Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [76]
Nell followed them, keeping to the shadows and slipping from tree to tree, crouching low to cross the bridge. All of Rosette’s attention was focused on where she was going, not where she’d been. A mistake. ‘Who trained this girl? Surely not me.’ Nell tailed her to the steps, ducking behind a redwood as Rosette caught up with her companions and disappeared into a cleft in the side of the rock face. Torgan? What happened?
It’s easy. I see what she does.
Excellent. Come back now, lovely. Let them go. She crossed her arms and stepped out from the shadows. ‘Thank you, my dear Rosette,’ she said. ‘You’ve shown me exactly what I needed to know.’
Torgan came slinking down the steps, his rust-black coat turning vermilion in the afternoon light. The dark tabby stripes on his forehead and legs stood out like a tiger’s.
And you could see where they went? Nell asked her familiar.
Not exactly, but I saw what she did. The daughter-girl touched the edge of the rock and it jumped out to meet her—purple snakes of light zapping into her hand. She didn’t look alarmed, but the bite of them knocked her down.
Did it cause injury?
I don’t know. I couldn’t tell.
Then what happened?
They all disappeared.
‘It’s our portal. Finally,’ Nell whispered.
The exit we’ve been searching for?
Yes! It’s been here all along, right under our noses. She caught up to Torgan and stroked the feline’s massive head.
There’s nothing below my nose, Nellion, save teeth and tongue.
Nell laughed. ‘It’s a figure of speech, my love. Let’s go.’
Do we follow them?
Not yet. Tonight, when the moon changes signs. Come, we mustn’t be missed at meditation. The witch wrapped her robe tight against the rising wind and headed back across the bridge. ‘We’ll need supplies.’ She talked more to herself than her familiar. ‘Warm furs, plenty of dried food, my dagger…’
Long trip?
‘It could be that way.’
I don’t mind.
She laughed, roughing Torgan’s neck. ‘Then let’s be over-prepared, just in case we decide to make it so. There’s a sword master out there that I’m dying to meet, and some kind of sentient as well.’
Sentient?
‘That’s all I caught, save his name is Jarrod and he has some intriguing qualities.’
‘She told you?’
‘She did, in more ways than one.’ Nell felt for the letter deep in her robe pocket, rubbing her thumb over the edge of the broken seal. ‘This is going to be quite a journey.’
Torgan purred, his tail held high.
Jarrod left the palace, his hands clasped behind his back. The Caller had presented him with a curious dilemma. No births—no human births anyway—yet no known cause. More confusing still, there was no sign of Rosette and Drayco. They never arrived, according to the strange woman who vacillated between flippancy and focus. She emanated a strong psychic association with the energies of this world, though, and her intuition matched that of any High Priestess on Gaela or Earth. Not surprising she was a Caller. If she said Rosette and Drayco never set foot on Tensar, he believed her. But why had they been barred, or were they diverted? More pressing, where were they now? He shoved his hands into his pockets and descended the steps.
He felt a chill and turned back. At first he saw no one. The only movement came from the purple and black flags whipping across the entrance, straining at their poles like unschooled dogs eager for a run. He ran his hand through his hair and studied the columns on the left until Selene appeared from behind one. He waved, and she trotted down to meet him, her hand going to her sword hilt to keep it from jostling.
‘I’m glad you waited,’ Jarrod said, giving her a quick smile.
She didn’t respond immediately.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
She kept close, staring past his face into the distance. ‘I need to get you out of here,’ she whispered.
She continued down the steps, Jarrod falling into place beside her.
‘Are we in danger?’ he asked.
‘Not now,’ she said, her lips barely moving. ‘Walk as if you hadn’t a care.’ She smiled at a group of men heading up the steps and quickened her