Free Run To Earth (Power of Four) by S Mazhar Page B

watched as grief flooded his dad’s features. “Dad?”
    The door opened and Kate walked back in. “They’re still refusing to come out of the room,” she said, “but at least they’ve taken the breakfast.”
    “Good,” Chris said, straightening up. “They need to eat something.”
    “So do you,” Kate said, holding out the last plate.
    Chris gave in this time and took the plate, picking up the toast and taking a generous bite. Kate didn’t have a plate but she seemed content to use the serving dish. They ate in silence, Kate and Chris lost in their thoughts and Aaron in his rising confusion.
    ***
    Aaron didn’t know what to do. He had taken a shower and changed into the spare set of clothes he found in one of the cupboards. It was a simple white shirt and blue jeans. Both were a bit baggy but Aaron made do with them. Sam and Rose were still in their room. Aaron had stood outside for ten minutes, plucking up the courage to go in and see his friends, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Dejectedly, he went downstairs and sat next to the grimy window, staring out at nothing in particular.
    Drake had come by shortly after breakfast and left with Chris, going somewhere private to talk. It irked Aaron – the secrecy, the whispering, the intense looks his parents kept sharing. It was slowly driving Aaron mad. Why couldn’t they just talk in the open? Why couldn’t they tell him what was going on?
    Aaron scoffed silently. He told himself it shouldn’t be surprising that his parents were hiding things. After all, they had hidden such an enormous truth from him. He was a mage. A different being. What that meant, Aaron still didn’t know. He turned his head to look at his mum, who was busy cleaning the living room, making the space a little more habitable. His mouth opened to ask her, to beg her to tell him what was going on. But before he could speak, a shadow crossed the window. Aaron pressed himself closer to the glass, craning his neck to look to the side, but he couldn’t spot anyone. Not a moment later, there was a knock on the door. Kate looked up, her blue-eyed gaze snapping from Aaron to the door. She went to answer it while Aaron quickly followed after her. The door opened to a tired-looking Michael.
    “Mike,” Kate breathed with relief, before embracing her brother. “Thank Heavens. I was so worried.”
    “I’m not the one you should be worrying about,” Michael said. “Everything okay, Kate? So far, I mean?”
    Kate nodded. As Michael walked in, Aaron noted the two duffel bags in his hands. His uncle dropped them and walked over to envelop him in a crushing hug.
    “How you doing, kiddo?” he asked.
    “Fine,” Aaron replied.
    Michael moved into the living room. He glanced around before turning to Kate. “Chris?”
    “He’s talking to Drake,” Kate replied.
    A small smile came to Michael’s face. “Drake. Damn, I’d almost forgotten about him.” He ran a hand through his short hair and sat down with a sigh. “Anyone else here?”
    “Not from our crowd,” Kate replied.
    “Your crowd?” Aaron asked before he could help it.
    Kate looked around at him, pausing slightly before replying, “Old acquaintances.”
    Aaron clicked his mouth shut. If he was going to get vague answers, he wasn’t going to bother asking her anything. He would speak to his dad instead.
    Kate turned back to her brother. “I trust you took care of everything?”
    Michael grimaced. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “It’s done.”
    Kate straightened up, but Aaron could see the grief in her features. “Thank you,” she replied tightly.
    Michael only nodded before he got to his feet. He walked to the bags in the hall and picked them up. He handed both to Aaron. “Here.”
    Aaron took them. “What’s in them?” he asked, feeling their weight.
    “Your stuff,” Michael replied. “Clothes and shoes. Your friends’ things are in the other one.”
    Aaron snapped his head up to look at him. “You went into