Necropolis

significance. They had talked about it often enough. Pedro knew that he couldn't argue. If Scott had been sent a message, they couldn't ignore it — particularly if it involved his brother. And yet the doors were supposed to be too dangerous. It was the whole reason Matt and Jamie had flown to Europe, and why the two of them had been left behind.
    "Are you sure…?" he began.
    Scott wasn't in the mood for an argument. "I'm leaving as soon as it's light," he said. "You can come with me or you can stay behind."
    The next morning, they left together. One of the Incas escorted them down to the clearing where the helicopter was waiting, and then it was a two-hour flight to the Cuzco airport. All the time, Scott had been silent and intense. He still hadn't explained what he had seen. He was often reserved, but now he seemed miles away, staring ahead with empty eyes. Pedro was trying not to think what they were letting themselves in for. Of all the Gatekeepers, he alone had never been through one of the doors, and the thought of transporting himself halfway round the world filled him with dread.
    And here they were now in Cuzco. It was a beautiful evening with hundreds of tourists milling around the brightly colored stalls that were spread out in front of them. The cathedral would be closing soon.
    The last visitors were coming out, surrounded by street children begging for money and sweets. Taxis, like wind-up toys made out of tin, were buzzing around the main square.
    Pedro was hungry, but he didn't dare suggest that they stop and eat. He knew what the answer would be.
    "There it is." Scott pointed at a great pile of bricks and ornate windows, a Spanish church built on the site of a place of worship that had been there centuries before. The Temple of Coricancha. It was where he and Jamie had found themselves when they first arrived in Peru. Inside was the doorway that had brought them from a cave in Nevada.
    Neither of them spoke again. Pedro shook his head and followed as, with grim determination, Scott began to walk across the square.
    SIGNAL SEVEN
    Matt and Scarlett stood in the shelter of the prison, knowing that they couldn't leave. Hong Kong was being torn apart by a force so devastating it was as if they had arrived at some chapter in the Bible when all the old prophecies happened and Judgment Day finally arrived.
    Smashed buildings and debris were being flung along the street as if they weighed nothing. As they looked out of the broken doorway, a huge neon sign spun past like an oversize playing card. It was followed by a table, several crates, a lawn mower, part of a piano — they had somehow been sucked out of the shops and sent on their way as if they were prizes in some insane TV game show. Matt could actually see the air currents. Mixed with the rain, they had become a thousand gray needles that raced along the streets, slamming into cars and tipping them over, flattening everything in their path.
    He looked up and saw two clouds rushing together, moving faster than he could have believed. They hit and there was a massive burst of thunder. A bolt of electricity, so bright that it hurt his eyes, crackled down and smashed into a skyscraper half a mile away, cutting it in two. Shards of glass and pieces of broken metal burst outward as the top seven floors of the building leaned over and then fell, trailing wires and pipes. Matt didn't see where they landed or how many people were killed, but he heard the massive explosion as they hit the street below. Despite the rain, what remained of the building caught fire. The orange flames licked at the falling water, desperately trying to climb into the air.
    "We must wait." Lohan was right next to him. Matt understood what he meant. If they took so much as one step forward out of the protection of the walls, they would be whisked away. He was having to shout the words to make himself heard.
    "We can't wait!" Matt shouted back. "We only have this one chance. We must leave Hong Kong now."
    Scarlett was behind him with Richard and Jamie. Matt turned round and their eyes met. In that moment, they both understood what was happening. They could have no secrets from each other. "This is you!"
    he shouted at her. The wind was still howling. A window on the other side of the road was suddenly torn out, the glass leaping away. 'You've done this!"
    "No!" Scarlett shook her head, trying to deny it.
    "We all have powers. All five of us. This is yours."
    And Scarlett knew he was