Vespers Rising (The 39 Clues #11)(6)

He stepped out from the shadows of the apple orchard, and Olivia noticed him first. As always, he caught his breath when their eyes met.

No matter that they’d been married twenty-five years. She was as beautiful and formidable as ever — her long curly hair still black as midnight, her green eyes still piercing. Gideon often reflected that the children had gotten their best qualities from Olivia. She saw value and beauty in even the smallest things, like Jane. She could fix nearly anything, like Katherine. If her family was threatened, she could be as dangerous as a coiled viper, like Luke. And like Thomas, she was strong willed and stubborn enough to break down any door — although she didn’t need to use her head. One of her stern looks was usually quite sufficient.

She blew a strand of hair from her face and set her hands on her hips. “Well, Gideon Cahill. If you’re done chatting with His Lordship, perhaps you’ll help me with this unruly mob.”

“Papa!” Jane beamed, holding up her cupped hands, in which she’d caught her butterfly. “Look what I found! May I paint its wings?”

“No, child.” Gideon tried to repress a smile. “It would hurt the poor creature.”

Jane pouted. “But I can make him much more colorful.”

Katherine snorted, glancing up from her disassembled heirloom. “Don’t be silly, Jane. You and your ‘art’ will destroy the world.”

“Will not! And I’m not silly, am I, Luke?”

Gideon found it strange how much Jane adored her oldest brother, but then again, she could see the smallest good in even the most unlikely places. Despite his look of utter distaste for being here, in the bright sunlight, doing physical labor with his family — Luke managed a dismissive shake of the head. “No, Jane, dear. Your art, at least, never left something valuable in pieces.”

Katherine’s ears turned red. “I’ll put it back together!”

“Like you did the miller’s wheel last year?” Luke asked. “We had no flour for a month.”

Thomas stepped toward him, pushing up his sleeves. He might’ve been ten years younger than Luke, but that had never stopped Thomas from a fight. “Leave her alone, Luke.”

“Stop it!” Olivia ordered. “I won’t have this at the dinner table!”

It was an absurd comment, as the dinner table was in the garden, but the children became quiet. They were used to their mother’s cardinal rule: no fighting at the table. This was their neutral ground, their only place of peace.

“Now,” Olivia continued, “we need to get this table cleaned. And no more fighting.” She looked at Gideon for support.

“Your mother is right,” he said. “But first … gather ’round, children. I have something important to tell you.”

His tone must’ve been graver than he realized, because none of them argued. Jane let the butterfly go. Katherine set down the globe. The boys stepped away from each other warily. All of them approached the table, instinctively arranging themselves at their usual spots for dinner.

“Husband?” Olivia knit her brow. “What is it?”

“Children,” Gideon said. “There may be some trouble ahead. You know of my alchemy work, my search to cure the Black Death.”

“Does one of us have the plague?” Thomas asked with alarm.

Jane tilted her head quizzically. “No, I’d have noticed that. The complexion changes, the color of the eyes. Have you found the cure, Father?”

“No, it’s something different,” Luke guessed. “He’s found something even more important.”

Gideon stared at his elder son. “How do you know this?”

Luke shifted his feet. “Just speculation. I simply—”

“He was sneaking around last night,” Katherine grumbled. “I saw him coming out of your laboratory, Father. He’s always sneaking around.”

“Liar!” Luke snarled.

Thomas grabbed for his brother, but Gideon shouted, “Stop! All of you!”

He tried to control the tremor in his voice. “Luke, you cannot enter my laboratory. It’s wrong and it’s dangerous. But that’s not the most important issue at present. You’ve guessed correctly. I’ve found something — something I need your help with. All of you.”

He reached under the edge of the dinner table and found the secret lever. The latch released, and four small drawers sprang open — one at each setting where his children normally sat.

“Father!” Katherine said with glee. She ignored the contents of the drawer, even though it glowed with a faint green light. Instead, she examined the drawer itself. “A pressure lock? A concealed trigger? This is brilliant!”

Jane gingerly picked up her own package — a parcel the size of a folded dress, wrapped in velvet, tied in twine. Tucked under the twine was a glass vial with a cork and a leather strap. Jane picked up the vial. Even in the bright sunlight, the liquid inside glowed, staining her fingers emerald green.


“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

“Be careful, my dear,” Gideon said. “That is your future.”

“Husband!” Olivia warned. “This is too dangerous. You promised —”

“I promised only as a last resort, Olivia. Believe me, if there was any other way —”