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

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Late Night Reflections

VERA

"We can't do this anymore."

It's the first time I've heard Russell sound so defeated, and it's not a good sign. Kieran raises his head expectantly. 

"Louis needs to go to the fairies. I know we've all been trying not to show it, but if we stay down here any longer we're going to starve. Fish is fine, but sooner or later..." Russell glances helplessly at his brother, who's asleep again and who has yet to be back to his usual self. "Sooner or later, we have to get out, and they know it. They'll be waiting for us."

Kieran watches the fairy closely for a minute. "So get out." He says simply. "If you want to get out, get out. Take them by surprise." He stands up and sweeps his arms towards the back of the tunnel. "What's back there?"

"A sealed exit."

"Correction: an exit. Vera can blow it up, and you can take Louis to the fairy kingdom. Easy."

"Uh, yeah, but you forgot one thing: they'll be waiting for us."

"My dear Russell, what is the basic principle of strategy? Sometimes the most obvious is the least obvious. Simplest is best. Whatever you call it. Small-scale is usually better, safer, quicker and easier than a large-scale. They'll be expecting us to leave through the tunnel. They will guard the tunnel. But not this tunnel." Russell and I stare at him.

"What on earth are you talking about, Kieran?" Russell says finally.

"We make another tunnel." Kieran says with the air of declaring that 1+1=2. "It's the easiest thing on earth."

"Make another..." Realisation dawns on Russell's face. "Kieran, if you ever want to join the military..." He grins. "So if Vera can start us off, and we keep working on it..."

Kieran smiles. "Louis will be in the fairy infirmary this time tomorrow."

*

Good things don't last. And safety is a good thing. Therefore, safety doesn't last. And I'm not talking about no-scraped-knees kind of safety, I'm talking about running-for-your-life kind of safety. It's become a thing nowadays, you know, danger and risk. Not usual for a twelve-year-old girl, but very usual for me. It's kind of depressing sometimes. 

But there's me, and then there's Kieran. He'd probably be able to roll out of bed ready to fight. He's that accustomed to it. He could probably teach the navy SEALS a lesson on preparedness. 

So it's no surprise that when I blow up a hole in the wall and an explosion blasts in my face, I jump a foot in the air screaming like a little girl, while he casually walks forward to inspect the damage.

How are we best friends, again?

"It's good." Kieran reports, pleased. "From here, it's an easy job. You'll be out within four hours, approximately, and at the fairy kingdom by nightfall."

"Well, I've lost track of time staying down here so long, so I'll take your word for it." Louis says, awake once more, preoccupied with finding a way of cooking fish we haven't already tried. "I could barbeque it," he muses, running his hand along one of the five fish. Russell, next to him, has a magical fire flickering. I look at Kieran, surveying the soon-to-be new tunnel, and feel a sense of unease that hasn't stirred for a while. 

"I'm no earth elemental, but I think this should do the trick." Kieran smashes one of the fairies' pearls in his hand and tosses its contents at the hole in the wall. An acidic sizzling sound bursts out from the crater as the substance works its magic on the earth, eating through the soil in a fashion reminiscent of a burrowing mole.