The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans (15 page)

The
body had been cleared out yesterday, but the crime scene techs were still
buzzing over everything like dedicated bees in search of every last grain of
pollen. Julian felt the same sadness from some of the plants, and anger from
others, and he let that lead him away from the group to a tiny grotto where
wilting water plants crowded around a natural spring. Julian knelt down and listened
to them, sending back sympathy and promises that he’d make sure they got some
plant food.

“Oh,
there you are,” said Lapointe behind him. “Alex and Father Stephen
are back to arguing, so they haven’t noticed yet.”

Julian
chuckled and stood. “These were drained, like the greenhouse plants,
they’ll need special tending,” he explained.

“I’ll
make a note of it, I’ve got another of those maps and I was hoping you’d do a
walk-through for me anyway,” she said, pulling out her little notebook.
“Let’s go interrupt the two of them before they drive everyone batty
first, though.”

“All
right,” said Julian, following her to the main meditation garden, where
there was old blood splashed liberally on the damaged greens. This garden had
paths and benches instead of grass, and the murder had taken place in the
middle of a big patch of ground-covering clover. There was a hole dug
off-centre of the trampled area, and Julian asked, “They found another
seed?”

“Bindweed
this time,” said Alex, making a face. “It was already sprouting, they
put it in one of those magic-proof boxes.”

“We’re
spoiling their plans, hopefully,” said Lapointe. “Is the clover
significant?”

“It’s
common white clover instead of luck-clover this time,” said Julian,
thinking back to his studies. “Good for the earth, and it’s good for
breaking curses, though not like this.”

“I
believe the Temple was using it as a ground cover here to restore the
soil,” said Father Stephen. “We also use the blossoms in certain
potions.”

“Right,”
said Alex. “It’s a Sun plant, good for purifying and dispelling
evil.”

“So
that’s a weird choice,” said Lapointe. “I mean, why do something evil
on top of a plant used for dispelling evil?”

“That’s
a very good question,” said Alex.

“Maybe
they didn’t think of it as evil?” said Julian. “I mean, the plants
aren’t angry about it, they’re just sad, like before. Maybe the person thinks
they’re doing something for the greater good?”

“That’s
a very wise thought,” said Father Stephen.

Julian
knelt down and put his fingers in the earth just at the edge of the clover
patch, ignoring the conversation swirling above him so he could listen to the
plants. He could feel their emotions so much more clearly now, even without
Alex’s charm; something had clicked for him the past few days with all the
needful work he’d been doing. He thought rather sadly that he’d not have minded
waiting, if it meant no one died to give him practice.

“Murielle
tells me you have something else to show me?” said Father Stephen, when
Julian stood.

“The
water-plant grotto will need magical fertiliser and tending to if they’re going
to recover,” said Julian. “I can show you while we walk the Temple,
Murielle wants me to listen to all the plants and see if there’s any other
areas of damage.”

“I’d
be happy to lead you around, that way you won’t miss anything,” said
Stephen, his voice full of humour. “Perhaps you’d both like to join
us?”

Lapointe
chuckled. “Are you implying the busy bees haven’t found all the honey
yet?” She put away her notebook. “I’m game, they don’t need me to
stand here. Alex?”

“Yes,
though I might be listening, so don’t worry if I seem distracted,” Alex
said, mostly for Father Stephen’s benefit. Julian and Murielle were quite
familiar with his ways, after all.

“Let’s
start at the entrance, it’ll be the easiest way to walk you through
everything,” said Stephen. They trooped back to the start, then wound
their way through the whole space. Unlike the main Temple, this one had either
earth or flagstone floors nearly everywhere, and most of its rooms were
dedicated in one way or another to nature. There were over a dozen of the small
grottoes, each with a different theme to the plants, but the purifying spring
was the only one that had been drained.

“It’s
just like in the nursery, the way it skipped over the rest of the plants and
just drained the virgin greenhouse,” said Julian. “Is the spring
okay?” he asked Alex and Stephen anxiously.

The
two conferred briefly, then Father Stephen nodded. “Everything seems to be
in order here, other than needing some tending,” he assured Julian.

