Arrows of Time (12 page)

He raised his hands, bringing the flute to his lips. The tune he played was a complex one, though he could render it perfectly now.
How long have I been practising under the shadow of this mountain?

He received no answer as he started another tune. This one spoke of loss and surrender, the giving up of
one thing for another. Every other lass in Tensar worshipped the bards and their creative offerings, but he had fallen for the one who wanted something else. As his arms began to ache and his mouth went dry, he spotted Rosette and her tabby rounding the corner of the cave entrance. She appreciated his music. Fortunate, since it seemed they might be trapped together forever.

‘That sounds amazing,’ she said. ‘Soul-captivating.’

‘It’d want to, all the work I’ve been putting in.’

She smiled that incredible smile of hers. ‘No tremors yet?’ she asked.

‘None.’

‘It seems to be getting longer, the time between. Do you think?’

He nodded his head.

‘What is it, Shane? What’s happening to us?’

He rose and looked her straight in the eye. ‘We’re trapped.’ He spoke softly, as if he didn’t believe his own words.

‘Where exactly?’ She searched his face, the scrutiny making him swallow.

‘In Time.’

‘Time,’ she whispered. ‘And how do we get out?’

‘I don’t know that we can.’ He watched as her hand sank into the fur of her temple cat’s neck. She only did that when she was deep in thought, or frightened.

‘We can, Shane.’ She shook her head. ‘We’ll find a way.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’

‘I don’t think. I know.’

Rosette closed her eyes as she leaned against the granite wall, sliding down next to Shane. She pulled out her water bag, took a swig and offered him the last. ‘Let’s go through it again,’ she said. ‘We’re caught
in a time loop, and we don’t know why or, more importantly, how to get out?’

He nodded.

‘Going round and round through the same sequence of events?’

‘More or less.’

Less, Maudi.

What do you mean, Drayco?

We used to meet Shane in the swamp, racing out of the cavern as the ground shook. Now we have these long philosophical discussions and music and language lessons before everything rips apart. We never go out into the swamp any more.

Do you miss it?

Hardly. I would like to hunt, though
…

Hungry?

Not really. Just an urge.

I know what you mean.
She caressed Drayco’s back.
And Shane’s teaching me to play music?

Don’t you remember, Maudi?

Sort of.
Her face lit up as Shane handed her a penny whistle.
I do now!

The events are changing a little bit, Maudi, every time round.

I think so too, but I’ve no idea what to do about it.

Me neither.

She smiled. ‘Thank you.’ She put the whistle to her lips, tapped her foot and launched into a slip jig. Shane accompanied her on the flute and when they reached the end, she burst out laughing. ‘This is wonderful fun!’

‘You always say that.’

She studied Shane’s profile, noticing the frown lines. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he forced a smile. ‘We’ll get out of it, Shane. I promise.’

‘You always say that too.’ He turned away.

‘Hey.’ She nudged him. ‘We need more of this, or we’ll die of thirst.’ She shook the empty water bag. ‘And don’t tell me I always say that.’

‘You do, and it doesn’t matter. It’ll be half full again next time round. Besides, there’s no way out, with or without quenched thirst.’

‘There has to be.’

Shane lowered his head, rubbing his temples.

I think he’s going to cry, Maudi.

Goddess of the woods, I hope not!
‘Come on, Shane. It’s not that bad.’

‘Really? How long do you think this has been going on?’

She shrugged.

‘Let me put it this way, Rosette. How much time do you think it would take to master my language, if you studied every day?’ he asked.

‘Fluently? A year, at least. Probably more. Your language is tricky. All those deep…’

‘And how well do you speak it?’ he interrupted.

Rosette looked into his ocean-blue eyes. At that moment, they seemed like the only drop of colour in the world. ‘I guess I’m pretty fluent now.’

‘And how many tunes do you know on the penny whistle?’

She knew it was more than she could count on both hands.

‘That’s how long we’ve been looping,’ he said.

She couldn’t dispute it. They must have been here, going round and round, for a very long time. Rosette covered her face with her hands.

‘A year of this or more?’ she whispered. ‘That could be decades in my world.’

