“It’s over!” Matt shouted. “Let’s finish it.”
They all knew what to do. Chaos was between them, all-powerful and powerless at the same time. He had been in total command. Scott had belonged to him. Matt had been his prisoner. Jamie and Pedro had been thousands of miles away. But somehow, in the space of just a few minutes, everything had changed. Even as he had made his way down the mountain, the Five had finally come together. The fire in the sky was going out. The light was returning.
Matt was first, plunging his sword into the King of the Old Ones so that it disappeared all the way up to the hilt. Jamie followed, crying out in exaltation as he once again tested the power of Frost. Scarlett, Pedro and finally Flint all struck together and somewhere, deep inside Chaos, the five points touched.
Chaos screamed, a sound that was heard not just all over the world but to the very 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 of us. You were taken away from us right at the start and I know how much they hurt you, trying to turn you into one of them. But in the end, you were stronger than all of them put together and you came through. If it wasn’t for you, we would never have got here. You opened the doors even though you knew what it meant. And I’m just so glad that I was able to see you and be with you. You were the best brother anyone could ever have. I will always think of you. I’ll never forget you.
“And Matt. What can I say to you, Matt? You were my friend. You were our leader. I still don’t understand how you figured it all out but I know Scott didn’t betray you. Not really. He did what you wanted him to do – we all did – and you went through all that pain and death just so things would work out the way they were meant to…”
It felt strange, giving the funeral address when anyone else would have said that Scott and Matt were standing right beside him. But Jamie understood. They were the same but different. They had lived ten thousand years apart, mirror images separated by a gulf of time. He had once had to step into Sapling’s place and he knew better than anyone how strange it was to have to live up to himself.
A few hours had passed since the funeral. It was late at night, although the sky was still bright. The snow had finally stopped falling and so they had lit a bonfire on the ice, not wanting to hide themselves away in the carcasses of the planes or even in the tents that had been abandoned. Lohan had brought out rugs, blankets and cushions, which he laid out around the fire, and he had managed to find a surprising amount of food, left behind during the evacuation. He and Holly were preparing a hot dinner. They had promised a feast, although it was going to be a lonely one. They were almost certainly the only people on an entire continent, utterly alone in the middle of the vast wilderness.
Of the five Gatekeepers, Pedro was the happiest. He felt a great sense of contentment just being back with the others, cradling a mug of hot soup that Holly had given him and talking animatedly to Scarlett, who was sitting beside him. He was describing his escape from the Castel Nuovo and he was clearly sparing no details. Jamie saw Scarlett gasp out loud and then rock back, holding her nose. He was sitting on the other side of the fire with Flint, the two of them sharing a bottle of red wine.
“How did you get here?” Jamie was asking.
“I’m not really sure,” Flint replied. “You and I were together only yesterday. Anyway, it was yesterday for me. The battle happened. We all went to bed. And then I woke up here with Matt telling me to get into the jeep. I didn’t believe I’d have to go through it all a second time!”
“I was certain I’d never see you again.”
“I’m sorry you had to, Jamie. As soon as I found myself here, I knew what it meant. Scott…”
“I can’t believe Scott is dead when I’m sitting here talking to you,” Jamie said. He thought for a moment. “I suppose you’ll have to leave quite
soon, like I did.” It was a gloomy thought, being on his own again.
“I don’t know,” Flint said. “I expect Matt will tell us.”
Holly appeared, struggling with a large steel cauldron, steam rising into the air. Jamie glanced in her direction and smiled. Scarlett and Pedro liked her already. Holly had spent her whole life in the same small community and had suddenly found herself caught up in things she couldn’t possibly understand, incredibly transported to the other side of the world. She had also been hurt. Her left hand was bandaged following the gunshot that had gone right through it during the ambush at St Meredith’s. But she had just got on with it, doing whatever she could to help the others.
