain pelting down on us with force. “Do you actually believe in stuff like that?”

  She nudged me. “Oh, come on. I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t not believe in ghosts. But I’m not sure I believe in them either. Still, when the same stories are told for a hundred years, you have to admit there could be something to them.”

  I swallowed, wishing she’d never told me any of this. I swear to God, if V isn’t on that island when I get out there, I’m going to dive right back into the ocean and let it take me. “I was on Rose Island last night, actually.”

  She whipped her head towards me, eyes wide. “And?”

  “Uh…” I scratched my neck. “Some weird shit definitely did go down.” I thought of Shane and the kidnapping, the replay giving me a harsh chill up my spine.

  “Well, that settles that then.” She laughed. “For a girl who seems to spend a lot of her time out there, I still can’t believe you didn’t know about any of the stories.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not a local. I’m from New York.” Mila looked me up and down. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, I was born here. Just moved back.” Mila nodded, like everything suddenly made sense.

  “I’ll have you know this is casual compared to the kids at Wellsley Prep.” I scoffed, gesturing to my outfit. “Where are you from?”

  Her lips spread into a toothless smile. “I grew up on the sea. We anchored down in a few countries for a bit as I grew up, but we mostly just spent my childhood traveling. It was great. When my parents finally decided it was time to settle down for good, I kept sailing. They passed their boat down to me, and it’s old, but it’s tough.” Her hand went to the side of the boat and tapped it a few times. She nodded to the lighthouse we were approaching. “Good thing too, otherwise we might not have made it.”

  I stared ahead at Rose Island, knowing I’d have to get off soon but wishing I could stay on the safety of Mila’s boat. “Where do you want to settle down, eventually?” I asked, my voice rising over the splashing of the waves.