Nightrise

I have to talk about it with someone and you're the only person I could think of who wouldn't think I was going mad."
    "I'll take that as a compliment."
    "Well, I had a visit from an old assistant of mine, Alicia McGuire. You remember her?"
    "Wasn't she the one who lost her child?"
    "Her son, Daniel. Yes. He vanished into thin air at the end of last year."
    "How awful for her." Nathalie Johnson had never married and had no children of her own. She couldn't imagine what the other woman must have been through.
    "When I was in L.A., Alicia turned up at my hotel. She hadn't found Daniel but she had another kid with her, a fourteen-year-old boy. A Native American from the look of him. And she told me this incredible story. I wouldn't have believed a word of it. I'd have thought she was out of her mind. But then she showed me something that was completely impossible and which could only have happened if everything she had been saying was true."
    "Tell me…"
    Choosing his words carefully, Trelawny described everything that had taken place at the Carlton Hotel, his meeting with Jamie Tyler, and the business with the little wooden box. If he had expected Nathalie to react with amazement or disbelief, he was disappointed. She showed no emotion when he talked, but she flinched at the mention of Nightrise and nodded in understanding when Trelawny mentioned their interest in children with paranormal abilities.
    "Where is Jamie Tyler now?" she asked when Trelawny had finished speaking.
    "Maybe I acted against my better judgment," Trelawny replied. "But he was so desperate to find his brother. And I believed it was the right thing to do." He made a gesture with his hands. "I arranged for him to be sent to Silent Creek."
    "He's in jail?"
    "Not under his own name. We changed his appearance too. Don't forget, the Nevada authorities are still looking for him for the death of his two guardians."
    "Let me just ask. Did this boy ever mention anything about England or Peru?" There was no answer, so she went on. "Did he say anything about the Old Ones? Or the Gatekeepers?"
    "No." Trelawny shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nathalie. The Old Ones? What are they? What have they got to do with a bunch of disappearing kids?"
    "If I'm not mistaken, they have everything to do with it," Nathalie replied. "And these two boys — Scott and Jamie Tyler — you have no idea how important they may be. They're both at Silent Creek?"
    "I can't tell you. Jamie's there…probably. He was sent there a week ago. As for his brother, he was going to find out when he got there. That was the plan."
    Nathalie put down her glass and leaned forward.
    "Listen to me," she said. 'You came to me for advice. You chose me because I'm an old friend. But —
    don't deny it — you also came here because you know that I'm a member…of an organization."
    "The Nexus." Trelawny spoke the two words and smiled as Nathalie sat back, alarmed. "I've heard that name," he admitted. "I know it's some sort of secret society, and I've always suspected it might have something to do with you."
    Nathalie nodded slowly. "You've been touched by something you know nothing about," she said. "But I know a great deal about it. For half my life I've been involved with it. So you must believe me when I say that it is absolutely vital that we find Jamie Tyler and get him out of Silent Creek immediately…and his brother too, if he's still there."

    "That may not be so easy."
    "John, you could be the next president of this country. But there may not even be a country to be president of—unless you do what I say."
    "What are you talking about? Who are these two boys?"
    Nathalie Johnson took a deep breath. "This is what you have to do…"

    ***
    Los
    Angeles
    Colton Banes was sitting at his desk when the telephone rang.
    He didn't like being in the office. It felt too much like the prison where he had spent the eleven years before the Nightrise Corporation had employed him. True, he could leave when he wanted to. He was well paid. But being stuck indoors, dressed in a suit, waiting to be told what to do…it made him uneasy.
    And yet he had to admit that he'd never had a better job. In fact no job could possibly exist that was better suited to his talents. Colton Banes liked hurting people. He liked killing them too — but hurting them was better because they were still around to talk about it afterward, to tell him how it felt. From school bully to delinquent to armed robber