Or minutes, Maudi. We don’t know.
Her familiar got up and strode back into the cave.
I’m going to find a rat.

Hungry after all?

No, but if it’s been a year, I ought to be.

Yeah, me too.

She’d tried to get a message through the portal to Kreshkali. She’d even thought of taking them all back to Gaela, but they never got that far. They couldn’t cross the threshold before the tremors started. Within seconds she would find herself charging through the swamp towards the oak tree, Drayco and Shane at her side, or some other version of that now familiar scenario. She sighed. ‘It feels impossible.’

Shane leaned his head towards her. ‘I don’t know that word. What’s it mean?’

‘It means something can’t be done.’ She smiled and gave him another nudge. ‘I’m not supposed to know the word either.’ She paused. ‘Shane, what if it’s always like this?’

‘Pardon?’

‘What if this is how life is, a continuous repetition of events, only we don’t realise it?’

‘You mean, what if we aren’t trapped but simply aware?’

She nodded. ‘What if…’

‘Stop! I don’t want to think about it!’

She shook her head, the ends of her long black hair lifting in the breeze.

Maudi? I’ve found something.

‘What is it, my lovely?’

In the cave. Come look.

Rosette got up, Shane at her heels. She led the way back into the cave, following the sound of her familiar’s thoughts. At first she worried about them getting separated if he wandered off, but not any more. It didn’t seem to matter what she did, or said, or where she went. It didn’t make any difference if she was crushed under the falling rocks, sucked into the mire of
the swamp or stranded up the gnarly old oak tree. Whatever choice she or Drayco made, they continued to experience a replay of variations of the shaker, meeting Shane, and their bafflement. Shane was right. Judging by how far both their musical playing had advanced and their grasp of each other’s native tongue, it had definitely been going on for quite some time, though it felt like less than a day to her. She smiled suddenly.

This is relativity! I really get it now.

Stop pondering, Maudi, and come. I’ve found something new.

On my way.

Rosette never knew how long they had between intervals, before the sequence would start to replay again. She wearied at times with the thought of it, although her familiar remained light-hearted. The time loop didn’t seem to be affecting him at all, and she took that as a good sign. If it wasn’t damaging their health, if it was only a puzzle for the mind, she could figure it out.

‘What’s the big discovery, Dray?’ she asked aloud as she approached her familiar.

He sat by the edge of a pool nestled deep in the recesses of the cave. Sunlight fell onto the top of his head, streaming down from a fissure in the vault above. The temple cat turned gold in the light, like a statue above the shimmering surface of the water. He licked his chops.

‘You found a big pool? That’s something new, I suppose. Good work, though I don’t imagine us having time to swim.’ She sniffed her armpit. ‘Why don’t I smell worse than this, if it’s really been a year?’

A year, or more, Maudi. But water’s not the big deal. I found cave fish!

‘Cave fish?’

Many of them. Come look.

‘You brought me back into this hole, another earthquake about to crush us, to look at a bunch of fish?’

I believe it’s called a ‘school’, Maudi.

‘What’s he got?’ Shane asked as he reached the edge of the pool. His face brightened as he studied the surface. ‘Cave fish!’ He whistled a long, descending note. ‘This is a stroke of luck.’

Rosette put her hands on her hips. ‘Do you guys want to tell me what’s so great about a pool of…’ She glanced at the water. ‘Pink, blind, and I must say, hideous fish?’

Simple, Maudi. The pool is fed by a stream. It might lead somewhere different. It might lead us out of this time trap.

‘It’s just a pond.’ She frowned. ‘How’s it a way out?’

‘It’s not just a pond,’ Shane said. ‘It’s a pond with an underground inlet.’ He started stripping off his clothes.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Going on a hunt.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘What for?’

Shane’s onto it, Maudi. He’s going to swim up the inlet and see if it offers a way out. These time traps are usually very circumscribed. I’m optimistic.

‘You’re always optimistic.’ Rosette smiled as she cupped her hands in the water and tasted it. She immersed the waterskin, filling it to the brim.

