Strange Attractors (45 page)

‘I can imagine. ASSIST wouldn’t want the masses getting a hold of that concept.’

‘They didn’t. The point is, if you continue to remember events in a certain way, the results of those events, painful or happy, or positive or enlightened, continue to affect your reality. So you can keep thinking and reliving your conversation with Rosette that brings you grief, or you can play it out in your mind a different way—the way you want it to be. Focus on that, and before you know it, the old memory loses power.’

‘The pain goes away?’

‘Does your palm still hurt?’

‘You healed it, Nell. It doesn’t hurt at all.’

She laughed. ‘You thought I healed it, Grayson?’

‘You didn’t?’

‘It doesn’t matter if I did or not. What matters is what you think. When I was telling you the story about Rosette’s first experience milking a goat, did your palm hurt?’

He cleared his throat. ‘Not at all.’

‘And when you put your attention back on it?’

‘Like the demons again.’

‘So you understand. Pay attention to how you remember. Change it where you want. Think it the way you wish it were true.’

‘And that affects the future and the past?’

She put her arm around him and kissed his cheek.

‘Does it ever!’

Grayson contemplated her illustration when they returned to the cottage. He made them a pot of liquorice and mint tea, watching the herbs saturate, sinking to the bottom before securing the lid. Nell lit candles and burned scented oils. It soothed his soul. The sun brightened the stained-glass windows and he felt lighter.

‘Better?’ Nell asked.

‘Much.’

‘Part of her wasn’t here for this,’ she said, staring out the window. ‘I didn’t put it together before but it makes sense now.’ Her hands were on her hips, a crooked smile on her lips. ‘I’m guessing Rosette had more than a quick glimpse at my grimoire.’

‘What did she read?’

‘Enough to understand how to be in two places at once, I’ll wager.’

Grayson’s mouth dropped open.

‘Don’t look so surprised. How do you think I learned it?’

‘Witches’ business,’ he muttered.

‘Indeed.’

‘What’s next, Nell? Do we set out to find her?’

‘I’ve a pretty good idea of where she is.’

He tilted his head to the side. ‘The gorge?’

‘If I’m not mistaken, she’s hiding in the reeds.’

‘Keeping watch over Passillo?’

Nell nodded. ‘One of us needs to get back to Temple Los Loma. See what the mountains are doing,’ Nell said. ‘Like to volunteer?’

‘Good plan.’ He studied her face. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Right now? To sleep. You too. Neither of us has had a wink for days.’

Grayson yawned and nodded. ‘And then?’

‘I’m off to the heart of old Dumarka. There’s a High Priestess named Saphon I need to meet.’ She took up her mug and sat across from Grayson. ‘There are a few more pieces to this puzzle we’ve yet to fit.’

‘What can I watch for on Earth?’

‘A thief in the night, I’d say. And, Grayson, mind your thoughts. Pulling this off is going to take a lot of reaching back…’

‘To change the future?’

‘Precisely.’

Maudi, wake up. Someone’s coming.

Where, Drayco?

I smell horses, and witches. Upwind, on the far side of the gorge.

Rosette loosened her grip on Drayco’s neck and propped herself up. She had slept the night with her arms around him; the warmth of his body was pervasive but she’d still shivered and sobbed. Her eyes were puffy slits, and she blinked them, waiting for her vision to clear. On the opposite side of the gorge, two riders approached—one on a bay mare, the other on a golden warhorse.

‘Amarillo,’ she whispered. ‘That’s La Makee.’

Since when does she have dark hair and long legs?

Since she learned to be in two places at once. That’s the glamour, Dray. She was like that in the corridors when Jarrod was lost, remember?
Rosette felt heat rise to her face, the hairs on the back of her neck standing
out. She gripped her sword, pulling the blade a fraction from the scabbard.

She’s sensing this way, Maudi.

Got it.

Even though they were hidden deep in the reeds, Rosette wove a glamour around them, merging them with their surroundings. Through the tiniest peephole, she watched, using all her energy to keep the glamour up, and to keep herself from morphing into a winged lion and tearing out the witch’s heart.

