Arrows of Time (34 page)

‘Easy, really. The Entity recognised me, though no one else did. It was quite pleased, I think, to have me about, so I decided to do some scouting.’

‘What sort of scouting?’

‘Here and there, back and forth,’ she said, her lips parting in a smile. ‘I’ve been to quite a few of the many-worlds now—I’ve seen things first-hand even you may not be aware of.’

Jarrod hooded his eyes, calculating the myriad possibilities that would allow for a time and place where Nell knew neither him nor Rosette. He didn’t like any of them. ‘Get to the point, Nell. What do you want?’

‘I’ve got a major twist going on in my world…’

‘A twist?’

‘It’s more than inconvenient and I think it might be contagious. It might even be linked to the demise of your Earth.’

‘Demise?’ Selene said.

Nell gave a brief nod, returning her focus to Jarrod.

‘How so?’ he asked.

‘There’s a tyrant on the Dragon Bone Chair and he’s got control of all the temples across the known lands of Gaela.’

‘He?’ Jarrod interrupted. ‘Rosette said there was a High Priest in Gaela.’

‘That’s part of the problem.’

‘How’d it happen?’

‘Long story.’

‘We’ve got time.’

Selene stepped forward. ‘Hate to contradict you, but we don’t!’ She put her hand firmly on Jarrod’s shoulder, drawing him back. ‘There’s no knowing how long we’ve been away from Tensar,’ she said. ‘And we’re no closer to a solution to the…situation there. We’ve lost track of Rosette, and her familiar, and we don’t know where we are or how to get back—to my time or yours. The corridors are running like a back-alley crap shoot, and anything could happen. I’d say it’s not really the right time for long stories, wouldn’t you agree?’

‘That’s where I come in,’ Nell said, leaning forward.

‘Really? How’s that?’ Selene’s voice rang out a challenge.

The two women faced each other.

‘You’ll need to listen if you want to find out,’ Nell said. Her voice was light, as if she was talking to a small child who didn’t quite understand.

Jarrod put his hand out as Selene reached for her sword. ‘Wait,’ Jarrod said. ‘Let’s hear Nell’s story. We need to make some choices and if she has a piece to this puzzle, I’d like to see the shape of it.’

Selene let out a huff. ‘I’ve no doubt she has something to offer, but I think the puzzle she’s working on is not the same as ours.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong, border marshal. There is ultimately only one puzzle, though we like to see it as many.’

Selene scoffed. ‘Witches’ riddles.’ She kept her hand on her sword hilt.

‘Come, Nell, let’s hear it,’ Jarrod said. ‘We’re listening.’

Nell stared at Selene, continuing her story only after the other woman took a small step backward. Jarrod exhaled. It was unnerving, conversing with this exotic woman, so strange and yet so familiar. She was like his Nell in some ways—her serenity and grace, her confidence—and she was like Kreshkali in others. Her voice had an edge, a quick-trigger survival instinct that made her unpredictable, ruthless and dangerous. She also had a quality about her that was wholly foreign. He couldn’t identify it, but it was there just the same. She brewed a potent spell that put him on tenuous ground. He’d need to watch out. There was more going on than she was telling him.

‘It started, long ago in my time, with a priest named Braxton Corvey. He was consort to the High Priestess Le Saint before she fell ill and passed over.’

‘No successor named?’ Jarrod asked.

‘That was the problem. It happened unexpectedly, after a riding accident. She broke her leg and infection set in.’ Nell’s tone changed when she said the word ‘accident’. ‘Corvey took her place, a temporary measure that became permanent.’

‘It wasn’t contested?’

‘At first, no one seemed to mind—he was doing a great job and it gave everyone freedom to mourn Le Saint while he ran things. She was well loved, and honestly, I don’t think anyone wanted her replaced, at least, not immediately. Corvey worked hard and, as it turns out, deviously. He extended his influence, first at Treeon and then across the temple lands from Bangeesh to Corsanon, even Timbali. His charisma united the people in a way that had never been seen.
We all got swept up in it. There was no evidence of his treachery until he’d gained the highest power.’

‘He became regent over all the temples?’

‘Exactly. By then it was too late to contain him. He’d spotted his threats early and had taken measures.’

‘Put limitations on females, did he?’

She nodded. ‘It started out slowly, almost imperceptibly. He replaced all key mentors with his own clan, loyal to his ideals.’

‘Patriarchal, I gather?’