That’s because I know some things you don’t.

Like time traps are circumscribed?

Yes. Like that.

‘Actually, no,’ Shane replied, thinking she’d spoken to him. ‘I’ve become increasingly more and more pessimistic. Depressed, even.’

‘Really? I hadn’t noticed.’ She tried not to smile.

‘I have. It’s a habit now. I look at the worst possible outcome to everything. It’s probably a dead end.’

‘Charming, Shane, but I was talking to Drayco. He thinks we have a good chance.’

‘I have doubts about that. Worth a try, though.’

She shook her head. ‘When were you born?’

‘What?’

‘I don’t know your constellations here on Tensar, but I sense something a little on the dark side of the moon. Like a Saturn transit or a Saturn return. You’d be the right age?’

‘I’m twenty-nine.’

‘Figures.’

‘Are you saying Saturn makes me depressed?’

‘Not at all.’

‘Don’t tell me it makes me happy. I won’t believe you.’

‘It doesn’t make you depressed. It doesn’t make you happy either. Saturn doesn’t
make
you anything. It just coincides with a time of intense evaluation of your life so far…relationships, love affairs, professional achievement. Things like that. Have you been pondering a lot lately?’

He gave her a quick look and turned away.

‘What is the symbol associated with your birthday? Do you know it?’

He nodded, and started undoing his pants.

‘Are you going to tell me?’

‘It’s called the water dragon.’

She closed her eyes. ‘Does it have a stinger? Poison? Does it transform?’

‘It has three forms—the sea snake, the water dragon and the eagle. The snake is venomous.’

‘Sounds like Scorpion to me.’

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Transformation, please,’ she murmured.

‘I didn’t hear that.’

‘It means your world is as dark as you like to make it.’

He glared at her, naked now, his clothes in a pile next to him. ‘That’s cryptic,’ he said.

‘It’s meant to be.’ She brightened, taking in his shape and the reptilian images tattooed on the sides of his torso. They came up from the sea, through a band of fire and into the clouds. The colours were striking—sunny sky blue, greens like gemstones and vermilion red. It was so vivid, maybe from lack of exposure, or perhaps they were new.

‘What’s the problem now?’

‘I’m definitely feeling more optimistic,’ Rosette said, gazing at his body.

‘How’s that?’ he asked, ignoring the scrutiny and lowering himself into the pool.

‘You’ve got quite a physique, Shane.’

‘What do you mean?’

She squatted down by the edge of the pool. ‘I’m saying, you’re fit—very fit. And I know from your flute playing that you have good lungs. These things bode well.’

‘How so?’

She shook her head. The guy did not know how to receive a compliment. ‘Just take a deep breath and find us a way out of here.’

He winked at her before gulping in the air and disappearing under the surface.

Hold your breath, Drayco, while I count.

She’d got to fifty-nine when he resurfaced. He braced his hands on the edge of the pool and levered himself out in one smooth motion. Water ran off his glistening body as he wiped his face with his shirt. ‘That’s warm in there. It must be fed by hot springs.’

‘And is there a way out?’

He grinned. ‘Aye.’

‘Where does it lead?’

‘That’s the strange part. I didn’t recognise it. But the good thing is, the pool’s fed by a short inlet; just a few strong kicks and it opens into a canopy of rock over a stream. Plenty of air, though I don’t know how he’s going to go.’ Shane tilted his head towards her temple cat.

‘How far up did you swim?’

‘Far enough to see daylight. It’s not a dead end.’

‘Can we walk once…’

‘No.’ He interrupted her with a wave of his hand. ‘It’s a swim, the whole way.’

Rosette started unbuttoning her leather vest. ‘Let’s do it before another shaker comes and we have to discover it all over again.’

‘What makes you think this is the first time?’

She pulled her top off over her head. He glanced away. ‘You think it isn’t?’

He let his exhale turn to a whistle. ‘I think I’d remember if it was.’

‘Now you’re being cryptic.’

He bundled his clothes together and stuffed them into his pack. He slipped it on, his sword in his left hand. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked.

‘Almost. Dray? Do you understand what we have to do?’