Lohan had followed her over, carrying a tray with plates, cups knives and forks. He had even found one of the bottles of brandy that he had brought with him from Serra Morte. Jamie watched as he uncorked it with his teeth and took a swig straight from the bottle. The flames of the bonfire sparked. Suddenly they were all feeling warm and close together.
“Dinner is ready,” Lohan announced.
“What is it?” Flint asked.
“It’s whatever we were able to find, thrown together and cooked in red wine,” Lohan replied.
“Lohan did it all,” Holly said. “I’m useless in the kitchen. And don’t let him pretend it’s just scraps. We actually found some proper meat and vegetables. It was all packed in the ice. And we’ve got chocolate biscuits for dessert.”
“I’m starving,” Pedro said. He had already drunk two mugs of soup and was lying back with his head on a pile of cushions, his feet stretched out towards the fire.
“Where’s Richard?” Holly asked.
“He’ll be here in a minute,” Scarlett said. “He’s talking with Matt.”
Richard and Matt were about twenty metres away, on the other side of what had been the commander’s tent. They could see the edge where the ice shelf dropped away and the sea beyond it. The water was surprisingly calm and the sun so low in the sky that it almost touched.
Richard was gazing at the boy who stood in front of him. He was the same age as Matt. He looked just like Matt, particularly now that he had set aside his sword and put on modern clothes to protect himself from the cold. He even sounded like him. But the events in the fortress were still fresh in Richard’s mind and he knew that whoever this was, it wasn’t his friend and companion, and that in truth the two of them had only just met for the first time.
“So what happens now?” Richard asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well – for a start – how do we get off this ice shelf? I know Lohan can fly, but I wouldn’t have thought any of these planes are up to much.”
“One of the ships is coming back, Richard. It peeled off from the rest of the fleet and it’ll be here in about an hour. It’ll take you where you want to go.”
“The captain’s happy to come back here?”
“I didn’t give him any choice.”
So Matt had used his power. He made one of the ships turn around and there wouldn’t have been anything that the captain or crew could do to prevent it. Once again, Richard examined him. He had already seen how much the Matt he knew had changed – he had almost said as much when they were re-united on the ice. The Matt Freeman of Yorkshire and Lesser Malling had become older, wiser, more confident. But this Matt was something else again. He didn’t speak very much. He gave the impression of being deep in thought all the time. But Richard felt he only had to say the word and the sea would part, the sky would open … or whatever else he had in mind.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“You know who I am.”
“No. I don’t.”
“I’m Matt.”
“I killed Matt.” Richard’s voice broke as he said the words and he had to fight back the tears prickling his eyes. He was seeing Matt once again as the knife pierced his heart. He was remembering what they had done to his friend before he had got there.
“You did exactly what you had to do, Richard,” Matt said in a voice that was honest and yet somehow soothing. “Why do you think the Incas gave you the knife all that time ago? Didn’t they warn you?”
“They couldn’t possibly have known.” Matt said nothing so he went on. “Did you know?”
“There was only one way to win this battle and that was the way it happened,” Matt replied. “Chaos was too interested in revenge. Once he had his enemy in his hands, everything else was forgotten. He didn’t care if Scott or the others lived or died.” He paused. “There was no other way to beat him and although it was horrible and painful, it’s over now and the world can begin again. Isn’t that what matters?”
“What will you do?” Richard asked. “Will you go back to your own time?”
“No. I’m not needed there any more.”
“Then what…?”
“Let’s join the others. But you should be glad, Richard.” Matt reached out and briefly touched Richard’s arm. “You were Matt’s greatest friend. My greatest friend. It’s only thanks to you that we’re here now.”
They walked back towards the bonfire, where the others were waiting. Richard tried to force a smile onto his face. Scarlett looked happy enough, digging into a plate of hot stew with Pedro beside her. Jamie was with Flint – twin brothers, even if they had been born ten thousand years apart. Lohan and Holly were both looking pleased with themselves as they served the meal. It was a bizarre sight in a way, the cold-blooded boss of a Chinese criminal organization working hand-in-hand with a fifteen-year-old girl from an English village. Suddenly Richard found that he was actually smiling for real. Why not? They had won, hadn’t they?
