Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [5]
She pulled out her compass again and then redirected them slightly more to the southwest. They travelled in companionable silence. The subtle breeze was lifting the heat of the day and erasing the tensions from the recent earthquake.
‘Here come your minions,’ An’ Lawrence said, pointing skyward. ‘Looks like they’ve got news.’
The Three Sisters, blue-black ravens from Gaela who had taken quite happily to this other world, swooped and darted overhead. Unlike most visitors, they found delight in the strange, decimated and unpredictable environment. They whooshed past her, cawing out like mad pipers, flapping and blustering. She laughed. They were definitely excited about something. She hoped it was more than a rotting carcass on the other side of the hill. ‘What have you found, my beauties?’
‘Probably a chunk of obsidian shaped like a wing,’ An’ Lawrence said. ‘Or an old cow skull.’
‘I think it’s more than that this time.’
Temple halls! Big ones! Many trees. Live trees. Many nests! All very old but still fresh. Everything shiny and bright. Water too. Drink and bath and frolic. Come quick, ride hard and see with your own eyes, Mistress! Glorious home!
They cawed their news, diving by the riders a few more times before shooting off.
We follow, my lovelies!
‘I take it they spotted something significant?’ An’ Lawrence asked.
‘Indeed.’
‘The manor?’
‘Seems so.’
‘It still stands?’
‘It does, at least from their point of view.’
‘They’d be excited by a rubbish heap.’
She raised her eyebrows at him and he chuckled.
‘I meant, that’s great news. I can’t wait to see for myself!’
‘Thank you, but it would be more convincing without the sarcasm.’ She smiled in spite of his expression.
After looking for remnants of a road and finding nothing but endless packed clay and rocks, she wondered how easy it would be to find Paree’s mansion in the thousands of rolling acres. Wherever the road had been, it was now buried under rock or lost to erosion. Cracks cut through the land and there was no sign of the trees that used to line the old driveway. Of course, there were very few trees left in this region, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. Still, she believed that on her ancestor’s estate both flora and fauna would be preserved. There was enough energy in this land to preserve the whole world—and from the sound of the Three Sisters, it had protected the estate at least. Of more immediate interest, there was water—and that meant survival. They really were running low.
‘It does feel like something substantial ahead,’ An Lawrence said. This time the positivity in his voice was genuine.
‘I agree!’ She’d not known how she would ever locate the mansion until she found the picture in her mother’s diary—a treasure and a boon—though the image itself was of little help. The world had seen much change since the photo was taken. Nothing was recognisable. The lush trees that led the way, exploding in purple blossoms and feathery green leaves, weren’t even a memory for her generation. Yet the image had been passed down their family line for more than reasons of nostalgia.
She still recalled the thrill she’d experienced when she’d turned the photograph over and read the back. The message was cryptic, it had to be, but it contained all the information needed to locate the estate—for one who knew how to interpret