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

“What we have are powers.”
    Aaron felt dizzy and a little sick. He couldn’t see the difference between powers and magic. He closed his eyes but it only made him feel worse.
    “That’s why we wanted you to stay away from your friends,” Chris said quietly. “When a mage exposes his power in front of humans, it leaves something called a Trace on the humans, so other mages can identify them. That’s why we pulled you from school,” he revealed. “A mage’s core wakes at the age of thirteen. It continues to grow over the next six years. We let you go to school when you were younger, but we knew you could never go to secondary school. We weren’t going to take the risk that you might do something in front of hundreds of children. And when that boy tried to push you down the stairs, we got a chance – an excuse to pull you out early.” Genuine sadness engulfed his features. “That’s why we kept you away from your friends, told you not to hang around them.”
    Now Aaron was definitely going to be sick. He pushed the feeling of nausea down, fighting the rise of bile clawing up his throat.
    “But you continued meeting them,” Kate said, accusation and anger lacing her words. “You defied our explicit demands to stay away–”
    “Because he didn’t understand,” Chris interrupted, throwing a hard look Kate’s way before he turned back to Aaron. “You didn’t know why we were asking you to stay away. It’s our fault. We should have been honest and told you the truth.”
    Aaron had always wondered why his parents didn’t want him around his friends. Now he knew. It wasn’t his friends who were the problem, it was him .
    “Sam and Rose,” he croaked, still fighting the urge to throw up, “they didn’t see me do anything. I didn’t do anything. How do you know they even have that...that Trace thing on them?”
    “We can see it,” Chris replied wearily. “You will too, once you learn how to pick up on it. All mages can see the Trace. But the problem is, those things you saw today? The ones that came out from the white mist? They can sense the Trace as well and they kill anyone who has it.” He met Aaron’s terrified gaze. “Sam and Rose can’t stay here. It’s not safe for them. They have to leave with us.”
    “But they have other family,” Aaron said, desperate to do something – anything – right by his friends. “Their grandparents live in Scotland. And I know Sam and Rose won’t say anything to anyone. They won’t tell a soul–”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Kate interjected. “Even if they did, no one would believe them. But no matter where they go, which corner of the world they hide in, they will always be found because of the Trace.”
    “I don’t understand,” Aaron began, his stomach tightening so much it hurt. “Then where are we going to go?”
    His parents fell quiet. His dad looked over to meet his mum’s gaze. “We have to go back,” Chris said, speaking to Kate now. “We don’t have a choice any more.”
    Kate didn’t say anything. She stood with her arms crossed, lips thinned to a line. Then she looked away, staring at the window, despite the curtains still being closed.
    ***
    Dawn broke some four hours later – the sky an array of orange, yellow and red, before it steadily turned to the cloudy blue of daylight. Chris drove through the English countryside. Acres of green land stretched before the car, and mountains lined one side, their peaks hidden behind foggy clouds.
    The occupants of the car sat in silence, each one lost in their own grief-stricken thoughts. No one had spoken a single word since Chris, Kate and the three teens had piled into the car. Michael had stayed behind, mentioning something about “taking care of things”. Aaron had watched his uncle as they drove away, wondering if he would ever see him again. He had no idea where they were going and he didn’t have enough strength left in him to ask.
    Aaron glanced at Rose, sitting next to