Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [146]
‘Move away,’ Teg growled.
‘Come on. Take it easy. It’s all right.’ Shane was soothing now. ‘They’ll be back soon, with Rosette.’
‘Those two know her well,’ Selene said, taking on Shane’s reassuring tone. ‘And they aren’t worried.’ She reached towards him again. He backed away.
‘You’re both wrong. It’s not her.’
Selene and Shane exchanged a look and blocked the entrance to the strange land.
‘We can’t let you go in this state.’
He feigned a move in one direction, then turned to face the corridors. Selene glanced at the portal, where the plasma Entity sparked. She drew her sword and darted past him to block that way as well.
‘I think we need to stay put until the others return,’ she said, her feet wide, sword pointing towards his chest.
Teg lowered his eyes, allowing his peripheral vision to keep each of them, and each exit, in sight. The temple cats remained indifferent. That confirmed his decision. He bunched his muscles and leapt, shifting to his wolf form in midair as he sprang over Selene’s sword and back into the portal.
Kreshkali struggled against the restraints until her ankles bled and her head throbbed. She could feel the sticky fluid cooling on her skin. It dripped to her toes, the rusty smell of blood strong in her nostrils. Her arms were pinned behind her, clamped tight to her back, the point of one shoulder digging into the ground at a distressing angle. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids wouldn’t cooperate. They barely fluttered. The pain in her body astounded her. She screamed. Easy, she cooed to herself. These thoughts aren’t helping. Slow down. It’s going to be all right. Breathe deeply. Assess.
She soothed herself into a calm, relaxed state, allowing for the sensations without judgments. It was just energy, after all. She could choose how to experience it. When she felt a little relief, she pushed her awareness out of her body, surveying the surroundings with her inner sight. A light breeze ruffled along her back, lifting the tips of her wing feathers. Ah, wings. That’s part of the problem.
She was still in falcon form. Her first reaction was to shift, but she paused, reconsidering. Was she lying on a tiny outcropping hundreds of feet high? Was she balanced on a branch or in a tangle of thickets? She’d best wait until her senses cleared before she did anything sudden. She eased herself further, taking slow breaths.
Above her another falcon cried. She couldn’t see it, but she recognised the sound. It belonged to a Barbary, a small bird of prey, fast as lightning. It was far in the distance, though it had obviously spotted her. She sighed. He would no doubt move on. Barbary falcons were hunting birds, not scavengers. The crows were another problem. She heard them squabbling in a nearby tree. Not good. She got the sense of being on the ground and risked shifting back into human form. Nothing happened. My energy is too depleted.
She had a grim chuckle at the irony. This would be just her luck—pecked to death by her own Three Sisters. No. That wouldn’t happen. They were back on Earth and she was still in Gaela, wasn’t she? It was little comfort. What self-respecting crow wouldn’t make a meal of her in this state? Again she struggled against the restraints.
The sun was rising towards its zenith. She could sense the bright orb of light through her closed lids. The warmth gave little comfort—it increased her thirst and vulnerability. How did this happen?
She remembered swooping towards the portal, alighting on a nearby branch and then…blank. Searing pain and nothing.
Where was everyone else? Did Teg get them out?
While she pondered, a crow dropped from the tree and landed near her head. Leaves scattered as it hopped closer. Twigs snapped. She screamed and it flapped away, only to return moments later with two others. They looked like slits of black through her partially opened eye. She was in a clearing surrounded by shrubs and tall pines. There were a lot of crows in the lower branches. More above.
She tried to conjure