Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [22]
Shaea spotted Rall sitting on the footpath, her back against the brick building. She was chewing on a small bit of mouldy bread and seemed not to notice her approach. Shaea sat beside her, wet and shivering.
‘Get any yams?’ Rall said, tearing off a chunk of bread and handing it to her.
‘I’ve got more than that.’ Shaea jingled her pockets and the old witch’s eyes widened.
‘You’ve been pilfering?’
‘I have.’
‘Where?’
‘The fields below the quarry. There’s been a battle.’
Rall closed her eyes. ‘There’s news that goes both ways, good and bad. I felt it when I woke. What’s happened, girl?’
‘Xane’s dead.’
Neither spoke for some time.
‘As are others, by the sound of your pockets,’ Rall said. ‘Did you bury him?’
‘I did.’
‘My shovel?’
‘I can get you another.’ Shaea’s body shook and Rall put her arm around her shoulder. The traffic on the street increased, but most people passed by as if the two of them were invisible.
‘It’s not as I thought, but fate just the same,’ Rall said. ‘What else? You’re bursting with something.’
Shaea dropped her voice to a rough whisper. ‘I’ve found the portal.’
Rall hissed. ‘Are you sure, lass?’
‘I am, and I’ve got enough trinkets to get us out the front gates.’
Rall stiffened. ‘We can’t go like this.’
‘I’ve got enough gold to fix that, too. Come on.’ She stood, hauling Rall to her feet and propping her cane in her hand. ‘We’re getting a room, a bath and a meal, and then we’re getting out.’
When Rall looked back at her, there was a shine in her eyes that Shaea had never seen before. She shivered again, but this time not from the cold.
An’ Lawrence watched Rosette and Drayco disappear into the portal. He exhaled. It felt like he’d been holding his breath since she’d arrived. How he could care so much about someone who gave him constant discomfort, he didn’t know. Kali called it parenthood, but he shook his head at that. They’d both missed out on raising their daughter. He didn’t feel any more parental towards her than he did towards his other apprentices. He thought it was their chemistry, a strange brew. They were oil and water, trickster and fool, and he never knew which one of them was which. It changed all the time. Now that he had her safe in the corridors, he could concentrate on this rabble, and he could get the Lupin away from her. What was Kali thinking, mentoring them together? He wouldn’t have it.
‘Not you!’ he yelled to the Lupin who scrambled up the cliff face behind Rosette. ‘I need you here.’
Teg skidded to a halt and doubled back.
An’ Lawrence frowned. He had to admit he was impressed at the Lupin’s response—no discussion, query, rebellion or flack. Nothing like Rosette. It almost made him feel guilty about keeping him behind. Almost. He knew there was a thin chance of getting them both out unscathed at this point. He had superior magic and sword skills but the odds were against them, at least one hundred to one.
Two, Teg said, his mental voice undaunted.
Three, Scylla added.
An’ Lawrence nodded. ‘Three to a hundred it is.’
The plan, Sword Master?
‘We’re going to blast these Corsanon warriors back to their city. Teg, get the stallion into the portal and guard the entrance. No one gets through. You got that?’
No one gets through.
An’ Lawrence knew it was a lot to ask. Teg would be an easy target for the archers in human form, the shape he’d have to take to manage the horse. If he was hit, his chances for survival were low. In wolf form, Lupins were near impervious. He ought to know: he’d battled the demons.
Teg morphed, stepping up to take the reins as An’ Lawrence dismounted. Their eyes met briefly and then Teg led the horse towards the corridor at a trot, not pausing to run up the stirrups which clanked at the horse’s sides. The animal’s ears were pinned back. It would be tough going, getting the stallion up the grade. An’ Lawrence tossed a calming spell their way and turned back to the charging warriors.
He had to