The store is located two hours away and it’s called Everything Rare and Magical. Hmm, I’m not so sure about the name. Is a place like that actually legitimate? Then again, it’s the only lead I have.

The website states they have many books that list items with special properties that can help people with whatever they need. Things that can cure cancer and other ailments, PTSD, other mental health problems, and they can even reverse aging by twenty years.

“That’s a load of baloney,” Leah says as she reads the text on the screen with me.

“Maybe. But it’s the only lead we have.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “I guess we’re going on a small road trip?”

“Can you take off from work? I want to get my surfing class in, but I’d like to leave right after.”

“Sure.”

My class will start in an hour. Leah goes home to pack a few items we’ll need for the trip, and I head to the beach. When my class is over, she waits for me in her car. I make a quick stop at the bank to withdraw some money.

Once I’m back in the car, Leah asks, “How much did you take out?”

“A few hundred. I’m not sure how much a book like that will cost.”

Leah shakes her head. “This better not be a load of baloney.”

It’s been a while since Leah and I have been on the road together. We turn up the music, sing along with our terrible voices, and lower the windows and let the wind mess up our hair. I forget about the Lovers’ Tear and my doomed bond with Damarian. I forget that I’m on a mission that may not be a success. I forget that in only a short while, I may lose the love of my life forever.

But it all comes crashing down when Leah parks the car in front of a small store with the words Everything Rare and Magical.

Leah looks the store up and down. “A peeled off sign. Not a good sign.” She cracks up. “Get it?”

I put my hand on the door handle. “Sorry, I’m too nervous to laugh.” My stomach is doing cartwheels and somersaults and flips and headstands. I don’t know if I can go in there. If I can’t get the answers I need, I have no idea what I’ll do.

Leah touches my arm. “Hey, whatever happens, it’ll be okay. If this is a bust, we’ll find another lead.”

I puff out my cheeks. “Okay. I’m ready.”

We get out of the car and make our way toward the door. Peeking inside, I see the store is dimly lit with many shelves with ancient-looking books. A middle-aged man, whom I assume is the owner, is in the middle of talking to an elderly couple, delicately holding a worn-out book.

“This is it,” Leah says in an overdramatic voice. “No turning back. This moment right here will determine the fate of your life.”

I laugh. “If that’s supposed to calm my nerves, it’s not exactly working.”

Leah holds out her palms and shrugs. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”

With a shaky and mildly sweaty hand, I close my fingers over the knob and pull the door open. The bell makes a little jingle, causing the owner’s head to whip in our direction. He makes a one-minute gesture with his finger before turning his attention to the couple.

“Let’s look around,” I tell Leah.

Now that we’re inside, I realize there are many more books than I thought. It would take forever to look through them all. I was hoping we’d be able to browse without alerting anyone’s attention, but it looks like we’ll have no choice but ask the owner for help.

“God, they have so many things here.” Leah’s eyes scan the spines of some of the books. “Medieval curses, lore and folktale, books claiming witches, genies, werewolves, and other mythical creatures actually exist. Hmm, I wonder if mermaids are in here.”

“Shh, keep your voice down. Do you see anything about foods or remedies that can cure diseases?”

Her fingers brush over some more spines. “Nope. But there is something here about ancient legal methods. Hey, that might be cool.” She takes out the book and her eyes widen when she opens the flap. “Holy crap. I’m not paying two hundred bucks for this!”

Her voice must have been too high, because the owner and elderly couple stare at us.

Leah laughs lightly as she puts the book back in place.

We continue browsing and find a lot of cool things, but nothing about healing plants.

“Hello, my name is Wes. Is there anything I can help you with, ladies?”

I look up from the book I’ve been leafing through and find the owner standing before us. I carefully shut the book and put it back. “Yeah, do you have any books about healing plants?”

“Sure. I’ve got a big collection of books on healing herbs from all over the world,” he says, leading us toward a shelf a few feet away. “Hundreds of years ago, there was no modern medicine and people discovered plants that could cure all different ailments. Many people in distant countries still use them today.”

He removes three books from the shelf and hands one to me.

I know this isn’t what we’re looking for, but I leaf through it. The stuff inside this are fascinating, but there’s nothing here about the Orja plant.

Leah and I check the others, but find nothing.

“No?” Wes asks. “What exactly are you looking for?”

Leah and I exchange a glance.

“Um…I heard a myth about a rare plant,” I say, “one that grows in the ocean and on land. Both are needed to heal someone with an incurable disease.”

Wes’s face fills with surprise. “Where have you heard this?”

I shrug. I’m definitely not going to tell him I learned this from my merman fiancé.

“All right. But without details about this plant, its origin, how it looks, I’m afraid it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

I can’t tell him the name of the plant because I don’t want to put the merpeople at risk. “It’s said to restore a bond of lovers,” I say.

His eyebrows shoot up. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like that.”

“Are you sure?” Leah asks. “Can’t you look through your database or something?”

He shakes his head. “I have written down the name of books, not what’s inside them.”

