Spell and Spindle by Kathrin Honesta & Michelle Schusterman

Author:Kathrin Honesta & Michelle Schusterman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

An early sunbeam shone through the stained-glass window of a church on 145th Street, casting a colorful kaleidoscope over the pale faces of the two children in the first pew. The girl slept with a gentle smile on her face, as if her dreams were filled with rainbows and sunshine. The boy curled up at her side slept more fitfully. His brows were pulled together, and he was mumbling incoherently.

Sister Maria Ignacia was the first to arrive for morning prayer, and therefore the one to discover the two children. For a few minutes she fretted over what to do, reluctant to leave them alone long enough for her to call someone to help. Yet she feared that they would panic when they saw her upon waking and would flee.

At last she sat very quietly at the boy’s side to wait for the others to arrive for service. She wondered when the two had turned up. The church had had midnight Mass last night, but only about a dozen had attended, and Sister Maria Ignacia was sure she had not seen these two faces among them. They must have entered the church after one in the morning, a distressing thought given their ages and the fact that they were quite without adult supervision.

This, truth be told, was another reason Sister Maria Ignacia was hesitant to call for help. Because if these children were runaways, the police would take them home. But Sister Maria Ignacia knew from experience that children who risked sneaking out of their homes in the dead of night often had very good reasons.

On the other hand, the city held potentially greater threats. Last month the orphanage at which Sister Maria Ignacia volunteered on weekends had reported a missing boy. And back in the spring, posters had gone up for twins who had run away from home, leaving their grandparents distraught. The nun had kept these children in her prayers, their names a mantra in her mind: Linda Goldstein, Lyle Goldstein, Jack Wright. She knew many had given up hope. She could never do that, though. She believed they might still be found.

And Gil, too. He’d vanished months ago, and his family feared the worst, but she refused to give up on her sweet young nephew.

Linda Goldstein. Lyle Goldstein. Jack Wright. Gil Espinosa.

Sister Maria Ignacia normally loved summer. The warmth, the sunshine that persisted into late evening, the geraniums that bloomed from patches of grass here and there along the paved sidewalks. And the carnival, always a sea of smiles and bright, sunburned faces. Gil had adored the carnival. He’d talked about it all spring, right up until the day he disappeared.

This summer was different. As if some invisible shadow loomed over the city, darkening its soul. The very air felt charged, full of static, ready to burn at any moment. Sister Maria Ignacia had found herself returning to the convent well before dark and avoiding the park altogether. She knew, logically, that this must be because of what had happened to Gil.

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