Guardian of the Gate

by Michelle Zink

  That Alice is ready to meet me, that she seeks to put the gears of the prophecy in motion once again, leaves me only with a sense of foreboding. In the face of my sister’s power, my preparations seem meager indeed.

  But they are all I have.

  5

  Sonia and I sit outside on the small patio at the back of Milthorpe Manor. It is not as sweeping as the grounds at Birchwood, or as quiet, but the lush green shrubbery and lovely flowers are a refuge of sorts from the chaos and grit of London. We sit side by side on identical chaises, our eyes closed to the sun.

  “Shall I fetch us a parasol?” Sonia asks, I think, out of some semblance of propriety, but her voice is lazy and I know she does not really care whether we have cover from the sun.

  I don’t open my eyes. “I think not. The sun is fleeting enough in England. I won’t do a thing to shield myself from its warmth.”

  The chaise next to me creaks, and I know Sonia has turned to look at me. When she speaks, I hear the laughter teasing her words. “Surely London’s porcelain-skinned girls are cowering for cover on a day such as this.”

  I lift my head, shielding my eyes. “Yes, well, pity for them. I’m ever so grateful not to be one of them.”

  Sonia’s laugh travels on the breeze floating through the garden. “You and me both!”

  We turn in the direction of the house as shouted voices drift to us on the patio. It sounds like a disagreement, though I have never heard the staff argue before.

  “Whatever is going — ” Sonia does not have time to finish her thought, for all at once there is the scuff of impending boots as the voices become louder and nearer. Rising, we look at each other in alarm as we catch snippets of the argument.

  “. . . quite ridiculous! You do not need to…”

  “For goodness sake, don’t…”

  A young woman rounds the corner first, Ruth quick on her heels. “I am sorry, Miss. I tried to tell her — ”

  “And I tried to tell her that it is not necessary to announce us like strangers!”

  “Luisa?” There is no mistaking the aquiline nose, the lush chestnut hair, the full red lips, and yet I still cannot believe my friend is standing before me.

  She does not have time to answer, for two more figures appear quickly behind her. I’m so surprised that words fail me entirely. Thankfully, they do not fail Sonia.

  “Virginia! And… Edmund?” she says.

  I stand there a moment longer, wanting to be certain it is real and not an afternoon dream. When Edmund smiles it is but a trace of the one he had readily available when Henry was still alive, but it is enough. It is enough to shake loose my shock.

  And then Sonia and I are squealing and running for them all.

  After a round of excited greetings, Aunt Virginia and Luisa join Sonia and me in the parlor for tea and biscuits while Edmund sees to the bags. Cook’s biscuits have been known to crack a tooth or two, and I wince as Aunt Virginia bites into one of the granite-like cookies.

  “A bit hard, aren’t they?” I say to Aunt Virginia.

  She takes a moment to chew, and I think I hear her gulp as she forces the dry piece of biscuit down her throat. “Just a bit.”

  Luisa reaches out to take one. I know there’s no stopping her, no matter how much I might like to warn her. Only Luisa’s own experience has ever been able to temper her exuberance.

  She bites into the cookie with a loud crack, but it only stays in her mouth a moment before she spits into her handkerchief. “A bit? I think I may have lost a tooth! Who is responsible for such a culinary atrocity?”

  Sonia stifles a laugh behind her hand, but mine escapes into the room before I can stop it. “Shhhhh! The cook makes them, of course. And be quiet, will you? You’ll hurt her feelings!”

  Luisa straightens her back. “Better her feelings than our teeth!”

  I try to make my expression disapproving, but somehow I know that it is not. “Oh, I have missed you all! When did you arrive?”

  Luisa sets down her teacup with a dainty clink. “Our ship docked just this morning. And none too soon, either! I was sick almost the entire way.”

  I remember the rough crossing Sonia and I made from New York to London. I am not as prone to motion sickness as Luisa, but even still, it was not a pleasant journey.

  “We would have met you at the wharf had we known you were coming,” Sonia says.

