Strange Attractors (57 page)

Lightning flashed and Drayco launched on two approaching Corsanons.

We’ve got to get them out of here, Teg.

I don’t see how.

Maudi! She comes.
Drayco’s voice cut through her mind.

Who, Dray?

She looks like Nell, but…

His words were cut off as he dropped the warriors, knocking them to the ground with a sweep of his paw. In the next lightning flash Nell stood under the bridge, her robe splattered with blood, her hood thrown back.

Rosette’s head shot up.
It’s Nell! Drayco, look! Check, please. Is it really her?

The temple cat didn’t answer immediately. He made sure the warriors wouldn’t get up before turning to the woman, tasting the air, his mouth slightly open.
She’s of your blood. Must be Nell.

‘Nell!’ Rosette ran to her, falling into her arms. ‘I’m sorry I disappeared. I had to get away, get to my other self. But you know this, of course. Kreshkali knows this. Why is it you’re here and not she?’

Nell looked at her and swallowed. ‘The baby…’ she said.

‘I know. It’s so sad. I can’t bear it yet. That’s why I ran.’

Nell cleared her throat. ‘Give me the spell,’ she said, holding out her hand.

‘What?’

‘The spell. I need it now.’

‘Why?’

‘Just give it to me.’

Another flash of lightning revealed three more Corsanons charging towards them, a Lupin on their tail. Teg and Drayco attacked as the light winked out. When the next flash ripped through the woods, the warriors’ bodies were prone, minus their throats.

Rosette unclasped the vial.

‘Quickly.’ Nell thrust her open palm towards the vial. ‘Pass it over.’

It pulsed for a moment, warm in Rosette’s hand. ‘Jarrod,’ she whispered, her lips brushing the crystal, kissing it before she handed it to her mother. ‘Nell’s going to mind you now.’ Rosette felt ice in the pit of her stomach when she let go. As the spell left her hand she nearly buckled.

Maudi, what’s wrong?

I don’t know. Danger…

No kidding, Maudi.
He shook blood from his ruff.

Nell backed away.

‘Where are you going?’ Rosette sucked in her breath, trying to slow her heart rate. Her pulse was rushing faster than the rapids behind them. When she tore her eyes off Nell and the vial, a wind slapped her face. She slammed her eyes shut, finding a Lemur raven fanning the air when she opened them. Her hand went to her sword. ‘Makee!’ Rosette screamed. ‘You’ll not take it from us!’

Nell froze, bringing her fist to her chest. Rosette moved beside her, drawing her weapon, but Nell ran, disappearing into the rain. The raven darted after her.

‘Nell!’ Rosette screamed. ‘Where are you going?’

W
hen the lightning winked out, Xane urged his mare forward. The woods were dark, haunted with wolves—Lupins, he was certain. He’d watched the Corsanon troops engage them, and the temple priestesses too, but each time the lightning struck the wolves would have them, bringing them down. They never got up again. He was doing his best to make sure that wouldn’t happen to him. For some unknown reason, he wasn’t afraid, but he didn’t know how to fight them either. His sword training had only begun in the last year. He couldn’t face a Lupin and come off the better. His job was to see to the horses, anyway. So far he was leading a string of six, all riderless.

The animals were crowding together, heads high, the whites of their eyes showing. He didn’t blame them. This forest was a strange and eerie place with the storm, the wolves and the metallic scent of blood and blade, though he felt a thread of kinship here. It was inexplicable, made no sense, but he felt like he’d been here before
and he didn’t want harm to come to this land.
Hardly a warrior’s stance, or a stableboy’s. I might as well be an enemy, having such a thought in my head.

He kept his mare under control but he wasn’t sure how many more horses he could lead without losing them all. The harm he didn’t want to inflict was everywhere, and he was in the middle of it. Lightning flashed again and the horse at the end of his string reared. She took off, dragging two others with her. He struggled to keep the grey mare from turning on her heels and running after them. He leaned forward, grabbing her mane when she reared and pawed the air.

‘Easy, Rose. Easy.’ He pressed his face into her neck, sending his thoughts as if she would hear them in her mind.
We’ll be safe. I’ll protect you.

He had no idea how he would protect her, or himself, but he sent the thoughts anyway, as if they were true. Her hooves hit the ground, jolting hard, but she settled and they moved on. There was no point in trying to find the horses that bolted. He needed to mind the ones he still had control of.

