Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [154]
He shined his apple on his sleeve, watching her face. She didn’t avert her eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Nor will I.’ He bit into the crisp fruit, the sugary taste melting on his tongue. ‘Tell me what you found?’
She chewed and swallowed. ‘I will, but you’re not going to like it.’
Rosette stood naked on the rocky outcropping, staring at the bottom of the gorge. She could do it. Her eardrums would blow out—no way around that—but it was worth the risk. The wounds would heal, the pain would pass. It didn’t matter, as long as she could get to Passillo before La Makee. Before Rall and her young apprentice.
Maudi, I don’t like it. If you black out before you reach the surface, I don’t know if I can save you.
‘We’ve been over it. There’s no time to weave a rope long enough.’ She clutched a fistful of his neck fur. ‘I’ll be all right. It’s just like scallop diving in South Sea Cove.’
Scallop diving was never as deep as this.
‘You don’t know. You weren’t there.’
Was it this deep?
‘No. But it’s a lot like this, in theory.’
‘A lot like’ and ‘just like’ are not quite the same.
‘True.’ She shivered. ‘I’m getting my intention warmed up, Dray. I need to believe I can do it.’
You can, Maudi.
‘I think so too, thank you!’ She hoisted a rock. It was a quarter of her weight and had taken the afternoon to dig out of the field. Her biceps quivered as she pushed it high over her head. After three exaggerated breaths, she dove, throwing the weight in front of her and hanging on tight.
The water hit like an icy rain, chilling her skin while the blood drained from her extremities. Her ears cleared in a matter of seconds but she plummeted too fast to keep up with the building pressure. A searing pain shot through her head and she swallowed hard, ignoring the urge to drop the rock and shoot back to the surface. She clung tight and relaxed her body, soothing her hunger for air and the tearing pain in her eardrums. When she thought she would have to let go, her fingers losing their grip, unable to respond to her will, she clanked into the granite floor of the gorge, on top of the spell’s cairn. Keeping one hand on the weight, she tore at the rocks that sheltered the spell in its crystal vial. I’ve got it, Dray. It’s in my hand.
Swim, Maudi. Surface. It’s been too long.
She clutched the vial, the same one she’d worn as a child, Bethsay’s child. She pushed the memories aside and kicked, her legs working in smooth, even strokes, the pain in her head slowly replaced with lassitude.
Dizzy, Dray. I’m…
Swim, Maudi! Don’t stop now. Kick. You’re nearly there.
She knew about shallow-water blackout. She’d seen Liam succumb when he and Jarrod challenged each other, competing for the largest catch in the scallop coves at the south end of Lister Bay. She bit her tongue hard, letting a few bubbles of air escape her lips. Old air, stale air. She had to breathe!
Her nose led and she watched the surface appear, a warping wall of sky blue filling her vision. It was close now. Light. The water suddenly warmer. Tingling. She smiled, more air bubbles escaping. They rose around her and she bit down on her tongue again to stay awake, the pain keeping her from gulping before she reached the surface.
The water felt almost hot to the touch at the very top. She saw a flash of movement, the strong strokes of her temple cat’s legs dog-paddling towards her. He clamped his jaws around her upper arm when she broke the surface, keeping her from slipping back under. She gasped, sucking in air and water at the same time. Rosette choked and sputtered while Drayco hauled her to the shore.
She yelled at the intensity of his jaws around her bicep, stopping only to gasp and cough. Her feet touched the bottom when they reached the bank and she crawled out of the gorge, collapsing in the mud between clumps of reeds, panting for breath. Warm sticky fluid trickled from her ears. She rolled over on her side to throw up. Drayco stood over her, licking her face, and she clutched his neck with one hand,