Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [13]
She didn’t move. ‘This is our way out?’ she asked. ‘Are you sure?’
He turned to her. ‘I am.’
‘And what if it’s not?’
‘Trust me. It is.’
‘Where does it lead?’
He braced the torch in a nest of rocks and pulled off his shirt, indicating for her to do the same. ‘Last time, it took us straight to Gaela. It’s a portal, of sorts.’
‘You and Rosette? To her home world?’
‘Where she grew up, yes.’
‘But didn’t it end up being the wrong time? Some kind of unlived past?’
‘Something like that.’
‘So how do we know when or where we’ll come out, Shane? How do we know it will even be Tensar?’
‘We don’t.’ He undid his sword belt and stuffed his clothes into his pack. The water wouldn’t be good for his flutes and whistles, or his sword, but they’d exhausted every other option. The other portal was gone, a solid wall in its place, and he knew of no other escape than the cave pool. They had to risk it if they were ever to get out of this prehistoric world. In all their searching, they had found no settlements and no other human being.
He stood naked, holding the torch over the pool again. Last time there had been fish in the water, blind, colourless and biting, but now he couldn’t see anything moving in the depths. Had something eaten them? Scared them away? Had they even evolved yet? He had no idea how far back into the past they’d gone. It wasn’t recent.
When he and Selene had returned to Tensar, their home world, he’d been relieved. The portals had run true. Selene was thrilled to be back as well, glowing with the new intimacy they’d shared. He sighed. That was until she’d realised they’d returned to a Tensar millennia before his time. Coming through the portal into the Black Swamp was the first hint that something was askew. A major ground shaker had destroyed that portal before he’d left but the Tensar they were in now hadn’t experienced that event—not yet, and maybe it wouldn’t for a million years to come.
An extended exploration had confirmed his theory—no cities, no roads, no people. The only animal life they encountered was an abundance of strange and varied birds, enormous insects and alarmingly large footprints around the edge of the swamp. The flora was ridiculously green and healthy, though the trees were not tall and there were many more ferns than he’d ever remembered—their leaves thick and broad, their trunks laced with dew-dripped spider webs large as rope. It unnerved him.
Selene didn’t admit to any fear, keeping quiet for most of the exploration, but he had no problems voicing his. There was something disquieting about finding an untouched valley where a city of thousands had been the last time he looked. It was like a dream, a nightmare. He shook his head. What had he been thinking, travelling the corridors without a witch of the blood, without Rosette? Now he was about to do it again.
He knelt by the edge of the pool and tested the water. Better to sacrifice his fingers to a cave predator than his entire body. Or was it? He drew his hand away.
‘What are you doing?’ Selene’s voice echoed in the cave.
‘Just checking.’
‘For what?’
‘Anything that might nip.’
‘Nip?’
He smiled but she didn’t return the gesture. She stood naked, her sword and pack in one hand, the other on her hip. Her expression made him cringe, but by the goddess of the night, she did look good. Unfortunately, her mood made it impossible for him to enjoy the moment beyond an abstract pleasure in her form.
She snarled at him, pointing a finger. ‘If you think I’m getting into that black hole if it’s harbouring vipers, you’re deranged.’
‘If we stay in this ancient world one more minute, I will be. Come on.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’ll go first. It’s only a few seconds’ swim to the other side. Or it was last time, anyway.’
She didn’t budge.
‘Fine. I’ll be back in a moment.’ He sucked in a deep breath, about to lower himself in.
‘And if you’re not?’
He shrugged, exhaling quickly. ‘You’ll have to find another way out, on your own.’
That changed her expression. ‘Hurry up then,’ she said, taking a step closer. ‘I’m getting goosebumps.