  Aunt Virginia measures her words. “It was a rather… sudden decision.”

  “But why?” Sonia asks. “We didn’t expect Luisa for quite a few months and, well…” Sonia’s voice trails off as she avoids being rude.

  “Yes, I know.” Aunt Virginia sets down her teacup. “I’m quite sure you were not expecting me at all. Certainly not any time soon.”

  Something in her eyes makes my nerves rattle with fear. “So why have you come, Aunt Virginia? I mean, I am pleased to see you. It’s just that…”

  She nods. “I know. I told you it was my duty to remain with Alice, to see to her safety despite her refusal to act as Guardian.” She pauses, staring into the corners of the room. I have the feeling that she is not here in London at all, but back at Birchwood, seeing something strange and terrible. When she speaks again it is in a murmur, almost as if she is talking to herself alone. “I must confess I do feel a bit guilty for leaving her, despite everything that has happened.”

  Sonia shoots me a glance from the wing chair near the fire, but I wait in the empty space of Aunt Virginia’s silence. I am in no hurry to hear what she has to say.

  She meets my eyes, pulling herself from the past as she speaks. “Alice has grown… unusual. Oh, I know she has long been difficult to fathom,” she says when she sees my look of incredulity. Unusual is hardly a strong enough word to describe my sister in the past year. “But since you left… well, she has become truly frightening.”

  Until recently, I have been largely insulated from Alice’s activities, and I find I am hesitant to let go of my relative naïveté, however false. Still, experience has taught me that knowing one’s enemy is key to winning any battle. Even if that enemy is one’s own sister.

  Sonia breaks in first. “What exactly do you mean, Virginia?”

  Aunt Virginia looks from Sonia back to me, lowering her voice as if afraid to be overheard. “She practices her Spellcaster craft at all hours of the night. In your mother’s old chamber.”

  The Dark Room.

  “She conjures fearsome things. She practices forbidden spells. Worst of all, she grows powerful beyond my imagining.”

  “Can’t the Grigori punish one for using forbidden magic? For using any magic here in the physical world. That is what you said!” I hear the hysteria rising in my voice.

  She nods slowly. “But the Grigori only have dominion over the Otherworlds. The punishments meted out can only limit one’s privileges there, and the Grigori have already banished Alice. I know it’s difficult to fathom, Lia, but she is very careful and very powerful. She travels the Otherworlds without detection by the Grigori much as you travel while avoiding the Souls.” Aunt Virginia shrugs. “Her disobedience is unprecedented. There is little else the Grigori can do to one who occupies this world. Otherwise, even they would be crossing boundaries that should not be crossed.”

  I shake my head in confusion. “If the Grigori have banished Alice from the Otherworlds, she should already be in check!” Frustration causes me to practically spit the words from my mouth.

  “Unless… ,” Sonia begins.

  “Unless what?” Panic fizzes in my stomach, threatening to make me ill.

  “Unless she simply doesn’t care.” Luisa finally speaks from the sofa next to Aunt Virginia. “And she doesn’t, Lia. She doesn’t care what the Grigori do or say. She doesn’t care about their rules and punishments, and she doesn’t need their permission. She doesn’t need their sanction to do anything at all. She has grown far too powerful for that.”

  We fall silent for a time, sipping our tea as each of us contemplates a powerful and
unrestrained Alice. It is Aunt Virginia who breaks the silence, though not with talk of Alice.

  “There is another reason we’ve come, Lia, though those I’ve given are certainly enough.”

  “What do you mean? What is it?” I cannot imagine anything else that would drive Aunt Virginia across the sea at a moment’s notice.

  Aunt Virginia sighs, setting her teacup back on its dainty saucer. “It is your aunt Abigail. She’s very sick and asks that you come to Altus immediately.”

  “I had planned to go soon anyway. I had a… feeling.” I continue without explanation. “But I didn’t realize Aunt Abigail was ill. Will she be all right?”