There goes all the hope. “Thanks, anyway,” I say.

“Wait,” Leah says. “There has to be something here. Have you ever gotten a book about healing plants?”

“Of course—”

“No, I don’t mean your typical healing herbs that’s supposed to get rid of bad spirits. I mean, something mystical and magical. Something so rare that no one knows it actually exists.”

Wes holds up his hands. “Young lady—”

“No, I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve got to have something here.”

“Leah, it’s okay,” I say.

“No, it’s not! I’m not leaving here until my best friend gets the answer she needs. If she doesn’t, I’ll lose all my faith in love. In happily ever afters. My heart has been smashed to a million bits and I have no idea if I can paste it back together again. I won’t let the same thing happen to my best friend. So go to your computer and find us what we need.”

I just gape at her, my mouth probably sweeping the floor. Her chest heaves and her eyes have a determination I have never seen before on her.

Wes takes a step back, his palms upward. “Look, girl, these are just books. Most of them are myths and fibs.”

I move forward. “What are you saying?”

“People love to hope in mystical and magical objects, but do you honestly think they exist? Some people are just so gullible, they’d believe anything.”

Leah folds her arms over her chest. “So you’re taking advantage of your customers.”

“No. I am a father of four trying to make a living.”

Leah throws her hands up. “This is just great. Couldn’t you have told us this before we drove two hours to get here?”

Wes looks guilty. “I apologize, really. But you’re welcome to have any book I have. On the house.”

“No, thanks,” I say. I just want to get out of here.

Leah narrows her eyes. “It’s not right what you do. Some people are looking for real answers.”

“Then I suggest you find more realistic means to get what you need,” he says, his eyes flicking to me. “I don’t know if it’s you or someone else who has this incurable disease, but I suggest you take your head out of whatever fantasy world you’re in and come back to reality. If you or a loved one really is as sick as you claim, cherish the time you have together and stop going on useless quests.”

I move forward again until I’m only a few inches away from him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. And I’ll never give up on the man I love.” I grab Leah’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

When the door slams behind me, I say, “Can you believe that? He’s a fake. All those customers who come to him and spend hundreds of dollars on useless books.”

“They’re not all that useless, though. Some are very informative and historical.”

I shake my head. “It was our mistake for putting so much faith into this.” I open the passenger door. “We can’t expect anyone to know anything about this. We’ll just have to—”

“Hey, wait up!” someone calls.

Leah and I turn around and see a girl about twelve years old sprinting toward us. “I know about the plant you’re looking for.”

“What?” I ask.

“I’ve grown up with this stuff. My dad doesn’t believe in any of the mystical things. He just likes collecting books about them so he can sell them and make money. But I know a lot of the stuff really exists.”

Is this girl toying with us?

“The plant you’re looking for is called the Orjalion White Heart because it only reveals itself to a person who has a true heart and only wants to use it for good and not take advantage of it. It grows on land and in the ocean. But the one in the ocean is pretty useless because there’s no way we can get to it.”

I beg to differ.

“I’m telling you the truth, guys!”

“Wait, where did you even come from?” Leah asks.

“I was in the back of the store. Most of my dad’s customers are so boring, always asking about things like ways to make themselves look prettier or get richer. But you’re the only ones who’ve actually asked about something real.” Her eyes soften at me. “Who’s sick? Your boyfriend?”

I swallow hard. “Fiancé. Well, me, too.”

“The Orjalion White Heart will work on you.”

“How are you so sure?” I ask.

She holds her head up high. “I’m good at researching. They used to grow the plants in the late 1800s. It cured diseases and plagues, and even helped women with difficult births have healthy babies. But the plants eventually died. They couldn’t live that long.”

“Another bust,” I say, my heart sinking.

She shakes her head vehemently. “No, there are still some around, but they’re kept hidden. I know where you can find some.” She pulls a crumpled piece of paper and pen out of her pocket and scribbles something down. “That’s the address.”

I take it from her. “All the way in California?”

She nods.

“Are you messing with us?” Leah asks.

“I swear I’m not.”

“Why are you helping us?”

Her gaze lowers to the ground. She kicks her shoe on the floor. “My mom died when I was four. If I would have known about the plant, I could have saved her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say.

“She had an incurable disease, too. I know the Orjalion White Heart would have worked on her.” She straightens up. “You guys need to go there and check it out.”

“Thanks, we will,” I say.

She waves and runs off.

Leah looks at me. I look at her. “What do you think?” she asks.

“I have no idea.”

“Kid look pretty determined. I bet she’d wager her whole allowance on the plant actually existing.”

“Yeah, all the way in California,” I say. “We’ll need to take a plane. But I can’t have you miss work.”

She waves her hand. “Because my job of serving liquefied fruit to people is so important.” She rolls her eyes. “What about you? Your students are counting on you.”

I look away. “As much as it pains me to say this, Damarian is more important.”

She nods. “Then let’s buy tickets for the next flight to California.”