“If
someone can bring the fertiliser, I don’t mind tending to the plants,”
said Julian. “If Alex thinks I haven’t overtaxed myself, anyway.”

Alex
tangled their fingers together and whistled the now-familiar little tune he used
for simple diagnostic listening. “You seem fine,” he said, kissing
Julian’s hand before letting it go.

“I’ll
call over to the Temple and see if they can spare anyone,” said Father
Stephen.

“Jones
could go pick it up,” volunteered Alex, and they made the arrangements.

“All
right, let’s finish our tour so Jones doesn’t have to hunt us out in this
maze,” said Lapointe wryly. They’d already found two rooms the techs
hadn’t been in yet, both hidden culs de sac designed more for the priests’ use
than those seeking solace here.

“Of
course, my dear,” said Father Stephen. There weren’t any more drained
plants, though there was a stray smear of blood where no one expected it to be.
 

Julian
stepped back while the other three focused themselves on the evidence and the
magic, Father Stephen’s jocular persona swept away by a sense of purpose that
Julian hadn’t seen before. Julian knelt down again and put his fingers in the
dirt between the flagstones, listening to the tiny moss that grew there,
finding the places where it had been disturbed. “Try under that one,”
said Julian, pointing.

Alex
and Lapointe got their gloves on and carefully pried it up, though the stone
proved much looser than expected. The dirt beneath it was loose and moist
rather than tightly-packed as you would expect for being trodden underfoot for
so many years. “There’s definitely something here,” said Lapointe.

Father
Stephen vanished for a moment, returning with two of the techs. They
immediately began to process the area, photographing and testing, and alerting
the others to keep an eye out for loose flagstones. Once they were satisfied,
Alex was allowed to dig in the earth with his fingers, whistling and listening
until he pulled out an old, bent coin. That, too, was photographed and put in a
magic-proof box, and then the rest of the little patch of earth was thoroughly
checked for either magic or plant life.

“I
hope there’s nothing like that at the nursery,” said Julian worriedly.

“It
would have shown itself when we did the blessing,” said Father Stephen.
“Everything in the nursery was connected at that time, and although the
web is very loose to allow people and plants to come and go, we identified
everything magical being tied into the web.”

Julian
relaxed, and then his phone chimed with a text. “Oh, Jones! You don’t need
me, right?”

“You’re
more needed with the plants,” said Father Stephen.

Lapointe
waved him on, and he went out front to thank Jones and get the vial of liquid
fertiliser. “Ooh, this is good stuff,” said Julian; there was a tiny
glow of magic even through the dark blue glass.

“They
asked that you also use it on the crime scene, if you’re allowed,” said
Jones. “Father Stephen can take the rest back.”

“Thank
you,” said Julian. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“If
I’m invited,” said Jones with a grin. “You guys might be working past
that, anyway, at this rate.”

Julian
chuckled. “Yeah, true. All right, back to your book, I’m off… There’s
some nice benches inside, if you fancy a change of pace.”

“Nah,
I never did like sitting on stone,” said Jones. “I’m used to the
car.”

Julian
headed back to talk to Lapointe and Stephen, just to make sure he was allowed
to affect either or both of the relevant crime scenes. He was given permission,
and so he decided to start with the grotto with its water lilies and cool
atmosphere. The plants welcomed him when he came in, and he took off his shoes
and socks again so he could better connect to them. He let his plant-sense
stretch out and eclipse the rest of his senses, so he could give them all just
what they needed. It was different without Alex helping, more draining, but it
also encouraged him to connect deeper with the earth itself and draw reserves
from there.

Julian
felt a profound sense of peace when he was done, and he sat on the bench next
to the pool and dipped his toes in, feeling that the water didn’t mind taking
care of him after all he’d done for its beloved plants. It was a little
disconcerting to sense more than just plants so easily, and he made a mental
note to talk to Alex about it. That thought brought his attention to the amulet
under his shirt, and the keep-safe charm he still wore with it. He could feel
them, too. The keep-safe was a simple hum of contentment that Julian was,
indeed, safe; the amulet was a more complex creation, not as sentient as
Horace, but with a real sense of purpose and determination. It was satisfied to
have protected Julian last week, and grateful that Alex repaired it, and it
also felt smug that it was being strengthened somehow.

