Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [163]
‘I can.’ She passed her fingers over the plasma field, the purple zaps of energy tingling her palm. To the North Seas portal, my lovely Entity.
Maudi, didn’t Nell say to head straight back to Temple Los Loma?
Really? I didn’t catch that. She could smell the ocean before the thought was out and she knew the Entity had already chosen. It was a bit of a concern, one she would have to ponder later. For now, they were where she wanted to be, out of the way enough to avoid conflict yet close enough for her to get a good look at what was going on. With the spell safe in its amulet around her neck, she led them out into the afternoon light, her cloak streaming behind her as the wind greeted them.
They were well south of Romanon Bay, near the Goregan outlet, hundreds of feet above the pounding surf. Drayco scented the air, his mouth partly opened. Shane and Clay led their horses into the tree cover, the cypresses sculpted by the wind.
I’m going up, Dray. Checking it out. You keep an eye on the boys?
Drayco winked at her and sauntered into the woods, his tail in the air.
‘I won’t be long,’ she said aloud and waved. ‘Mind your eyes.’
Leaning into the headwind, she leapt, morphing into the form of a falcon. She flapped hard to gain altitude then found a thermal and rode it high to the clouds. The air streamed past her face, her wing feathers rippling, the whiffling sound punctuated by her high-pitched call. When she came upon the foothills of the northern Prietas, she hovered, watching the scene below.
An’ Lawrence rode in the lead, heading east, Scylla with him. He led one hundred horsed warriors, and a few Lupins. She thought one must be Teg but she didn’t try to speak to him. She wanted to check the lie of the land first. With her telescopic vision, her eyes trained on a group of riders a distance away. An’ Lawrence was heading straight for them.
Some scouting party you have, Sword Master!
She was about to warn him when the group disappeared. It had to be a glamour, and quite a good one. An’ Lawrence and all his warriors went past without a glance in their direction. Even Teg. She saw them safely away and shot west, searching for Hotha’s clan. Not far in her flight she found him, joining up with Rashnan’s Lupins. The gates of Los Loma Gaela must have opened wide. She’d no idea there were so many Lupins. They were headed in the same direction as An’ Lawrence.
Who’s minding Dumarka?
She shot east again, unable to spot the group of Corsanons she’d seen before the glamour went up. Tracking further still she found An’ Lawrence, only to come upon legions of Corsanons less than a league ahead of him.
She screamed into his mind. Get out of there! The Corsanons are headed right for you!
Teg was doubling back. An’ Lawrence got the message from both of them it seemed. He had his troops hidden to the south in moments, Teg heading east. She followed An’ Lawrence.
They tricked you with a glamour. Watch out, Sword Master. I can’t tell where they are.
Far below, An’ Lawrence tilted his head skyward. Rosette? What are you doing here?
Keeping you from falling into a ditch. What are you doing? Dumarka is the other way!
Kreshkali’s seeing to Dumarka. We are circling around the Corsanons, rounding them up like a herd of grunnies.
Great idea, but you’ve let the bulls out of the pen! And, by the way, you’re ridiculously outnumbered.
Lucky for them. It’ll make things more even.
He galloped on through the sparse trees. She caught a glimpse of him, the black mare’s neck crested, her mane flowing over his hands, the hilt of his sword glinting in the sunlight. It’s a distraction, Rosette, so Kreshkali can get the spell.
Already done and well done, Sword Master. I’ve got it.
You? Where’s Makee?
I don’t know, but there’s a legion of Corsanon warriors riding hard to Temple Dumarka, and I can’t spot a one of them.
There’s not much I can do about that until we subdue this lot.
Bangeesh and Timbali are marching north, according to Clay and Shane, but they have to get through the pass before they can join you. She kept flying