Chapter 28
After a rainy Saturday spent indoors with Max, Sunday arrives with the pale October sun washing campus in watery light, so I take the opportunity to get some exercise.
The logical part of me knows I should stay in the populated areas of campus, but something’s been nagging at me since the last time I was out in the forest. I know it’s easy to get turned around in nature, but my search felt off, like the forest was alive and didn’t want me to find that area again with Alaric in tow.
After I snag a glass jar and a pair of latex gloves from the kitchen of the dorm—even though there aren’t side effects from skin contact with any known mushrooms, I can’t be too careful—I make my way across campus, past the greenhouse where I can only hope Alaric isn’t working.
If he sees me going into the woods alone again, he won’t be happy.
I encounter a handful of people on the main trail, including Clarissa and Mitchell walking hand-in-hand. She giggles at something he says before her gaze snags on me and her expression turns sour. I ignore her and veer off the main trail as soon as they’ve left my sight.
The temperature has dropped even more this week, and my breath forms small clouds in the frigid air.
Dead leaves crunch beneath my boots as I venture further off the main path.
I pay extra attention to landmarks as I wander through the trees, easily making my way to the large clearing I’ve started using as a reference point.
I half-expect to get lost again like last time with Alaric, to wander until frustration overwhelms me and I give up, but today, my instincts guide me, and the familiarity of the path gives me the confidence that I’m going in the right direction, even as the usual sense of unease settles over me.
It doesn’t affect me as strongly as before, but only because I’ve become accustomed to what I should expect.
When I finally reach the area, I stop short.
The circle of lifeless ground has expanded, and the only things within the circle are the mushrooms and the peculiar, sick-looking trees.
The mushrooms have grown significantly since my last visit, from tiny pins pushing through the soil to fully-formed specimens.
Their rounded black caps glisten with moisture.
My discomfort intensifies to dread the moment I step into the circle.
I move quickly, pulling on the latex gloves and slipping the small glass jar out of my coat pocket.
I kneel beside the cluster of mushrooms closest to me, examining the deep black caps held up by thin, delicate stems. In the dim light of the forest, they seem to pulse with a barely perceptible greenish glow that may just be a trick of the light.
Even if it’s not, bioluminescence, while uncommon, is a possibility… That could be it.
My attempts to reason with myself about a potentially unknown mushroom species that might possibly be glowing and seems to be killing everything around it aren’t very convincing.
I reach forward and gently dig away some of the dirt at the base of the stems, then pull the mushrooms slowly while ensuring I get some of the white mycelium webbing through the dirt. It’ll be another piece of the puzzle that Alaric can examine.
As soon as I pull the mushrooms and the mycelium, I feel the moment the connection severs between them and the vast network of energy running beneath the ground. The intensity of the sensation strikes me, even without me intentionally using my magic.
I turn the mushrooms in my palm to examine them more closely, noting that the veils haven’t broken yet, which means Alaric will be able to make a spore print.
Carefully, I place the specimen in the jar and screw the lid on tight. Then I stand, slipping the jar back into my coat pocket and getting away from this foreboding place as quickly as possible.
The walk back seems to take longer than the walk in despite my quick pace, making my heart pound with worry. What if I’m getting lost?
Eventually, though, I reach the main clearing and sigh in relief.
When I make it back onto the campus pathways, I swing by the greenhouse hoping to find Alaric, but he’s not there, nor is he in his office.
I can hardly sleep that night, and when 5am hits, I rub my bleary eyes and get ready to start my day, hoping to find Alaric before my classes start.
The jar of mushrooms had sat in my desk drawer all night, and in the fitful moments of sleep I was able to get, I was plagued by nightmares of something dark and sinister that I couldn’t quite decipher.
When I find Alaric in his office half an hour before my 8am class is supposed to begin, I’m relieved and anxious in equal measure. When I knock, he looks up at me, and confusion crosses his expression.
“Miss Harver. How can I help you?”
I walk into the office, closing and locking the door behind me, and memories of our activities two nights ago on that very desk flood my mind.
But it’s no time to think about that right now.
I pull the jar from my coat pocket and set it on his desk with a soft clink.
His jaw drops. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Yes. I went back to find them.”
Gingerly, he lifts the jar and turns it in a slow circle. Then, realizing what I said, he turns his gaze back on me. “I told you not to go back there by yourself. It could be dangerous.”
I shrug. “I got you what you needed, and I lived to see another day. No harm, no foul.”
Alaric shakes his head in disbelief. “Well, thank you. I appreciate you getting these for me more than you know, but I don’t appreciate you risking your safety for them.”
I choose to ignore the second part of his statement. “You’re welcome. I managed to get some of the mycelium as well, and the veils aren’t broken yet as they haven’t fully matured, so you should be able to get a spore print.”
“This is… fantastic,” he breathes. Again, his mood seems to shift in an instant. “Did you tell anyone where you were going? Is there any chance someone could have seen you?”
“No. Nobody knew I was going out there, and nobody saw me.”
“Good. It’s imperative that you don’t mention this to anyone. Not your friends, not the other professors, no one. Do you understand?”
“Yes. But you owe me answers soon. When are you going to tell me what all of this is about?”
He runs his fingers through his hair. “Whenever I figure out what’s going on and am certain that you won’t be in any danger for knowing.”
“And when will that be?”
“I don’t know, Vivian. I know this is frustrating for you, but I need you to trust me for a little while longer. This—” he gestures to the jar “—will hopefully provide insight that brings me closer to an answer. And you have no idea how appreciative I am of what you’ve done for me.”
Despite my frustration, pride swells in my chest. After feeling like a screw-up this entire semester, knowing I’m able to potentially contribute something meaningful to whatever this top-secret research is makes me feel a little less useless.
Maybe, if I’m able to speed up his research with this, he’ll be able to tell me the truth sooner.
“Just… be careful with whatever you’re doing,” I say. “Something about this feels off, and I don’t want you involved in anything dangerous.”
He nods. “Thank you again, Vivian. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I think we both have classes to get to.”
The clock on the wall indicates that there are ten minutes until eight, and my class is across campus in the castle. Shit.
“See you tomorrow.” I hold eye contact for a few seconds too long before I turn and rush across campus to make it to class on time, and the entire walk there, I can’t help but feel like I’ve just set something unstoppable in motion.