Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [202]
CHAPTER 26
BORDERLANDS & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & TEMPLE LOS LOMA & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA
Everett didn’t move. He sat in a clearing above a waterfall, his eyes hooded. Regina sat opposite him on the other side of the fire. She wore a simple orange sarong around her hips and her dark hair fell over her breasts. She placed a log from the sacred journey tree on the coals; the smoke plumed about them, its pungent odour filling the air. Warmth from the flames hit his face and he closed his eyes. The spirit journey began.
In the form of a black eagle, he flew high above the canopy, above the tallest palms, up to the mountain peaks and higher. He flew above the clouds where the air was icy and the wind ripped over his wings in great gusts. Higher still he went, into a whirling vortex in the sky. The clouds parted and he could see billions of stars twinkling in the indigo universe. The eagle knew where to go and Everett didn’t question.
Moments later he plunged back into the world beneath the clouds. Only this was not his jungle forest, nor was it the ghost city of the Allied States far beyond the Borderlands. He flew straight down into a desert, where a central city rose up like an island in a sea of yellow sand. A battle raged. A young man was shot. He saw him fall. A girl came and buried him, and then she was gone.
He lingered by the graveside, watching the spirit rise from the ground. It passed through him, around him, on its way out of the world. He flew with it, until he lost track of its essence. He sighed and circled high over the land, searching for the girl.
He followed a path that took him across the desert, through the mountains and into the long corridors that separate the worlds. She burst out into a battle scene and he feared for her. He tried to get her attention, get her to safety. But she kept running until she entered the corridors again, a blue light pulsing in her hand. A Lemur raven followed, the scream of her deafening. He knew that spirit. It was the thief. The demon who’d stolen the children.
He dropped his wings to his side and dove, talons outstretched, knocking the other bird back before she reached the corridor. With massive downstrokes, he gained altitude again and shot into the portal behind the girl.
She was safe now. He could guide her home. He perched nearby, watching her catch her breath, willing the portal to take them back—back to the land of her birth. She had to ask for it though. It had to come from her. He watched, breathless, waiting for a sign. And then she spoke.
‘Take me somewhere I can call home.’
Shaea came out of the portal, her cloak strapped to her pack. A wave of warmth embraced her and she took a deep breath. The scent of wet grass, banana fronds and ripe papaya filled the air. The sun was overhead, a yellow haze in the cornflower sky. She slung her boots over her shoulder and headed down the path, the smile on her face as high and undaunted as the mountain peaks.
Colourful birds chattered behind her, drowning out her laughter, but she giggled anyway. Someone was coming up the road and she knew she should be cautious but she couldn’t manage it. Something felt completely right about this place—the smell of it and the sounds. She didn’t care for prudence. She couldn’t feel fear. The woman waved, her face kind, arms graceful. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black bird winging towards the forest, its call warm, welcoming. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, striding towards the woman and her wide-open arms.
‘Welcome home, dear Shaea. Oh, how we’ve missed you.’ The woman embraced her, circling her tight.
Shaea melted. ‘I’ve missed you too.’
‘Whoa,’ Rosette said. As soon as the word left her lips her horse’s head disappeared into the tall oat grass. ‘Hold on, Cheetah!’ She pulled the mare up. ‘Not with the bit in your mouth.’
‘She’s taking time to train,’ Jarrod said, stopping his horse beside her.
‘Worth every minute,