Chapter 4
Chapter Four
The plants in Vera’s Café seemed to spring to life as the little coffee shop and bakery filled with magical botanists.
The fern hanging from the corner shimmied in acknowledgement of Hollis, a fern founders’ descendant.
The flowers that filled vases on each table stretched forward, as if wanting to get a better glimpse of Heath, the lead floral affinity in our group.
And the tea that Laurus, an herbs affinity student, had brewed for us from a unique combination of loose-leaf canisters on Vera’s counter had a divine fragrance filling the room.
“This place is charming,” Nalin, the aquatics affinity student, said as his eyes scanned the café. “You said this is your aunt’s shop?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “We close at four, and I asked her if we could use it for a ‘study session’ this evening.” My eyes drifted to the front door as I double-checked that it was locked and that the Closed sign faced outward.
Vera’s Café was sure to be clear of scouting vines and a safe place for us to talk.
We typically met at the Evergreen Conservatory just off campus, but the freezing temperatures meant an indoor meeting was welcomed by all.
Hollis was standing by the wall, his hands clasped behind his back, studying the two paintings that hung there, their frames perfectly matched. My heart skittered every time I looked at the frame Callan had painstakingly tracked down, all to find one that matched my mom’s for my art.
“Are we ready to get this party started?” The dry comment came from Meadow, the moss founders’ descendant, who hadn’t carpooled with the other magical botanists into town.
I glanced outside for another car but didn’t see one.
Knowing Meadow, I figured she had casually treewalked into town, even though she only had a trailing affinity for trees and the practice was dangerous for her.
Callan turned from where he had been filling his teacup at the counter, and his eyes found mine.
I tried to remain focused, but when he looked at me like that… full of trust, pride, and a touch of something else… let’s just say there was a lot to make my mind wander.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you all for coming. We’ve had a recent development in the Root and Vine Society’s mission, and we want to fill you all in. Everyone knows about the trip Callan, Meadow, Hollis, and I took to the tree and moss conservatories last week?”
Nods came from around the room.
“We were told it was a bust. The quill doesn’t work?” Nalin asked.
“Yes and no,” I said carefully. “The quill didn’t work when we first acquired it, but now it does.”
Murmurs and intakes of air came from my fellow coalition members. One of the bubbles Nalin had been forming above his water cup gave a soft pop.
Once the place was quiet once more, I continued to explain.
“There was a blocking Floracantus on the quill. Callan determined the spell was tied to a local tree here in Weed. When we went to the tree, we encountered a botanist who was responsible for maintaining the blocking Floracantus, and he helped me undo it.”
“What do you mean, you ‘encountered a botanist’?” Meadow arched an eyebrow.
I took the next few minutes to fill them in on the entire story about Frank and the family of magical botanists who had been serving as foresters in the town of Weed for decades.
When there were no more questions, I brandished the quill.
“It’s pointing southeast, and it has a distance meter.
If the locating magic in this quill still works, the Vanished Compendium is approximately thirty-two hundred miles away. ”
The room was as silent as a snake plant.
Callan spoke up then. “We don’t know for sure if we have the correct location, but the aquatics conservatory is thirty-two hundred miles away in that direction. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”
Nalin sat up straighter. “I’ve been there a handful of times. It’s in the Florida Everglades. You think the book could be there?”
“It’s worth investigating,” Callan said.
“How precise is that quill’s measurement?” Meadow asked. “What if you can’t find the book once you get there?”
Kaito, Callan’s co-lead in the Root and Vine Society, answered her. “I’ve been thinking about that very question. Based on how the distance number appeared, maybe the scale changes as you get closer.”
“That’s the hope,” Callan said. “The rest will have to be figured out on the fly.”
“So, who’s going, and when?” Meadow asked.
“Like with our trip to the moss and tree conservatories, we think we should go as a smaller group to keep suspicion about our movements to a minimum,” Callan replied. “Briar obviously needs to go, since she’s the only one who can use the quill.”
“So that means you’re going,” Meadow said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.
Callan nodded. “That’s the plan. The rest, we waited to discuss with all of you.” He nodded toward Nalin, the aquatics affinity. “Do you think you could drum up a reason to escort us there?”
“Sure, but when? Evergreen Academy is back in session tomorrow.”
“This can’t wait long. The DBI has our fake quill, and we don’t expect the enchantments on it to hold them off forever. If the expert who was at the tree conservatory sees it, it’s over. They discovered our first one was a fake pretty quickly.”
What Callan didn’t tell the others was that the DBI, the Department of Botanical Intelligence, included his brother, Wyatt. So far, only the two of us plus Kaito, Hollis, and Meadow knew about Wyatt’s involvement.
“Then we go this weekend,” Nalin said. He rubbed his hands together, and a bit of water splashed out from his glass and formed a ball in his hands. He floated it between his palms automatically as he spoke. “But two days isn’t enough to get to Florida and back plus search for the book.”
I straightened, an idea coming to me. “We know someone who works at the aquatics conservatory. If she were to invite you out for a field studies-related project for a week, do you think it would get approved?”
Nalin smiled. “Dr. Lemna would never say no to that.”
“What about you and Callan?” Meadow asked.
“I’ll think of something,” Callan said. “We’ll firm up the arrangements for Nalin to leave this weekend and spend a week at the aquatics conservatory under the guise of research. He’ll have some access to searching the conservatory that way. Anyone else have questions or ideas?”
When no one said anything, Hollis rose and clapped once. “Well, we’ve got our marching orders. I have plans tonight, so I’ll just take a few of these lavender scones to go.” He reached for one of the paper takeout containers on the counter.
I smiled, knowing my aunt Vera would be offended if any of the scones remained when she returned. “They’re all yours.”
As I watched Hollis pick up a scone, I mentally ran through the events of the meeting, a tendril of hope wrapping around the nerves that lived in my chest. The Root and Vine Society officially had a plan, or at least the beginnings of one.
We were going to the aquatics conservatory. We had a solid lead on the Vanished Compendium. And if we found it, we would have leverage to use with the forces that were trying to change Evergreen Academy, my home away from home.