They spent the next hour together – eating, drinking, talking. They all had stories to tell from different parts of the world. Holly told of their escape from the village, their journey down the canal and their time with the Nexus in London. Scarlett described her bet in the casino in Dubai. Even Richard joined in with a perfect impersonation of Sheikh Rasheed. The strange thing was that, in the telling, some of the horrible details fell away and they concentrated instead on the memories that made them smile or laugh out loud. It was a perfect meal. It really didn’t matter that they were alone because they were, at last, together.
Finally, Matt raised a hand.
“It’s almost time for me to leave,” he said. “The ship will be here soon. But before it arrives, I think we need to stop for a minute and try to understand what we’ve accomplished here today. We need to know that it was all worth it.
“The Old Ones have finally gone, not just here but in every country all over the world. We have made another gate here in the ice, the gate of Oblivion, and this time I think it will hold. They won’t come back. They had the planet in their hands for ten years and they brought it to the edge of ruin, but we have to remember that even though they had everything on their side, even though half the world chose to support them, they still lost. Think how outnumbered we were. They had governments, police, businesses … whole armies helping them. They had monsters and limitless power. There were just five of us and a handful of companions, but we still came through in the end. That should tell you something about the universe that the Old Ones never understood. Evil will never win entirely. It can’t. It’s not in its nature.”
He paused. Richard felt the strength of the boy sitting next to him. He had a sense almost of being healed.
“Richard, Lohan, Holly – all three of you have been a part of this story,” he went on. “And we couldn’t have made it without you.”
“I didn’t do very much,” Holly protested.
“You emptied your pistol into Chaos,” Matt reminded her. “There aren’t many people who can say they have shot the Devil. But you also looked after Jamie when he most needed you, just as Lohan looked after Scarlett and Richard looked after me. It makes me sad to have to say goodbye to you. You’ve been true friends, but that’s the way it has to be.”
“You’re not coming with us!” Richard sounded
shocked.
“We can’t, Richard. At least, not all of us. Flint and I came from the past. You know that. We were brought into your world for a purpose but that’s over now. We have no reason to stay.”
“You’re going back where you came from?”
“No. That’s finished too. We have another journey.”
Richard hesitated. “What about the others?” he stammered.
“That’s up to them.” Matt looked across the glowing fire. “Jamie, Scarlett, Pedro. You have a choice. You can stay here and help build this world. Or you can come with us. But you have to choose now.”
There was a long silence. Then Scarlett laughed nervously. “You don’t make things very easy for us, Matt.”
“It’s easy for me,” Jamie said. “I’m leaving too.” He looked up and the flames, low now, reflected in his face. His eyes were very bright. “Holly, I’ve loved travelling with you and being your friend,” he went on. “But I never really got used to not having Scott around and I guess I need him now. Or Flint. Whatever he wants to call himself, we belong together. So that’s my decision.”
“Of course I understand,” Holly said but there was a crack in her voice.
“I want to go with Matteo,” Pedro said. “What is there for me in Peru? There is nothing. You think I want to go back to Poison Town? Forget it!” He drained his glass. He had drunk a lot of wine that night. “I’m with you.”
“That just leaves me,” Scarlett said. She glanced at Richard. Of the five of them, she was the most torn. But finally she came to her decision. “I’m one of the Five,” she said simply. “I suppose that’s all it comes down to. I would like to go back to Dulwich. I had a friend called Aidan and I’d love to know what happened to him … or maybe it would be better not to find out. And I’d like to help, if I could. But if I was left on my own I’d probably regret it for ever, so provided there are no more shape-changers, evil monks or mad sheikhs, I’ll stick with Matt and see where it takes me.” She sighed. “So that’s that.”
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