Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [156]
‘Curse you, Makee. What battle are you fighting now?’ He and Scylla leapt from the portal, screaming a war cry.
It appeared this campaign had been going for some time, the heat of the day wearing both sides down. It almost looked like slow motion, a sea of horses, warriors and hand to hand.
Where is she, Scylla? Can you spot her?
To the west, holding that small hill.
Which one? He squinted at the fray.
On the golden horse.
He spotted her, red hair flaming, the sun glinting off the sapphire that hung between her bare breasts. She wielded her sword in smooth arcs, tireless and exacting, her mount in perfect control, pivoting and leaping in time to her swings. No one could get near her; he watched them die trying.
Scylla, run with me. We’ll skirt this lot and approach the hill from the south.
Why not straight through?
He chuckled. You have a taste for blood, my lovely?
It’s Corsanon!
Come. This isn’t our fight. Rosette’s our first concern.
Let’s hope you can make it Makee’s. She does look like she’s having fun.
He took off towards the knoll, hoping to avoid the warriors. He’d done it all before—fought Corsanon into the ground. Why they kept re-forming was beyond him. They seemed to have no concept of peace or truce. Certainly they had none of defeat.
She knows we’re here, Scylla said.
Excellent. Her mood?
Curious-excited.
That’s better still. He followed Scylla as she led the way, clearing a path to Makee.
The witch spotted them. She didn’t take her focus from her opponents but sent him a mind message. What brings you here, Sunshine? You finally get tired of Kali, or was it the other way around? She charged towards him, cutting down those too slow to get out of her way. The rest retreated.
Neither. Makee, we need you.
Of course you need me. She flashed him a smile as she signalled her mounted troops. ‘See them off,’ she commanded, throwing her head towards the retreat.
Rosette needs you.
Makee flicked blood from her sword and sheathed it, jumping to the ground. She handed her reins to her second, giving the warhorse an affectionate slap on his sweat-soaked neck.
‘Well done, Amarillo,’ she said to him. Raising her voice, she addressed her warriors. ‘Done, and well done, all.’
They were gathering around her but let An’ Lawrence and Scylla through, stepping back and bowing their heads as they passed.
‘What trouble’s the young witch in now?’ she asked.
An’ Lawrence reached her, bending down to kiss her right cheek, her left and then her lips. ‘She’s dead.’
Makee frowned. ‘That is trouble.’
‘Can you help?’
‘She’s floating around disembodied?’
‘Back at Temple Los Loma.’
‘Where’s that?’
‘Earth.’
‘And her body?’
‘It’s been on ice. Glacier-cold. We don’t have much time.’
‘Kreshkali knows the ritual. Why are you bothering me with this?’
‘She’s gone missing.’
Makee laughed. ‘So you’ve come begging?’
He kept his eyes on her while watching the far side of the knoll with his peripheral vision. A Corsanon warrior crept forward, only the top of his head and the tip of his bow visible.
An’ Lawrence pulled Makee aside as an arrow whizzed by, just missing her shoulder blade. The High Priestess let out a rumbling scream and spun around, blasting her energy out in a sudden flare. An’ Lawrence covered his face, shielding his eyes from the white light. The archer was thrown, landing face down on the ground, unmoving. She spat and turned back to the Sword Master. ‘You really can’t find that doppleganging witch?’
He shook his head.
‘But you found me!’
‘Indeed, Makee. I did.’
Rosette studied the apple trees at the entrance gate. They seemed to glow with recognition, their leaves radiant in the sunlight, branches ruffled by the breeze.
I don’t remember those, Drayco.
Nor I, Maudi.
When she returned her focus to the others, An’ Lawrence and Scylla were back in the portal. What was he doing now? She tried to send him a mental query, but it was like throwing feathers at a bull. No impact.