The Spirit Keeper (26 page)

“But if she didn’t set the fire, then who did?” David asked.

Imogene shrugged. “You know what they say about the one to point the first finger, right?”

“Victor,” David said. There was no shock in his voice; only admission of what he and Meg had already suspected might be true.

“You were so young, David,” Imogene said. “But I’m sure you remember the circumstances under which my daughter died. Who is the one person who would most want to get back at Melody?”

“But why?” I said.

Imogene splayed her hands. “I just told you why. Victor blamed Melody for Aida’s death. I can only assume he set the fire himself and pinned it on Shyla. Of course, we have no actual proof that he set it—only our suspicions, and Shyla’s word against his.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I said. “Why would a father blame his own daughter?”

Imogene shrugged her expansive shoulders. “He was angry and grief-stricken. He wasn’t thinking clearly, I suppose.”

David made a sound of disgust. “You make it sound like grief is an excuse for revenge.”

Imogene turned so she was facing him. “Absolutely not. At one point in his life Victor was a decent man, but he fell apart when my daughter was killed. She was
my
child,
my
flesh and blood. I had more reason than anyone to be angry, but I couldn’t allow myself to be consumed with hate and vengefulness, especially not against the people I considered family. And I couldn’t sit back and let him destroy his daughter’s spirit any more than he already had. Even when she came to live with me, he continued to harass her, trying to put ideas in her head.”

“Ideas about me, right?” I said, my stomach spasming. “I survived the fire, and he considered me his unfinished personal business. He didn’t get what he wanted the first time around, so he came back to finish what he started. But he was counting on one of you,” I said, looking at Shyla and then at Adrian, “to help him. He expected you to hate me just as much as he did.”

Adrian squeezed my hand. “But I didn’t hate you, even knowing what I did.”

Shyla looked at her brother, and then at me. “Neither did I.”

David got up from his chair and began pacing in front of the big picture window, stopping every now and then to look out into the front garden. I wondered if he was actually seeing something outside, or if the garden was merely the backdrop for what he was reliving in his mind: the awful moment he found out his sister and parents were dead.

“All this time,” I said to Imogene, “why didn’t you ever come around? You could have explained
everything
to me, to us. None of this had to happen.”

“I tried at first, when you were just a baby. But your mother and grandparents, they thought it best to sever all ties. They made me promise never to contact you, no matter what. Too many people had been hurt, they said. Too many lives disrupted. And then when I heard they’d died . . .” She let out a deep, shuddering breath. “I almost broke that promise, but I didn’t. All I could do was focus on Shyla and trust that Meg and David would take good care of you. And I see they have.”

I shook my head and said under my breath, “I wish you would have told me.”

“My dad never talked about your family to me,” Adrian said. “It wasn’t until he showed up at our place with a U-Haul that I knew something was wrong. He told me to pack my things. He gave me no choice or warning that we were even leaving. One day I had a life on the reservation, and the next day we were living in a new town.”

“Why didn’t you tell me right away?” Imogene said, obviously surprised to hear this.  

Adrian shrugged, refusing to meet his grandmother’s eyes, and didn’t say anything.

My stomach plunged to my feet. I’d been convinced Shyla was the
real
threat between her and Victor, but it had been Victor all along. I hadn’t realized how unstable he really was. I’d totally underestimated him.

“I should have stepped in sooner,” Imogene said. “I should have broken that promise. And now, who knows what’s going through Victor’s head?”

“There’s no way he’s going to hurt Sarah,” Adrian said. “He won’t get the chance.”

“We won’t let him,” Shyla said, giving her brother a small smile of solidarity.

Adrian’s own smile faltered as he studied his sister. “I hardly saw you after you left the reservation and went to live with Gran,” he said, the accusation in his voice unmistakable.  

Shyla lowered her head. “Gran helped me get through a really dark time in my life.”

“You could have come to me,” Adrian said. “We used to be so close. I missed you when you went away. You don’t know
how
much I missed you.”

“I couldn’t expose you to what I was going through,” Shyla said. “I told Gran I didn’t want to see you. I was an emotional mess. You wouldn’t have understood.”

“Do you honestly think being stuck on the reservation with Dad was any better? In case you didn’t notice, he isn’t exactly Father of the Year.”

“I
did
notice,” Shyla snapped. “And I’m sorry that you felt like Gran and I abandoned you. But this isn’t about you, Adrian. Can you even imagine what I was going through; the incredible pressure I was under? Our father threw me to the wolves in order to cover up his own crime, and the Council basically looked the other way and said that
I
was the dangerous one!”

Shyla turned to me, her face flushed. “Dad was trying to use Adrian to get to you. That day in the mall, when I told you to watch your back, it was because I was sure Adrian was up to no good.”

Adrian started to protest, but Shyla held up her hand to silence him. “But now I know Adrian’s true feelings. And in all fairness, he thought the same thing about me. How could he not? He’d heard the rumors. My dad was playing us against each other. How sick is that?”

