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of hours?’
    ‘Well, yes, but –’
    He turns to run off again, spinning around briefly for a final word. ‘Don’t tell Matt anything, OK? He won’t understand.’
    I agree about Matt not understanding, but I need more. My self-healing incident, Ethan’s spinning pen,both on the same day, have completely freaked me out. And now he’s rushing off to see someone who can’t wait till school is over. Well, honestly, I can’t wait either. It’s all too mysterious for me.
    Glancing around again I see no teachers in sight, just a couple of kids lingering between classes. One of them is Dillon Kirby, a friend of Matt’s and of Ethan’s too, I think. But he quickly moves off to wherever he’s going, and now there’s no one around. As fast as Ethan, I take off in the same direction and run hard until I glimpse him up ahead. I keep way back, hiding behind trees and boulders and scrub whenever he turns around, which he does often as if on the lookout for me or anyone who might be following.
    I trail him for what seems like ages, right to the top of Angel Falls. It’s quite a climb, almost straight up. Most people around here call it the mountain. I start wondering if it’s worth ditching class for when suddenly he stops directly in front of a rocky wall. Just as suddenly a hole the size of his body appears in the rock and he walks inside – right inside the mountain!
    I rub my eyes and move closer. But there’s nothing there now except the rock wall. Going right up to it, I touch the place I saw Ethan walk through, but it’s hard and solid, jutting out sharply here and there. There’s a spot where some dirt has lodged and grass has started to grow with even a small tree taking root. I run my hand over the area I swear I saw Ethan just disappear into, but nothing seems out of place, nothing comes loose in my hands.
    I take a step back and try to focus on breathing slowly.
    This is all too weird.

Chapter Five
    Ethan
    ‘Arkarian!’ I call for the fifth or sixth time, pacing his main chamber over and over, searching for a clue to his disappearance. ‘Arkarian, where the hell are you? Arkarian !’
    Finally his body forms before me, and even though I’ve seen him do this a thousand times, I still step back in awe as he uses his wings and resumes his physical form. He gives himself a small shake, brushing a speck of dust from his caped shoulder. ‘What’s the problem, Ethan? Whatever’s got you in such a rush?’
    ‘Something horrendous has happened. Where were you?’
    He gives me a look bordering on intolerance. ‘I don’t live here,’ he mutters. ‘Much as it may appear that way sometimes.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Arkarian. Did I disturb you?’
    ‘Quite. Now tell me what’s wrong. Your thoughts are too jumbled for me to make any sense out of them.’
    I take a deep breath while Arkarian points at my feet. Producing two wooden stools, he sits on one. But I can’t possibly sit still, and start pacing the room. ‘Iused a very small …’ I hold up my hand with thumb and first finger a centimetre apart. ‘The tiniest, miniaturest amount of power –’
    Arkarian’s eyes follow me around the room. ‘Were you seen?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘By Isabel?’
    ‘No. I mean yes. I mean, I had intended Isabel to see, but my history teacher happened to –’
    ‘Ah, Mr Carter.’
    ‘You know him?’
    He nods but won’t elaborate. ‘How did he react?’
    Remembering Carter’s face brings me back to the stool. I sit and try to explain. ‘His eyes went hard, his mouth drew tight as a string. He was angry, Arkarian. I don’t get why, really. It was strange.’
    ‘He was angry, Ethan, because you revealed your powers, and he understands the consequences of your act.’
    ‘But how could he, unless … Is he …?’
    ‘Ethan, what possessed you?’
    A mental image of Isabel sitting there flashes through my head. What exactly made me take such a risk? Did I really want to convince Isabel before I’d even talked to her?