  Aunt Virginia’s eyes are sad. “I don’t know, Lia. She’s very old. She has ruled Altus for many years. It may simply be her time. In any case, it is time you go, especially given the developments with Alice. Aunt Abigail is the keeper of the pages. Only she knows where they are hidden. If she passes without telling you where to find them…”

  She does not have to finish.

  “I understand. But how will I find my way?”

  “Edmund will be your guide,” Aunt Virginia says. “You will leave within the next few days.”

  “A few days!” Sonia’s voice is incredulous. “How will we prepare for such a journey with so little time?”

  Surprise touches Aunt Virginia’s face. “Oh! I… Lady Abigail only requested Lia’s presence.”

  Sonia holds out her wrist so that Aunt Virginia can see the medallion. “I am entrusted with the medallion. I have been Lia’s closest confidant for the past eight months. With all due respect, I will not just sit here while Lia faces the danger on her own. She needs every ally, and there is none more loyal than I.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t go that far!” Luisa is indignant. “I may have been in New York while you have been here, but I am as much a part of the prophecy as you, Sonia.”

  I look at Aunt Virginia with a shrug. “They are two of the four keys. If we cannot trust them with the location of Altus, whom can we trust? Besides, I should like the company. Surely Aunt Abigail would not deny me that.”

  Aunt Virginia sighs, looking from me to Sonia to Luisa and back again. “Very well. I have the distinct feeling it would be useless to argue the point.” She rubs her brow, tiredness seeping into her eyes. “Besides, I must confess the long journey has taken its toll. Let us sit by the comfort of the fire and speak of something more mundane, shall we?”

  I nod, and Luisa deftly changes the subject, asking Sonia and me questions about our time together in London. We pass another hour filling Luisa in while Aunt Virginia only half listens. Watching her stare into the fire, I feel a surge of guilt. Speaking of Alice and the prophecy makes discussion of social scandal and fashion faux pas seem pointless and petty.

  But we cannot live in the world of the prophecy every minute of every day. Speaking of other things is a reminder that another world still exists — one in which we might someday live. If we are very, very lucky.

  “I think it’s time you tell me how much you know.”

  My voice echoes across the floor of the carriage house as Edmund wipes down the carriage by the dim lantern light. He pauses for a moment before lifting his eyes to mine and nodding in agreement.

  If Edmund knows enough to be our guide to Altus, his place in my life and in the lives of my family has obviously been more than that of a family friend and attendant.

  “Would you like to sit?” He gestures to a chair against the wall.

  I nod, walking across the room and lowering myself to the chair.

  Edmund does not join me. He walks to the workbench a few feet away, picking up a large metal tool and wiping it down with the rag. I don’t know if it is a necessary task or if he seeks simply to keep his hands busy, but I bite my tongue against the questions swirling in my mind. I know Edmund well. He will begin when he is ready.

  When he speaks his voice is low and calm, as if he is reciting a fairy tale. “I knew something was different about Thomas, about your father, from the beginning. He was a man of secrets, and though it was not uncommon for men of his stature to travel widely, he kept close the reasons for his frequent absences.”

  “But you traveled with him.” Father often took Edmund with him, leaving us in the care of Aunt Virginia, sometimes for months, while he journeyed to vaguely referenced, exotic places.

  Edmund nods. “That was later. In the beginning, I was like any member of the household staff. I drove for Thomas, managed the workers on the grounds, and saw that the more laborious upkeep of the house was assigned to appropriate workmen. It was only after your mother became… different that your father came to trust me with the prophecy.”

  I remember my mother’s letter and her description of her descent into near-madness at the hands of the Souls.

  “Did he tell you everything then?” I ask.

  Edmund nods. “I think he had to. It was a burden, carrying it alone. Even Virginia, whom he trusted implicitly with those dearest to his heart — you, your sister, and your brother — was not privy to the secrets of the book and his destinations when traveling. I expect he would have gone mad had he not told someone the rest of it.”

