“The school is at a crossroads. We can accept the new changes that are already being implemented, or we can fight for what the school was and what we want it to be. With a tool like theVanished Compendium, we would have leverage. At a minimum, our goal is to keep it out of the hands of those who would use it to consolidate their power even further. Intel says they have increased their search efforts,” Kaito said.
“How were we selected?” Heath, the floral affinity botanist, asked. “I know they’re founders’ descendants”—he nodded toward Meadow and Hollis—“and she’s got all the affinities”—he waved toward me—“but how were the rest of us chosen?”
“You’ve all been carefully observed and found to be the strongest in your affinity groups, under various criteria that we will not disclose here. Suffice it to say that we believe each of you would not only be a benefit to this cause but would be a trustworthy member of the society,” Kaito explained.
“Can we invite others?” Laurus asked.
“We have deliberately chosen to keep our group to one person per affinity now, like it was with the original Root and Vine Society. Each of you has influence within your affinities. Plant the seeds, and we’ll grow our group if and when the time is right,” Kaito said.
The grasses affinity botanist, Ravenna, held up her Shasta lily pendant. “Are you going to explain how these work? How were we able to climb over the wall without setting offany alarms?”
I cast a look at Meadow, remembering when we’d used the pendants together months before.
“We won’t be explaining their mechanism,” Kaito said. “It’s enough to know that as long as you have it in your possession, you may safely cross through the petal portal and enter the Evergreen Conservatory.This should only be done on official Root and Vine society business.”
Petal portal. I absorbed the term. Callan hadn’t given me much detail about it on midsummer, but for some reason hearing its official name made it even more intriguing. No wonder he and Meadow hadn’t answered my questions about the pendants before. They were members-only privileges for a secret society. One Meadow apparently knew about before she was even invited.
“There are only nine of these pendants in existence,” Callan said. “One for each affinity group.” He, too, cast an eye at Meadow, and I wondered if he had already figured out how she had gotten her hands on the moss pendant early. “Lose yours, and… don’t lose yours.”
The cave was silent, and I felt for the pendant in my pocket. I would have to place it on a necklace or something more secure than the small clasp it was currently attached to.
“What happens now?” Meadow asked, seemingly over the small details that she was obviously already privy to.
“Now”—Callan stepped forward—“you decide if you want in.”
“But we’ve already seen and heard all this,” Ravenna said. “What if we say no?”
“We have ways of helping you forget this, but we don’t think that will be necessary,” Kaito said, and I raised my eyebrows as the cave became eerily quiet once more. I would have to press Callan on what that meant later. “Now, if you do not wish to proceed with initiation tasks for the Root and Vine Society, you are free to leave.”
No one moved. Including me. My curiosity was workingovertime, and I had been hoping for a way to get involved with protecting the school for weeks. There was no way I was turning back now.
“Excellent. Now, for your next steps, initiation requires each of you to complete a series of tasks. These have been revived from when the society was previously active. There are four pillars to our work: stealth navigation, distractions, communication, and detection. When you get a message with our insignia, you’ll know your tests are about to start. But first…” Kaito nodded to Callan, who waved a hand. A floating tray of leaves brought a small metal cup to each of us. “A toast. To celebrate our newest recruits.”
“Do you think it’s spiked?” Hollis leaned toward me to whisper, a merry expression on his face. It seemed like he was excited about the prospect of a little extra something in this mystery drink.
I sniffed the tiny cup, which contained no more than one swallow worth of a citrusy liquid. I began to prod it with my affinity powers to determine its origins.
Callan caught my eye and gave me a quick nod.
Around us, the other students began to drink, so I tilted my head and tossed the liquid back. It was sweet with an aftertaste of something spicy, and it went down smoothly.
“Spike free. What a shame.” Hollis winked, and I rolled my eyes, though I was secretly appreciative of his humor taking the edge off the situation. Everyone else in the room was stock-still, except for Meadow.
Callan’s leaf tray collected the empty cups, and Kaito grinned. “Okay, that’s it for tonight. Thank you for coming, and we hope to officially welcome you all into the Root and Vine Society soon.”
My fellow botanists began to leave, but I examined the cave, wondering if any more surprises were lurking within its damp interior.Evergreen Conservatory.
My eyes sought Callan, but he was having a whispered conversation with Kaito. I decided it was better not to try to talk to him now. For now, I was just another recruit. I’d grill him later.
I swam the reverse direction under the waterfall and tree walked back to the campus wall then surreptitiously made my way through the forest and back to the academy. I was tiptoeing through the silent central atrium when I spotted Hollis about to head up the stairs.
“Well, this was an interesting turn of events.” He was whispering, but the volume was still much too loud for my comfort level. I was intent on sneaking back into my room completely unnoticed by others at the academy.
“Did you know about it?” I asked.
“I had a suspicion this might be coming. We grew up hearing lore of the Root and Vine Society but heard it was defunct. It’s not surprising that Rhodes revived it. Okay, I’m off to get my beauty sleep.”
“We’ll be lucky to get three hours shut-eye tonight,” I replied with a yawn.
