Vindicti-au-vent, translation: vengeance in the wind. It taps into the moments in someone’s life that have caused them the greatest despair and makes you relive them every day. Unlike most recipes, this one doesn’t need to be eaten. Once it goes into the oven, the aroma spreads the spell.
Sylvie let it sink in. “The amethyst deceiver was one of the ingredients that was stolen from Tidwick’s, which means the thief and the person making theVindicti-au-ventare probably one and the same. Any idea how far the spell can spread? Like, could it cover a whole arena?”
“I don’t know. Unfortunately, Bergen didn’t go into a lot of details,” said Georgia. “Not much point in lecturing about banned recipes. But he did say it’ll fill you with your deepest sorrows. Loss. Pain. Regret.”
On one hand, this was terrible. More destruction was headed to the Golden Whisk. On the other hand, it didn’t seem so bad. Now that they knew, couldn’t Sylvie just warn her mom?Don’t let anyone eat the cursed canapés.Of course, that wouldn’t be enough if a mere whiff was all it took.
“Any idea who would do something like this?” Georgia asked. “I mean, forbidden recipes, that’s serious business. The CCS could confiscate your Blade for something like this.”
“Which explains why they stole the ingredients. They wanted to cover their tracks.” Sylvie chewed on Georgia’s question. Despite the risks, forbidden recipes were still fairly common. In fact, there was a whole black market surrounding banned spells. But usually, people used them to their own advantage, instead of to destroy others. “Josephine Flammé is the obvious choice. After her loss at the Golden Whisk, it would make sense that she’d want to curse my mom into feeling the same sort of misery. But Julia saidshewas betrayed by an old friend. Flammé and my mom were never friends. Then everything got too murky for Julia to see clearly. So, I don’t know if the betrayal was about theVindicti-au-ventor even who Julia was talking about.”
Georgia sighed. “That definitely makes things harder… . Maybe we should start with what we know for sure?”
Sylvie nodded.
“Your mom and Bergen were good friends. Maybe Bergen betrayed her?”
“Then why come clean to the judges at the Golden Whisk?” asked Sylvie. “He could’ve just kept his mouth shut and let my mom take the fall.”
“Agreed,” said Georgia.
“Plus, his Blade was destroyed. So, if someone is planning to makeVindicti-au-vent—”
“He’s ruled out,” finished Georgia. “What about Josephine Flammé and Fernand LeGrande?”
Sylvie recalled the look Balthazar had given his son. “Losing definitely didn’t benefit either one of them. Josephine became an outcast, and Fernand’s dad practically disowned him. Though, I could definitely see Josephine whipping up a recipe for revenge.”
“So, neither one is a very promising lead for betrayal, but we’ll put a star next to Flammé for revenge.” Georgia tapped a finger against her lips. “What about the commis?”
Sylvie shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible. But based on what I saw in Godard’s memory, I doubt Flammé’s would’ve stepped a toe out of line. Besides, my mom told me she was a third-year student at Grande Ecole in Paris, not someclose friendof Flammé’s. Last I heard, she was working as a recipe tester for FizzleFott’s.”
Georgia twisted her tongue between her teeth. “That’s a candy company, right?”
“Yes,” said Sylvie.
“I can’t believe I remembered that. I’ve been cramming so much new information into my brain, sometimes it feels like it might explode. Now, where were we?” Georgia looked back at the list. “That’s right. Your mom and Fabre.”
“Fabre was a friendandsomeone who benefited from the win. Plus, he bought up a bunch of skullcap recently and lied about its use,” said Sylvie, thinking back to the article she’d read in theBlossom Brigade.“What if it’s one of the ingredients inVindicti-au-vent?”
“We have to try and find out,” said Georgia.
“Unfortunately, that’s not something we’ll find online,” said Sylvie.
“True. But maybe you’ll find something useful in the archives.” Georgia crawled beneath her bed and pulled out the bedazzled phone. “If you’re right about Fabre, it’s definitely going to put a damper on my cookbook collection.”
Sylvie took the phone. “Fabre is a judge at this year’s competition. If I’m right about this, we’ll have bigger troubles than your cookbook collection. So, for everyone’s sake, let’s hope there’s another explanation.”
Georgia glanced at the door. “I’ll stand guard outside. If a teacher shows up, I’ll say, ‘Peach cobbler.’ That’ll be our secret code.”
“Deal,” said Sylvie. “You know, you really can be devious … and that’s a compliment.”
Georgia flashed a brilliant smile. “Devious is sneaking raisins into a chocolate chip cookie. We’ve just gone way past that… . Oh! One more thing. 0-3-2-9. That’s my birthday, and the access code.” With that, Georgia slipped outside, leaving Sylvie alone.
Sylvie must’ve spent at least an hour scouring the Golden Whisk archives. There were hundreds of pages to sift through. Sylvie now knew Guy Fabre had a fondness for fast cars, and hated overcooked peas.Who doesn’t?And had chosen Brindille over Grande Ecole in Paris because of hislove of American pizza…New York style.Unfortunately, none of this was getting Sylvie any closer to finding proof. She tried a link to a thread on Sagebook’s Golden Whisk Fan Page.
TeamFranceFan: I’m shocked LeGrande has agreed to let Abby Jones compete in his arena. After what she did to his team last time, I hope he lets the competition crush her.
GoldenWonder: @TeamFranceFan Agreed! But at least Fabre will be there. It would be great if Abby’s old teammate cast her losing vote.
