Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [171]
‘Makee!’ Nell screamed as she morphed, taking in the burnt buildings and broken water ducts. ‘This is her work?’
‘She isn’t here,’ Grayson said, shaking his head.
‘She isn’t, but she’d want to be.’ Nell stormed up the steps, leaving the others to follow. ‘Where is everyone?’ She strode through the hall to the library. Annadusa came trotting down the stairs, her hair unbraided, trailing behind.
‘I’ve sent them back, most of them,’ she said, meeting Nell halfway.
‘Back where?’
‘To Gaela. To Los Loma, Gaela.’ Annadusa held up her hand. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Nellion Paree. You weren’t here. You don’t know what’s happened.’
‘I can see what’s happened. The mountains are boiling, ice caps melting, seas rising. Is all of Half Moon Bay under water? The Sierras about to blow?’
Grayson nodded. Annadusa confirmed as well.
Nell let out her breath, clenching her fists. ‘I will not lose this temple ground. I will not let Earth go under.’
‘Nell.’ Grayson put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.
‘This is a glamour. Can’t you see that?’
They stared at her. Blank.
‘This is a consensus reality. One of many. That’s all. I will change it.’
Grayson brushed the ash out of his hair. ‘A glamour? If so, it’s a damn convincing one.’
Annadusa stepped closer. ‘Nell, Earth’s had it. She’s fighting back.’
Nell’s eyebrows lifted. ‘You think so?’
‘I do.’
The others nodded.
‘And just what kind of consensus reality do you think a belief like that would create?’
Annadusa crossed her arms under her breasts. ‘You’re saying it’s our fault?’
‘I’m saying this reality, set in motion by La Makee, must be changed! She’s closing the door on this world.’
Maluka’s head shot up. ‘To keep the trackers out of Gaela!’
Nell turned to her. ‘Precisely.’
‘Isn’t that going to mess with the many-worlds? Cutting off Earth?’ Maluka reached for Grayson’s hand and he took it.
‘Right again,’ Nell said.
The others sank into chairs, eyes on Nell.
‘We can turn it around,’ she said, her voice softer.
Annadusa frowned. ‘How.’
‘First up, we run a little experiment.’ She had their attention. ‘We restore some natural balance to these rampant molecules. We need to open some doors.’
‘They aren’t locked?’
‘They are, but I’ve got the keys.’
‘You’re not the only one,’ Grayson said.
‘How’s that?’
‘ASSIST. They’re closing in.’
‘Out here?’
Maluka shook her head. ‘They’re using the portals.’
Kreshkali felt a rush of relief. She’d spotted Hotha just as she, Nell, got back to Temple Los Loma. There was still time. She winged in, Hotha’s eyes closing when she morphed in front of him.
‘You look flushed, my queen,’ he said, shielding his face from the shock wave.
‘Headwind.’ Lupins loped past, barely visible in the tree cover. ‘Hotha, can you bring some of the clan north, to Dumarka?’
‘The scouts have slipped by? Are they on the doorstep?’
She nodded.
‘You’ve been consulting with Teg?’
She felt heat rise to her face and dispelled it. ‘He’s given me the lie of it, yes.’
‘But only a taste?’
She knitted her brows. ‘Don’t play games with words, Hotha. This is the moment, the crucial one. We can save Temple Dumarka or we can lose her forever.’
Hotha winked, apparently not ready to let it drop. ‘He’s your apprentice. My son…’
She smiled. ‘And a fine one. Thank you. Now answer my question. Can you come with me north? I don’t have time to beg.’
Hotha tilted his head. ‘What about the spell? Makee?’
‘I’ve left Makee with a little puzzle to ponder. Rosette has the spell.’
‘Good work.’
‘She is my apprentice as well.’
‘A testimony to your…’
‘Hotha, shut up! For a bloodthirsty race, you Lupins have a hard time keeping your minds on the