Evil Star

about to happen, I always feel cold."

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "Me, too."
    The mainland was getting nearer. Very soon they would arrive.
    "The old man in Vilcabamba ... he said that one of us was going to get killed," Pedro muttered.
    "He said one of us might."
    "Which one?"
    "I don't know."
    "He also said that whichever one of us it was, he'd be on his own.
    But I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to stick with you."
    Matt sighed. "I wish it was as easy as that. But it feels like everything's already been decided."
    "No, Matteo. Nobody makes decisions for me. You and me . . .we're the ones in charge."
    Now Matt was dragged back to reality as Professor Chambers produced a sheaf of computer printouts and laid them on the breakfast table. It seemed strange to be in a beautiful garden on this warm summer's day. The birds were singing. A gardener was mowing the lawn. And here they were talking about the end of the world.
    "I've made my calculations based on the position of the platform and the position of the stars on Inti Raymi," Professor Chambers went on. "Remember what I told you? My idea . . . ?"
    “You told us they'd line: up," Richard said.
    "I told you it would happen once every twenty-six thousand years.
    And the extraordinary thing is that it does happen, very, very nearly... tomorrow night. It's quite incredible. It's what I've been Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star saying for thirty years. But there's one star missing. I've gone over it a dozen times, but there's no mistake. One star won't be there."
    "Which star?" Matt asked.
    "Cygnus. It's actually made up of seven stars and it's also known as the Northern Cross. It's seventy thousand times brighter than the sun, and it's so far away that when you look at it, you're actually seeing it as it was in the time of Christ.
    "If you were standing on the platform at the place of Qolqa tomorrow, you'd look for it between the two moun-tain ranges. All the other stars would be in the right place. But Cygnus wouldn't be anywhere to be seen. It would be about thirty degrees off course, hidden behind the moon."
    "So that's the end of it," Richard exclaimed. "Salamanda stole the diary and tried to kill Matt for nothing. It doesn't matter how rich or powerful he is. There's nothing he can do. He can't move a star."
    '"There are too many stars,'" Matt said.
    "What?"
    "It's what the old man said. 'The birds fly in the wrong places and there are too many stars in the night sky.' That was how he knew the gate was going to open."
    "Well, he wasn't wrong with the first part," Richard agreed.
    "But why did he say there were too many? Professor Chambers says there's one star too few!"
    Nobody spoke. The gardener, a cheerful man in a straw hat, had finished mowing the lawn. Now he had disap-peared behind the bushes but they could hear the snapping of his shears as he trimmed the leaves.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "St. Joseph of Cordoba predicted that the second gate would open on Inti Raymi," Richard said. Professor Chambers leaned over and began to translate quietly for Pedro. "He was here with the conquistadors. He somehow discovered the secret of the lines and it drove him mad. Salamanda stole the diary because he wanted to know the secret. And he hasn't given up! He's chased Matt all over Peru because he's afraid of him. There must be something he knows that we don't."
    "Qué sobre el pajaro en su sueno?" Pedro asked.
    "He's asking — what about the bird in your dream?" Professor Chambers translated.
    Matt wondered how much of the conversation Pedro had been able to follow, even without Atoc being there. It seemed that the more time they spent together, the more he was able to understand.
    "What does he mean?" Chambers asked.
    "I was going to tell you," Matt said. "But I didn't because I wasn't sure if it was part of it. But it's true. I've been hav-ing bad dreams about a swan."
    "God! I'm an idiot. . . ." Professor Chambers closed her eyes for a moment. "Cygnus," she said. "That's Latin . . ."
    Everyone looked at her.
    ". . . for swan." Richard completed the sentence.
    Chambers held up a hand for silence. Matt could see the thought processes going through her head. At last, she looked up. Her blue eyes had never been more alive.
    "Listen," she began, "I thought the lines were a warning, but suppose I was only half right. Let's imagine they were something more than Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02]