Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [126]
Kreshkali couldn’t hear you either.
That’s…different.
Everett had his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched. ‘I think I know who you’re looking for,’ he said finally. ‘I can take you to her, if you like.’
‘She’s alive then, unharmed?’
‘Not now, but she will be just as soon as we work out what’s happened to her heart.’
‘Cryo-suspension?’
‘You know about it?’
‘A bit. It’s only experimental.’
Everett eyed him up and down before calling Fynn. He crouched down and opened his backpack. ‘Experimental?’
‘Isn’t it?’ Grayson asked.
‘The technique’s been fully functioning for almost two centuries.’
Finally, some useful information! Drayco, tell Scylla we’re in the future. Jarrod needs to…
Maudi, I can’t. He interrupted her thoughts.
Why not?
She’s out of reach again.
GAELA—TIME: FORWARD
CHAPTER 26
Jarrod watched Selene. She was plucking flowers from her neckline and throwing them towards the centre of the cell. The tiny yellow daffodils with crimson eyes formed a mound of vibrant colour at her feet, bright against the rough stone floor. She ground them with her boot.
Jarrod inhaled the scent released from the crushed petals. It brought a wash of relief, easing tight muscles and edgy nerves. He hoped the scent would act as a soothing balm to everyone. Selene’s temper was heating the room like a furnace, doors wide open.
‘What are you looking at?’ She snapped the words towards Jarrod as he studied her face.
‘This isn’t as bad as it seems,’ he said, his voice even, eyes steady.
‘Really? As bad as what, then, if not as it seems?’ she snarled. ‘Did you realise what that bitch-goddess was up to?’
‘She’s not actually a deity,’ Shane said.
‘How can you tell?’ She turned on him and folded her arms.
‘Because Rosette said…’
‘Oh, blow it.’ Selene waved her hand like a knife. ‘I don’t want to hear either of their names right now. I just want to know how we’re going to get out of this.’
Jarrod closed his eyes. ‘I’m working on it.’ His voice was a whisper and neither of them responded. Perhaps they hadn’t heard. At the moment, it didn’t matter. He needed to quickly calculate the myriad possibilities their circumstances offered—quickly as in how long it takes a bubble to pop. Humour flickered across his face as his eyes opened a fraction of a second later. He stood.
‘Well?’ Selene asked, pressing a petal between her thumb and forefinger, staining her fingertips yellow.
‘We’ll get an interview with Le Saint before long. She’s upset, but not incensed. She’ll want to know why this happened and what our part in it is.’
‘And what will you tell her?’
‘The truth.’
‘I’d like to hear that,’ Shane said. ‘I’ve no idea what’s happened.’ He dropped his face into his hands.
‘We’ve been set up, that’s what’s happened,’ Selene said. She dug a pebble from the floor and threw it at him.
‘Not set up exactly,’ Jarrod said. He held out his hand as she started to protest. ‘Used as a distraction, yes, but I think she was only looking for a buffer of time.’
‘Time for what?’
‘To get away?’ Shane asked.
‘Maybe, or perhaps to keep us all occupied here while she does some other mischief in the corridors.’
‘Like I said, a setup.’
Jarrod frowned. Selene’s assessment disturbed him. It was possible that Nell’s agenda was more complex than he had originally thought. According to his calculations, she would be heading back to her temple in Dumarka to check on the results of this little adventure. She knew he would hold her to their agreement, though. He had her blood. He could track her anywhere now. He didn’t have to worry about her getting away from him.
‘And what do you think is going to happen when we speak to Le Saint?’ Selene asked.
‘She’s going to thank us,’ Jarrod said.
Shane and Selene both stared at him.
‘Are you mad?’ Selene said. ‘She’s hardly going to give us an award. We effected her lover’s murder. She’ll want to feed us to her crows, or worse.’
‘She would have initially, but my guess is the spell is dissipating now that he’s not here to weave it.’
‘He’s had her under a spell?’ Selene asked.
‘Heavy as metal.’