‘Somewhat.’ Her lip curled. ‘First, certain weapons were discouraged for the female initiates, and before long they were banned altogether. He’s got quite a spell cooking. It’s blinding everyone to the truth.’

‘No one challenged him?’

‘I wouldn’t say that.’

‘What would you say, then?’ Selene asked.

Nell let her eyes rest on the other woman. ‘No one challenged him and lived.’

‘More accidents?’

She nodded.

‘But not you.’

‘He’s tried a few times…’

‘You stay one step ahead?’

‘One or two.’ She smiled fully. ‘Comes easier now with a foot in the many-worlds.’

‘But you need some help waking up your Gaela? Breaking the spell?’

‘If you’d be so kind.’

‘I think that can be arranged, though first I have to…’

‘Find Rosette?’

He looked startled. ‘You know where she is? She’s in trouble? Why didn’t you tell me straight up?’

‘And toss away my bargaining chip?’

The trees darkened as the sun went behind a cloud. The wind dropped and only a single whistle from a
distant hawk could be heard. Jarrod felt goosebumps rising on his arms.

‘Tell me what you know,’ he said. This time it was his voice that carried an edge.

Nell cleared her throat. ‘In the beginning, when I first stepped through the corridors, I followed her around—it was like an uncharted maze. It took time to get used to the twists and turns. She’s trodden some strange paths, some illusive, and some she would have been better off leaving be, perhaps.’

‘She’s taken a bad turn?’

Nell didn’t reply.

Jarrod rubbed his jaw. ‘Please go on.’

‘I’m not sure we would call it a “bad” turn. If it is, it’s the kind you can do nothing about.’ Nell wrinkled her nose. ‘Fine line, really, don’t you think?’

‘Again these riddles!’ Selene said. ‘I don’t think she knows anything at all.’

‘Wait,’ Jarrod said. It wasn’t a request. ‘What do you mean, Nell? A fine line between what?’

‘Between knowing or not knowing. Is it choice or fate? Is it “bad” or is it necessary?’ She touched the tender skin around her heart. ‘It doesn’t matter either way. I know what has to be done.’

‘It matters to me,’ he said, the fire in his voice rising again.

‘Let’s just say she’s on ice for now.’

Jarrod frowned. ‘Ice?’

‘She’s not going anywhere for the moment.’

Jarrod stood still. ‘I think you best tell me what you know, straight and clear, or I’m leaving all the chips on the ground where we stand.’

Nell sighed. ‘She’s gotten herself mixed up with a medic on another world—strange place. Very dark. Bad smell…a lot of rules. Why would people want to live that way? It’s crowded, bleak, and devoid of any
pleasure as far as I can tell. Terrible climate. The population seems to be in a constant state of mourning, though they claim nobody has died.’

Jarrod’s eyebrows went up. ‘No deaths?’

‘Chip number one.’

‘And Rosette?’

Nell hesitated. ‘She’s reached a bit of a stalemate.’

‘Explain.’

‘That healer has her held up somewhere and isn’t keen to let her go.’

‘What about Drayco?’ Shane asked. ‘Surely he’s with her? He’ll protect her.’

Jarrod and Selene turned to look at him. He licked his lower lip. ‘Can you see someone getting past that beast?’ he asked.

‘That’s why it doesn’t make sense,’ Jarrod replied. ‘Between the two of them, they’re more than formidable.’

Nell shook her head. ‘Last I saw her temple cat, he was wandering the corridors.’

‘Alone?’ Jarrod’s voice was barely audible.

‘I didn’t see anyone else at the time,’ Nell replied. ‘Though us blood witches aren’t the only ones travelling these paths.’ She whispered the last sentence, but he heard it loud and clear.

‘Trackers?’

‘Perhaps.’

He felt his body give way, his knees buckling beneath him. In an instant several possible ramifications flashed through his mind at once, all of them threatening his life. Drayco would never leave Rosette. Even if things became extreme, she wouldn’t send him off on his own. Unless she was trapped? Injured? Dead? He thought he would be sick.

If Rosette was lost, so was he, and with him their branch of the many-worlds. Without her, he was
mortal—his CPU, the key-codes, all that he needed to self-perpetuate, would be gone. Without her, without her offspring, the spell—Passillo—would unravel along with every one of the many-worlds they’d touched. The impact would be unpredictable though certainly devastating. The integrity of the corridor Entities depended on the spell. He shook his head. What would happen to Earth? Gaela? Was it happening already?

Yet it sounded like Rosette had stumbled upon a world that was circumventing death. That could be the key to Tensar’s imbalance, though she wouldn’t realise it if she never made it onto Tensar. The paradoxes rocked him.