  “What was the rest of it?” I imagine my father all alone and trying to keep his secrets and feel a flash of frustration when Edmund hesitates. “My father is dead now, Edmund. The task of ending the prophecy is up to me. I believe he would want you to tell me everything, don’t you?”

  He sighs wearily. “After your father hired Philip to find the keys, he took it upon himself to travel each time Philip believed he had found one of them. Thomas wanted to be sure that nothing was overlooked, so he met each potential key himself to either eliminate or confirm them. When he was able to confirm their mark as authentic, as he did with Miss Sorrensen and Miss Torelli, he created situations to see them brought to New York.”

  I think of Sonia and her sad tale of being sent to Mrs. Millburn’s because her parents didn’t understand her otherworldly gifts. And Luisa. Luisa who was sent to school at Wycliffe in New York instead of to England as originally planned. Edmund continues. “By that time, the Souls were already tormenting him with visions of your mother. He wanted to ensure that you had every resource possible should he not be there to help you.”

  “So you went with him to locate the keys.” It is not a question.

  He nods, looking at his hands.

  “Did you know about Henry? That he was hiding the list of keys from Alice?”

  “No. Your father never told me where he kept the list. I always thought it was in the book. If I’d known…” He looks up, his eyes haunted. “If I’d known Henry had it, I would have done more to protect him.”

  We sit in the silence of the carriage house, each of us trapped in the prison of our own memories. Finally I stand, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Edmund.”

  It was mine, I think. I couldn’t save him.

  I start toward the door of the carriage house.

  I am halfway there when I think of something. Something I cannot yet answer.

  Turning around, I call to Edmund, now sitting in the chair with his head in his hands.

  “Edmund?”

  He looks up. “Yes?”

  “Even with everything my father told you, how is it possible that you can be our guide to Altus? Its location is a closely guarded secret. How is it that you know the way?”

  He shrugs. “I’ve been there many times with your father.”

  I did not think it possible to be further surprised. Yet I am. “But… why would my father go to Altus?” I laugh wryly. “Obviously he was not a member of the Sisterhood.”

  Edmund shakes his head slowly, meeting my eyes. “No. He was a member of the Grigori.”

  6

  “Everything is packed and ready to go.” Edmund stands near the horses at the front of the carriage, hat in hand.

  It has been only a week since Aunt Virginia, Edmund, and Luisa
arrived from New York, but it seems like a year. The trip to Altus is no small undertaking. It is a journey that requires horses, supplies, and assistance. When we first discussed the necessary details, I thought it impossible to arrange everything so quickly, but somehow, everything has fallen into place. Philip will continue to search for the keys in our absence, though he is none too happy about my traveling with only Edmund for protection.

  I am still reeling from the discovery that my father was a member of the Grigori, but there has been no time for further questions. Clearly there is much I did not know about my parents. Perhaps the journey to Altus will help me find more than the missing pages.

  As I descend the steps at the front of Milthorpe Manor, I notice the single carriage and wonder what has happened to the other arrangements made over the past week. “Edmund? Where is the rest of our party? Did we not arrange for additional horses and supplies?”

  Edmund’s nod is slow. “We did indeed. But there’s no reason to make a fuss on our way out of the city proper. Everything has been arranged and the rest of our assemblage will join us at the required time.” He pulls a pocket watch from his trousers. “Speaking of which, we ought to get moving.”

  I look over at Luisa, supervising the loading of the final bags into the carriage, and stifle a laugh. Sonia and I had no trouble packing lightly as suggested by Edmund, but Luisa has not been a part of the preparations Sonia and I have undertaken over the past year. As she watches Edmund load one of her bags, I can almost hear her running down a mental list of packed hats and gloves, though she surely will not wear either after this morning.

  I roll my eyes and spot Sonia speaking in hushed tones to Aunt Virginia by the steps leading to the house. Luisa joins me as I make my way to them both, and soon we are all standing in a huddle, each wondering how to begin the difficult task of saying goodbye when we have only just come together again.

  As always, Aunt Virginia does everything possible to make the moment easier.