Most Virtuous Mother Joan broke away from a dancing clutch of older Sisters to greet them.
“Welcome to the Bonfire Circle, Dreamers. Merry meet. I hear you’ve been busy.”
She said it in a light tone, her earlier snideness replaced with something a bit more like respect.
“I’m sorry about that Sacred Fires, Most Virtuous. And for being good at Fire Magic, and I blew up your crystals. I also spoke to a fire eagle, and if that was wrong, I apologize for that as well.”
Queene chuckled drily at this, but Most Virtuous shook her ancient head.
“Our Lady — novitiates and trainees are usually vetted. The mistake was mine. I didn’t take You seriously, and I won’t make that mistake again. You Dreamers are impressive.”
“Well thank you, Most Virtuous,” Maeve said. “Now just imagine us with our memories!”
Mother Joan laughed.
“Point taken. Gather everyone closer, please.”
Our Lady Maeve gestured Holder over, and Holder brought the rest of the group from where they stood watching the festivities.
“I told you the Witches could help you with your memories,” Most Virtuous intoned. “I told you there would be a price.”
The Dreamers, hopeful but nervous, tensed up. Getting ready for the blow.
“The price is this: You must reunite the Chain. Not in some hazy future time, but immediately. This will be your primary mission.”
What would the real Maeve say? Something devastating, She assumed. Don’t give her anything, Our Lady thought.
“Happy to do it. What’s the catch?”
Obviously there was a catch.
“They can’t make promises when they don’t even know who they are,” Holder protested. “Thomas and Sailorboy…”
“— It’s already been decided, Dreamer of the Stone. You’ve been chosen. You will be the ones to find the seven Aces and bind the Chain back together. With each relic you collect, you’ll unlock more memories. This is how we will help you.”
Queene Death cleared their throat.
“What’s the hurry. Why strong-arm us now.”
Most Virtuous looked down at the stone of the floor. The black was run through with subtle veins in every color, from pink to green to mauve. Maeve wondered how beautifully it might shine at high noon. A black rainbow.
“I cannot tell right now. Events are still in motion and there’s much we don’t know. But the Chain is threatened, and our hidden sisters in the Chain tell us there is only one option: Unite us once and for all, or one and all we are doomed. From Santana to Arcadia, all are doomed.”
“Can you give our memories back without being a jerk about it?” Benjamin asked, and she shook her head.
“This is the method most appropriate, I am afraid.”
Holder had clearly accepted the bargain, as had Our Lady, but as for the rest, She couldn’t yet tell where they landed.
“So do we — shake on it?” She asked, trying to move things along.
“In a sense. There is still an agreement to be made. We will return your memories. We will aid you in your search. We will make all information freely available.”
“And in return?” Holder prompted.
Mother Joan waved at Mother Laitha, Most Perceptive, to come and join them.
Mother Laitha leaned on her, giddy with the night’s revels. “They agree to it. That’s all. Agree to unite the Chain.”
“And if we decide not to?”
There wasn’t really a reason to ask it, Our Lady was just naturally curious.
“That option will be unavailable. Failure will not be an option. You will have agreed.”
“The magic binds, you said. You’re saying we…”
“I’m saying you will agree to the terms. No more and no less.”
And well, it wasn’t a trick or a trap. They weren’t lying about anything.
But the whole thing was still a scam.
Laughing Daughters pulled the Mothers back into the dance, leaving the group to think.
“Why wouldn’t they just be kind about…” Maeve began, but Holder shook her head.
“They want help, and they want it to be us. They need us, Lady. They need the Dreamers.”
“Then they can bloody give them back to us!” Maeve whispered.
“I believe her. This may be the only way to do it.”
“Because you know better about everything.”
Holder smiled. “Our Lady. I absolutely do. Please trust me. She would.”
Maeve’s other self, she meant. That real girl, whom everyone adored. Maeve considered. So far, Holder had been reliable. She wanted to believe her, agree with her. But nevertheless, limits are galling.
“You want to do this, fine. But we all have to agree. Diamond Dogs?”
They nodded as if they knew what was coming all along.
“You have no problem making unbreakable vows? That’s not outside your religion or anything?”
“(Thank You for asking, but we are prepared.) We’ll take her offer.”
Maeve decided not to worry about them, and looked to the Sun Dragon.
“Benjamin?”
A boy again, he blushed, but nodded, meeting Her eyes for a moment.
“I like these people, and I want to help them. But I don’t particularly trust them.”
An accurate summation, they all agreed. He became the dragon again, nervous but with expanding skill.
Queene Death quietly signaled their assent. They would do whatever the group decided, Maeve assumed: Lend their strength and speed and beautiful technique to whatever quest the Dreamers might head out on. That was who the Queene was.
“What about Thomas and Sailorboy?” Holder asked. “I still feel like we shouldn’t make promises on their behalf. Or leave them out.”
“I don’t like it,” Maeve said carefully, “But I think they would say we should do it. Thomas wants his memories back badly. They said they would accept any bargain. And like she said — we were going to do this anyway, right?”
Holder seemed mostly to agree, shaking her head in deep thought.
