Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [163]
The canines were indeed back on his trail, no longer cowered. He heard them gaining, and also sensed the riders on foot, charging after them. His own blood was making the way easy to follow. The portal had better be near. He didn’t feel he had much energy left.
It’s just up the rise. Keep running.
Teg stopped short, staring at the sheer cliff in front of him. It was taller than an ancient redwood, at a ninety-degree angle to the creek. You call that a rise? Kali, it’s a fifty-foot high cliff. How in the demon’s dance do I get up there?
Climb!
Teg leapt, forcing his legs to scramble, ignoring the shooting pain and the burning of his lungs. Somehow he found purchase, lunging from shelf to outcropping until he crested the top, shale and rocks dropping down on the dogs below. They jumped and slid and yapped but could not follow.
Do you recognise the portal? Kali asked.
He loped into the clearing. I do now. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time when he saw Kreshkali, her dress wafting in the breeze, her arms crossed as she stood in front of the entrance. Her hair clung to her forehead and she pushed it off her face, her smile radiant. He bounded towards her and shifted, ignoring the searing pain that redoubled in his left leg and hip. He reached her, falling into open arms. For a moment, everything stopped. The sound of the stream, the distant hooves over the forest loam, the baying of the tracker dogs, the wind through the trees—all went mute. He could no longer hear the birds, the leaves or the sway of branches overhead. The only thing he knew was the pounding of his heart, or was that hers? He couldn’t tell the difference.
Her arms were around him, the line of her hip pressed tight against his side and her hands on his neck, fingertips tangled in his hair. They took one breath together before she released him.
‘There you are,’ a woman said. ‘I was hoping to catch you.’
An avalanche of sounds returned as the world started up again. He spun round to the portal. A woman stood in front of it, blocking their way.
‘Haven’t you had enough of us, Le Saint?’ Kali’s voice was calm.
‘Not quite, and certainly not enough of him.’ She pointed a finger at Teg and an eagle feather fell from the hem of her sleeve.
Drop her, Teg, before she sees it coming.
Kali’s words were so pervasive, he didn’t hesitate. He built a blast of energy in silence, feeling it fill his mind and rush down his arms. He held it in, to the point of bursting.
‘Where are the others?’ Le Saint asked.
She was oblivious to his summoning.
‘Why don’t you come with us and I’ll show you?’ Kali said.
For a second the other woman faltered. She hadn’t expected that.
Now! Kali shouted into his mind.
Teg sent a searing bolt of energy to Le Saint so fast she could never have caught it in time. It would hit the side of her mind—splashing into her consciousness, scrambling her memory and balance, short-circuiting her thoughts. It would have, that is, if she hadn’t had a shield up. He conjured every last bit of his reserves to cut through.
Stop, Teg. She’s down. Don’t kill her.
The last thing he remembered was Kali pulling him into the portal, the temple guards shouting behind him. In the cool darkness of the corridors, he collapsed to the ground.
EARTH—TIME: CIRCULAR
CHAPTER 37
Everett stared at the walls. They were old, but not as old as he was. Their plaster, like the skin over his bones, had been scraped smooth, reapplied and retextured again and again. The finished look never reclaimed his youthful vigour. There was no rosy glow, but it covered the cracks and filled the pits. Behind it stood Everett. What stood behind the walls, he didn’t know.
At one time his centuries had seemed like an attribute, but not any more. Things had changed. The cracks reappeared. He followed one now as it meandered through the pale green plaster. It stopped just short of the clock. He let his eyes adjust, waiting for the second hand to catch up. He cleared his throat.
‘Time of death, 1.05 p.m.’
The room was silent save for the drone of