Raven's Gate

you. He thought your appearance was the single most remarkable event of his lifetime.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he believed you were one of the Five.”
    And there it was again.
One of the Five.
    Matt sighed. “That’s what you keep saying. But what does it mean?”
    “Five children saved the world. Five children will save it again. It’s part of a prophecy, Matt. What happened here in Yorkshire was only the start. The Nexus will be called together again and you will have to meet us all. Until then, we ask only that you remain here. And tell no one. We must keep these matters to ourselves.”
    There was a long silence.
    “That’s all very well,” Richard said. “But how am I supposed to look after him? Since the Nexus knows everything, you may have noticed that I’m out of a job. And shouldn’t Matt be at school? He can’t just sit around here with me!”
    “We can easily arrange a local school for Matt,” Fabian replied. “Anything you need or want we can get for you.” He produced a business card and slid it across the table. “As for your living expenses, we can look after that too.” He clicked open the briefcase and took out a thick envelope, which he handed to Richard. The journalist glanced inside it and whistled. “That’s five thousand pounds, Mr Cole. Think of it as a first payment. When you need more, you only need to call.”
    Fabian stood up. He held out a hand to Matt, who shook it unwillingly.
    “I cannot tell you what a great pleasure it has been to meet you,” Fabian said. “We will meet again in London very soon.” He seemed to be about to leave, but then he turned back and his eyes were troubled. “Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you this,” he said. “But you will have to know eventually and I think my friend Professor Dravid would have wanted me to tell you.” He took a breath. “We believe there may be a second gate.”
    “What?”
Matt was stunned.
    “I live in Lima. In Peru. It is the reason why I was chosen to visit you today. There is evidence that another gate exists in my country. It may be that I will have to invite you there.”
    “You must be joking,” Matt said. “I’ve done my bit. I don’t want to know any more.”
    “I can understand that, Matt. Just remember – the Nexus is on your side. We exist only to be your friends.” He nodded at Richard. “Please don’t get up, Mr Cole. I can show myself out.”
    For ten minutes neither of them spoke.
    “Well,” Richard said at last. The cash was spread out on the table in front of him. “At least that solves the money problem.”
    “A second gate…” Matt had gone pale. He looked suddenly tired.
    “It’s got nothing to do with you,” Richard said.
    “It’s got everything to do with me, Richard. I know that now. I thought it was all over when the power station was destroyed. But I was wrong. It’s like that man said – it was just the start.”
    “No way,” Richard said. “I mean, think about it for a minute. Do you really believe there’s another circle of stones? And that maybe some other crackpot has gone and built a nuclear power station in the middle of it? It’s got nothing to do with you, Matt. He’s talking about South America. Thousands of miles away!”
    “They’ll make me go there.”
    “They can’t
make
you do anything you don’t want to do. And if they try, they’ll have to get past me.”
    Matt couldn’t help smiling. “Thanks for sticking your neck out for me.”
    “That was nothing. Actually, I didn’t even mean to. It just sort of happened.”
    “Well, now it looks as if you’re stuck with me.”
    Richard nodded. “I suppose so. It’s a pain in the neck. On the other hand, I haven’t got a job. I might as well play babysitter to you.”
    “I don’t need a babysitter.”
    “Yes, you do. And I still need a story. So what it really boils down to is, we’re stuck with each other.”
    “A second gate…”
    “Matt, just put it out of your mind. I haven’t got the faintest idea what’s going on any more but I’ll tell you one thing for certain. We’re not going to Peru.”

Out now…
    Scorpia may be defeated, but the
Old Ones are definitely back!

    THE POWER OF FIVE
    Book Four
    The next bestseller from
Anthony Horowitz
    www.powerof5.co.uk

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