‘Rosette!’ He screamed her name, and his legs gave way. If it hadn’t been for Selene’s and Shane’s automatic response, he’d have hit the ground hard. They grabbed an arm each and propped him up, one on either side.

‘Come on,’ Selene said in his ear. ‘Stay with us.’

His eyes fluttered as he lifted his head to Nell, who was still standing before him. She took a few steps back. He locked onto her, boring into her with his gaze. ‘Take me to Rosette!’

She faltered, and her familiar’s hackles went up. ‘There’s no rush,’ Nell said, stroking Torgan’s head until he calmed down. ‘Rosette, like I said, is on ice. We’ve got time to take care of these problems in their proper order.’

‘And what order is that, Nell?’ Jarrod pulled out of his companions’ grip.

‘My Gaela has to come first.’

‘Why?’

She cocked her head. ‘You’ll have to trust me on that one, Jarrod. All I can say at this point is there are wrinkles in a few worlds that need smoothing out and
one must follow the other. I can help you, but you’ve got to help me first. The High Priest Corvey has to go. That’s not negotiable.’

While Jarrod kept his eyes locked with Nell’s, he became aware of the cool breeze on his face and the sun coming out from behind the clouds. It brightened the leaves of a nearby strangler fig and warmed the back of his neck. He also became aware of the many possibilities as he made instant calculations.

‘It’s a fair trade, really,’ Nell said. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘No problem,’ he answered. ‘We’ll go with you.’

‘Like dead demons we will,’ Selene said.

He turned to her. ‘I know what I’m doing.’

Selene snapped her mouth shut.

‘There’s something I’d like to check first, though, Nell,’ he said, softening his eyes.

‘What’s that?’

‘I’d like a small sample of your blood. Just a prick,’ he added when her pupils dilated. ‘It won’t hurt but a sting.’ He waited while waves of emotion washed over her face. Her mind shield faltered. It was just the chink he needed. He was in.

‘A little assurance that you’ll lead us to Rosette when the time comes,’ he said. ‘It’s not much to ask, under the circumstances.’

She lifted her chin. ‘Certainly, if it makes you feel better.’

‘It does.’

‘It doesn’t for me,’ Shane said, pulling Jarrod aside. ‘We can’t go with her, fight her battles. What about Tensar? What about Rosette? This doesn’t make sense.’

‘The best path isn’t always in a straight line, Shane. Believe me, we’re headed for both at the same time.’

Shane kicked the ground. ‘The best path is away from her, I’m sure of that.’

Jarrod turned back to Nell. ‘The blood.’

‘Get on with it,’ she said, holding up her finger. ‘Though what it’s for, I surely don’t know.’

Ah, but you do, my queen. You revealed that to me, if nothing else.

D
rayco?

Here, Maudi, by the entrance.

It’s pitch dark. I can’t see anything.

You never could see well at night.

True, Dray.

What do they call that?

Night blindness.

That’s it. You’ve always had night blindness.

So it’s not just because I’m dead?

I don’t think so, Maudi. It really is dark. You wouldn’t perceive anything even if you had a body.

You mean, even if I was alive.

Maudi, you are alive. Your body’s dead. There’s a difference.

Rosette wanted to sigh. She felt the sensation, like an exhalation, a wash of relief, but she had no physicality to perform the action—no way to express it.
I don’t know how I’m going to get used to this, Drayco. This non-corporeal state.

It’s temporary, Maudi.

I hope so.

She had no body, no connection to physical reality, and the strangeness threw her. It was beyond anything she’d ever experienced or, at least, beyond anything she remembered experiencing. Meditation, of course, was similar, as was astral projection, but the totality of her current state went further, much further. It felt like there was no going back. She didn’t know how to find peace with that.

Was it merely a force of habit, her desire to shrug, to exhale, to relax her shoulders, to let her head tilt to the side, to wink, to rough Drayco’s neck? Or was it more than that, a part of being? She wanted to feel the tension melt from her face, the fine lines around her eyes soften and then spontaneously crinkle again with a smile. She wanted to push her long hair off her forehead and let her hands drop to her sides, clench and relax her fingers. She wanted to wrap her arms around her familiar and squeeze him tight until his tail lashed and she risked a swipe of his massive paw. She wanted to erupt into deep belly laughter and feel her heart pound against her breastbone. She wanted to cry, letting the well of emotion overflow from her eyes. She couldn’t do any of these things and the realisation caught her head-on.