We don’t know for certain that she killed Jarrod, Maudi.

That’s why I am still here, in the reeds, and not over there, my sword against her throat.

Do you recognise the other rider?

Rosette focused on the girl dismounting the bay mare. She had honey-red hair, shining like gold against her dark cloak. She walked as if she’d been overlong in the saddle, though she had sat the horse as smoothly as any well-trained equestrian.
She might be from the portal that night as well. The girl with the dark eyes? Said her brother had died? Can you tell from here? It’s too far for me.

She has dark eyes and yes, it looks like her.

Must be Makee’s apprentice. What was her name?

Shaea?

Sounds right.
Rosette tuned into the girl’s thoughts. To her surprise, she met with a strong mind shield.

Definitely an apprentice. But if she’s not aware of us, why is she shielding?

From Makee?

Interesting
. She didn’t risk testing La Makee’s mind. That would give them away as quick as a shout. Rosette could learn more by observing. Besides, she knew what Makee was here for. She had come for
the spell.
She can’t get to it, Drayco. Not unless she empties the gorge.

Makee had handed off her mount to the girl and was climbing the rocks. The water was clear, the cairn that marked the spell’s hiding place visible at the bottom, at least two chains below the surface. Rosette had studied it the day before. She knew there would be no retrieving the spell unless she could morph into a fish, and even then she’d have no hands to clasp it.

Drayco had suggested morphing into a melesin, a mythic creature from the Rahana Island tales—half human and half dolphin. She’d laughed. Even if it were possible, she didn’t have the skill.

Anything is possible, if you can imagine it
, Drayco had reminded her.

That’s just it, Dray. I can’t imagine how to do it!

She guessed Makee had come to the same conclusion. She left her perch on the rocks and got back in the saddle, taking the trail to the top of the gorge. As the horses disappeared from sight, Rosette let the glamour down.

‘She’s gone upstream.’

To divert the water.

‘It’d take one demon’s fire of a spell to do it, but yes. I think that’s her plan.’

Then what? She can’t carry Passillo.

‘That’s the one aspect of this whole business I haven’t figured out. Only my line can use the spell. Maybe Makee is going to grab it and try to keep it from us.’

A dog with a bone?

Rosette chuckled. ‘Something like that. Whatever it is, she has a strong intention going.’

One that precludes Jarrod.

‘That must be part of it. She’s gone to a lot of trouble to get him out of the picture.’ Her hand went to her belly, pulling away when she felt it flat, hard.

Are you all right, Maudi.

I’m fine…Thank you, sweetheart.
She sighed as she looked at the twist in the path that wound behind the mountain. ‘What’s that witch up to?’ she asked aloud.

Follow, Maudi?

‘Oh yes. I’m not letting her get far from my sights unless…’

Maudi?

She climbed a nearby boulder and tossed a rock into the depths. It sank to the bottom like an arrow to its target.

I’ve got an idea, Drayco. With a little luck, I think it just might work!

Grayson gripped the gates of Temple Los Loma, holding the wrought-iron post to keep from being knocked off his feet. The ground churned, the surrounding mountains choking the sky with smoke. The haze burned his eyes, the air thick with sulphur and ash. Fissures cracked the land around him and he buckled, staying down on his knees until the undulations subsided. The ground gave one last shudder, like a belch, and went still.

He brushed the red dust from his pants as he stood and headed down the lane towards the temple. An eerie silence blanketed the land; not a bird was in the sky. The dogs didn’t bark to greet him, and the paddocks were empty. There was no sign of the Three Sisters either. The heat baked down and his shirt was drenched when he reached the temple grounds. What he saw in front of him was not expected. He stood,
barely noticing when Fynn came up, wagging his tail and sitting on his feet. The pup whimpered and Grayson squatted down to pat him.

‘What’s this, little Fynn? What’s happened here?’

It seemed the spell that had protected Temple Los Loma all the centuries was failing. Statues were overturned, trees down, water flowing past in a muddy torrent where the aqueduct had ruptured. One of the buildings near the orchard had collapsed and a fire was being put out. He spotted Annadusa heading towards him, her sleeves rolled up, her hair tied back, wisps clinging to her damp forehead. Her hands were covered in soot.

