The room where Juan recovered from the Ceremonial was on the ground floor; otherwise Tali wouldn’t have dared walk with him, since the stairs would be too much. She let him lean all the weight she could bear on her, his arm around her waist. They didn’t meet anyone in the short hallway leading to the yard, or outside, when they reached the fountain and the willow. Once they were a little farther from the house, Juan asked:

“Have they already tested Gaspar?”

“Earlier this afternoon,” said Tali. “They don’t tell me anything, but they do talk to Stephen. He says the kid didn’t pass any of the seven tests.”

Juan looked at her with a smile that made him appear very young, like a teenager. Nowhere in his face could Tali find the being who had terrified her the night before. They sat down on a sofa, one of several Mercedes had had brought out to the garden to replace the wood and metal benches, which were so uncomfortable. Tali sat at one end and Juan sat down beside her, keeping his torso upright so he could breathe better. The garden was very dark. Even with the generator running, they had to turn off as many lights as possible in order to use the air conditioner: the guesthouse was full and the visitors had to be kept comfortable. Still, guests were forbidden from coming to the main house where the medium stayed.

“You can’t imagine how strong the kid is,” said Tali. Juan didn’t reply, but just let her talk. “We had to work hard. Is it because he’s little?”

Juan sat up even straighter on the sofa to answer her. The whites of his eyes were almost normal now.

“No. It should have been easy because he’s little.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly Herculean, but it was tough. He kept slipping away from me!”

Juan wiped his forehead. He wasn’t sweating, though the heat was damp and threatening.

“I have to ask you for a favor. I want you to keep him like that. Gaspar.”

“Of course. He’ll be blocked as long as you’re here.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Juan, shouldn’t we be using silence to talk?”

He shook his head. He was agitated.

“Today I can feel the plants growing, I can hear every whisper in the house, the footsteps of the guests, even the wailing of the ones Mercedes hides in the tunnel. No one is listening to us. Except Stephen, who’s on his way. We’re alone.”