Until I Die - By Plum, Amy Page 0,47

have information on such a bizarre topic. “What exactly are they, anyway?”

“Well, Katya. Guérisseurs have been around for centuries—from the time that there weren’t enough trained doctors to go around. They usually specialize in something, like the healing of warts or eczema, or even setting broken bones. The same specialized gift is passed from one family member to another, and once the gift is passed, the previous healer no longer bears the gift. There is always only one guérisseur in a family at a time, and each must consciously accept the responsibility in order to inherit it.

“Which is why there aren’t that many left. It used to be an honored profession. Now with modern medicine and rising skepticism, fewer people are proud to carry the gifts, and most of the younger generation refuse point-blank to accept it. And when that happens, the gift just disappears.”

“Sounds pretty awesome, actually,” I admitted.

“Even more awesome when you see it work,” Mamie said with a twinkle in her eye.

“You’ve met a guérisseur?”

“Why, yes. Twice, actually. Once was when I was pregnant with your father. I wasn’t even three months along, and an old farmer who lived near our country home asked if I wanted to know if it was a boy or girl. Turns out he was a guérisseur, and that was his family’s gift. That and curing nicotine addiction, if I remember correctly,” she said, tapping her lower lip and staring off into the mid-distance.

“And you didn’t think it was just a lucky guess?” I asked.

“Out of more than a hundred babies, he was never once wrong. And your own Papy wouldn’t have the handsome face he has today if it weren’t for another guérisseur,” she continued.

“Once, when he was burning a pile of leaves, the wind changed and the flames hit him right in the face. Burned his eyebrows and the front of his hair right off. But a neighbor rushed him straight to his mother, and she ‘lifted’ the burn. Strangest thing . . . she didn’t even touch him, she just acted like she was sweeping it off his face and then throwing it away, flicking it off her fingers. And it worked. He had no burns. But it took a while for his eyebrows to grow back.”

“Well, that one’s a little harder to dispute,” I admitted.

“There’s nothing to dispute. It works. These people have some sort of power. Just don’t ask why or how. It doesn’t make any sense. But a lot of important things in this world don’t.”

Her story complete, Mamie patted the front of her apron and came to stand next to me. “I have to work, dear. The Musée d’Orsay needs this by the end of the week.” She brushed my chin softly with her hand. “You know, Katya, you look more like your mother every day.” From anyone else, this would have destroyed me. From Mamie, it was just what I needed to hear. My mother had been strong. Smart. And determined enough to get whatever she wanted, no matter how difficult it proved.

Like the quest I faced now. Bearing my mother’s face was a daily reminder that I could be as strong as she had been. And fighting for what I wanted most in life was the best way to keep her alive in my heart.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

.....................................................................

SIXTEEN

EVEN THOUGH VINCENT HAD TOLD ME HE WOULD pick me up later in the evening, I went straight to his place after school. He scooped me up into his arms when he saw me, and then put me down, worriedly running a hand through his hair. “I have to take care of a ton of boring stuff before tonight,” he said apologetically.

“I know. I brought homework.” I gave him a peck on the lips as I walked past him into the grand foyer. I had been here a hundred times already, and each time it made me feel like I was walking into a palace. Which is basically what it was. Vincent held my hand as we walked down the long hallway to his room, and crouched down in front of the chimney to build up the fire as I settled on his couch.

Truth be told, I loved watching Vincent get ready for dormancy. It made me feel more in control, like I was preparing for these hallucinatory three days myself. There wasn’t anything I could do to help, so at least I could observe.

It was easy to forget what he was as he finished