‘Spell’s broken?’ he asked, bending down to embrace her.

Fynn barked as if to answer first.

‘Only in the last few days. I can’t tell why. It’s stood for so long.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Rosette?’

He lowered his eyes. ‘Baby died…’

Annadusa bit her lower lip. ‘And the mother?’

‘Gone to…I don’t know where.’ He lifted his face, tears in his eyes. ‘We buried him in the Dumarkian Woods.’

‘Him?’

‘It was a boy.’

‘That can’t be, unless there were twins. Even so, only the female would have developed.’

‘It was a boy,’ he said again.

‘And Kreshkali? Where is she?’

A call from the barn turned their heads around. A young girl was trying to control a horse, blood soaking its neck and chest.

‘We’ll talk later,’ Annadusa said, hurrying towards the barn.

‘Where do you need me?’

‘The fires. There’re still some to put out.’

Grayson left his pack by the temple steps and ran to the shed, grabbing a sack to beat out the flames. Fynn stayed behind, trembling, watching the road.

K
reshkali pounded her fist on the table and the argument came to an abrupt halt. An’ Lawrence and Hotha were not in accord and even Teg had been emboldened by the debate, firing his thoughts at the others. They’d been yelling and howling out their concerns and conflicting ideas for the better part of the morning and Kreshkali had had enough.

‘If you can’t speak one at a time, how do you expect to hear each other?’ she asked. ‘You’re behaving like whelps with a single shin bone.’

He’s the whelp
, An’ Lawrence said to her privately. He glared at Teg.
Why is he even here?

Because he’s my apprentice.

I can’t see how this will resolve as long as your Sword Master refuses to acknowledge the true threat of the Corsanons
, Hotha said, his inner voice drowning out her own.

‘Get out of my head, the both of you,’ she yelled, rubbing her temples.

They all pulled back and she stood, leaning into the table and tapping her finger on the map. ‘Let’s review what we know,’ she said, her voice low and smooth. ‘Just the facts. Where are the Corsanon warriors?’

Hotha stood beside her, pointing to the mountainous regions. ‘They’ve crossed the Goregan River and are heading for the northern Prieta pass, ill prepared.’

‘More than ill prepared,’ Teg said. ‘Now that they are out of the Corsanon lands, they’re storming like locusts.’

‘Locusts?’

‘They’re slaughtering livestock, felling trees and fouling streams. They’re five hundred strong. It’s a lot of mouths to feed, man, woman and beast. They’re decimating the land as they go. The settlers in their path are being slain. They can’t stand against that many, even the fey ones.’

Kreshkali visualised the path left behind them, and narrowed her eyes to slits.

‘Now can you see the need to stop them before they get any further? This is no longer a diversion. We must protect the land,’ An’ Lawrence said.

Hotha raised his hand. ‘But if we wait until Rashnan and the Lupins under Los Loma arrive…’

‘It will be too late!’ An’ Lawrence cut in.

The argument erupted again.

‘Enough!’ Kreshkali gripped the edge of the table and overturned it in one quick heave. Scylla’s hackles went up as she leapt aside, hissing. Cups, mugs, maps and plates crashed to the ground, the notes floating like leaves in the sudden silence. Kreshkali turned to Hotha. ‘Is Rashnan coming?’

‘He’s a day’s trek away, one hundred Lupins strong.’

She wheeled on the Sword Master. ‘How far are we from the Corsanons if we march immediately?’

‘Thirty leagues to the scouts. Another ten to the legions.’

She pulled the table back upright, the others helping.

‘It’s clear we cannot let them reach Temple Dumarka. That must be protected, first order. Can we take half our troops and circle past the scouts?’

‘Trapping them between us and Rashnan’s warriors?’ Hotha asked.

‘That could work,’ An’ Lawrence said, tracing the route on the map.

‘As long as we weren’t detected.’ Teg’s voice was soft.

Kreshkali left the three with their heads together, working out the details.

Mistress?