Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [167]
Shaea didn’t move. ‘La Makee?’ She knew it was audacious, but she had to make certain. She wasn’t about to move until she was sure.
‘That be me,’ she said and spun around once. ‘And so be this.’
Shaea blinked. Suddenly Rall stood before her, still rubbing her shoulders, her face even more fierce.
‘You get it now, girl?’
Shaea nodded and Rall morphed back into the glamour of La Makee, if that really was the glamour. She wanted to ask which was really her but thought better of it.
Makee snapped her fingers. ‘The horses? Move your legs. We’ve far to ride.’
Shaea brought Makee the warhorse and returned for the mare. She mounted up, trying to sort her thoughts.
‘The Entity said if I…’
Makee lifted her hand, cutting her off. ‘The Entity said to do as I instruct. We ride, at the gallop. Follow.’
The golden horse reared, catching the urgency. Shaea held the mare back. Her horse wanted to bolt in the opposite direction, and so did she, but she resisted the instinct. The Entity was her key to freedom and she wasn’t going to lose it after getting this far. Makee turned her horse north at the run and Shaea followed.
Xane kept his outward appearance calm but, inside, his stomach roiled. The creatures in the well of his mind were frantic, shouting at him, passing images and numbers, symbols and letters across his mind’s eye faster than he could think. Everything he saw clashed with his memory of who he was. It didn’t make sense, yet it felt so familiar. I’ve gone mad. The hemlock’s driven me psychotic.
He dropped his reins and clutched his head. He didn’t even know what psychotic meant. Was he possessed? Had his body been taken over? He shuddered, guiding the mare around a fallen log. It was too much to know. Too much to understand. In the depths of his mind, the creatures pounded their fists. He turned away, shortening his reins and pressing Rose into a gallop. Ignore them. They aren’t there.
Willem had ordered him to stay close, and Xane kept him in sight, along with the temple priestesses. They galloped down the main road, but Xane followed the tree line, a stone’s throw away. Leagues of forest spread out before them and he navigated the terrain, keeping his eyes forward, trying not to think.
Then he spotted it. Or did he? Hallucination again? He double-checked and there it was, or was that another? A wolf! He reined the mare back to the road, nearly ploughing into the temple priestesses. He had to catch up to Willem. He had to report. This time it was real. The big man saw his panic and held up his arm, stopping the others.
‘Wolves!’ Xane said, sputtering the words. ‘They’re running this way.’ His mare rocked back on her hindquarters, pawing the air. The witches exchanged glances but didn’t speak.
‘Easy, lad. You’ve seen wolves? Are you sure?’ Willem snapped his fingers over his head as he spoke, sending a scout in each direction.
‘I don’t know how many,’ Xane said, catching his breath. ‘More than one, though. I’m sure. They’re coming this way, coursing for scent.’
Willem waved up the archers and they set arrows to their bows, following the scouts into the woods. One of the temple witches pushed back her cowl, speaking directly to Xane. He shivered under her gaze but didn’t look away.
‘There are no wolves in these woods, lad. You must have seen a stray dog, or a badger.’
Xane didn’t respond immediately. A falcon whistled overhead and he resisted the urge to look up. He swallowed. The woman had hauntingly pale eyes and red hair that fell to her waist in a dozen braids. He squared his shoulders, finding confidence from an unknown source. ‘I know the look of a dog, Mistress, and that of a badger. They each move in distinct ways, and have their own conformation. I saw neither dog nor badger. These were wolves, Mistress, the size of timber ponies. They were like wolves of the Lupin order, if the stories are true.’ His chin lifted. ‘That’s my guess. Lupins.’
A gasp rolled over the nearest riders. The witch lifted her brow. ‘The Lupin order, is it? And