“I know, I’m thinking the same thing,” I answered.
“Please tell me there’s a plan here,” Claudia said, looking at us.
Varga chuckled. “Of course, Grandma. You know we don’t surrender so easily.”
“Yet, here you are,” Sofia grumbled.
She’d been away from Derek’s group, so she didn’t know what we’d planned.
We’d told Derek everything, but he’d chosen to keep most of the details to himself until we got in with the scrambler device. We’d agreed that we couldn’t risk anyone, especially Ta’Zan, overhearing what we were about to engage in. Corrine and the others knew the general gist of things, and they were obviously hyped and eager to learn the rest—the devilish little things that were going to make all the difference between us getting out of here and getting ourselves trapped for good… or dead.
We hadn’t survived until now to get ourselves captured so foolishly.
“Mom. I told you, we weren’t going to let you die!” Rose said.
“My life is worth nothing if we lose this fight!” Sofia replied, tearing up.
Derek put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Honey, we talked about this. Ben and Rose didn’t just surrender. They most certainly had a plan, but they asked me not to share until they could make sure we weren’t being spied on, in any way,” he said, then looked at Claudia. “You know Elonora wouldn’t just give up, guys. Neither would Varga. Not after all the sacrifices made to keep them free.”
“Ah… In hindsight, that makes sense,” Claudia said, a grin lifting her cheeks.
“How are you, my little pot-sticker?” Corrine asked Kailani, clearly worried about her granddaughter.
“There’s something very different about you,” Ibrahim added, gently tracing the contour of Kailani’s face with his index finger.
Kailani sighed. “A lot has happened since we last saw each other,” she replied, wearing a weak smile.
“She’s transforming,” Lumi said, stepping forward. “She’s fusing with the Word, though the apprenticeship conditions are not what we’d hoped for.”
“What do you mean?” Corrine asked, suddenly alarmed. The witch’s instinct was undeniably strong.
“A swamp witch needs peace and quiet, zero distractions, and a calm mind to undergo this apprenticeship, this fusion with the Word,” Kailani explained, her voice shaky. “I’ve had none of that, so… I guess we can say that my apprenticeship has been a little bit bumpy.”
“Define ‘bumpy,’” Corrine shot back, her tone clipped and her brow furrowed.
“Her connection to the Word is unstable, but the process continues to unfold,” Lumi said. “The Word hasn’t rejected her yet, but—”
“Wait, yet?!” Corrine snapped. “Somebody please tell me my granddaughter didn’t sign her own death sentence when she took on this swamp witch magic thing!”
“She’s fluctuating,” Ibrahim observed, carefully eyeing Kailani, as if he could see right through her. “There’s energy flowing through her, pure and of atomic proportions, but she’s yet to learn to control and harness it. She’s a walking bomb, isn’t she?”
Lumi’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “One could say that.”
Corrine went pale. I didn’t have children or grandchildren, so I could only imagine how worried she had to be, but I understood her distress, maybe more than I would’ve thought.
“What’s going to happen to her?” Corrine asked, her voice barely audible.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Kailani replied, trying to keep her grandmother’s temper in check. “I’m doing my best to stay calm and go with the flow. I can’t turn back now. The process has already started, so the best I can do is ride it out and make sure no one gets hurt in the process.”
Corrine pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment. Ibrahim squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her distress.
“We have enough things to worry about, already,” Corrine murmured. “My granddaughter’s life shouldn’t be one of them.”
“I’m okay, Grandma,” Kailani said. “I’ll get through this. I’ve got strong genes in me, remember?” she added with a weak smile.
Lumi nodded. “That might actually work in her favor,” she replied. “None of us were natural-born witches when we fused with the Word. Kale’s body might be stronger than ours, in the end.”
“Then, what were you? Or are you?” Taeral asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m something that no longer exists, I’m afraid,” Lumi said. “My species has been extinct for about two thousand years. I’m a pixie.”
“A what now?” Varga croaked, his eyes wide. This was new information to everyone, clearly.
“I told you, a swamp witch isn’t born. She’s made. Long ago, Calliope and Persea were the only two planets in Eritopia that were home to pixies. Tens of thousands of years ago, we used to roam the woods, but we gradually died out. Mostly due to fertility issues. Anyway, that’s a story for another time. The point is that Kale is strong enough to get through this. There’s no doubt in my mind. But she needs us all to have faith in her.”
Corrine blinked several times, as if trying to wrap her head around what Lumi had just said. Taeral didn’t want to let go just yet, though.
“Hold on. No, I want to hear more of this,” he said. “What does a pixie do? What is it, exactly?”
Lumi let out an exasperated sigh. “Good grief, you’re a stubborn one. We were known as protectors of the woods! Okay? We have slim, iridescent wings, and we can compress our bodies into a smaller version of ourselves. From a certain distance, we look like incandescent fireflies. We’re gifted with the earthly element, with the growth of natural things, in general. We used to nourish the forests, help the trees grow and the flowers bloom.”
“Now I want to see those wings,” Taeral shot back with a smirk.
“You picked a weird time to do this,” Bijarki muttered, crossing his arms.
“Hey, man, this is new and valuable information. I, for one, have never heard of pixies, and, since we’re going to be here for a while, I need to know more,” Taeral retorted.
Varga shrugged. “To be honest, I’m curious, too.”
