Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [143]
‘It was a boy.’
‘I see that. A perfect boy, but why did he die?’
‘We can’t carry males, Rosette.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Nor do I. This has never happened before.’
Rosette touched her lips to her lifeless child’s forehead. ‘Why can’t we bring him back, like you did me?’
‘He’s gone.’ Nell shook her head.
‘But he got this far. He nearly made it.’
‘He did. Nearly. Rest now, Rosette. Let your body heal.’
‘What about my heart?’ She looked at Grayson.
‘You have to let that heal too.’ Nell soothed her, brushing out her hair and weaving it into braids.
Rosette clutched her child and cried, a torrential sorrow overtaking her.
Rest, Nell said again, and followed with words Rosette couldn’t understand, a deep spell woven over the top of her head.
Nell, despite her exhaustion, conjured a healing. Rosette felt the comforting lassitude infuse her limbs. It pulled her out of her body and into another world. She surrendered to it, leaving to the goddess and her mentor’s wisdom whatever would come next.
Maudi?
The baby didn’t live, Drayco.
I know. I was there.
Why didn’t he?
Sometimes the spirit draws back.
It was a boy…
Not meant to be.
I’m coming soon, Drayco. I need to be with you.
Drayco’s purr echoed in her mind. You’re here already, Maudi.
Xane pulled his mare to a halt. He could see the others ahead, spreading out through the forest. He knew he was meant to keep up, stay on track, but what he felt overwhelmed him. A deep sadness washed through his mind and he reached out towards it, towards its source. ‘Shaea,’ he whispered. ‘Is that you? Are you hurting?’
It didn’t seem like Shaea but what else could it be? He didn’t have any other bonds. He cared for no one else in such a way, save his charges. Could Grace be injured? Fortuna? The awareness that struggled to be free screamed at him and he glimpsed it for an instant—a dazzle of stars, lights and whirls—too much for his mind to comprehend. He shut it away, turning his attention to his hands, their grip on the reins, the mare’s crested neck, the way her mane flowed like a rippling grain field, the sound of his laboured breathing. Anything to keep him grounded right here where he was. Anything to keep him from drifting into that ocean of stars that threatened to engulf him.
‘Who am I?’ he whispered. He didn’t know if he was asking himself the question or some other being lodged inside his mind. ‘Who am I?’ He wasn’t certain any more.
Teg looked at Kreshkali, watching her pupils expand until her eyes were black. She’d been talking about La Makee, giving him a full history of the witch’s life achievements, both glorious and catastrophic. Teg had been mesmerised, the sound of her voice and the proximity of her heart making his own race. Then she had stopped mid-sentence, her mouth going slack, eyes dilating.
He knew what it meant. She was in her other presence. She was with Nell. When she stirred, her pupils shrank, her eyes closed. Tears ran down her cheeks and he reached to brush them away. Her hand came up, catching his, her eyes opening. She looked past him. ‘It’s Rosette.’ Her voice was difficult to hear, a whisper swept away by the wind.
‘What’s happened?’ Teg leaned closer. ‘Is it the baby?’
Her long fingers laced with his. She squeezed his hand once before letting go. ‘The baby’s dead.’ Kreshkali stood. ‘I best tell Hotha.’
‘And the Sword Master?’
She nodded. ‘Of course. Him too.’
Teg got to his feet. ‘Can I go to Rosette? She’d be…’
‘She’d be gone.’
‘Where?’
‘I don’t know. Nell wrapped her in a healing spell straight after and she vanished.’ Kreshkali’s forehead furrowed with lines.
She looked golden in the late afternoon light. Teg reached out but she shook her head.
‘Bring Hotha to me, and An’ Lawrence. Please.’
Teg’s heart pounded and he turned away, leaping over a log and morphing into a wolf midair. He found the conflicting emotions too much for his human form. The wolf could handle them though. The wolf knew what to do. As Lupin his emotions sat without