The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,66
was like this, rush, rush rush, feel feel feel, adjust Isla, do it again. The ground shook above us, a long rumble, tiny pieces of ceiling fell around us. We stilled, quiet. No one spoke. Isla held on, clutching, scared.
I whispered, “It’s a lot of big heavy trucks on the road above us. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.” I couldn’t imagine what Archie would think of this, much less two-year-old Isla. Hear that war? Pitch-black running away from that evil man who is trying to kill my dad? Ma says it will fine. We raced, clutching each other, holding on, trying to escape in the pitch black of the tunnel to the wider world beyond.
Trouble was I was scared to see what was there. Guards? Encampments? Bombs and gunfire? I prayed that we could get from the mouth of the tunnel to the woods and away, far, far, away. Except away was leaving Magnus and my heart was breaking because of that, too.
Forty - Kaitlyn
The tunnel came to the end. “Archie stay close behind me, hold Isla’s hand, be quiet, okay?” I pushed up the heavy door, just slightly, and pressed my face to the crack to peek out. There was enough moonlight to see by. I checked all around: to my right, a few shadows from the stone circle. To my left, tree trunks. Straight ahead, the darkness of the woods. No soldiers that I could see.
I closed the door, throwing us back into pitch black darkness. I held onto Archie’s arms and knelt down close. “I’m going to climb out and pull you up after me. Once you’re out, I want you to run, run, run, faster than you’ve ever run in your life, straight for those trees in front of you. Don’t look back, just go, okay? If, and only if, you see something that means you shouldn’t go that way, if you change direction, I want you to get to a hiding place. I will hide too. Then, I want you to know, you’re the one that’s lost. Do you know that?”
“Yes, mammy, if I’m lost, just stay right where I be and you’ll find me.”
“You are the light of my life and that was a perfect answer. Your great-grandmother Barb would be so freaking proud of you.” I stood up, adjusted Isla on my back, and said, “One, two, three.” I pushed that door all the way open and fast as I could, climbed out, pulled my little boy out, go! and set him running.
I closed the door, shoved leaves and dirt over it and then I ran, I ran like all our lives depended on it, holding Isla onto my back though she was sliding lower and lower, hold on, hold on, hold on, I got to the woods and dove into the darkness and his little voice said, “Hi.”
And I said, “We did it, my love, we got away, and you know what that is right there?”
He looked at it for a moment gnarled and old in the moonlight. “The guardian tree?”
“Yep, your da is not here right now, but he’s still guarding over us, isn’t he?”
“Aye.”
We watched that tree, Archie and I whispering about it, making sure we knew what we were seeing, “Where is the north side? There, right?”
Archie agreed. It was different looking, because the farmhouse was gone and one of the stones from the circle was leaning now. Changes had been made to the landscape to protect the tunnel door. Now it seemed to be forgotten.
But the tree was there, like Magnus had promised us.
I slid Isla off my back and sat her down on the dirt. “You’re going to sit here with Archie while Mammy digs. I go fast.” I looked her deep in the eyes. “You stay here.”
She threw her arms around me and clung there sobbing.
“Shhhhh, shhhhhh, honey, you have to be quiet, quiet, quiet down. Right now.” My voice was sharper than I wanted but I was a second away from losing my shit. She clung harder and I tried to pull her off but she got more and more—
Archie grabbed the knife from my hand. “I’m a good digger.” And before I could stop him he rushed out into the field headed straight for the tree.
My heart was suspended between us, frozen in time. My whole self clenched tight in a prayer for his safety. Please please please. He dropped to his knees and began to dig. First, with the knife and