Ava took my hand, and she guided me out of the room and down the hall. The next door creaked as she opened it. She stilled in the doorway the same time a putrid scent hit me. It smelled of mold and rotting flesh. My head began to spin, and I thought I might puke.
Oberi gagged.Ew, I amnotgoing in there. This place stinks!
“That’s making me sick!” Kallie cried.
I sniffed the rotten air. “What is that?”
“Mushrooms,” Ava said, though she sounded curious. “There are rotten bits of wood everywhere, with really strange mushrooms all over them. The Warden’s growing them for… something.”
“Poison, you think?” I wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” Ava admitted. “I don’t recognize this fungus. It looks like red tentacles, with black spikes growing out of the stumps. I’ve never seen something like this used in potions.”
Marcus pushed past us and stepped into the room.
“Marcus, don’t!” Kallie protested, but I was certain he was already touching the mushrooms.
“It’s devil’s finger,” he said nonchalantly. “I’ve seen it on the mushroom identification chart in Professor Woolly’s classroom. It’s supposed to be really rare.”
I stepped forward and ran my fingers over one of the mushrooms.Tentacleswas an accurate description. The tentacles bloomed from the center of the fungus, and I ran my fingers down them until I touched something hard. My head began to spin, and nausea twisted in my gut, but my curiosity got the better of me.
“Mm… what’s that?” I asked thoughtfully.
Oberi came up beside me and nearly shoved me out of the way to get a good look. He sounded horrified.Uh, Ava! You might want to come and look at this.
Ava came to my side. “Oberi, what are you—? Whatisthat?”
Ava’s fingers brushed mine as she started digging into the fungus. She gasped as she pulled something out. “Ancestors, it’s one of the crystals Jaymin had. No wonder we feel so sick in here!”
“The Warden is hiding the crystals inside fungus?” I asked. “Why would he do that?”
“I don’t think he’s hiding them here,” Kallie said. “I think he’sgrowingthem.”
“Devil’s finger is believed to be connected straight to hell,” Marcus said in a shaky tone.
“So these crystals are coming from hell,” I stated.
“It actually makes a lot of sense,” Ava pointed out. “We know these crystals didn’t come from earth. This fungus must act as a portal of some sort.”
“Then let’s destroy this room!” I cried. If this fungus was rare, and it was the only way the Warden was getting his hands on these crystals, we could burn his operation to the ground.
A crackling sound came from Ava’s hand as she conjured fire. “You’re right. We have to get rid of this.”
“Wait!” Kallie protested. “We’re not done here yet. If we burn this place down now, we may not find the Elves.”
“Kallie’s right,” Marcus said. “We need to see what other clues we find first, before we burn all the evidence.”
Ava huffed, like she wanted nothing more than to throw her fireball. I hated to admit it, but I agreed with Kallie and Marcus.
“We’ll finish it off,” I assured her. “But let’s find Eddie first.”
“Fine,” Ava said. “But I’m burning this room to the ground before we leave.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Marcus said quickly. “These crystals are giving me a splitting headache.”
“Agreed,” I said. I couldn’t get out of there soon enough.
We left the room, and Ava opened the door across the hall. The moment we stepped inside, she sucked a breath and turned into me, like she couldn’t bear to look.
