Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink Read Free Book Online

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. Hepauses
     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 morelaborious 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 inNew 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