Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [89]
‘It’s being watched,’ Nell said. ‘We must be mindful too.’
Nell wasn’t fooled by the outward show of welcome. There was a spell on the entrance, clear as the faint blue light it emitted. She caught a glimpse of it at the edge of her sight, like the rustle of a mouse. Only this was no tiny creature with a corn kernel in its cheek. The feline’s hackles went up.
‘Not to worry.’ Nell smoothed them down. ‘These people don’t know it yet, but we’re allies.’
You mean they’ll help us get Corvey off the Dragon Bone Chair?
‘Precisely.’
And we will help them.
‘Them or us, it’s one and the same.’
One problem, Nell.
‘What’s that?’
There are no other temple cats here, save one, and it’s not Drayco.
‘Rosette’s not about?’ Nell asked.
Not without the black. We must have come to a different place, or…The temple cat sat on his haunches staring into the distance, eyes unblinking.
‘Different place or what, Torgan?’
Time.
Nell frowned. Corridor travel was still unfamiliar to her. Others had tried it when one of the ancient portals had been discovered near Treeon years ago, but none of those explorers ever returned. Corvey had banned it and she was beginning to guess why. Had they spent their lives looping through time or did they find a world they couldn’t leave? ‘You say there’s a temple cat here?’
Only one. That’s so strange.
‘Can you vision him?’
Her. Of course. She’s different.
‘How so?’
She’s smaller, very light-coloured coat with…no tail!
‘No tail?’
None to speak of. She’s linked to someone important, though.
How important? Nell sent the question silently, tilting her head to listen to three ravens flapping in an apple tree beside the gate. They fell silent when she stared at them. She pointed a long tattooed finger in their direction. ‘I’m watching you, black birds.’
One of the ravens opened its beak and let out a raucous call. It was immediately repeated by the other two.
There may not be other temple cats, but I see three familiars already, Torgan. She faced the ravens. ‘Why don’t you tell your mistress I’m here instead of squawking about like old hens?’
The ravens screeched as they shot off towards the distance. They disappeared into the haze, leaving a single black feather floating on the breeze. It drifted towards the ground in front of Nell and she caught it, holding it at an angle until it turned an iridescent blue-green. She smiled, marking their line of flight. ‘That would be the direction we need to go,’ she said, stroking the top of Torgan’s head. ‘Can you communicate with this important familiar? Will she talk?’
That’s the problem, Nell. She’s bombarding me with questions. Wants to know where we are from and how we got here.
‘Aggressive?’
Not at all. Curious, though. Excited. Torgan lifted his paw, licked it and proceeded to wash his face. We seem to be a novelty, Nellion.
‘We can use that to our advantage.’
Yes and no. Your identity will cause some confusion.
‘How’s that?’
It appears you are already here.
Nell rubbed the back of her neck. Time paradoxes were not her forte either.
‘And you? Are you here too?’
Oddly, I’m not.
‘This is going to be an interesting afternoon.’
I don’t think we’ll be able to blend in.
Nell shouldered her pack and gave the feline a playful nudge. ‘We won’t have to, if I weave the magic right. You fancy being a mongoose?’
Mongoose? Torgan sneezed. Tawny fur? Long and sleek? Genius hunter?
‘That’s the one. Are you ready?’
I don’t mind.
They strode through the open gates, displacing a palpable wall of energy. Nell winked at Torgan and wove the glamour, transforming the temple cat into a healthy young example of genus Herpestes and changing her own looks to that of an island girl from Rahana Iti.
Nice, Nell. I like it. Torgan flicked his tail and bounded ahead.
Jarrod stood at the edge of the snow-covered expanse, his breath making puffs of fog in the still air. The sky was pale turquoise, tinted by a glacier that jutted into the valley like a frozen lightning bolt half a mile high. Beneath them was a lake, ice-solid, framed