Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [40]
‘I think they have La Makee.’ He limped back up the stairway to join Rosette and Drayco on the landing. ‘We have a problem,’ he said, lowering his head to whisper into Rosette’s ear.
She was peering down the hall, looking both ways. Drayco’s tail snapped as she turned around.
‘I think there’s more than one,’ she said. ‘How long’s that been stuck there?’ She tilted her head towards the protruding arrow.
‘I don’t know, but it can wait. Rosette, I found this in the guard room.’ He held up the flask, letting it speak for itself.
Rosette’s eyes went wide. ‘Makee?’
‘I thought so too.’
‘Would she be in a cell?’
‘If she’s still alive.’
‘Can you contact her?’
An’ Lawrence shook his head.
‘Then let’s hope she’s in her raven form.’ Rosette turned to her familiar. ‘Dray, can you sniff out La Makee?’
Scylla sat on her haunches and tipped her nose towards the ceiling. There’s a Lemur raven in the tower, Rowan. Everyone is frightened of it.
‘That’s her!’ An’ Lawrence said, clutching his familiar’s neck. ‘Scylla says…’
‘I know,’ Rosette cut in. ‘Drayco told me.’
‘Do you know which stair leads to the tower?’ An’ Lawrence asked.
‘We passed one when we entered. That must be it.’
‘Guarded?’
‘Somewhat.’
‘Then conjure us up another glamour, apprentice. That fire’s blazing, fit to take the whole citadel down. There isn’t much time.’
Rosette closed her eyes and rubbed her hands together as if to warm them. He felt the glamour settle around him, surprised by the low-ranking uniform that replaced his clothes. Rosette was back in her High Guard finery, the temple cats again death dogs, snapped onto their leashes and snarling.
He cleared his throat. ‘A foot soldier?’
‘You’ll go unnoticed.’
‘And you?’
‘These are death dogs, An’ Lawrence. No one’s questioning me tonight.’
A blast brought flames and smoke up the steps. They launched out the door, racing up to the ground floor. The wide spiral stairway to the tower was unguarded, though alarms were sounding and people were running everywhere, smoke billowing behind them.
‘Did you light the tower on fire as well?’ Rosette asked as they ran up the stairway.
‘I’m guessing that is the work of La Makee.’
‘Alive and well then, I suspect. Let’s hope she doesn’t blast us to another world before we can introduce ourselves. Where now?’
They’d come to a split in the stairway, one way leading to a series of circular walkways, the other continuing up.
‘To the top. That’s where I’d put her, if she were my captive.’
They ran on, the flames below them crackling.
Shaea tried not to gape when they entered the temple hall. It was all she could do to keep from exclaiming aloud. The setting was luxurious beyond her dreams, the people astonishing. No one from her end of the city, not even the mounted warriors on the drill grounds, ever looked this fine. The men were remarkably well groomed—clean and smelling fresh like a forest. She had no idea a man could smell good. Her lips widened, letting out a sigh.
Many of the women had red or golden hair with sapphire ribbons and jewels woven into their long braids. Some were darker-complexioned, like Rall, and they had red stars sparkling in their ebony curls. They were all dressed in purple robes—like the ones Rall had obtained after they’d cleaned up. They’d worn them to get out of the city and had attracted little comment. No guard would dare to detain a temple priestess for long, and those robes were their garb. They’d changed in the coach, bringing out the dark cloaks that marked them as visiting priestesses before they could be recognised as imposters. They planned to slip away as soon as they could. The portal was a good hour’s walk to the south and they wanted to make the trek while the moon was up.
‘Close your mouth, girl,’ Rall said. ‘You’ll give us away.’
Shaea lifted her chin the way Rall had coached her and smoothed her hands over her hips. She kept her excitement contained, but she still took it all in. ‘Where to now?’ she asked, giggling as she spoke.
The hall was filled with men and women, and a few groups of temple children