Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [4]
‘Now you tell me?’
‘Now I know.’
Don’t all locks have a key? Scylla asked, staring at An’ Lawrence. She sat gingerly on the hot red earth, her tufted ears languid in the heat.
Yes, Scylla, they do. But this key is lost.
Are you sure?
He hesitated. Not when you say it like that. ‘There wouldn’t be a key, would there?’ he asked Kreshkali. ‘Or a way around?’
She shook her head. The fence stretched out for as far as the eye could see in both directions. ‘Not today. Not for us. We could climb over, but that would mean leaving the horses behind. Not an option.’
More howls wafted on the wind.
‘Don’t tell me they have the key?’
‘It’s a possibility,’ she answered. ‘He had to entrust it to someone.’
Another shadow darted behind a boulder, or was it the same one? It moved too quickly to tell. Scylla leapt up, growling. Her hackles spiked, making her appear double in size. Kreshkali brushed dust from her hands before stroking the feline’s head. ‘It’s all right, Scylla. The Lupins don’t want to hurt you.’
The feline hissed. Really? Is that why my fine white belly fur still bears a scar from a Lupin blade? What kind of wonderland does she live in, Rowan?
‘What’d she say?’ Kreshkali asked, her hands on her hips.
‘Pardon?’
‘I can tell she’s talking to you.’
He coughed. ‘It’s hard to translate.’
‘Give me the highlights.’
‘She…disagrees.’
‘I can imagine.’ Kali laughed. ‘Let me put it this way, Scylla. The Lupins don’t want to hurt you any more.’
Scylla turned her head away.
‘Let me see what I can do,’ Kali said, stroking the temple cat again before turning towards the gate. She pushed up her sleeves and lifted the thick twists of chain that looped the central post. She touched the locks gently, as if they were small creatures. ‘What’s your secret, my little ones?’ she asked. ‘Why so tight? Don’t you recognise me? A child from the one who made you? Come now. Won’t you let us pass?’
An’ Lawrence screwed up his face as he retrieved the axe and brushed bits of rock from the blade. The edge looked like jagged teeth. ‘It’s a lock, Kali. Not a stray cat. You can’t coax it into…’
‘Shush.’
Her eyes softened. All her focus went into the padlocks. As she held them, she released a warm wave of energy that surrounded the metal. Particles of light hovered like fireflies around her hands. Thunder rumbled on the horizon. In the stillness that followed, the locks clicked, letting go their hold. She unwound the chain and gave the gate a shove, swinging it as wide as her smile.
An’ Lawrence crossed his arms. ‘Done, and well done,’ he said. ‘Can I ask why we didn’t do that in the first place?’
‘I like watching you sweat.’ She winked as she strode through the ancient iron gate. ‘Let’s hurry along, Rowan. We need to water the horses, and the Lupins are following, you know.’
‘Of course,’ he said, biting the words. ‘And while I get our mounts, might you be so kind as to tune in and see if there’s a banishing spell on the estate? I wouldn’t want to be turned to stone on such a lovely afternoon simply because I don’t have the right sort of look about me.’
‘More like the right sort of DNA, I imagine.’
‘That too, then.’
She sighed. ‘I already did.’
‘And?’
‘Luka Paree must have laid down a ripper.’
He slowed in his tracks. ‘Can you dispel it?’
‘It’s a little more complex than that. I don’t know what we’re up against, really. It’s very old magic.’
‘Great.’ He untied the horses. ‘Can you at least lock the gate behind us?’
Kreshkali stared into the distance, not answering. An’ Lawrence led the horses through the gateway, his eyes on the woman.
‘The Lupins?’ he prompted. ‘What’s your call? Shall we lock them out?’
‘They have a right to be here too. You know that.’
He had more than one argument ready, but as he looked behind him, he nodded and mounted up. ‘Lead the way, Kreshkali. We, and the dark demons of the underworld, shall follow.’
She offered neither smile nor frown but turned her mare towards the west and trotted on.
Kreshkali jogged beside the Sword Master, her mind tuning in to him. He was adjusting rather well considering