Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 "I have so much to tell you, I hardly know where to start," Fiske Cahill said. "I will do my best. You already know that you are Madrigals." "Yeah, and we know that's bad news," Dan said. "Not necessarily," Fiske replied. "It depends on your point of view." "Oh, great," Dan said, "now everything's much clearer." For a split second, Amy thought Fiske might smile. But then his eyebrows drew together and he looked very serious. "Gideon and Olivia Cahill had four children," Fiske said. He paused, waiting. Dan and Amy looked at each other. Apparently, this was sort of a quiz. "Katherine, Luke, Thomas, and Jane," Amy said. Fiske nodded his approval. "Gideon spent a

fortune and a lifetime trying to find a cure for the plague. The serum he created did indeed protect against the plague, and also had unexpected side effects. Although he didn't know it at the time, his serum altered the DNA of those who took it, giving them greater abilities in every area of human endeavor. Eventually, Gideon gave each of his children part of the formula. Soon afterwards, he died in a fire that destroyed his laboratory. His children suspected one another of sabotage, which sundered the family. Each child went off to spearhead a particular branch of the Cahill clan." Pause. Dan's turn. "Ekaterina, Lucian, Tomas, Janus." Another nod. "For centuries now, the branches have been on a relentless search, battling one another to find clues to the ingredients that will reconstruct the formula, both their own particular serum and the master serum that contains the secret to the powers of all four branches. But every time a branch comes close, they are prevented from achieving success." "By the Madrigals," Amy whispered.

"So that's why all the other branches hate them— I mean, us," Dan said. "But how did the Madrigals get mixed up with the clue hunt in the first place?" Fiske answered the question with one of his own. "Amy," he said, "may I see that miniature painting?" Puzzled, Amy took the painting out of her backpack and handed it to him. He gazed at it for a few moments, then spoke slowly. "At the time of the fire, no one knew that Gideon's wife, Olivia, was pregnant with their fifth child." He turned the painting around so it was facing them. "Meet Madeleine Cahill," he said. "Founder of the Madrigal line." Amy had looked at the little painting dozens of times before, but it was as if she were seeing it for the first time. It was incredible— no wonder the woman in the picture was a dead ringer for her mother!

"Your great–great— well, about twenty–two greats— grandmother," Fiske said. "She's the one who wrote the poem," Dan said, gesturing at the box. "MC. Madeleine Cahill." Fiske nodded as he put the painting down gently. He cleared his throat. "Olivia Cahill supported her husband's efforts at first," he said, "when he was trying to find a cure for the plague. But she was devastated by what the obsession with the serum's side effects did to the family. Her children scattered across the globe to begin their own schemes. She was left alone with the baby. "Olivia was terrified of the corrupting power of the serum. She also desperately wanted to bring the family together again, and she raised Madeleine to believe that nothing was more important." Amy made a small noise of surprise. Her face lit up, not in happiness, but in understanding. Fiske Cahill cracked his first smile. "Why don't you go ahead, young lady?" "That's in the poem, too!" Amy burst out. "One

web, many a tether, united— that's what the Madrigals do! They try to get the other branches to stop fighting!" "Exactly," Fiske said. "I don't get it," Dan said crossly. "If you ask me, they sure don't act like peacekeepers a lot of the time." Fiske looked solemn again. "I'm afraid you're right, Dan. Preventing the branches from achieving too much power has not always been a pleasant task. And just as important, the Madrigals try to protect innocent people from becoming victims of the battle." "Oh. Ah." Dan was momentarily struck speechless, and Amy knew he was trying to wrap his mind around the same thoughts she was having. The Madrigals— they're the good guys? But how— "The other branches would be most unhappy to learn that the Madrigals have equal status as Cahill heirs and even more unhappy if they knew what the Madrigal quest was," Fiske continued.

"That is why the branch has always been shrouded in secrecy." "And— and Mom and Dad?" Amy asked. "That's what they were doing, too?" Fiske nodded. "They were among our most active members. Something else you should know: The Lucians pinned the blame for one of their own evil acts on Hope and Arthur. It happened in South Africa." Winnie Thembeka! Amy's mind flashed back to the terrible moment when she and Dan had been told that their parents were murderers. "I knew it! I knew they were good all along!" Dan exulted as he held his fist out toward Amy. Amy returned his fist bump, but inside she didn't feel quite the same triumph as her brother. They had to make hard choices, too, she thought. Being good might seem simple, but it's never easy. "What about Austria?" Dan asked. "Was that all part of the plan, too— to blow us up? Then what, rescue us? Pretty risky if you ask me— we could have died!" "It was Alistair Oh who triggered the