Run To Earth (Power of Four) Read Online Free PDF

struggling to keep control.
    “Come on,” Michael said quietly, stepping towards Sam. “I’ve booked another room. We’ll go in there and talk.”
    “No, we’ll talk here !” Sam was shaking now, though whether it was from anger or grief Aaron didn’t know. “Will someone just...just tell me what the hell is going on!” His voice rose; tears shone in his eyes but didn’t fall.
    “Come on. I’ll tell you everything,” Michael promised, “but not here. Come on.”
    Sam took hold of his sobbing sister, pulling her away from Kate and led her out of the room, following after Michael. The door closed after them with a click. Aaron was left facing his parents, and felt an unbearable urge to run after his uncle.
    “Sit down, Aaron,” Chris instructed quietly.
    Aaron lowered himself down onto the edge of the bed. Long minutes stretched out but no one spoke. Aaron waited, barely breathing. He watched as his parents shared awkward glances, communicating in that strange husband-and-wife way that didn’t need actual words. Finally, Chris let out a sigh and walked over to the chair, pulling it across the room so that he could sit in front of Aaron.
    “I know you have a lot of questions,” he started, “but I want you to keep quiet and let me explain first, okay?”
    Aaron nodded.
    His dad sighed again, fingers rubbing at his chin as he closed his eyes. After a moment’s pause, he looked at his wife, but she stubbornly stayed next to the window, refusing to come any closer.
    “What happened tonight...” Chris started. “It’s very difficult to explain. Before you can make complete sense of it, you need to understand something. You’re different from other people, Aaron.”
    “Different?” Aaron asked. “As in...?”
    “As in...” Chris faltered. “You’re not...human.”
     

     
    3
    Family Secrets
     
    Aaron blinked at him. “Sorry?”
    “You’re not human,” Chris repeated. “Neither are we.” He pointed at himself and Kate. “Neither is Mike–”
    “Wait, wait.” Aaron held up a hand, his eyes narrowed. “Wait...What?”
    If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Aaron would have laughed. It was a joke, of course it was a joke. But then he remembered that his dad didn’t make jokes. After the kind of night they’d had, after what had happened to Mr and Mrs Mason, his dad wouldn’t even think of making jokes.
    “Aaron.” Chris took in a breath. “I know what this sounds like, but you have to understand that what I’m about to tell you is the absolute truth.”
    Aaron nodded, but a part of him still protested wildly. It was ludicrous. He wasn’t human? What did that mean? He watched as his dad drew himself closer, sitting on the edge of his seat, hands clasped together and head bowed.
    “I should have told you this before, I know that,” he started. “Your mum and I...” He glanced at his wife. “We hoped you’d be older when we told you, but...” He swallowed heavily. “After tonight, I guess we have no other choice.” He met Aaron’s eyes. “We’re not human, not completely.” He paused. “We’re mages.”
    Lines formed across Aaron’s brow and his eyes narrowed again. “Mages?” he asked.
    “Yes, mages,” his dad repeated. “We’re different beings. Born into this world in the form of a man but with powers bestowed by Heaven itself.”
    Mages? Powers? Heaven? Aaron’s head was spinning.
    “You’re having me on,” he said. “This isn’t funny, Dad.”
    “I agree, it isn’t funny in the least,” Chris replied, “but I’m not having you on. You’re a mage and so are we. We’ve been living in the human realm since you were born, which strictly speaking isn’t allowed–”
    “Human realm? So ....we’re aliens ? Is that what you’re saying?” Aaron asked, so angry he was trembling. How gullible did his dad think he was?
    “No, we’re not aliens.” A half smile came to Chris’s face. “But we do have our own world, so to speak – our own