There were three in tow now, near panic. The empty stirrups slapped their sides as they pranced. Wolves were all around. He caught sight of them with each flash, and so did the horses. He moved them into a trot and followed the creek upstream. Willem was not far ahead. In the next lightning flash he saw a bridge, a full battle scene raging around it. When the light faded, he realised he could still see the fighting, though the figures were dark, etched in red. How could that be? He worked his way towards the bridge, hoping to get the horses to higher ground on the other side of the creek, when a scream split his ears.

What he saw jarred his mind and the creatures in the depths of his soul launched sky-high like leaves in
the wind. They hung on the sides of the well, clawing and grasping for purchase, awake, strong, frantic to escape. Under the bridge stood a witch, the beautiful woman he’d seen in the carriage.
Her again? Was he dreaming?
He stopped the mare and the other horses bunched around him. He opened his mouth, waiting for his frenzied thoughts to form a word, to call out to her. Before they could, lightning ripped the sky.

A young girl ran, her cloak streaming behind her, hair drenched and clinging to her skin. A glowing blue light pulsed in her fist. She clutched it to her breast and ran like all the demons of the underworld were on her heels. His head felt like a club had struck him. He knew the gait, the shape, the energy, the scream.

‘Shaea!’ he shouted above the storm. ‘Shaea! Wait!’

He drove the mare towards her at the gallop, the other horses dragging behind, anchors in the mud. ‘Shaea, wait! It’s me. It’s Xane. Where are you going?’

She froze. Her head turned towards him but their eyes never met. Lupins closed in and she took off again, up the jagged steps of the northern cliff face, slipping and falling and scrambling to her feet, climbing towards the top. Why was she going that way? There was nothing up there save unpassable rock. The Lupins would run her down. They were gaining with each breath. ‘Shaea! You’ll be trapped.’

A raven swooped past, chasing her as well. A witch? He let loose his string of horses and made it to the bottom of the cliff at a dead run. He jumped off the mare and drew his sword. ‘Shaea, I’m coming!’

The lightning flashed and one wolf dropped back, turning on him. He stood still, not breathing, waiting for the light to vanish. The animal’s eyes were black and lucid. He could see his own reflection in them, a boy with a sword too big for his arm, holding it high
over his head, leaving his entire body unguarded. And then he saw her.

In the reflection of the wolf’s eyes, he could see the beautiful witch standing behind him. Her sword was not as high as his, her body protected by the length of it dropped along her side. The light vanished and he knew, to them, he had disappeared, leaving the witch and the Lupin face to face—too dangerous a stance for either to strike.

He leapt to the side as Willem stepped up, swinging his sword like an axe. It caught the Lupin’s shoulder and the animal yowled, spinning on the invisible attacker, missing the mark as he lunged. When the lightning flashed again, the beautiful witch sheathed her sword, transforming in front of his eyes. She jumped towards Willem, shape-shifting into a wolf as her jaws closed on his throat. The light vanished again but the wolf didn’t let go.

Xane was paralysed as he watched her break Willem’s neck. Her head came up snarling, her eyes locked onto his in the next flare of light. He stole a glance towards the cliff face before he swung his sword wide, making her jump back. He lifted his arm for another blow but he never brought the blade down. He never attacked. A black temple cat appeared at the witch’s side. The animal screamed at him and he staggered back, saved only by the glamour that hid him between lightning strikes. He crouched, holding his breath. The temple cat screamed again and the witch turned into her human form, calling after it. ‘Drayco! Drayco, to me! Up the cliff.’

He heard the name and faltered as if a hand had slammed his head into a stone wall. Dazed, he barely noticed the Corsanon High Priestesses appear, warriors on either side of them. They were after the temple cat
and his witch, that was clear. He gripped his sword. Something was very wrong with his head. It felt like it was no longer connected to his body. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. He didn’t know what to do.
Drayco? She called the temple cat ‘Drayco’. I…I love that name.

He wiped rain out of his eyes and searched the cliff. Shaea had slipped into a crevice; the Lupins, oddly, didn’t follow. They were tearing back down the cliff face, straight for the temple priestesses. They seemed desperate to protect the beautiful witch. He was glad. It didn’t make sense. She’d killed Willem, right in front of him. Willem—who had been his friend and guide. She would kill him too and Shaea, given the chance, but he was still glad. He rubbed his eyes.

