by Emma Newman
Erin nodded and gently pulled herself away. “We’d better go before we get too soft,” she muttered and left the room quickly.
Zane stood, noticing the dark spatters of his tears drying in the dust. “What next?” he asked, and looked to his friend.
Titus smiled slightly. “We recover, we get Eve, then we have two things we need to do.”
Zane frowned, noting the seriousness of Titus’ manner. “What things?”
“We find out what happened to Erin’s mum, and help her if we can,” Titus stated. “If we can bring down the Unders, then we can definitely do that.”
Zane drew in a deep breath and let it out again with a sigh. “It’s only right, we can’t leave her with the Gardners.” Titus nodded. “What’s the other thing?”
“We find out why we’re different,” Titus replied.
“You mean me making people better, and the dream room?”
Titus nodded again. “Then we might know why the Red Lady is so interested in us.”
“It’s not just because she likes us?” he asked, crestfallen, and Titus laughed affectionately at the glimpse of the old Zane.
“No, it’s not,” Titus replied with certainty, steering Zane out of the room to follow Erin out of the hospital. “But we’ll talk about that another time.”
EPILOGUE
So now you know how the Four were brought together, and that there are no such things as Giants. I think that’s enough for now. We can’t spend all of our time in the past. You need to keep this fire going and find something to eat. All I ask is that you don’t consign this book to the flames to warm your hands. Instead, perhaps you could be kind enough to leave this where others may find it, so they may also read this tale.
And remember, all of these events happened in these dusty streets around you, in this dead city. I know because I was there, watching. But then why trust me? You don’t even know who I am. Perhaps you’re curious about that, though in the company of those such as the Four, it seems an indulgence to tell you about someone as insignificant as I.
Of course, the story of the Four is far from over. I haven’t had the chance to tell you about how Erin discovered her own remarkable abilities, and how Eve’s talent for opening locked doors in the Unders was only a tiny part of her potential. And it doesn’t end there for Titus either, who, having found his sister at last, turned his intellect towards discovering what bound the Four together and why they were different. Let’s not forget Zane, and how he learnt that sometimes his healing wasn’t enough to save loved ones. They don’t talk about these things in the stories you’ve heard, do they?
If you want to learn what really happened, Joshua’s part in all this, and how a father’s death led to the crowning of the King, then look around you for another book containing the same handwriting as this one. I haven’t forgotten what I promised to tell you. Heavens! You didn’t think you would find all that crammed into this one little book, did you?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book never would have reached your hands if it hadn’t been for Sally Bassington, an intensely talented librarian with effortless style and great taste in clothes. Sally was a colleague at the school I worked in whilst writing the first draft, and she read every chapter as I wrote it. Sally, thank you for being so gentle with a blocked creative stumbling back into the world of writing. Thank you for badgering me relentlessly until I agreed to try and get this published. You made this happen, and changed my life forever.
Thanks to Peter, Rick and Amanda, without whom Zane, Titus and Erin would never have existed. I hope you like where I have taken them.
Many thanks to the small army of friends and family who read through the early drafts and gave just the right mix of encouragement and constructive criticism to get the book this far. In particular, Dan, I still remember your advice on my writer tics; you made me a better writer. Conall, your encouragement meant the world to me.
All of you have enriched my life immeasurably, I am many
times blessed. Much love to you all.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1 THE GIANT
Chapter 2 THE NEW BOY
Chapter 3 DEV’S TOKEN
Chapter 4 FAILURE
Chapter 5 JAY’S CHALLENGE
Chapter 6 AN UNWANTED INVITATION
Chapter 7 THE RED LADY
Chapter 8 THE FRAGILE BALANCE
Chapter 9 TRESPASSERS
Chapter 10 TITUS
Chapter 11 AN UNEXPECTED DAUGHTER
Chapter 12 THE FIRST HUNT OF THE SEASON
Chapter 13 PICTURES FROM THE PAST
Chapter 14 AN UGLY THREAT
Chapter 15 ERIN’S SECRET
Chapter 16 A REMARKABLE DREAM
Chapter 17 REPARATIONS
Chapter 18 CALLUM’ TRANSFORMATION
Chapter 19 ONE DEAL LEADS TO ANOTHER
Chapter 20 AN OATH AND A LIE
Chapter 21 UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS
Chapter 22 TITUS MAKES A CONNECTION
Chapter 23 OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN
Chapter 24 BIGGER THAN GANGS
Chapter 25 LOYALTIES TESTED
Chapter 26 CONSEQUENCES
Chapter 27 HARD BARGAINING
Chapter 28 DEATH OF A HERO
Chapter 29 EVE
Chapter 30 REDEMPTION
Chapter 31 PLANS ARE MADE
Chapter 32 THE EXPERIMENT
Chapter 33 INHERITANCE
Chapter 34 HIDDEN GUESTS
Chapter 35 REUNION
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS