Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [158]
Nell laughed. ‘Treeon? Hardly. There’s been a change of plans.’
Clay frowned. ‘How so?’
‘I want you to follow a young witch, keep an eye on her. Can you do that?’
‘Rosette?’ Clay whispered.
‘That’s the one. She’s running northwest, towards the Prieta portal. If you turn off at the foothills road, you’ll get there before her. Any questions?’
She didn’t wait to hear an answer before she took off again. The horses reared but Clay was ready for it. He leaned forward when his mount reared, keeping the gelding under control. Shane managed the same. Far in the distance a raptor whistled and the raven shot away towards the west.
‘I’ve never seen a black bird so huge,’ Clay said, scratching his head. ‘Can they shape-shift into any creature or does it have to be real?’
‘I’m not sure what you mean by real, but I’ve seen such a bird before. They’re called Lemur ravens. There’s plenty of them at Timbali Temple. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.’
Clay’s face lit up, his smile wide. He whooped, urging his horse forward. ‘What luck. We’ll be seeing Rosette before the day’s out. And we were just thinking about her, both of us.’
Shane frowned. ‘It doesn’t feel quite right.’
‘Not right?’ Clay called back over his shoulder. ‘Come on, man. It’s all right. Keep up!’
Nell rode the thermals high above the Lemur raven. When she was directly overhead, she dove.
To the ground, La Makee, or I’ll break your neck midair.
The Lemur raven cawed, faltering before cutting sharply to the right. Nell adjusted her dive, picking up speed by the second. In falcon form, she was the fastest animal alive. No one could outdistance her, and certainly not in a dive. The Three Sisters vanished from her peripheral vision. They couldn’t hope to keep up. Last chance, Makee.
The raven dipped its wings, stalled and recovered in time to flap hard in the opposite direction. Nell had to pull out of the dive, riding the thermals back up. She kept Makee in her sights, the wind rushing past her face as she gained altitude, closing in.
You’ve done enough damage, Nell. I’ll not have you destroy my last effort.
Effort for what, witch? To plant yourself on every dragonbone chair in the known lands of Gaela?
Hardly. I’m saving this world from your stupidity.
Nell whistled and dove again, the raven in her sights. The black bird’s head came up and it flapped hard against the wind. Nell saw that she was labouring. She pinned her wings to her sides and plummeted. Again the raven evaded the strike, though her recovery was slower. Nell hit an updraught and soared above her, sure this would be the last strike.
Wait, Nell. Stop. Makee’s voice strained in her head. I’m landing. We can talk.
Nell followed the raven down, tracking her every move. Adrenaline rushed in her veins. She felt a wash of emotions, trust in the other witch not being among them. She dropped to a grove of oaks, touching lightly to a branch beside Makee. The raven’s head cocked, her blue eyes blinking before she jumped to the ground, morphing as she landed. Nell did the same, her toes touching the dirt an arm’s length beside her. Makee began to pace, her hand on her sword, her red hair flaming behind her.
Nell stood back, watching. ‘What do you think you’re doing, La Makee?’ The Three Sisters landed in a grove of beech trees, echoing the challenge. ‘You stop the wars, you start the wars. You destroy Temple Corsanon and point the finger at Dumarka, and you nearly kill Rosette in the process. From what I can see, you’ve destroyed Jarrod and set the mountains of Earth to boil. Have you gone insane? What are you thinking? What purpose could you possibly have?’
Makee spun on Nell. ‘What shall I answer first?’ She didn’t give Nell time to speak. ‘It was An’ Lawrence who started the Corsanon wars again. I had that fire out.’
‘Out? Hardly, Makee. You baited him and you know it.’
She ignored the comment. ‘And Temple Corsanon was set to blast the Entity apart, or didn’t you remember