Matteo now faced the shadow-keeper across the flame. “How long?” he asked.
The page was not printed. It was written in a single, trembling hand—ink that shimmered like oil on water. At the top: The Gate of Shared Breath . Below, a diagram of two figures kneeling face-to-face, their mouths nearly touching, and between them a single flame. the encyclopedia of religion volume 4 page 165
Here is a story based on the archetype of the “guardian of the threshold,” a common religious and mythological motif: Matteo now faced the shadow-keeper across the flame
Matteo chuckled nervously. He was a scholar, not a mystic. But as his finger traced the flame, the library lights flickered. The air thickened. Suddenly, he was no longer in Rome. their mouths nearly touching