Julian
put that on his list for Alex as well, then pulled his feet out to air dry. He
grabbed his shoes, socks tucked inside, and left wet footprints that vanished
into the flagstones as he walked from the grotto to the crime scene and its
unhappy clover. He was reluctant at first to step off the path, but he
compromised by sticking to the clean leaves as he walked. He felt the clover
bouncing back from each step as it was meant to, which made him think more
about the way it was crushed and trampled where the body had lain.

He
scattered the glowing potion over the leaves, watching it slide away to be
absorbed by the earth and from there into the plants, and felt their gratitude.
He shook droplets like Father Stephen’s water-blessing, sending his own energy
with them, pacing all around the room, though he avoided walking on the actual
bloodstains. Even those plants got their flung droplets, and he could feel that
they’d survive, and even the blood would provide some nutrients, once it was
washed away into the soil.

“Almost
done?” said Alex from the doorway, and Julian jumped.

“Oh!
Yes, sorry, you startled me,” he said with a laugh. “They should wash
the leaves here as soon as they can, it’ll help.”

“We’ll
go tell Father Stephen,” said Alex with a smile, waiting for him to put
his shoes back on. “They’re pretty much done with me, but Lapointe wants
you to fill out another of her maps with your impressions of the plants.”

“Oh,
right,” said Julian. “Is it ready now?”

Alex
led him on a shortcut back to the room where they’d found the talisman. “I
don’t think so… Murielle, when will you have the map ready?”

“I
have to take my blank back to the department to make copies,” she said,
“Will you remember everything if we wait until tomorrow?”

Julian
nodded. “I’ll remember,” he assured her. “Are you coming to
dinner? And you, Father?”

“You’d
both be welcome,” echoed Alex. “I can tell Alys, I got them a tablet
that gets messages, though they still won’t let me get them a phone.”

“They
use it to shop online,” said Julian with a giggle. “No more sending
me and Alex to the grocery store.”

“Well,
unless she’s short something,” said Alex. “Then I still get sent to
fetch.”

“I’d
love to,” said Father Stephen, looking very amused at their banter.
“I’ll just call the Temple and let them know.” He pulled out his
phone and wandered into another of the little rooms to make the call.

“I’ll
come if I can get away,” said Lapointe. “Let me wrap things up here
and I’ll call before I drive over.”

“I’ll
let Alys know,” said Alex, pulling out his phone and texting.

Julian
talked to Lapointe about the other impressions he’d gotten from the plants,
remembering to request that the clover be watered enough to wash the blood
away, which she promised to do as soon as things were wrapped up. She got called
away and waved them off. The three of them headed back to Jones and the car,
and the much-depleted bottle of fertiliser was tucked away with Father
Stephen’s other things.

They
were quiet on the trip home, all of them worn thin by the day, but Julian was
looking forward to dinner at home. Alex would go hide in his lab afterward, but
Julian had always found that a good meal with people you cared about went a
long way toward restoring his equilibrium after a bad day. Not that today was
all bad, the blessing had been amazing to be a part of, but it had been
exhausting and he hated the reason they’d had to do it at all.

Julian
cuddled up to Alex in the elevator up. “I promise to let you go hide after
dinner,” he whispered, wanting Alex to get a little of that feeling of
being noticed and cared for.

Alex
smiled down at him, then kissed him and whispered in his ear. “I knew I
loved you for a reason.”

They
let everyone in, Alex pausing to whistle a welcoming little tune at his wards
so everyone could enter safely, and Julian headed straight for the bedroom.
“I need clean feet,” he explained.

“Whatever
makes you comfortable,” assured Father Stephen. Tea had already appeared
on the low table, and so he sat and poured, after checking the pot to be sure
it was brewed.

Julian
smiled and headed off to get cleaned up, letting the soft murmur of voices
follow him. He changed into fresh clothes as well, coming out in a light summer
sweater and a comfortable pair of trousers to find them talking about Alys and
Nat.