Evil Star

nodded. For the moment, they seemed to be out of any danger.
    In Poison Town, everything would be quirt. On the island, they were alone with no sign of the swan that had twice come thundering out of the darkness. And what was the significance of that? Matt wondered. There was still so much he didn't understand.
    He told Pedro as much as he knew, starting with the death of his parents, his growing awareness that he was never going to have a normal life, his life with Gwenda Davis in Ipswich, his involvement with Raven's Gate, and everything that had happened since then.
    "I came to Peru to find the second gate," Matt con-cluded. "That was two days ago although it feels a lot longer. Everything went wrong the minute we arrived. If I can find the Nexus, maybe they can help.
    They're probably looking for me. I don't know."
    Matt took a deep breath. The reed boat rocked gently on the water.
    He wondered if they should get into it — and if they did, where it Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star would take them.
    "I knew you'd come," Pedro said. "I've always been expecting you.
    But there's something I want you to know. When you were asleep . . . when I took your watch ... I thought you were just some rich tourist kid who'd gotten lost. I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry."
    "When did you realize?"
    "When you woke up. I recognized you then. And the truth is, I wasn't too happy to see you. I wish you hadn't come."
    "Why?"
    "Because you're going to bring trouble with you. Everything's going to change now." Pedro paused. “You may not think I've got much of a life, but it's the only life I've got, and I was happy with it. I'm sure that's not what you want to hear. But this isn't what I want."
    "No, I understand."
    Matt knew exactly what Pedro meant. He felt the same.
    "I don't know anything about you," he said. "Only your name . . .
    Pedro. Do you have another name? What do you do in Lima when you aren't juggling in front of cars or stealing from tourists? And who is Sebastian? Why do you live with him?"
    "I don't like talking about myself," Pedro said. He paused. "But I will because I suppose you ought to know. But I'm telling you now, there's not a lot to say. . . and anyway, you probably won't remember any of it when you wake up."
    That possibility hadn't occurred to Matt. He sat down on the sand, wondering what time of the day it was in this strange dreamland.
    Was it even day? The sky was dark but he could see quite clearly.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star The sand was warm although there wasn't any sun. It wasn't day or night but something in between.
    Pedro sat down opposite him with his legs crossed.
    "First of all, Pedro isn't my real name. Everyone just calls me that.
    It's what Sebastian called me when I first came to Poison Town. He used to say he named me after his favorite dog. I know I had a family before I met him although I don't remember very much about them. I think I had a sister. She was a few years younger than me.
    "I used to live in a village in the province of Canta, which you've probably never heard of. It's about sixty miles from Lima. A three-day walk. It was a very ordinary place. The men went out to work in the fields — they grew pota-toes and corn — and the women stayed at home and looked after the kids. There was no school in the village but I went to one that was two miles away. I didn't learn very much, though. I mean, I learned some of the letters in the alpha-bet but I've never been able to read."
    He reached out and drew a capital P in the sand with his finger.
    "That's P for Pedro. It's also P for parrot, papagayo. I remember the letter because it always looked like a parrot to me.
    "My mother used to say that I was born under an evil star, but I don't know what she meant. There were four of us in our family, and we had a nice house even if it was mainly made of wood and cardboard.
    And we had a big bed. All four of us used to sleep in it. I can't tell you much about my mother. I don't want to think about her. Sometimes I remember the feel of her, next to me in the bed, and that makes me sad. That was always the best part of the day for me . . .
    falling asleep.
    "The worst thing about Canta was the weather. The wind used to Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star come down from the mountains and it went right through you. I never had enough clothes to wear. Sometimes I only had a T-shirt and my underpants and I'd think I was going to turn