Page 54 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)
Chapter Fifty-Two
C allan was waiting for me in the tree house when I arrived on Monday morning, bent over a microscope.
“I thought we were ditching class, not doing extra studies,” I said as I settled onto a stool next to him.
“Just doing a quick check of the soil,” he said, looking up from the microscope and closing his notebook.
“What happened on Friday?” I blurted. I’d had homework and my Saturday shift at the café to distract me over the weekend, but my mind was never far from the question of what had occurred with the verdant shield after our game of Capture the Roses.
“Let’s go off campus for a bit.”
“You’re really going to drag this out, aren’t you?”
A tiny smile grazed his lips, but I noticed a slight twitch in his forehead, just above his left eyebrow. What did that mean? Was he stressed? Nervous ?
“I think a history lesson is in order today.”
I sighed but couldn’t squelch the little thrill of anticipation I felt at the idea of spending more time with just him.
We went to Callan’s truck, and he navigated off campus, out of the woods, and onto the road that led toward a popular send-off point for hiking the mountain.
A nervous clenching of my stomach formed as we approached the bends that would wind up the mountain.
I didn’t know exactly where it had happened, but my mom’s car accident had taken place somewhere along this road on that horrible winter night.
I gripped my seat belt and closed my eyes for a few moments until I thought we had passed it.
“You okay?” Callan asked when I opened my eyes again and inhaled a deep breath.
“Car sickness,” I lied, not wanting to explain. Not wanting to dampen whatever he had planned with the memory of the worst day of my life. I threw out a joking line instead, ready to shift the atmosphere in the truck.
“Please tell me we’re not hiking Mount Shasta today. I’m not in that good of shape.”
Callan smiled, and my chest relaxed. The moment of dread had passed, just like every other time I’d forced myself up this highway.
And this time, I let myself get lost in Callan’s smile, in the woodsy smell of his truck, in the way there was a loose wave on the top of his chestnut-brown hair that flopped to the side with the mild breeze that rushed through the open window. I was okay. I was safe.
“Not today. But now that you gave me the idea…”
I groaned. “Just rewind the last minute and pretend I never said anything.” We reached the parking lot, which wasn’t full on a Monday morning.
Callan parked then led me to a trail that I knew led to a base camp of sorts.
We’d taken field trips to do this hike in high school, and back then, I’d squeezed my eyes closed and held my breath on the bus as I’d done in Callan’s truck, not letting the emotion overwhelm my entire experience of the day.
“Don’t worry, we’re just walking a ways.
I wanted to tell you more about the history of the academy.
You know that it was founded by several powerful botanist families, one for each of the nine lead affinities.
One of the reasons this region was selected for the academy was the ecology of the area.
The remoteness was an important factor, too, but the natural conditions were primary.
This area is at the top of the water table for the state. ”
I nodded, having known that people traveled to our tiny town from all over the world just to try its pure mountain spring water.
“The quality of the water is an amazing source of life for the plants in this area, and the conditions of the soil here were perfect for embedding the verdant shield that protects the school. Over time, the conditions of the soil around the school have changed due to periods of drought, contamination from fires, and other factors. You can think of it like the verdant shield no longer having as firm of a grasp on the soil as it once did.”
“But what about when the founders’ descendants recharge the shield on the solstices and equinoxes?”
“That has always helped, but our families’ powers have not maintained their potency. Many of our affinity powers have weakened since the founders originally created the shield. Between that and the weakening soil, it’s been difficult to keep the verdant shield operating at full capacity.”
“Why do you think it went down for so much longer last night? It doesn’t seem like the steady trend downward we’d expect from something like this.”
Callan’s shoulders tightened. “We’re looking into some leads.”
“Is that what you were doing at the tree house? What kind of leads?”
“Based on what happened last night, we’re looking to see if the levels of soil contamination have increased substantially. Professor East should have results soon.”
“Soil contamination? Like, if there was a chemical spill near the property?”
“Something like that.”
“So what happens now? Aside from running the tests, I mean. Is there a plan for getting the shield up to operational power?”
“At the spring equinox, a handful of other founders’ descendants are going to come to the school and join us for recharging the shields.
