Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nevah had been right—the ocean woke up early.
The coral reef that had been calm when I went to bed was full of movement as the various creatures that called the reef home went about their daily tasks.
The eels and groupers I had spotted the night before were gone, and more brightly colored creatures had taken their places.
Butterfly fish skimmed the water, searching for breakfast, and blue tang added a shock of electric azure to the scene.
As I prepared for the day, I wanted nothing more than to share the results of the previous night’s adventure with Callan.
The common area of the conservatory was much busier, too.
Botanists dressed in wetland working attire were drinking coffee and tea and loading dry bags with gear for their studies.
I spotted Nalin in the corner, following instructions from a woman with silver hair.
He must have been preparing to go on his research assignment already.
Nevah met me in the kitchen area and offered me a blended green drink. “Wolffia smoothie. Have you ever had one?”
When I shook my head, she said, “Full of health benefits. I like to mix mine with cherry juice.”
I took a sip and savored the new flavor. “Pretty good. What is Wolffia?”
“It’s an enhanced version of Wolffia globosa, an aquatic plant that has protein and other nutrients in it. So, I’ll give you a quick tour today before you head back to see Petra, but I imagine you want to call Callan first.”
“That would be great. I didn’t get to say much in the leaf messages, so I’m sure the man is on pinecones and needles.”
Nevah laughed. “I’ll show you to the call room.”
Once Nevah got me situated with the satellite phone, she left me to speak with Callan in private. He answered after three rings.
“Rhodes,” he answered.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said, smiling at the sound of his voice.
“Are you on the satellite phone?” he asked, his tone softening. “You sound distant.”
“Well, I am underwater. You could have warned me about that one. Where are you?” Evergreen Academy had a no-cell-phone rule.
“I went out for an early treewalk, waiting for your call.”
I glanced at my watch. It was nine a.m., meaning it was six in the morning in California. How early had Callan woken to answer my call?
“Well, I have good news.”
“You found it?”
“I found it. But it’s not exactly what we were expecting. It’s not a book full of Floracantus like the Compendium Floracantus. Instead, it seems to be a book of riddles written by a bunch of the Renaissance botanists.”
“A book of riddles?”
“Petra has a theory. It’s a pretty big leap, but if she’s right, the book could still be very important.”
“Petra’s there?” Callan asked, sounding confused. “Where did you find the book exactly?”
I took the next ten minutes to explain everything that had happened, from arriving at the aquatics conservatory to following the quill to the water hemlock to entering the defensives conservatory and finding the book with Petra.
“So all this time, you’ve been working with the defensives’ curator for your field studies assignment? You never cease to impress, local,” Callan said.
“It’s not like I had any idea! I don’t know when or if she would have told me if this mission hadn’t led me to her.”
“And she really didn’t know the book was in the defensives conservatory?”
“She said there had been suspicions over the years but nothing concrete. And the way the plants in that library are possessive about the books, well, I’m not surprised no one has done a deep search in there based solely on rumors.”
“Tell me more about the riddles in the book.”
I pulled it from my bag and opened it to da Vinci’s page then read the text aloud.
With two hands, we gather power.
Bring each botanical gift to center.
Lay to canvas. Sprinkle light. Make the new creation bright.
Silence followed on both ends of the phone for a few moments as Callan and I sat there, thinking through the possibilities within the cryptic words.
“Make the new creation bright,” Callan repeated. “If Petra’s theory is correct, that has to reference creating Floracantus, right?”
“Seems likely. Which would make the rest of the riddle instructions. But it doesn’t seem like much to go on.”
“The first two lines could be somewhat straightforward. Use both hands. Call on all nine affinity powers.”
“But what about ‘lay to canvas’ and ‘sprinkle light’? Da Vinci was a painter, but what would that have to do with this?”
“I’m not sure,” Callan admitted. “Since da Vinci was known for writing riddles, it could be helpful to study some of them to learn his style.”
It was a good suggestion, and I brightened at the idea. “I’ll do that as soon as I get back to the academy.”
“Now that you’ve found the book so quickly, what will you do with your remaining days at the conservatory? Can you tag along with Nevah?”
“Actually, Petra invited me back to the defensives conservatory. She wants to pick up where our field studies left off.”
“I can’t believe you got to see the mysterious defensives conservatory. What was it like? Was everyone’s hut covered with defensive plants to keep others out?” Callan joked.
I laughed. “No. It was surprisingly peaceful. Like being at a high-class nature retreat in the middle of nowhere.”
“Interesting. I’d better get back to the academy. The rest of the school will be waking up soon, and I’ve been trying to make regular appearances so Feathergrass doesn’t go looking for me or you.”
“Thanks for holding it down for us. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Stay safe. And if you find any more books that are hundreds of years old and highly coveted by the society of magical botanists, give me another call.”
“I promise.” I grinned as I hung up the phone.