Richard found it impossible to believe, even though the professor had tried to explain it to him.
“Radiesthesia,” she said, as if it had been something she had been expecting all along.
“Radio what?”
“It’s one of many names we have for faith healing. It’s also been called mesmerism, autoscopy… the laying on of hands. Of course, in this day and age few people believe in it any more. But ancient civilizations relied on it. The Incas, for example. They used it all the time. What I’m talking about is the ability to treat sickness using some sort of inner, psychic power.”
“And Pedro…?”
“Well, the Incas seemed to think he was one of their own. So I suppose it’s no surprise that he can do it.” She shook her head. “What does it matter how it happened?” she exclaimed. “He saved Matt’s life. That’s all we need to know.”
Now, Richard watched as Professor Chambers put down the tray and went over to the barbecue. The coals had begun to glow. She spread four steaks over the grill and went back to the table.
Nobody spoke while the meat cooked. In the days that had passed since Matt’s recovery, they had all got used to his long silences. Matt still hadn’t told them what had happened at the place of Qolqa and they knew not to ask. Everything would be said in its own time. Sometimes, still, Richard worried about him. Matt wasn’t quite his old self. The pain had changed him and now and then Richard could see it; the evidence was in his eyes.
Matt was reading a newspaper. It was several days out of date but Susan Ashwood had sent it to them from England with an article highlighted on page five.
CHURCH DISPUTES DISAPPEARING BOY
Was it a miracle, as some are suggesting, or is there a rational explanation for the disappearing boy of San Galgano, as he has come to be known in the ancient Tuscan city of Lucca?
The facts are these. San Galgano is an ancient abbey just outside Lucca, dating back to the twelfth century. It is occupied by a devout order of Cistercian monks who are unused to the glare of modern publicity. But earlier this week, in the cloisters, one of these monks encountered a young boy who spoke to him in English. The boy picked a flower and then walked through a door and disappeared.
The story may seem ordinary enough until you examine the facts. First of all, the abbey is not open to the public and it would be impossible to enter without being noticed. But more bizarre is the door which the boy used to enter the cloister. This door is not only kept locked. It was actually bricked up a hundred years ago by the abbot.
It seems now that the door has a curse attached to it. According to local legend, the appearance of the boy signals nothing less than the beginning of the Last Judgement! However, a church spokesman, speaking at the Vatican today, insisted that this was more likely to be a simple case of a tourist who had lost his way…
As the professor sat down, Matt folded the newspaper. He knew he was the boy that the monk had seen. He had gone through a door in London and it now seemed that he had come out of one in Lucca, somewhere in Italy. William Morton, the antique dealer who had briefly owned the diary, must have learned of the passageway. That much was clear to him. He had tested Matt by making him walk through the door at St Meredith’s. By returning with a flower plucked in another country, Matt would have proved that he was, indeed, one of the Five.
But how had the doorway worked? Had it been constructed by the same people who had built the gates – and if so, why? These were things that Matt still didn’t understand.
The steaks finished cooking, and Professor Chambers served them with salad that she had grown herself. It was only when they had eaten that Matt began to speak.
“We have to talk about what happened,” he began. His voice was soft and somehow didn’t sound like him. Richard glanced at him, trying to conceal a sense of sadness. Matt’s childhood had ended. He could see it. It was as simple as that.
“The Incas told me that the gate would open and that the Old Ones would come into the world,” he said. “It was their prophecy. And they were right. Salamanda knew it too. I suppose it was written in the diary…”
“Where is the diary?” Richard asked.
“Salamanda had it. Now that he’s dead, perhaps we’ll never find it.”
“Were the Incas really right?” Professor Chambers asked.
Matt nodded. “I thought Pedro and I could stop the gate from opening but now I see that some things can’t be changed. They’ll always happen the way they were supposed to.”
He drew a breath.
“We won the first time, in England,” he said. “We managed to close Raven’s Gate. But this time we lost.”
“No…” Richard began.
“Yes. I’m sorry but it’s the truth. I saw the Old Ones, and although I tried to fight them, even with Pedro helping me I didn’t have enough strength. We have to face the fact that the Old Ones are here, in the world…”
“Then where are they?” Richard couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t want to believe it. “It’s been a week now. But the world is still the same. Nothing has happened. You must have beaten them!”
“I wounded them. Maybe they’re resting, waiting until they regain their strength. But I can feel them, Richard. There’s a coldness in the air. They’re already spreading out, making their plans. They’re everywhere. And soon it will begin…”
“Well, that’s great!” Richard couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “So why did we come here? What’s this all been about?”
“We had to come here, Richard. It’s all so difficult but I think I’m beginning to understand things a bit now.”
Matt paused, then continued. “There are five of us. Four boys and a girl. We’re all the same age and we’ve all been born for the same reason. Somehow, we have to find each other. Once there are five of us together, that’s when the real fight will begin.”
“But where are the others?” Richard asked. “They could be anywhere in the world.”
“Pedro is the second of them,” Matt said. “That’s why I had to come to Peru. To find him. And I’ve seen the others – but only when I’ve been asleep. We have dreams which help us. They’re not like ordinary dreams. They’re part of how it all works. And it’s not going to be as hard as you think. Pedro and I came together even though we had completely different lives, thousands of miles apart. I think the others are already looking for us. It’s just a matter of time…”
“But the Old Ones are already here,” Professor Chambers said. “How much time do we have?”
Matt didn’t answer.
A cloud passed in front of the sun and a shadow fell across the garden. And elsewhere, all around the world, the shadows were stretching out too.
Evil star had risen.
The darkness was drawing in.