The Solstice Cup (14 page)

Mackenzie closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, but her chest was too tight. “I can't do this. It's too much!”

The old woman released her arm. “You might as well give up then. This is an easy task compared to the next one.”

“But I can't just leave my sister here,” Mackenzie said, her voice cracking. “How could I?”

Maigret didn't answer.

Mackenzie took another breath and picked up the shuttle. “All right,” she said as she squeezed it in her fist. “I'll weave a mantle.”

Mackenzie lost track of time as she concentrated on moving the shuttle in and out of the warp threads, back and forth across the loom. She'd completed a rough strip of fabric approximately two inches high by three feet long when Finian appeared at the top of the ladder to ferry her back to the island.

“But I've barely started,” Mackenzie protested as she rose reluctantly from her stool.

“You've done well for your first time, lass,” Maigret said. “It will go faster tomorrow night.”

“What about the pieces from our clothes?”

“You'll weave them in tomorrow,” said the old woman. She put her hand on Mackenzie's shoulder and steered her away from the loom. “You have to go with Finian now. You've got to be back in your chamber before first light. Have you still got the herbs I gave you last night?

“Good,” she said when Mackenzie nodded. “Take half of them in a wee bit of water just before you lie down. You'll be hot as a burning ember in no time. Nuala will never know you didn't drink from the cup last night. She'll leave you alone after she's felt your skin, and you can sleep for the rest of the day.

“Do get some sleep, child,” Maigret called softly as Mackenzie descended the ladder after Finian. “You'll need your rest come tomorrow night.”

Breanne was still asleep when Mackenzie got back to their room, but her body had cooled considerably. “We're almost out of here,” Mackenzie whispered as she squeezed her sister's hand. “Just one more night to get through, that's it.”

Breanne's eyes opened a crack.

“Are you awake?” Mackenzie said eagerly.

Breanne blinked twice, and then her eyelids dropped again.

“All right,” said Mackenzie. “You're still tired, but that's okay. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to join you in bed for a little while.”

As she spoke, Mackenzie poured half the herb mixture Maigret had given her into a cup of water and swirled it around. She lifted the cup to her nose and grimaced. “This stuff smells disgusting! I can't tell you how much I wish you were here,” she said to Breanne as she got ready to take the first sip. “I mean
really
here. You've got ten times the courage I have. It's true—I'm a wuss compared to you.”

She tilted the cup, gagging as the bitter concoction reached her tongue. She had to force herself to swallow.

“I've been following you everywhere since kindergarten,” she whispered to her sister between sips. “No, make that since we could crawl. I'd be lost if something happened to you.”

When the cup was empty, Mackenzie lifted the covers and climbed into bed. “I don't know how long it's been since I said this, but—I love you, Breanne.”

Mackenzie was barely aware of Nuala's presence when the faery came to check on her later that morning. She felt something brush her forehead, but she was too tired to open her eyes. The fever Maigret had promised was not nearly as painful as Mackenzie had feared. It was like lying on a hot sandy beach beneath a tropical sun. The ebb and flow of her breath became the ebb and flow of gentle waves, lulling her to sleep. She let herself drift.

The room was lit by a single candle when Mackenzie woke up. The fever had left her body, and her mind was clear, but she had no idea how much time had passed. She remained in bed beside her sister, in case Nuala or one of the faery's attendants came to check on them. She let herself doze off again until she heard Finian call softly from the hallway.

Breanne's hand closed around her wrist before she could rise from the bed. “You're awake!” Mackenzie whispered.

Breanne's eyes shone palely in the candlelight. Her mouth moved as if she were speaking, but nothing came out.

“Are you okay?” Mackenzie asked anxiously. “Can you speak?”

Breanne's lips moved again, but there was still no sound. Her eyes widened in alarm as she raised her free hand to her throat.

“We have to go,” Finian called from the hallway.

“Wait! Let me at least get my sister some water,” said Mackenzie. She found a pitcher of water and a cup and brought them back to the bed. Breanne was as weak as a newborn. Mackenzie had to lift her sister's head and hold the cup to her lips while she drank.

“It's all right, Bree,” Mackenzie said when her sister was finished. “It's going to be okay—I promise. But I have to go now. I don't have time to explain. I'll be back in a few hours.”

She peeled her sister's fingers from her wrist and moved away from the bed. “I'm really sorry, but I have to do this,” she said as she backed toward the door, away from her sister's pleading eyes. “I
am
coming back. And tomorrow night we can both ditch this place for good.”

Mackenzie and Finian traveled in silence all the way down to the shore. The piper was the first to speak, as he untied the small rowboat from the wharf. “You're a rare one, you know that?” he said as he prepared to push off through the dark water. “They're not like you, the others who come here chasing faery gold. You think it's my music that makes them drink and keeps them in the land below?”

He paused to spit over the side of the boat.

“Feeble-minded bairns. They see the twinkling lights, the faeries on parade in their pretty costumes. They eat faery food and sleep on feather beds. The wee laddies and lassies are spellbound long before they hear my pipes. You think they want to leave? They'd sell their kin to stay!”

“To be slaves for seven years?” Mackenzie asked angrily. “Does anyone explain that part to them?”

Finian kept his voice low as he rowed, but his tone was bitter. “They don't know the difference. They're fed well; they're clothed. Even Nuala doesn't mistreat her human attendants. Where's the harm in a few years of service?”

“Where's the harm? Where's the
harm
?” Mackenzie sputtered. “What about when they go home again, and everyone they love is old or dead?”

Finian lifted the oars and they drifted toward the pilings that supported Maigret's shack. “It's not always like that,” he said defensively. “Sometimes only a season has passed. Sometimes only a few days.”

“Sometimes?” Mackenzie stared at the dark outline of the piper's face and shook her head. “You warned us not to drink from the cup from the very beginning, when Breanne found that piece from your pipes in the hallway. You warned us, and you've tried to protect us, because you
know
what the solstice cup does is wrong. It's evil!”

“'Twas only a favor for the old woman,” said Finian.

The boat bumped against a piling. The piper nodded curtly at the ladder above their heads. “We're here.”

“Well?” he said when Mackenzie didn't immediately step out of the boat. “Go on then. You don't want to keep her waiting.”

“This conversation isn't over,” said Mackenzie.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

“I
don't get it,” Mackenzie blurted the instant she was through Maigret's trapdoor. “You help people escape from faeries like Nuala, right? So why do you trust Finian? He's working for them! It's
his
music that puts people into a trance.
He's
the reason people drink from the solstice cup, no matter what he says!”

The old woman took both of Mackenzie's hands and held them firmly. “Take a deep breath.”

“Breanne wouldn't be a zombie if it wasn't for Finian's stupid pipes! I wouldn't have to weave a mantle to rescue her—we could both just leave tomorrow night!”

“Breathe,” Maigret repeated.

“I am breathing,” Mackenzie said as she yanked her hands away. “But I don't understand any of this, and I'm
angry
!”

“Aye, and if that's what you bring to the loom tonight, you might as well go right back down that ladder. The mantle will have no power if it's woven through with bitterness.”

Mackenzie's chin dropped to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her body and began to sob.

Maigret's voice softened. “There, there, lass,” she said as she embraced the shuddering girl. “That's right, let the tears fall. You've every right to be upset.”

“I'm all right,” Mackenzie said after a moment, wiping her eyes and pulling gently away.

“Good.” The old woman nodded. “Then you'd best get started.”