dent in the bark and a dark spot. That must have been where he'd hit his head. Looking up, he saw that he was maybe thirty yards from the top of the hill. He could see the path he had taken down when the creature had… what? What had the creature done to him and Michael? It had pushed them off the top, but it had never physically touched either of them. Did this thing have powers like his? Well, Max wouldn't be caught by surprise twice.
A few feet to his right, he saw what must have been Michael's path down the hill. There were broken saplings and flattened brush. Michael had come to a rest just above Max, maybe ten yards closer to the top. Max found the spot at the end of the trail. There was some blood there, but no Michael.
Just when Max thought Michael had gotten back up the hill on his own, he saw another path through the brush. This one was smoother and more regular. Suddenly, Max was sure that the creature had come back and dragged
Michael to the house while Max lay unconscious.
But why? And why leave Max? Too many questions and no time to answer them. Max started up the hill and felt his knee twitch. He ignored it, as he ignored the other cuts and scrapes… except the one on his left shoulder. That one was bad and made it hard to move his arm. He knew that soon he would have to fight. He couldn't afford the handicap, so he used his good hand and covered the area.
As he walked, he reached out with his powers. There was a deep puncture in his left shoulder that probably was from a broken branch. It healed quickly, which was a pleasant surprise. In the past, he had found that it was harder to heal himself than to heal others. And it usually required greater concentration.
A year ago he would not have been able to manage it that easily. His powers were growing, developing. And right now, that meant only one thing to him: He would be in a better position to save his friends.
It's my fault it has them, he thought. He had insisted they come here to hide from the Special Unit. He had allowed Isabel to sleep in her own room. And he had agreed to separate rooms for the rest of them because he had wanted to be alone with Liz.
He had failed his sister and Michael, for the second time. Just like he had failed them and everyone else on their home planet. And he had failed Liz and Maria and Kyle, who depended on him to make the right decisions, whether or not he wanted the job of leader. Well, he might not be fit to be king, but he was fit to fight this creature, to make up for some part of his failures.
He was up over the top of the hill and down the side
quickly. By the time he was in the open field, the pain in his body had receded from his consciousness. All he could think about was Liz and his friends in the hands of that… thing. Well, ghost or not, the creature was going to regret messing with them tonight.
He ran across the field, looking up at the moon, which was now much lower in the sky. He must have been out for a couple of hours at least. Plenty of time for anything to happen to his friends. Max pushed the thought aside. It wouldn't help them, and he needed to focus on what he had to do. And he had to do it coldly, without getting lost in his feelings.
His knee throbbed at the stress of his sprint across the field, but he ignored it. There was no time to heal it now. When he reached the house, he was not surprised to see the metal basement doors open. The light was on inside. He headed down the basement stairs quickly and came to another open door and another staircase.
Max knew his friends and that thing that had taken them were down those stairs. He also knew that this was some sort of trap. Well, the creature may have thought it had him, and it had caught him by surprise on the hill, but there were some things it didn't know about him… things that Max would show it soon.
Max bounded down the stairs, careful of his injured knee, and stepped through a door that revealed a short corridor brightly lit with strong fluorescent light. At the end of the corridor was another heavy door, which he reached in seconds. As he opened the door, he felt ready for anything as he stepped into the next room. The creature was standing at the end of a large room, waiting for
him. Max lifted his hand, ready to blast the thing with everything he had when he took in the rest of the room. For a moment, he was too stunned to move.
'Get out of here!' Liz screamed.
'Run!' Isabel said.
Max didn't move. He looked at his sister and his friends. They were each restrained somehow in open semicircular glass chambers on each wall. Isabel, Liz, and Maria were on one side, Kyle and Michael on the other. There were at least a dozen empty chambers on each side as well, all closed. There were computers and pieces of household electronics that Max recognized. And there was other equipment that Max had never seen before. The combination of the two made the place look thrown together. For an insane moment, he had the feeling that he was looking at Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory.
'Go ahead and blast me,' the creature said, 'but if you do, your friends will die.'
Max felt his head swim. There was something going on here that was stranger than ghosts and evil spirits. He shook off his doubts. Whatever the thing in front of him was, it was real, and that meant it could be hurt… or killed. Max got the feeling that that wouldn't be hard to do. The creature was literally falling apart. And its labored breathing and croaking voice told Max that the thing would die soon, whether or not Max did anything to it.
'Maxwell, get out of here,' Michael said. Max resisted the temptation to look at his friend. From his voice, Max could tell that Michael was in pain. His peripheral vision told him that Liz and the others were alive. That would have to be enough for now. He kept his eyes on the creature and
demanded, 'Who are you and what is this place?'
The creature gave a short laugh and said, 'You haven't figured it out yet, Max? I'm not surprised; you never were very quick…'
The thing looked at him, and Max recognized something in its eyes, despite the ruined gray flesh around them.
'… Zan.'
A flood of realization hit Max. It couldn't be. It made perfect sense, but it was plainly impossible.
'Oh, my God!' Isabel cried.
16
It can't be you,' Isabel said. For a moment, she couldn't say the name. When she finally did, she spat it out: 'Nicholas.'
'In the flesh, as it were,' he said. Then he stepped closer to Isabel and smiled… at least the one side of his face that still had lips curled upward. 'After all we've been through, I'm glad to see you recognize me.'
Isabel couldn't believe it, but it was Nicholas: She could see the shadows of him in his ruined face and in his voice. 'You should be dead by now,' she said.
'I really should be,' Nicholas said. 'All the others are dead, thanks to you all. And this husk is way past its expiration date.'
'Isabel, you know this guy?' Kyle asked.
'We all do,' Isabel replied. 'He was one of the Skins in Copper Summit.'
'Not just one of them, my dear. I am Kevar's voice on this planet,' Nicholas said. 'You should show some respect. Kevar is your king.'
'Just kill him, Max, and let's get out of here,' Michael said.
To Isabel's surprise, Max raised his hand and seemed like he was about to do just that.
'Don't do it, Max,' Nicholas said, raising one hand in the air. He was hiding a small remote control of some kind.
'If I die, your friends die,' Nicholas said.
'He's bluffing,' Michael said. 'Do it.'
'This controls the electrodes that are attached to your friends' heads,' he said, then he thumbed the control and Isabel felt her head turn to fire. She could hear Michael call out as well.
'Okay, stop!' Max said, but he didn't put his hand down.
'See the electrodes on each of their foreheads? They are directly over the cerebral cortex. A mild charge
