Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink Read Free Book Online Page B

safety or prudence requires,
     hmmm?”
    Luisa nods, leaning back in for another quick embrace before turning and making her way to the carriage.
    Sonia does not wait for Aunt Virginia. She steps toward my aunt, reaching for her hands. “I’m so sorry to be leaving. We haven’t
     even become properly reacquainted!”
    Aunt Virginia’s smile is sad. “There’s nothing to be done about it. The prophecy will not wait.” She casts a glance at Edmund,
     who looks once again at his pocket watch. “And neither, I imagine, will Edmund!”
    Sonia giggles. “I suppose you’re right. Goodbye, Virginia.”
    Having grown up not in a home of her own, but with Mrs. Millburn as her guardian, Sonia is still uncomfortable showing affection
     to any but me. She does not embrace my aunt, but looks into her eyes with a smile before turning to leave.
    Then it is just Aunt Virginia and me. Already it seems everyone from my past is gone, and the prospect of saying goodbye to
     my aunt brings a lump to my throat. I swallow around it to speak.
    “I wish you were coming with us, Aunt Virginia. I am never as sure of myself as when you are with me.” I do not fully realize
     the truth of it until it is said.
    Her smile is small and sad. “My time has passed, but yours is just beginning. You are stronger since leaving New York — a
     Sister in your own right. It is time for you to take hold of your place, my dear. I shall be right here waiting to see the
     story unfold.”
    Wrapping my arms around her, I am surprised at how small and frail she feels. I cannot speak for a moment, so swift and powerful
     are the emotions that crowd my heart.
    I pull back, trying to compose myself as I look in her eyes. “Thank you, Aunt Virginia.”
    She gives my shoulders one last squeeze before I turn to go. “Be strong, child, as I know you are.”
    I step up and into the carriage as Edmund climbs onto the driver’s seat. Once settled next to Sonia with Luisa across from
     us both, I lean my head out the window, looking to the front of the carriage.
    “Shall we, Edmund?”
    Edmund is a man of action, and I am not surprised when, instead of answering, he simply flicks the reins. The carriage rolls
     forward, and without another word our journey begins.

    We travel along the Thames for some time. Luisa, Sonia, and I hardly speak within the shadows of the carriage. The boats along
     the river, the other carriages, and the people walking about all serve to keep our interest until the activity gradually fades.
     Soon there is nothing but the water on one side and plains stretching to small mountains on the other. The rocking of the
     carriage and the quiet outside lull us into a sort of stupor, and I doze fitfully against the velvet seat until finally falling
     into a deep sleep.
    I awake with a start some time later, my head against Sonia’s shoulder, as the carriage comes to a hard stop. The shadows,before only gray smudges lurking about the corners of the carriage, have lengthened into a gathering blackness that almost
     seems alive, as if waiting to claim us all. I shake the notion from my mind as raised voices make their way from outside.
    Lifting my head, I find Luisa, as alert as the moment we pulled away from Milthorpe Manor, staring at Sonia and me with something
     I cannot help but feel is anger.
    “What is it?” I ask her.
    She shrugs, looking away. “I have no idea.”
    I did not mean to ask about the noise outside the carriage but about her strange demeanor. I sigh, deciding she is irritable
     from being left to her own company during the trip out of London.
    “Let me find out.”
    I push the curtain aside from the window and spot Edmund standing near a bank of trees a few feet from the carriage. He is
     speaking to three men who bow their heads in a show of respect that seems decidedly out of place given the rough nature of
     their clothing and appearance. Their heads swivel in unison toward something that is blocked from my view. When they