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

菲斯克·卡希尔说：“我有很多话要告诉你，我都不知道从何说起。” “我会尽力的。你已经知道你是牧歌了。” “是的，我们知道这是个坏消息，”丹说。 “不一定，”菲斯克回答。 “这取决于你的观点。” “哦，太好了，”丹说，“现在一切都清楚多了。” 有那么一瞬间，艾米以为菲斯克会笑。 但接着他的眉毛又皱了起来，显得很严肃。 “吉迪恩和奥利维亚·卡希尔有四个孩子，”菲斯克说。 他停顿了一下，等待着。丹和艾米面面相觑。 显然，这是一种测试。 “凯瑟琳、卢克、托马斯和简，”艾米说。 菲斯克点头表示同意。 基甸花了一个小时

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.

财富和一生都在努力寻找治愈瘟疫的方法。 他创造的血清确实能预防鼠疫，但也有意想不到的副作用。 虽然他当时并不知道，但他的血清改变了那些服用它的人的DNA，使他们在人类努力的各个领域都有了更大的能力。 最后，吉迪恩给了他的每个孩子一部分配方。 不久之后，他死于一场大火，烧毁了他的实验室。 他的孩子们互相怀疑对方在搞破坏，这导致了家庭的分裂。 每个孩子都去卡希尔家族的一个特定分支当先锋。” 暂停。丹的。“叶卡捷琳娜，卢西安，托马斯，雅努斯。” 另一个点头。“几个世纪以来，这些分支一直在不懈地寻找线索，相互竞争，寻找能够重建配方的成分，包括他们自己的特殊血清和包含所有四个分支力量秘密的主血清。 但每当一个分支接近时，他们就无法取得成功。” “唱牧歌，”艾米低声说。

"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!

“这就是为什么所有其他的分支都讨厌它们——我的意思是，我们，”丹说。 “但是牧歌一开始是怎么和寻找线索混在一起的呢？”菲斯克用自己的一个问题回答了这个问题。 “艾米，”他说，“我可以看看那幅微缩画吗？”艾米很困惑，她从背包里拿出那幅画递给了他。 他盯着它看了一会儿，然后慢慢地说。 “火灾发生时，没有人知道吉迪恩的妻子奥利维亚怀上了他们的第五个孩子。” 他把画转过来，让它对着他们。 “这是玛德琳·卡希尔，”他说。 “牧歌系列的创始人” 艾米以前已经看过这幅小画几十次了，但她好像是第一次看到它。 真是不可思议——难怪照片里的女人和她母亲长得一模一样！

"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

“你的曾曾——嗯，大约二十二代曾祖母。”菲斯克说。 “这首诗就是她写的，”丹指着盒子说。 “玛德琳·卡希尔。”菲斯克点点头，轻轻地放下画。 他清了清嗓子。“奥利维亚·卡希尔起初支持她丈夫的努力，”他说，“当时他正试图找到治疗鼠疫的方法。 但她被对血清副作用的痴迷给这个家庭带来的影响所击垮。 她的孩子们分散在世界各地，开始他们自己的计划。 她独自和孩子在一起。 奥利维亚很害怕血清的腐化力量。 她也非常想让这个家庭重聚，她让玛德琳相信没有什么比这更重要。” 艾米惊讶地发出一声小声音。 她的脸亮了起来，不是因为高兴，而是因为理解。 菲斯克·卡希尔第一次露出了笑容。 “你为什么不走呢，小姑娘？”“诗里也有！”艾米脱口而出。 “一个

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.

一张网，许多系绳，连在一起——牧歌就是这样做的！他们试图让其他树枝停止战斗！”“没错，”菲斯克说。 “我不明白，”丹生气地说。 “如果你问我，我觉得他们很多时候肯定不像维和人员。” 菲斯克又显得严肃起来。 “恐怕你是对的，丹。 防止分支机构获得过多权力并不总是一件令人愉快的任务。 同样重要的是，牧歌试图保护无辜的人不成为战争的受害者。” “哦。啊。”丹一时愣住了，说不出话来，艾米知道他正在努力把自己的想法和她的想法融合在一起。 牧歌合唱团，他们是好人吗？ 菲斯克接着说：“其他分支如果知道牧歌家族和卡希尔家族的继承人有同样的地位，肯定会非常不高兴，如果他们知道牧歌家族的任务是什么，就更不高兴了。”

"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

“这就是为什么这个分支机构一直笼罩在秘密之中。” “那——那爸爸妈妈呢？”艾米问。 “他们也是这么做的？”菲斯克点点头。 “他们是我们最活跃的成员。 还有件事你应该知道：卢西亚人把他们自己的罪恶行为归咎于霍普和亚瑟。 它发生在南非。” 温妮Thembeka !艾米的脑海里闪过她和丹被告知他们的父母是杀人犯的可怕时刻。 “我就知道！”我知道他们一直都很好！”丹高兴地向艾米伸出拳头。 艾米回敬了他的拳头，但她内心并没有像哥哥那样感到胜利。 她想，他们也必须做出艰难的选择。 做个好人似乎很简单，但从来都不容易。 “那奥地利呢？”丹问道。 “那也是计划的一部分吗——把我们炸飞？” 然后呢，救我们吗？要我说，这相当冒险——我们可能会死的！”是阿利斯泰尔·吴触发了