“I mean, I said we should? But I’ve been saying that for 175 years. I guess the enormity of actually doing it is hitting me.”
“The whole thing could be a trick,” Benjamin offered, with a thrill that said he found the danger delicious.
“I guess anything can be a trick if you look at it right. But I don’t think they’re behind our deaths. I’m inclined to take this at face value. Let’s do it. Thomas can call us fools later, if he wants.”
The Dry Witches placed the six Dreamers around the largest bonfire and set them to moving.
“Round and round,” Mother Laitha said, “Until you’re dizzy. Then, keep going.”
It took a while, but eventually it did happen: The smoke, the singing, the sparks and the flame, Queene Death on Maeve’s right and Holder’s smile on Her left — they all blended together into one overwhelming blur all at once, and just as they were thinking they needed to slow down, breathe, the dancing stopped.
The Mothers stepped forward, assuming a new, powerful strength. Maeve couldn’t look away.
“Dreamers. You come for answers. For help. For safety.”
The other Witches began to dance in a larger circle, outside the Dreamers. Their movements were slow and hypnotic in the smoke.
“We come to you for strength. For aid. For salvation.”
The outer circle split, turning in both directions at once. It was getting confusing. It was hot, and close despite the night air. The sky overhead wheeled with a thousand stars — and those just the ones you could still see past the bonfire’s light.
“Every memory is an arrow in your quiver,” Mother Laitha said.
“Each memory will bring you closer to yourself,” murmured Mother Joan. “Every Ace you collect will be a weapon and a gift.”
Mother Laitha leaned through the smoke, peering into their souls.
“Every Ace is a link in the Chain. Bring them together and see what they make.”
“A home,” Maeve said, in a strange monotone, and they smiled.
“Home,” the Mothers agreed, and the bonfire went white, silver-bright flames licking impossibly high.
Whatever was going to happen, it was happening. They could each feel it.
Like making a big promise, a bit. Like coming to rest in a cool glade, a bit. Like being tempered, out of flame and into ice. They were stronger now, and faster. They felt the new Fire Magic biting through them again, and many other, stranger magics besides. They could briefly feel the magic stretching toward the Actæon, out across the water.
“The Ace of Flames is on this Land,” shouted Mother Joan over the roar of the fire. “The Ace of Flames is your quarry now! Find and tame it — and know you have all you need to find yourselves again.”
A little scavenger hunt, apparently. There had to be more to it. It was a test of some kind. If only they could think…
“Seven Aces, forged long ago. You’ll bind the Chain and sing a new world into being. You go with our magic and our prayers.”
“Most Perceptive,” Maeve piped up. “Where is the Ace of Flames?”
“Consider this Your first trial,” Mother Laitha replied, unhelpfully.
“Can we ask questions?”
The Mothers shook their veiled heads, without mirth. Their hopes were palpable.
Thinking Cap time. The Ace was presumably inland, to protect it, so the Ports were out. The Fire Eagles might be protecting it. The School seemed like a bad idea…
“Maybe it’s here. Somewhere,” Benjamin suggested, looking hard at the Witches. He sniffed the air elaborately, hoping to catch a scent.
Maeve was torn watching Benjamin sniff his way through the smoke of incense and musk. Shouldn’t She be doing something?
“Smells… Not like fire. Under the smoke and people’s bodies. Like steel, burning. Something strange.”
The Mothers briefly locked eyes at this. He’s onto them, Maeve thought, and stayed still.
The boat Actæon was anchored near the bay at Port Merrymet. The Boys watched the burning Sacred Fires really go out of control, and caught sight of the white dragon again. Mostly they were nursing headaches.
A bit after dusk, as things started to darken, Thomas and Sailorboy felt a violent pull toward Santana, Thomas especially.
“Feels a bit like that thing that popped me off the island. They’re doing spells on us, I bet.”
Sailorboy was clearly feeling woozy, and reached out for a cushion.
“I’m so tired of having spells on me, Bard Thomas.”
“Maybe I’m crazy, but doesn’t this one feel kind of… good?”
Thomas stretched, feeling strong.
“I feel faster. I do feel better. I just wish to know why.”
“I think Holder’s right. Some kind of quest, or a break-in. They need to know if we can hack it.”
Benjamin quietly led the group to the central bonfire, pointing at the base of the flames: “That smell — down there. Under.”
In the brightness of the flames they could barely make it out: A huge iron grate under the bonfire, ornamented in the same ancient style as the elevator car.
“Good work, Benjamin. Most Virtuous, we’ve found it.”
“Perhaps,” nodded Mother Joan. “But my friends, I don’t see the Ace.”
So that was the deal. Get into whatever underground complex the bonfire grate hid. Grab the relic. Easy.
“You have located the Mysteries. Your trial begins now.”
Our Lady Maeve thought of asking for a clue, but Mother Joan’s eyes darkened, willing Her to be stronger than that. Those eyes were begging. There was a terror in her, underneath everything else. She was scared the Dreamers wouldn’t make it.
Not scared for the Dreamers — scared what it would mean for the Chain.