The Power of Five Oblivion

that, Carla started in her chair. “Why do you ask?” she demanded.
    “Please, Signora Rivera. You told me that she was your daughter.” He glanced at Silvio. “Your sister. She is in the opposite room next to mine. Why is she ill?”
    Neither of the adults spoke, as if they didn’t dare to put it into words. Then Carla nodded. “She has cancer,” she said. “It is in her pancreas. It is the very worst kind. She has been slipping away from us for many months. We have tried everything but the doctors say there is nothing more they can do. Fortunately, she has little pain …”
    “That is God’s mercy,” Silvio muttered.
    “… but she has only weeks left to her. She is much younger than Silvio. Only twenty-four. She was the joy of my life.” Carla bowed her head.
    “She’s not dying,” Pedro said. “She’s better.”
    “That is not true.”
    “It is true, signora. I have healed her. I’m only telling you because I need you to believe what I am saying. All five of the Gatekeepers have powers. If you have read the diary, you must know this. We can read minds. We can change the weather. But my gift is the power of healing and before I came down here, I went into Maria’s bedroom and I took her illness away. Go upstairs and see for yourself.”
    Silvio had gone very pale. He looked at Pedro with something close to anger. “You are wrong to say this,” he rasped.
    “Please, signore… ”
    “No!”
    “I will go!” Before anyone could stop her, Carla Rivera pushed her seat back and stood up, then strode out of the room. Pedro watched the priest. For a brief moment, he struggled with himself, then rose and followed. Pedro came last. The three of them went back into the hallway and up two flights of stairs. The door to the sick woman’s room was still closed, as Pedro had left it. Carla stopped outside, as if gathering strength, then opened it and went in, with Silvio and Pedro right behind.
    “Maria…!” Pedro heard the mother gasp her daughter’s name.
    Maria was sitting up in bed. Her eyes were open. She still looked weak and tired but there was absolutely no doubt that the illness had passed, just as a shadow will move on as the sun rises. She was still attached to the various pipes and tubes and was examining them as if she was trying to work out why they were there. As the door opened, she looked round and saw the three of them.
    “Mama…” she said.
    Carla rushed over to her and took her in her arms. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. She took hold of Maria and buried her head in her shoulder. At the same time, she looked back at Pedro. “It is a miracle!” she said. “She has not spoken a word in three weeks!”
    Silvio looked stunned, rooted to the spot. He had seen his sister that morning, before he went to church. He went in every morning and spent an hour with her, praying beside the bed. And now…? His mother was right. All the doctors had said the same. There was no hope for her. What he was seeing was a miracle indeed.
    “You must take Pedro to the door,” Carla said. “You must do everything you can to help him.” She was still embracing her daughter, smoothing her hair with one hand.
    Silvio nodded. All the blood had drained from his face. “Yes,” he muttered. “Of course we must help him. We will leave tonight.”

FORTY-FOUR
    They slipped out of the house just before midnight. Carla was waiting at the front door with a coat, which she handed to Pedro. She had spent the past two hours with her daughter. Maria had spoken a little. She had managed to eat some soup, the first food she had tasted in weeks. Now she was asleep – and her breathing, which had been ragged and painful, came easily.
    “Where will you go?” Carla asked Pedro.
    Pedro had already thought about this. He knew that the doors would only work properly if you decided on your destination before you went through them. “I’m going to Antarctica,” he said. “That is where Matt is waiting for me. That’s where I’ll find my friends.”
    Carla helped him put on the coat, then took him in her arms. “I will never forget you,” she said. “And I will never be able to thank you for what you have done in this house. You have given my daughter back to me!”
    “I’m glad I was able to help you,” Pedro said.
    “We should leave,” Silvio muttered. “The guards are going to be suspicious. They will want to know why we’re entering the Vatican at this hour. The later we leave