There was nothing but silence for several long seconds. At last, Meg rose to her feet. “Can I get anyone some herbal tea? How about cookies?” She left, and we sat motionless and quiet until she returned.

Shyla had been crying silently, and she wiped the tears from her face with her crumpled napkin. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“When you ran off that day,” she said to me, “that day in the woods, I couldn’t believe what I’d done to you.” She smiled ruefully at the memory. “Adrian looked like he might kill me on the spot, so I took off running as fast as I could. What I did to you, it just confirmed every awful thing anyone has ever said about me. I
am
a monster.”

“No you’re not,” Imogene said quietly, but with an authority that put the matter to rest.

“Tell me about this Conditional Blessing,” I said with a sigh, suddenly feeling very tired again. “You never got around to that.”

“There are two parts,” Shyla said. She looked first at Adrian and then at me, tears still lingering in her eyes. “The first part of the Conditional Blessing is that you marry a member of the Katori tribe and produce a child with him.”

I laughed, and everyone turned automatically to look at Adrian and me. “I’m not even seventeen years old yet! I think I’m a little young to be getting married and starting a family. Heck, maybe I want to go to college and concentrate on figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“There was no specified time,” Shyla said with a wave of the hand. “It could be five years from now or ten, as long as the Condition is fulfilled.”

I felt a prickly heat creeping up my neck. How would I be able to look Adrian in the face again knowing this was hanging over us? Our mutual attraction had been instantaneous, and we’d only grown closer over the past few days. There was something comforting about knowing we’d end up together, even if it was strange to think about that now.

I raised a brow, considering. Well, it certainly made
my
life easier knowing I’d never have to worry about guys and dating again. I tried not to dwell on all the things we’d have to eventually
do
to fulfill the Conditional Blessing, of course. I was sure my cheeks were red enough already.

“And the other Condition?” Meg prompted.

Shyla flinched and scratched her temple with her finger. “It’s more of a punishment, actually.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” I said.

“Not
your
punishment,” Shyla said. “Mine.”

“What do you mean?” Imogene said, sitting up straighter in her chair.

“I’ve been stripped of my magic,” Shyla said quickly.

She added with a laugh, “I suppose you’ll have to use a good old-fashioned match for lighting fires from now on, ‘cause I won’t be able to do it for you.”

When none of us joined in her laughter, she said more seriously, “It was the sacrifice I had to make to save Sarah. Our Spirit Leader gave me the choice, and I chose you. And, surprise, it belongs to you now.”

I narrowed my eyes, my heart quickening its pace. “What belongs to me?”

“The magic. It’s in
you
now.” Shyla smiled a little sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders, and I wondered exactly how sorry she really was.

There was a collective gasp from everyone else, and I shot out of my seat. “No! That’s not fair!”

But I wasn’t sure if I thought Shyla losing her gift was unfair, or if the reason I was so upset was because I had never asked for the magic in the first place. It definitely wasn’t something I wanted.

“It’s more than fair,” Shyla said. “If that was the price I had to pay to save you, I was willing to do it.”

And then I saw a twinge of sadness in her eyes. As willing as Shyla might have been, I refused to believe she was completely and truly happy about it. She had been forced to give up a significant part of her identify, the part of her that made her unlike any other.

Meg was the one who spoke next. Her voice was shaky and disbelieving. “Are you sure Sarah is the next Spirit Keeper? This is a huge responsibility.”

Shyla nodded. “And for everyone’s sake, I hope she learns how to wield something other than fire. Manipulating wind is cool, but I never really got the hang of that.”

I was stunned and a little lightheaded with this turn of events. Could the reason I thought I looked and felt different be because I now had some strange paranormal force living inside me?

Shyla held up a finger. “There’s just one more thing. You’re going to have to attend the next Council meeting on the reservation. They’ll let you know when.”

“What? But why would I want to see any of them?” I said.  

“Why can’t they just let us live in peace?” Meg said.

Imogene shook her head and placed her palms flat on her knees. “I was Spirit Keeper many years ago, long before the magic passed to Aida, and Aida to Shyla. I think they need to see that Sarah is not a threat to them. And now that she has been ordained the next Spirit Keeper, there really is no way around it. Anyway, the collective tribe is likely our greatest hope of offering protection against Victor.”

“But I don’t want to go live on some reservation,” I said. “My life is here.”

“We aren’t moving,” David said.

Imogene held up her hand. “No one is moving, but Charlene Moon will be expecting us within the coming weeks.” She turned to Meg. “I hope you will forgive me, but I made a quick call earlier to apprise them of the situation with Victor.”

I scrunched my forehead, thinking the name “Charlene” sounded vaguely familiar. I couldn’t place it, though.

“Charlene Moon,” Meg said, as though she’d tasted something foul. “She was on the Council when Melody’s Conditional Blessing was handed down. I’ve never liked her.”

Imogene looked a little embarrassed when she answered. “It turns out Charlene is the head of the Council these days.” She laughed a humorless laugh. “I can’t imagine how she got elected to the position. I don’t even want to think about what a mess she’s made of things.”