Guardian of the Gate (16 page)

“Give me the medallion, Lia.” Luisa, hand outstretched, stands over me after breakfast. “Please?”

I sigh. “I cannot do that that, Luisa.”

“But… Lia.” She is clearly exasperated with me. “Look at you! You’re exhausted!”

I laugh, finding a moment’s dry humor in her observation. “I’m certain my appearance is less than endearing, but quite honestly, Luisa, it is the least of my worries.” It is true. I do not have the energy to worry about how I look, though it cannot be good. My eyes sting from lack of sleep and I cannot remember the last time I tended to my hair.

Luisa narrows her eyes at me. “You know what I mean. You cannot continue without sleep. It is dangerous for you to ride in your condition.”

“Yes, well, Dimitri has insisted I ride with him, so I will not be riding Sargent into a tree, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It isn’t. You know it isn’t.” She drops next to me. “I’m worried about
you
. If you’d only give me the medallion for a few hours, you might rest enough to finish the journey. I would do it for you, Lia. I would.”

I hardly have the energy for the meager smile I offer her, but I offer it anyway and reach out to take her hand. “I know you would, and I thank you for it, Luisa. But can you honestly promise me that the medallion will be safe? That it will not find its way to my wrist so that Samael may use me as his Gate?”

A small line forms on her brow, and I know she wants to make the promise. Wants to make it and mean it. In the end, though, neither of us is surprised that she doesn’t.

“No. I cannot promise, but I can
try
.”

“It is not enough, Luisa, though I appreciate the offer of help. Truly.” I shake my head. “The medallion is mine. It will not leave my wrist again until this is over. Not voluntarily anyway. I will manage somehow.”

She nods, handing me her cup. “You better drink this, then. You are going to need it.”

I take it, sipping carefully from the warm cup. The coffee is biting, and I hope the horrifying taste of it will be enough to keep me awake for the first part of our journey today. I gulp it down just in time to hear Edmund round up the horses.

Luisa heads over to the horses as I rise to find Dimitri. I am
halfway to the rest of the group when he trots over atop his magnificent mount.

“Ready?” he asks.

I nod, not trusting my voice. Even as exhausted as I am, Dimitri is ridiculously appealing.

He jumps down, holding on to the saddle horn. “You first, then.”

It hasn’t occurred to me until now that I have not ridden with someone since I was a child, and then, I rode between my father’s legs.

“But… how will I… That is, how will we both fit?” I quell my rising embarrassment, and I know a blush makes its way to my cheeks.

His smile is rakish. “It’s simple; you mount the horse at the front of the saddle, and I will ride behind you.” He leans in, so close that I can smell the minty tooth powder on his breath. My mouth goes dry. “I hope that you will not object to such an arrangement.”

I lift my chin. “Not at all.” I shoot him a sly glance as I place my foot in the stirrup. “In fact, it sounds rather pleasant.”

I catch his admiring grin as I lift myself into the saddle, and then he is behind me, his thighs bracing mine and his arms holding the reins on either side of me. A thrill runs all the way from the top of my head to the tips of my boots.

As we trot over to the others, Sonia casts me a long glance from her horse tied behind Edmund’s. I expect her to call out, to beg, plead, cajole. She doesn’t. She is perfectly quiet, which is perhaps why the others do not try to shelter me from her, as
they did yesterday. I know I should be relieved by her silence. But if I had to name what I feel as we begin another day, it would not be relief. Any consolation I might find in Sonia’s silence is stolen by the memory of her ice-blue eyes and that blank, mocking glare.

As soon as the horses are in order and a last check has been made to ensure we’ve left nothing behind, we head farther into the forest. We travel slower now that we must lead both my horse and Sonia’s, and it does not take me long to wonder at the wisdom of my decision to ride with Dimitri.

It
is
pleasant. That is exactly the problem. Were I on my own horse, I would be forced to stay alert, to pay attention to the group and our direction. As it is, I spend the day drifting in and out of half-consciousness, the mist in the wood growing thicker with every step, eventually becoming an all-encompassing shroud that blocks out nearly every trace of light.

With the sun missing, it is impossible to tell if it is midday or evening or somewhere in between. I do not want to bother Dimitri with such a question. In the end, it doesn’t matter. We must keep traveling, whatever the time, until we reach the sea that will take us to Altus. And I must stay awake until we get there.

I feel alert for the first time in hours, and I know it is because of Henry. Standing in the distance, well disguised amid the trees of the forest, I might not see him at all if only he was not
Henry. But of course, he is. He could be hidden by a million leaves of a million branches on a million trees, and somehow I would find my way to him.

I look over at the small river where everyone else is watering the horses. I half expect Henry to be gone when I look back, but he is not. He is standing right where he was a moment ago, but this time, he holds a finger to his mouth, signifying silence. Then he beckons me to him with his hand.

I glance back at the rest of the group, still immersed in caring for the horses and tending to their own personal details before we ride again. They will not miss me if I am only gone a moment, and I cannot let a moment such as this pass. A moment when I might actually speak to my brother for the first time since his death.

I walk toward the tree line at the edge of the small clearing. I do not hesitate when it comes time to step into the leafy shade of the woods. As I do, Henry turns to walk deeper into the forest. I am not surprised to see him walking. Death has freed him of his useless legs and the wheelchair that was both his constant companion and his prison.

His voice drifts to me on the fog. “Lia! Come here, Lia! I must talk to you.”

I call out to him softly, not wanting to alert the others to my absence. “I cannot be gone long, Henry. The others are waiting.”

He disappears behind one of many trees, but his voice still finds me. “It’s all right, Lia. We’ll just talk a moment. You’ll be back in no time.”