Professor East did not want to get the Magical Botanical Board of Regents involved unless as a last resort, but after Friday, we’ve reached the last-resort stage. ”
“The Board of Regents?” I asked, feeling a spike of anxiety based on what Callan had told me about their interest in me. “Why can’t alumni or upcoming founders’ descendants come to recharge it, like they do in years when no founders’ descendants are attending?”
“Professor East had to report the development with the shield to the board, and they indicated that they’d prefer to come and handle this on their own.” There was a tension in Callan’s voice that I could tell he was trying very hard not to let on.
I tried to put aside my personal concerns for a moment to pinpoint Callan’s reluctance. “Is it a bad thing if the board comes to help recharge the shield?”
“Evergreen Academy has always operated on the expertise of its instructors, with little oversight from the Board of Regents. And that has led to a lot of innovation over the years. But there are some on the Board of Regents who would like to take a… more direct role in the school’s day-to-day.”
“And you think that would be a negative thing?”
“Having people step in with their own agendas for the future of magical botanists beyond the pursuit of knowledge? Yeah, I think that would be a bad thing.”
I let out a deep exhalation and looked around. The forest that blanketed the base of the fourteen-thousand-foot mountain was beautiful in the spring. I knew that, not much higher up, snow still settled across the ground and wouldn’t be fully melted until well into the summer.
“Is there anything we can do to prevent it? It sounds like the shield can’t be fully restored without them.
” My mind snagged on something then. “Wait, how did you all get the shield back up on Friday night if you’re not strong enough?
It wasn’t a solstice or equinox. Recharging is only possible on those four days of the year, right? ”
“Eli used an old Floracantus that didn’t recharge the shield but rather infused the soil with enough nutrients to get the shield going again.
It’s a secret Floracantus that’s been passed down through the magical botanists in his tribe who have been working with the soil in this area for hundreds of years.
It was actually a brilliant idea, but it drew on too much of his power.
He passed out afterward. He’s currently at the health clinic of his tribe, recovering. ”
“What?” I looked at Callan in alarm. He’d sure been keeping this little tidbit tucked away nicely.
“He’ll be all right. But obviously, we don’t want that to happen to any of us next time. Eli has a lead affinity for herbs, and his body is more adept at healing because of it. We can’t say that for the rest of us.”
“Which is why you need more people.”
He nodded, and I sighed, still thinking about Eli Quinn.
I was glad that he was going to be okay, but I hated that he’d had to put himself in that position in the first place.
I felt so helpless, and I remembered Coral casually saying that all of this was above our “magical grade.” But was it fair that it all had to fall on the shoulders of Eli, Nevah, and Callan?
Were they really so different from the rest of us?
“I wish there was something I could do.”
Callan stopped walking and turned toward me. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, Professor East wants to talk to you. He thinks you could help. You have a strong affinity for each type of plant.”
“But I’m not a founder’s descendant.” I narrowed my eyes in confusion.
“That you know of.”
I froze.
“You’re joking. Hasn’t the school been tracking the descendants of the founders carefully ever since the school opened? I think they’d know if I was one of them.”
Callan shrugged. “Most of the lines have been carefully tracked for generations, like mine, but there are two or three founders’ lines that have gotten fuzzy over the years.”
I inhaled sharply, understanding the implication of his words.
“It’s still a long shot, though. Back when the school was started, there were plenty of powerful botanists, not just those who founded Evergreen Academy. You could be descended from any of them. But Professor East still thinks it’s worth pursuing, just in case.”
Callan stepped off the path then and into a meadow, which was already blooming with wildflowers.
The scenery here was so much different than at the academy.
Instead of the overwhelming colors and smells that came from a property brimming with plants both native and non-native, magically enhanced and natural, the meadow and the forest that surrounded it were peaceful and calm, with nature in control of what survived and thrived.
When I took my eyes off the meadow and turned back to Callan, I saw that he had spread out a blanket and was removing containers of food from his backpack.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I think we’ve had enough talk of verdant shields and lineages for one day. Even magical botanists take time to enjoy a picnic every now and then.” He popped the lid off a glass bowl and began to dig into some fruit salad.
With a smile that I thought must have taken over my entire face, I joined him.