The Power of Five Oblivion

end of the universe. He was pinned to the spot, his own shape distorting and breaking up as if it were a reflection on the surface of a stormy sea. Finally he turned back into smoke and was whisked away, and Matt, Pedro, Jamie, Scarlett and Flint were facing each other with their five swords extended.
    The circle was complete.
    Right then, they all knew that it was over, that nobody could touch them and there was no need to be afraid any more. It was like being trapped inside a glass dome, except they were the ones who had created it and it was keeping everything else outside. One of the giant birds had appeared, far too late, and tried to dive-bomb them, hurtling down, but it was bounced away again, turned into a spiralling ball of broken bone and feather. Slowly, the world began to turn around them. There was no sign of Lohan or Holly. At that moment, there were only the Five, the Gatekeepers, brought together at last.
    Faster and faster the wheel turned. The fortress spun round. The Old Ones. Oblivion. The mountain. The sky. It was all becoming a blur. There was an ear-splitting crack and the ice field disappeared, replaced by a gigantic hole that revealed another world beneath, a universe of black space and glittering stars. A torrent of wind chased around it, sucking everything in. The soldiers and horses were unable to resist it. There were thousands of them and a moment before they had seemed unstoppable but suddenly they were little more than a handful of soot thrown into the breeze. All of them were dragged in. The fortress itself fell apart, turning into a vortex, a million pieces of brick and stone. The giant birds were pulled out of the sky. The giant monkey, arms outstretched, slithered backwards across the edge of the ice and disappeared into the black hole. The fire-riders were smashed into each other, exploding into flames. It was impossible to say which was man and which was horse. Every last sword and shield, every knife and gun was swept away.
    And, at the very end, when every last evil thing had gone, the missiles sent by the World Army finally arrived, streaking out of the sky. They too disappeared through the great hole in the ice. There was no impact, no explosion. They had been visible for barely more than a few seconds, raining downwards, and then they were gone.
    It was over. Deep inside the other world, something flickered, red and black. Then the circle closed, the ice reforming itself.
    The five of them were standing together in the courtyard, holding their swords. Lohan and Holly were nearby, white-faced, unable to take in what they had just witnessed. Only a few broken pillars and walls of the fortress remained. The field of Oblivion stretched out, white and unbroken, all the way to the sea.
    “Richard!” Scarlett called out his name, seeing the journalist staggering out from the remains of what had been one of the towers. But he didn’t hear her. He was staring at Matt, his eyes full of wonder.
    Everything was silent.
    It was still snowing but the clouds had parted and a ripple of pink was already spreading across the sky.

FIFTY-SIX
    It was a celebration of sorts.
    Jamie couldn’t help thinking about the last great confrontation, when Raven’s Gate had been created. When it was all over, there had been a feast and an army to share it with. All the Gatekeepers had been there – Flint, Inti, Scar and Matt as they were then – but there had been other people to celebrate with too. Scar’s friends Corian and his older brother Erin. And her great friend Finn, although he had died. Jamie remembered the wine and the music and the mood of the survivors, sharing the victory, glad to be alive but remembering all those who had been less fortunate.
    This time it was different. There were so few of them left on the ice field after the World Army had packed up and left … just the eight of them. And it seemed to have taken them so long to get here. It was as if they had been fighting all their lives.
    They had buried Scott and Matt’s bodies side by side not far from where they had fallen, covering them with ice and snow and erecting a simple memorial – two slabs of grey granite, each one decorated with a five-pointed star that Lohan had chiselled with a knife. Jamie had spoken a few words for both of them as they stood together around the grave.
    “Scott … you can’t hear me and you’d probably tell me to shut up anyway, but I want you to know that, in many ways, you were the best