Page 68 of The Spirit Key
Silvanus began to vanish.
“Please tell Patrin how sorry I am and let him know how much I love him. Tell him that should you decide to be together, you both have my blessing. And never forget, my heart was always yours.”
And with those words, Silvanus was gone.
Tania turned to Patrin and threw herself into his arms. He stood there, holding his brother’s wife and child, stroking her back, whispering to her, promising that everything would be all right.
I stood and was surprised when Vano pulled me to him. “What you did… it was incredible.” He put a hand on my hair and brushed it back. “I have never been prouder.”
Warmth flooded me at his words. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I am sorry I didn’t heed your warning.”
“There’s no need to apologize. I understand your desire to help him, and if what he said is true and others come to seek you out, I will stand with you and do my best to keep you from harm.” He leaned in close and kissed me. I’d never been kissed like this before, and it was a surprise. “I love you, Sofia….”
I was grateful when I found I was no longer merged with Sofia. She now stood there, gazing up at Vano with love in her eyes. The scene faded, and for a moment, I was alone in darkness. Then the images came rapid-fire.
Vano and Sofia’s handfasting. The people and spirits they’d helped, their son’s birth, and finally, two decades later, Vano dying, followed not long after by Sofia. Their son, Manfri, now in his midtwenties, meeting the woman who would become his wife. Then finding another family who had a son that would become Manfri’s lock.
History continued to unfold. I saw every lock and key that came before Tim and me. Their friendship was as strong as any I’d ever seen, and they shared a goal and a bond that transcended both life and death.
I also witnessed the cruelty against the Romani. The slums, the abuse. I broke down and cried as hundreds of thousands were herded to the Nazi death camps, then murdered. Their spirits were trapped until they approached the lock and key, who worked tirelessly to help them move on, though it cost them their lives when they expended too much of themselves.
That was the defining moment for me. I learned the Romani people were strong, even in the face of adversity. It made sense to me that these were Tim’s predecessors, because he was very much like them.
The one thing I didn’t understand was why I had been given the gifts that were part of the Romani heritage. I wasn’t strong. I didn’t know suffering as his people had. So why?
“Because you’re strong of heart.”
I spun around and was shocked to find myself face-to-face with Sofia. Only this time she was a spirit.
“I know you’re surprised to see me. Believe me, I understand.”
“Why are you here?Howare you here?”
She smiled. “As you found out, a key is willing to sacrifice to save others. Those who came after me learned that the greatest thing they could do for others was to give of themselves. These powers? They require an exceptional person to wield them, because it has to be someone who had that drive, the compassion to be more than they are. You? If a more perfect candidate existed, I have never met them.”
“But I’m just… me.”
“Oh, you are so much more. You showed that after your death. You helped a boy who died far too young to fulfill his final wish. You were there when the spirits spoke to you, though you could not understand. We tried to teach you, but in truth, neither you or Timbo had the capacity to grasp your new role.” She sighed. “Do you remember the lady in your dreams? The one who tried to tell you what you’d become?”
How I hadn’t seen it before, I didn’t know. “It was you.”
She smiled. “Yes, it was me. Trying to get you to understand who you were to become was akin to holding on to water. Your heart was there, but your mind? It was impossible for you to process what I needed to show you.”
“But I’m older now. You can show me.”
“See, there’s the problem. Yes, you’re older, but you’ve already started on the path to understanding. I realized that you were going to have to teach yourselves, just as Vano and I did.”
“No, you had your people and—”
“And you have Timbo. He will be your guide.”
This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. “But he doesn’t know either. Neither of us were trained.”
“Just as Vano and I weren’t. Yet we did fine. Why? The same reason all locks and keys work together. They fit. You are impetuous, but you have a heart as big as any I’ve ever known. Timbo is strong and courageous. Trust in that to guide you.”
“But what if we—I—can’t?”
She reached out and touched my hand. Hers was cool but had a warmth to it. “You saw how my first attempt to help went awry. I accused a man of murder. That right there should have dissuaded me from trying again, but Vano convinced me that I had helped the families find peace. With Silvanus’s blessing, Patrin and Tania went on to be joined and had three more children, who had their own children. One of their descendants is Timbo.”
