The first crate had been marked CHILDREN'S LESSONS.
Sera broke the seal with her thumb claw and lifted the lid. The books inside were small, their covers swollen from damp. Someone had painted roots along their spines in green ink. The roots had been scratched through with a knife before the books reached the vault.
She set one on the table and opened it.
The first page showed a river. The second showed a field. The third showed a little house with a tree beside it, every leaf made by a child's careful dot of paint.
There was no cipher in the pictures. No map. No instruction for a cell leader. The book taught children the names of weeds.
Sera turned the page anyway.
