The Poison Season(50)

She tried to think of anywhere the adults had discouraged Endla’s children from visiting. The only place she could think of was a small grotto northwest of the pine grove.

From a geographical perspective, it was a completely illogical place to keep a boat. It was at the bottom of a chasm, and the children were told to avoid it because it was not only dangerous to reach—it was supposedly full of disease-infested bats. But now that she thought about it, Leelo had never seen a bat on Endla. She wasn’t even entirely sure what a bat was.

She’d gone to visit Isola first, so that if anyone asked if Leelo had visited her, Isola would say yes. Leelo had planned to account for the rest of her time with foraging for berries, which were just starting to ripen. She had a basket with her and had filled it as quickly as possible, which also lent credence to her story.

Still, if she tried to make it to the cave and back, she would have very little time to check on Jaren before nightfall. And Sage, who had quickly lost interest in spending the day with Leelo once Isola’s name was mentioned, would wonder where she had gone. Berry picking didn’t take all day.

But Leelo had no other plan, and she had to get Jaren off the island as soon as possible. The summer solstice festival was coming up in a few weeks, and it was the one time of year when every single islander joined, since the incantu were gone and there was no safe way for the outsiders to cross. They knew what happened on the solstice; if they chose to be out on festival night and got lured into the lake, that was their own fault.

The festival was always full of drinking and dancing around a large bonfire. Many proposals took place on the summer solstice. And Leelo didn’t know how she’d keep Jaren safe from the singing if he was still here.

She hid her berry basket in a bush at the top of the chasm leading down to the grotto. It was already noon, and she was sweating despite the fact that she was only wearing a lightweight linen dress. Scanning the surroundings to be sure she was alone, Leelo started to make her way down the steep slope.

It was slower going than it had seemed from above. There was no path or trail, and the closer she got to the bottom, the steeper her descent became. From above, the grotto was hardly visible among the trees and ferns along the floor of the chasm, which must have held a creek at some point. She’d never had any interest in exploring here, though she knew sometimes children dared each other to brave the possibility of a fall, poison ivy, or an encounter with a rabid bat to snatch one of the colorful stones supposedly found in the cave.

But as she skidded and slid her way down, Leelo saw no poison ivy, and when she finally reached the mouth of the grotto, she was a little disappointed to find there were no special rocks here, either. It was just a shallow recess swathed in shadow, with dust and pebbles along the ground.

Leelo paused and took a long drag from her waterskin, then poured some on her neck beneath her braid. It was humid down here, and her dress was already soaked through at the back. Fortunately, it was not one of her nicer garments, just a simple dress that wouldn’t be missed if it disappeared at the end of this excursion.

Leelo ducked her head and entered the cave, wishing she’d brought a lantern with her. Or better yet, that her brother was here to help. Tate was a quiet, sensitive boy, but he was always brave when it came to Leelo. She hoped that wherever he was now, he was being brave for himself.

The cave was only about twenty feet deep, and she didn’t see any sign of bat droppings or bats themselves. Her hope dwindling, Leelo left the cave and sat on a log, draining the last of her water. If the boat wasn’t here, where else could it be? She kicked at a rock near her foot and was surprised to hear a crack.

Leelo’s hand flew to her mouth when she realized it was a bone. A human mandible. She rose and spun. Among the ferns and saplings struggling to grow in the filtered light, the ground was littered with bones, all disturbingly human. Was this what had happened to the outsiders Mama told her about last night?

Leelo looked at the cave again and gritted her teeth. This time, she went straight for the back, feeling around with her hands instead of relying solely on her eyesight. There. A gap in the stone, just large enough for a person to squeeze through...

Leelo emerged in a much larger cave. Light streamed in from above; there must be holes in the Forest floor, another good reason to tell the children to avoid this area. If anyone fell through, the drop was at least twenty feet, and the water on the cave floor didn’t look more than a few feet deep. The boat was propped against the cave wall, the hole at the bottom still unrepaired. There were ropes and a pulley nearby. That must be how they got the boat into the cave.

“Damn it,” she swore. She didn’t know how to repair a boat, and she had no idea where the substance was that the council members used to protect the hull and the rope from the lake water. She walked closer to the water and peered through the dim light. Something was floating on the surface.

Lilies. Dozens of them, the buds tightly closed. This must be where they were grown. At least Leelo had answered two of the mysteries of Endla. But none of this was any use to her. Even if she and Jaren could pull the boat out of here on their own, it wasn’t usable. She would have to wait until the council members repaired the boat themselves.

As she huffed and puffed her way out of the ravine, Leelo thought about what she would say to Jaren. They’d have to find some way to keep him safe during the festival. Perhaps stuffing wool into his ears and locking him inside the cottage would be enough. Or maybe, since he didn’t seem to have been harmed by the other songs he’d heard, he’d be safe anyway.