I continue into the woods, finally reaching the tree where I last saw him. At first, I think it a trick of my own imagination and tiredness, for he is not there. But then I see him, sitting on a fallen log a little to my left.

“Henry.” It is all I can say. I am afraid he will disappear if I speak too carelessly into the silence.

He smiles. “Lia. Come and sit with me, will you?”

He sounds just as he always has, and I am not afraid to see him here among my own world. The gifts of the Otherworlds and the prophecy are vast and not always predictable. It would be difficult to take me by surprise after all I have seen.

I walk over, dropping onto the log next to him. When I look into his eyes, they are as dark and infinite as I remember. They are my father’s eyes, rich and warm, and for a moment my grief is so great that I do not think I will be able to draw another breath.

I gather my wits, not knowing how long we will have to speak in private. “It is so good to see you, Henry.” I reach up to touch his silken cheek. “I cannot believe you’re really here.”

He giggles. It travels through the forest like smoke. “Of course I am, silly! I came to see you.” His face grows serious, and he reaches over, putting his small arms around me in a childish embrace. “I’ve missed you, Lia.”

I breathe in the scent of him, and it’s just as I remember, that complicated scent of boyhood sweat and old books and many, many years of confinement. “I’ve missed you, too, Henry. More than you know.”

We stay that way for a moment before I pull away reluctantly. “Have you seen Mother and Father? Are they well?”

He gazes into my eyes, and this time, he is the one to reach out and touch my cheek. His fingertips are warm. “Yes, they are well, and I have much to tell you. But you look so tired, Lia.
You
do not seem well.”

I nod. “I cannot sleep. It is the Souls, you see. They have infiltrated our party. They have contaminated Sonia.” I thrust my hand toward him. “Now only I can wear the medallion. And I mustn’t sleep, Henry. Not until we reach Altus and Aunt Abigail.”

There is pity and compassion in his eyes. “Yes, but you will not be able to fight the Souls when the time comes, nor fight them now, if you do not rest.” He scoots closer to me. “Put your head on my shoulder. Just for a bit. Closing your eyes for even a few minutes will help you get through the rest of your journey. I’ll watch over you, I promise.”

He is right, of course. It is not easy balancing the need to protect myself from the medallion and the need to be prepared for an attack from the Souls. If I rest, I will be better prepared to face whatever they have in store between here and Altus. And who better to trust than my beloved brother, who placed himself at risk to hide the list of keys so that Alice would not use it to her gain?

I lay my head on his shoulder, breathing in the wool of his tweed waistcoat. The forest looks odd from this angle — skewed sideways, it is suddenly something foreign and dark with only
an undertone of familiarity. I let my eyes drift close, falling into the delicious emptiness of sleep, a sensation that feels precious for the simple fact that I have not been able to take it for granted these past nights.

I should like to say I have a moment’s peace. That I manage a few stolen minutes of rest, and perhaps I do. But the next thing I know, a fierce wind blows around me. No, that is not right. It blows
through
me, coming from some primeval place that opens up from within.

I have a flash of the sea on the many summers we spent on the island as children. Alice and I learned to swim on that island. We would stand on the beach where the water rushed to meet our feet, marveling at the sea’s power to pull so much sand back into her watery depths, leaving us standing in an excavated abyss. That is how it feels. As if something has opened up inside of me and is pulling everything important, everything in me, into some ancient place, leaving only an empty shell still standing on the familiar beach.

“Li-a! Where are you, Lia?” The voices come from afar. I haven’t the energy to open my eyes and find them. Besides, Henry’s shoulder is so comforting, so solid under my cheek. I should like to stay here for a very long time.

But I am not permitted the luxury of slumber. Of ignorance. Instead, I am awoken with a ferocious shaking and then, shockingly, a harsh slap to the face.

“Lia! Whatever are you doing?” It is Luisa’s face, her tawny eyes into which I look.

“I’m only resting. With Henry.” My words sound slurred, nearly incoherent, even to my own ears.

“Lia… Lia. Listen to me,” Luisa says as Dimitri and Edmund run up behind her, breathing heavily as if they have been running. “Henry is not here. You have been lured into the forest!”

Indignation swims to the surface of my stupor. “He
is
here. He’s watching out for me while I sleep, and then he will tell me all the things we need to know to get to Altus safely.”

But when I try to look for Henry, I realize I am not sitting on the fallen log as I was when I first sat down. I am lying on the ground amid the dead, crackly leaves. I look past Luisa, past Dimitri and Edmund. Henry is not there. “He
was
here. Just a moment ago.”

I scramble to rise from the ground, and Dimitri rushes forward to put an arm under one of mine. It takes me a moment to gain my balance. When I do, I turn in a slow circle, scanning the woods for any sign of my brother. But somehow I know he is not there. Was never there. I bury my face in my hands.

Dimitri pulls my hands away. He holds them in his. “Look at me, Lia.”

But I am ashamed. I, of all people, have allowed myself to be lured into sleep. Have allowed the Souls to use my love for my brother. I shake my head.

“Look at me.” He releases one of my hands and tips my chin so that I have no choice but to look into his inky eyes. “This is not your fault. It isn’t. You’re stronger than any of us, Lia. But
you’re human. It’s a wonder you have not fallen under their spell sooner.”

I wrench my hand from his and turn, walking away. It only takes a few steps for the fury to find me, and I spin to face Dimitri. “They used
my brother
! Of all the things… of all the sacred things they might use, why him?” Though my question begins with rage, it ends with a whimper.

Dimitri closes the distance between us in two long strides. He puts a hand on either side of my head and stares into my eyes. “Because they will use everything in their power, Lia.
Nothing
is sacred to them. Nothing save the power and authority they crave. If you know nothing else, remember nothing else, you must know and remember this. You must.”