Witches in Training (#2 in the Witches Trilogy) [rewrites ongoing]

Chapter Fourteen: Rhuyjegh

VINNI

"At this ungodly hour in the morning..."

"Be quiet," Jess mutters back at me, "it isn't that early."

"It's six in the morning," I grumble, "you forgot to mention-"

"Shh!"

"Go away, Jess..."

"That's what I'm trying to do, and I'll leave you behind if you don't stop acting like you're six, not sixteen." Jess threatens. I frown, but blink a couple times to vanish the grogginess, and try and focus on the task ahead.

Sarah is quietly tapping commands into a computer-Paige's laptop, in fact. We recovered it from her room yesterday and found that it had millions of useful little hacking programs set into it. Sarah and Jess are working on it now, accessing the drive Louis gave me and playing around with the security system.

Vinni, Wein's voice says in my head, sounding amused, there's someone here to see you.

Wein is standing outside, scanning the vicinity for unwelcome presences. Judging by her tone of (telepathic) voice, it's not urgent, and it's funny. It's not an enemy, definitely. And there's only one person who could possibly evoke such a reaction.

Morning, angel. Louis' voice quips, drowning out Wein's. He just loves to torment me, doesn't he? Isn't it a lovely dawn?

Shut up, fairyboy. I reply swiftly, motioning for Wein to let him in.

The fairy grins at me as he lopes in. He's a morning person, apparently. Well, good for him. He's deviating a little from his usual T-shirt and jeans, in a navy blue sweater over a white polo, jeans, and dark purple Vans. "Hey, Vin."

"Hey, Lou," I reply, mimicking his deliberately cheery tone. 

"How are you this fine morning?" He smirks, walking over and studying what Sarah's doing. "It's always nice this early in the day."

I bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from whacking him upside the head. "It's great, thanks. Where's Russell? Or is he sane and asleep?"

"No, Russell's outside with the rest."

"So what are you here for?"

Louis turns his attention from the computer screen to me, and arches an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Huh."

He smiles at me, knowing he's won. "To say goodbye, genius."

I snort. "I'm not going to die, Louis."

He looks serious as he says, "you might." Jess pauses shortly, like she's wondering whether to say something, but then shakes her head and lets me deal with it.

"Don't you dare."

Louis shrugs. "So when can Kyren expect you?"

I hesitate, and remember the mind-wrecking I'd done last night thinking about my answer. "Within a week and a half." I guess. "We won't be staying for long, I expect."

Louis nods. "Scry Russell and I when you get there."

Scrying, a relatively new concept to me which the fairies drilled into me last night, is a mix of Skyping and telepathy, in which the scryer contacts another by means of a live telepathic hologram. That was how Sarah contacted Queen Kyren yesterday. When the two fairies nagged me endlessly on it, I nodded along blindly, but now I spot an error in the plan.

"We don't have a scryer."

Louis frowns. "Sarah?"

"Sarah isn't a scryer," I explain, "her Addonexus status lets her scry certain individuals by default, but she doesn't have the ability itself."