Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [51]
They were shoulder to shoulder, hearts pounding.
‘You don’t send out a score of riders, armed and ready—horses charging—to invite a witch to morning tea.’
Shane nodded. ‘My thoughts too.’
She looked into the forest. In the shadows, the woods seemed thicker, a wall of oaks and pine trees chained together with tendrils of prickly vines. Drayco was already disappearing into the dense cover of bracken and tree ferns. This would be the way, Maudi, back to the portal—unless you want to fight the guards.
Good call, Drayco. We’re right behind you. She grabbed Shane’s shoulder, turning him around. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘How?’
‘Run!’
Shane slammed the hilt of his sword back into the scabbard. ‘Where to?’
‘We’ll circle through the woods and reach the portal from behind.’ She pulled him along.
‘You know the way?’
‘I used to.’ She hoped the horses hooves would trample their tracks by the road, slowing the pursuit, at least momentarily. There was no time to brush them away, by hand or magic. Would the guards know of the portals? Nell certainly had to. She grumbled an oath at the child again and dashed between two cypress trees, following the path her familiar had taken. Shane was right beside her.
This way, Maudi.
She thought she knew the area intimately, having spent many hours hunting and wandering these woods with Drayco and Clay. That was only a year ago. How much could have changed? A year ago my time…my world, she reminded herself. This is different.
Much different, Maudi.
As she ran deeper into the woods, the trees became unfamiliar, as if they had grown a different way than she remembered. She kept going, running past fringing oaks and eucalypts, pushing the tall ferns out of her face. Panic rose in her chest. She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. Drayco? Does any of this look right to you?
Not really.
Demons. Which way’s the portal?
It should be a short sprint in from the main road and another short sprint south.
Should? You never use that word. Which way from here?
He sniffed the air. Veer right?
She caught up with her familiar and kept running. They tried to take a southerly course, but the way was blocked by brambles, nettles and vines. Rosette stumbled, snapping twigs and stirring up leaves as her boots dug into the ground. They tore across a clear stretch and she looked skyward. The sun was obscured by clouds and the woods were getting darker. She quickened her pace. What do we do now?
Maudi, you need to shift!
What?
Turn into the black falcon. Fly out of here and spot the portal. Do it now!
Shift?
The woods have changed, Maudi. We might run straight into a trap. You can guide us from the sky.
He wasn’t stressed from the run, like she was, and his mental voice was severe—a freshly whetted knife against her thoughts. His request had logic, no arguing that. They could both easily get away if she changed form. He could outrun the guards in this terrain, even though it was strange, and she, like her mother before her, could simply take to the skies, spot the portal and guide him in.
She’d perfected her shape-shifting skills in the Sierras last spring, under the tuition of Kreshkali. There she had changed into the form of a black Gaelean falcon and soared high above the snowy peaks, riding thermals for hours on end. She’d hunted with Drayco, much to the temple cat’s delight, snapping the necks of jack rabbits that he flushed from the scrub.
They could take the same approach now—her above, him below. It would mean escaping without direct confrontation, but it would also mean leaving Shane behind, straggling on two feet. He’d fallen back already, an easy mark for the temple guards.
It won’t work.
Why not?
Shane.
There was a pause before the temple cat responded. Rosette listened to the pad of his soft paws and the thud and snap of her boots in the deep loam. Her breath, and Shane’s behind her, was becoming more laboured.
I’d forgotten about him, Maudi.
It’s all right. We’ll find a way together. If nothing else,