Page 26 of The Poison Season

He blushed, and she ruffled his hair affectionately, turning them around. And though Jaren was mostly grateful to be heading away from the lake and back to the relative safety of his sister and the marketplace, there was a part of him that felt as though they were heading in the wrong direction.

Chapter Fifteen

Tate stood on the lakeshore with the two other incantu children, all looking vulnerable and terrified. Everything about what they were doing felt wrong to Leelo, and while she wouldn’t put up a fight, she also didn’t try to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks. Fiona was beside her, sobbing openly, and even Sage looked a little wilted. Ketty’s eyes were dry, however, as she helped the other council members drag the boat to the water.

Leelo didn’t know what made this boat safe to cross the lake on; surely if it were something natural, the outsiders would have discovered it by now, too. But the boat was as much a secret as the lilies, at least until the year of Watching was over. Otherwise, people like Leelo might be tempted to use it to see their lost family members. She tried not to think about all the parents who knew how the magic worked and yet hadn’t gone in search of their children. There had to be a good reason for it, but every reason she came up with just made her more afraid for Tate.

Like Leelo, Fiona had already said goodbye to him at the cottage, but she started forward as Tate climbed into the boat.

“No, Aunt Fiona,” Sage said, pulling her back. “You know you can’t.”

Fiona shook her off with more force than Leelo thought she was capable of. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” She managed to make her way down to the boat, and Leelo was relieved when no one else tried to stop her. She watched as her mother embraced her brother, whispering something in his ear, and Tate, though he was visibly trembling, managed a brave nod.

“All right now,” one of the other council members said to Fiona, gesturing for her to rejoin her family. “You know how this works, Fiona.”

The children were given oars to row themselves across the lake, though none of them had ever rowed before. A special rope tied to the rear of the boat would be used to drag it back across after the children disembarked. Long ago, there had been a more permanent ferry, but its existence meant killing any outsider who attempted to use it. The current method involved far less bloodshed.

Tate and the other boy, Bizhan, each took up an oar, with Violet, the smallest of the three, huddled between them. They each had a single knapsack of belongings and the clothes on their backs. Endlans operated on a barter system, so there had been no coin to send Tate with, but Fiona had placed some of her finest knitwear in the sack, hoping Tate would be able to trade for it. Leelo had a feeling her brother would sooner starve than part with any of his mother’s things, though. They were all he’d have to remember her by, outside of memories.

As the children made their way across the lake, the other families in attendance turned to leave. They didn’t sing for this ceremony; it would only endanger the children, and while they may be deficient in the eyes of some Endlans, they were still innocent.

Suddenly a thunderclap sounded so loudly that Leelo jumped and covered her ears. There had been no warning signs of a storm, and yet there could be no disputing that one had just arrived. Some said the Wandering Forest affected the weather itself, though how that could be, Leelo didn’t know, any more than she understood how the Forest affected the lake. But as the rain began to fall in fat, cold drops, she saw the poor children huddle closer together in the boat. Now they would be soaked through by the time they arrived on the far shore.

Fiona was still sobbing, and Leelo decided it wouldn’t help to watch. She took her mother and turned her away from the lake. As the council members began to pass them, heading back into the Forest, Leelo called after Ketty.

“What about the boat?”

“We’ll fetch it in the morning. No one will be out in this weather, and there’s no sense making ourselves sick over it.”

It was a terribly callous thing to say, even for Aunt Ketty.

By the time they reached the cottage, Sage and Ketty were already warming themselves by the fire. Leelo helped her mother remove her sodden clothing and change into a warm flannel nightgown, then tucked her into bed.

“You’re such a dear girl,” Fiona said, cupping Leelo’s cheek. “I’m so fortunate to have you.”

Leelo kissed her mother, trying her best not to cry, and went to her room. She shivered violently as she stripped out of her own soaked dress and stockings. Still naked, she climbed under the covers of her bed and pulled them up over her head, waiting for the tremors to pass. Most spring storms weren’t this cold or this sudden, and Leelo was usually good at predicting the weather. It was almost as if the island were inflicting one final punishment on the incantu, its own way of saying, “And don’t ever come back!”

Eventually, Leelo felt her hands and feet go tingly with blood, and the shaking that had wracked her entire body subsided. She had no desire to spend time with her aunt and cousin at the moment, so after getting out of bed and changing into dry clothing, she went out back to the covered porch. The sun had gone down, but at least the storm had passed, and the moon was nearly full. The children wouldn’t have to navigate in complete darkness. The Endlans wouldn’t sing again until tomorrow night at the earliest, which gave Tate and the others a chance to get well clear of the lake.

Leelo could hear Sage and Ketty in the kitchen, preparing supper. She should probably set aside her anger and sadness, eat dinner, and go to bed. That would be the sensible thing.

A shadow passed in front of the moon, swooping low on silent wings and coming to land in the wooden beams above her. It was a barn owl, Leelo realized. Birds of that size weren’t common on Endla, so it always felt like a good omen when one appeared; for whatever reason, the Forest hadn’t taken it yet. Its pale, heart-shaped face turned at some noise in the distance, and then it was off again, winging into the Forest to hunt.

Without thinking, Leelo stood up, crossed the yard, and headed into the woods. Despite the rain, the Forest floor wasn’t too muddy, thanks to the spring foliage overhead, and she could see well enough in the moonlight. After a few minutes of what she’d thought was aimless walking, she realized where her feet were taking her.

It took longer than it should have to reach the pine grove. In her troubled state of mind, she had taken several wrong turns, and it didn’t help that her eyes were blurry with tears. When she finally reached the grove, she felt the months of pent-up anxiety and fear and hope burning deep in her bones.

She looked up through the branches, to where the moon glowed overhead. The tops of the trees swayed in a wind that took a moment longer to reach Leelo’s skin, and she forced herself to take a deep breath. This place was so peaceful and serene right now, it was almost impossible to believe that it was where they had killed countless animals, that the Forest itself was bloodthirsty.

She could hear Aunt Ketty’s voice in her mind.This place is not evil. It protects us. We would be lost without it.

The knot of sadness that had been stuck in Leelo’s throat was becoming unbearable. She wanted to sing, but she knew she couldn’t. There was still a chance the children were within earshot, and regardless, she wasn’t allowed to sing alone.

But there had to be some way to release all this...rage. It wasn’t an emotion Leelo had a lot of experience with, but now that she’d identified it, there was no denying that’s what it was. She was full of seething, burning rage. Tate was gone, her mother was going to die, and what would she have then? Her bitter aunt and her prickly cousin, who was being slowly poisoned by Ketty, just like the lake.

What had happened to Ketty?she wondered for the thousandth time. A loveless marriage was bad, but surely not so bad that it could permanently alter a woman’s heart. After all, her husband was long dead. She was free to marry again if she wanted, or not; she couldchoosehappiness. But Ketty didn’t seem interested in being happy. It was almost as if she relished her spite. And Sage was following right in her mother’s footsteps.

Fiona would tell Leelo to be calm, to let her anger pass like a storm, to sit removed and watch it dissipate into the ether until she found acceptance. Her rage was of no use to anyone, certainly not Tate. And it wasn’t as if Leelo would be stuck with her aunt forever. Mama would make sure Leelo found a suitable husband, someone she liked, if not loved. Leelo could start her own household with Fiona. Let Ketty and Sage keep the house. It wasn’t important where they lived, if they had each other. Perhaps if Fiona was away from Ketty and her constant criticism, her health would improve and she’d be able to weave again.

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