The raven was about to duck into the crevice, but an eagle plummeted towards her, driving her to the ground. They tumbled down the cliff, the raven limp, a sack of black feathers at his feet. The eagle screeched again and flew off.

Xane thought he would be sick. His head spun. The pain was killing him. Everywhere he looked triggered thoughts that pulled against each other. He felt like he was being torn apart. Willem was dead, the temple priestesses were cornering the witch and her familiar. The wounded Lupin didn’t move. Xane pressed his sword hilt into his forehead, blinking, trying to relieve the pressure hammering him. The lightning flashed and vanished; the troop sergeant yelled for him to rally with the others.

‘Xane, mind the horses. Bring them round!’

He scanned the grounds and spotted his mare, two other horses with her. He turned away from the cliff, away from Willem’s dead body and his lost sister, away from the cornered witch and her temple cat, and
ran, calling the horses to him, gathering as many as he could.

Rosette waited for the next lightning bolt before chasing after Nell. What was she doing, asking for the spell back and then running away? ‘Nell!’ she screamed. ‘Where are you going?’

Kreshkali’s voice rumbled deep in her mind.
What do you mean, Nell?

Kali, don’t confuse me.

Nell’s at Temple Los Loma. Who are you talking to?

Nell is here. You…she…she asked for the spell. I gave it to her. Makee appeared. They both took off.
Rosette clamped her hands over her ears while Kreshkali’s scream blasted her mind.

That wasn’t me! After them! Get the spell!

Rosette and Teg bolted. Drayco led them straight for Nell who raced towards the cliff steps, the raven just above her. As Rosette gained on her, the icy hand in her stomach gripped again. The woman she ran after shimmered, a glamour falling. Her stride changed, her form ever so slightly altered. She saw how she’d been tricked but why had Drayco not sniffed it out?
Teg! Call the Lupins to her. We can’t let her get to the portal! We can’t let her take the spell!

Between lightning flashes she could see nothing but the gathering Lupins. A rush of air went past and she smelled horse sweat. A Lupin yowled and dropped to the ground. When the lightning flashed again she saw the girl with the spell was climbing the steps, already halfway to the portal. Rosette stopped at the base of the ruined stairs, lifting her sword behind a young Corsanon staring at Teg, transfixed. He looked hardly more than a boy. She hesitated, unwilling to strike. The light disappeared and she and Teg faced each other.

The next moment Teg was down, blood spraying from his shoulder. When the lightning came again she saw a different Corsanon warrior standing over him, ready to swing and finish him off. She leapt, morphing midair, her jaws going for the enemy’s throat. The darkness returned and he disappeared but she clamped tight, the weight of her wolf body smacking the man to the ground. She shook her head, breaking his neck. When the light returned, the boy ran.

Teg, Drayco, get behind me. Temple witches come!

Teg didn’t move. She glimpsed him out of the corner of her eye. He was down on his belly, panting, the rain washing blood from his shoulder. It mixed with the mud and coursed past her boots. She backed towards him, Drayco with her, his tail lashing, his ears flat. Half a dozen Corsanon High Priestesses had them trapped, their fingers pointing towards Drayco. His hackles were knife points, his lips drawn back over fangs, claws out, ready.

Rosette drew in the Elementals, building up a banishing. Before she could unleash it, Drayco dropped, his legs knocked out from under him. Rosette cut loose the spell to save him. Too soon. It ripped through the witches like a spinning top but it didn’t have enough force behind it to knock them back more than a few feet. Lupins attacked from outside the ring and Corsanons poured in, surrounding them as well.

Kreshkali!

She didn’t answer.

Rosette crouched to touch Drayco’s chest. He was still breathing, but the temple priestesses pressed forward. She sprang at the nearest. It was too close for sword work. She morphed into a falcon, talons forward, slicing. She raked across the faces of the first two priestesses before dropping to the ground, springing
back up in wolf form. She cut to the left, tearing off the shoulder and arm of the nearest warrior, and slamming to a halt. The priestesses were making way for a flood of troops, swords drawn. She morphed again, the momentum between shape-shifts so fast, for an instant her wolf form kept going as she twisted in her skin, launching in the opposite direction as a falcon, tearing at the warriors. Her talons locked onto the back of a Corsanon’s head, catching the front of his throat. She closed tight and his sword dropped from his hand, his body following. She morphed again into wolf, the wings of the falcon barely vanishing before she hit all fours.