A CAHILL
I gripped the small vial in my hand, the green liquid sloshing lazily around, and allowed myself one small smile. We had tricked them. All of them. The abnormally strong Tomas. The brilliant Ekats. The Creative Janus. The sly Lucians. Us. Amy and Dan Cahill. Madrigals. Our performance was flawless; Dan slipping the first vial discreetly into his ever present hoodie, while taking another vial—something he found in the last clue's stronghold—and throwing it into the ocean? Brilliant. Did they really think that we would destroy something as priceless as the serum? And they call us idiots.
I glanced at Dan, who was leaning against the rail of the ship that was taking us home, eyes drifting across the waves. Nellie was in the ship's cabin, probably sleeping, listening to her iPod, or maybe both. She didn't know that we had the vial either; I felt a small stab of guilt at not telling her. She was the one, after all, who eventually got us here, yet…she was also the one that was working for the Madrigals. She wasn't helping us because she cared, but because she was getting paid. The guilt quickly changed to anger. It seemed all anyone did in this clue hunt was lie. Ian Kabra in Korea. Uncle Alistair…everywhere, Jonah Wizard in China, and, well, the Tomas…who knew? It was almost funny. We, the team that lied the least, was lied to the most. Maybe by stealing the serum we made up for it.
I toyed with the bottle again. Dan and I were going to split it once we got home and had a chance to without anyone watching. 'That won't be happening soon,' I thought darkly. Uncle Fiske and Nellie were to become our legal guardians, and with both of them watching us, I knew our freedom was going to be cut short—again. I stared out at the water, at the blue waves crashing against the side of our boat. It seemed like everything we did during the clue hunt had been carefully intended; if we did anything, it was either to throw off the other teams or find the clue. I couldn't even remember the last time in the past few months when Dan and I went to a park: him, to throw a baseball around, and me, to read. If we had gone to a park at all, it was to tear it up to look for clues.
I sighed and stood up, then walked down the stairs to the cabin the two of us shared. Nellie's was right next to ours, of course. Dan followed. An unspoken message passed between us: this was our chance. It was now or never. I closed the door softly behind me and locked it. 'It 's surprising that we have a lock,' I thought as I closed it. I'm sure either the captain or Nellie had a key though.
"Amy," I turned to look at Dan, whose hand was on a large couch. "Should we push it to make sure no one gets through?" he asked.
So he was thinking the same thing. Still, I rolled my eyes. "We're on a ship, dweeb—it's probably bolted to the floor." Dan looked like a balloon that was slowly deflating; I sighed and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry…it's just…I'm nervous that's all." Dan nodded. He was too. We were about to do something no other human being had done before in who knew how many years.
My hands started to shake. "He…Her…" I couldn't get the words out I was so scared. Dan took the bottle from me. A cork sealed the opening. He tugged at it.
"It's stuck!" he said as he tried yanking it out with his teeth. I smiled a little. I took it from him and twisted it expertly. Being in the clue hunt, you learned to master taking out a stuck cork. Dan, who had left the room, came back with two plastic cups. I poured what I hoped was equal amounts. It almost struck me funny: the world's most powerful serum was being served in a cup with Barney on it. I handed Dan his cup. I looked in mine; the green liquid almost looked evil to me. This was something my family had fought over for hundreds of years, so much bloodshed over—this. I felt bile rise to my throat; my hands pushed the cup away.
'Stop it, Amy! You have to do this!' I told myself. But my brain and body weren't connecting. Dan hadn't drunk his, either; he was just staring at it. Tears crept at the corners of his eyes.
"This is why Mom and Dad died," he said softly.
It hit me like a blow. He was right. Our parents had died over this. And it was why we had to drink it. For them. For the family. If what they said was true, then we needed to be ready for the Vespers. I tipped the cup to my lips.
This is for betraying me, Ian Kabra. This is for using us, Uncle Alistair. This is for almost killing us, Holts. This is for trying to hurt my brother, Jonah Wizard; this is for trying to kill both of us, Starlings. This is for everyone who thought we couldn't do it; this is for the lives that went into preserving this; this is for the people who love and care about us; this is for you, Mom and Dad—and this is for me. I drank the serum. Not just for those reasons…but because I was a Cahill.