Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [151]
Shane rubbed his shoulder, staring into the distance. ‘Without my horse?’
‘She’s headed the right way.’ Clay waved in the direction the horse had run. ‘Come on. We’ll find her around the next bend.’ He offered a stirrup and his arm. ‘I can double you until we do.’
‘No thanks. I’d rather walk.’
The conversation in the kitchen fell silent. Grayson sat across from Annadusa, Fynn curled up asleep near his feet. The fires were finally out. He’d eaten his fill, and bathed, but still had not slept. From the strain on his mother’s face, he felt sure she hadn’t slept either. She poured him more tea and his lids grew heavy. ‘What’s in this?’ he asked.
‘Nothing much. Some ginger, mint, that sort of thing.’
He cocked an eyebrow. ‘What else, Mother?’
‘Maybe some valerian root…’
‘Maybe a fistful?’
‘Oh, all right,’ Annadusa said after draining her mug. ‘A teaspoon of the stuff. You need to sleep, and so do I.’
He nodded. ‘What started the fires?’
‘I’m not sure. I felt the spell lose potency. We need to reinforce it, but I don’t know where to begin.’
‘Has there been anyone about that seemed strange to you?’
She chuckled. ‘You mean stranger than those haunting Lupins and other Gaelean witches that wield swords and weave spells?’
He laughed with her for a moment. ‘It feels like we’re being watched, is all.’
‘I hadn’t noticed. Been too much to tend to.’
‘That’s what worries me.’
‘You think the fires were set on purpose?’
‘It’s possible.’
‘By whom?’
‘I don’t know, but I wish Kreshkali were here. She might pick it up.’
‘There’s a way to find out.’ Annadusa refilled her mug.
‘How?’
‘Temple Los Loma is an island. We’ve nothing but red desert around us. Unless a witch flies in, there have to be tracks.’
‘Tracks can be covered.’ He frowned. ‘But not scent!’
‘Grayson, no one here’s got the nose for it.’
Fynn woke up and yipped.
‘He does,’ Grayson said, patting the dog’s head. ‘But we can’t communicate with him…not like Rosette can.’
Annadusa brightened. ‘A Lupin might hear his thoughts! And a Lupin would have the nose for it too.’ She leaned forward and grabbed his hand. ‘That’s our answer.’
‘But there aren’t any about. They all followed Hotha and the Sword Master.’
She smiled, her face creasing. ‘Not all. There was one left behind. The goddess knows she grumbled about it too.’ Annadusa went to the sink and rinsed her cup. ‘Maluka’s here, and she’s perfect. Fynn adores her. I’m sure they talk.’
‘Maluka? I know her. Fights like a demon. I’m surprised they excluded her. What did she do?’
‘Broke her clavicle. It’s nearly healed.’
‘But she can morph, sniff out the perimeter with Fynn?’
‘I can’t see why not.’ She looked at her son. ‘Where are you going?’
‘To get her, while the trail’s hot.’
Fynn’s tail was wagging.
‘It’s three in the morning, Grayson. Let the girl sleep. She’s been fighting fires for two days.’
He felt his lids grow heavier and suspected Annadusa had cast a spell with the words.
‘You’re right. But wake me at dawn. We need to know what we’re up against.’
‘You mean more than a volatile environment?’
He grimaced. ‘Volatile is putting it lightly, but yes.’
‘You think ASSIST is still…active?’
‘If they are, we best not be blind to it.’
‘The library!’
‘That would be the first thing they’d want to destroy.’
‘We’ve guards around the temple grounds now.’
‘Good.’ He kissed her cheek before heading upstairs. ‘I’ll see you at dawn.’
‘Grayson,’ she called him back. ‘Are you all right? With Rosette, I mean, and the baby.’
‘I am.’ He nodded. ‘Everything is all right.’
Mistress?
Kreshkali opened her eyes.
I’ve brought coffee.
She yawned, stretching her arms over her