"Postman?" Matt suggested.

"No. It looks like a tourist. He's probably lost." A lot of tourists went past the flat, but it was unusual for one to ring the bell. "I'll go down and get rid of him," said Richard, and left the room.

Matt finished his tea and rinsed his mug in the sink. At last he had begun to sleep properly again a and there hadn't been any more dreams. And yet, even so, he knew that they were still waiting for him, the four children on the beach. Three boys and a girl. With him, that made five.

One of the Five.

That was what this had all been about: four boys and a girl, who had saved the world once and who would return to do it again. At the museum, Matt had told Richard what he believed a that he was one of them.

Yet how could that be possible when they had lived thousands of years ago? Matt had some sort of power. That much was obvious. But it wasn't something he could control and, as far as he was concerned, he never wanted to see it or use it again. He sank his head into his hands. He had never been in control of his life ... not for as long as he could remember. And right now he felt more out of control than ever.

Richard came back into the room, accompanied by a man dressed in a pale suit. He was certainly foreign, with very black hair, olive-coloured skin and dark eyes, but he didn't look like a tourist. He was carrying an expensive leather briefcase and appeared to be more like a businessman a some sort of international lawyer perhaps.

"This is Mr Fabian," Richard said. "At least, that's what he says his name is."

"Good morning, Matt. I'm very glad to meet you." Fabian's voice was soft. He p.r.o.nounced each word carefully, with a strong Spanish accent.

"Mr Fabian has read my article," Richard continued. "He's from the Nexus."

The Nexus. The secret organization that both Miss Ashwood and Professor Dravid had mentioned before Dravid was killed.

"What do you want?" Matt demanded. He'd had enough. He just wanted to leave this all behind.

Fabian sighed. "Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked.

Richard gestured to a chair.

Fabian took it. "Thank you, Mr Cole. First of all, let me say, Matthew, that I am very glad a indeed very honoured a to meet you. I know what you've been through. I hope you are fully recovered."

"You don't know the half of it," Richard growled.

Fabian turned to him. "You were, of course, at the Natural History Museum when Professor Dravid was killed," he said. "I would be interested to know how it was that you survived."

Richard shrugged. "It was the ribcage," he said. "I was trapped underneath a dinosaur skeleton. The ribcage protected me from the falling bricks, and Mrs Deverill dug me out." He stopped. "You say you've read my article. So maybe you can tell me something. How come n.o.body wants it?"

Fabian sighed apologetically. "As a matter of fact, that's the reason why I'm here, Mr Cole," he explained. "My organization has prevented your story from being published. It is our job to ensure that it never sees the light of day."

"What?" Richard stared at his visitor with anger and disbelief. "You're telling me that the Nexus-"

"I am really very sorry. I know it must be extremely frustrating."

"Frustrating! Are you out of your mind?" Richard cast an eye over the table and Matt was glad there wasn't a kitchen knife at hand.

"We can't allow your story to get into print, Mr Cole."

"Why not? And how did you stop me?"

"As to your second question, I'm sure Sanjay Dravid already told you. We have a great deal of influence. We know people ... in government, in the police, in the Church. We advise them. And in this case we advised them not to publish your material."

"Why not?" Richard thundered.

"Please, Mr Cole." Fabian could see the fury in the journalist's eyes. "Let me try to explain." He waited a moment while Richard calmed down. "Let us start by admitting that your story is completely unbelievable. Witches and phantom dogs? Supernatural creatures called the Old Ones? A boy" a he pointed at Matt a "with some sort of magical power?"

"It happened exactly how Richard described it," Matt said, coming to his friend's defence.

"Did it? The police have been sniffing around for the last seven days and they have found precious little to support your version of events. It is true that the villagers seem to have packed their bags and gone. And Omega One is now in ruins. But, to give you just one example, if there really had been an explosion there, how is it that no sign of radioactive fallout has been found anywhere in the area?"

"I explained in the article," Richard said wearily. "We reckon that all the radioactive particles must have got sucked back into the gate."

"Ah yes. Raven's Gate. That's the most ridiculous part of all. You write that there was some sort of stone circle that n.o.body in the world had ever heard of..."

"Professor Dravid had heard of it," Matt said.

"Sanjay Dravid has gone."

"Wait a minute." Richard slammed a hand down on the table. "You're part of the Nexus. You know I'm telling the truth. So why are you pretending otherwise?"

Fabian nodded. "You're right. I thought I'd made that clear from the start. Of course I believe you."

Richard's head was spinning. "So why do you want to cover it up?"

"Because this is the twenty-first century and the one thing that people cannot live with is uncertainty. Where there is terrorism, people need to know that the police are in control. When new diseases appear, they expect science to find cures. We live in an age when there is no room for the impossible."

"But you believe in the impossible."

"Yes. But why do you think we have to keep our organization secret? Because people would think we were mad, Mr Cole. That is why. One of our members is a senator in the Democratic Party in America. He would be voted out immediately if he began speaking about the Old Ones. Another is a multibillionaire, working in the field of computer software. She supports us and believes in us, although her shares would plummet if that were known. I have a wife and children. But even they do not know why I am here."

He turned to Matt.

"Although you will not be aware of it," he said, "the LEAF Project knows that you are no longer in Mrs Deverill's care. We could tell them where you are. One word from us and you would be back in their custody."

Matt's heart sank. So it had happened, exactly as he had feared.

But then Richard surprised him. "n.o.body's taking Matt anywhere," he snapped. "He's staying here with me."

"That is exactly what we have arranged." Fabian smiled for the first time. "You see? We have already spoken to the right people and it has all been dealt with. We can help you. And you can help us. We can work together."

"How can I help you?" Matt asked.

"I'm afraid your role in this is not yet over," Fabian replied. "Sanjay Dravid spoke about 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 a 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 a 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 READ OTHER GREAT BOOKS BY.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ...

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