Strange Attractors - Kim Falconer [99]
‘You’ve lost me,’ he said, his hands going to his pockets.
‘We need images, pictures. A diagram of what it would look like if you did have that electron microscope of yours.’
‘Images of DNA? Okay. I get it now.’ He started pacing again. ‘Something that details chromosome organisation.’
‘Right. Key words?’ Kreshkali asked.
‘DNA, of course,’ Rosette said as she joined her mother, searching the tabbed cards alphabetised in the long narrow drawers.
‘Chromatin, heterochromatin, euchromatin…’ Grayson said.
‘Nucleoprotein filament?’
‘That’s the one, with DNA-histone spacers.’
‘Two hundred thousand forty-five B.’ Rosette tilted her head up to the top rung. ‘Who’s climbing?’ She rubbed her belly. ‘I recommend you don’t pick me.’
‘Not you,’ Grayson said. ‘Or you.’ He nodded towards the Sword Master leaning on his cane.
Kreshkali was up the ladder while they talked. ‘This is it,’ she called from the top rung. She thumbed through the book. ‘You won’t believe this! I’ve got the images, and I’ve got something else as well.’ She backed down the ladder, Hotha taking the book from her as she jumped lightly to the ground.
‘What else did you find, Kali?’ An’ Lawrence asked.
‘I’ve got a note,’ she said, retrieving the book. She sat at the table.
‘From whom?’ Rosette sat next to her.
An’ Lawrence smiled at his daughter and they all crowded in.
‘It’s from Janis Richter.’ Kreshkali locked eyes with Rosette. ‘And it’s addressed to us.’
Teg ran side by side with Drayco, their sprint to the portal turning into a free fall down the quarry road. They’d cut across the fields above the temple grounds and raced down the hill, making straight for the corridors hidden below. Drayco’s only thought, the only one that boomed into Teg’s mind, was Rosette. He screamed her name until Teg felt it would stab him to death. The temple cat’s intention was so powerful and clear, Teg was confident the Entity would have them to her the moment they shot through the portal. He certainly hoped so. He didn’t want to think what it would be like in the corridors with an irate feline if they didn’t go straight to her, or if she was somehow lost.
In his wolf form, Teg was immune to the worry that sometimes afflicted his human thoughts. He was also more impervious to physical distress. When they reached the portal, he didn’t shift but remained quadruped, slamming into the back wall of the corridor, Drayco’s roar shaking the halls.
To Maudi! Drayco’s mental instructions to the Entity rang through the corridors. To Rosette.
We’ll find her, Drayco. I think she’s been called, is all. That would explain it.
Called?
A spell to bring her close.
Who would do that?
I don’t know.
Drayco paced, sides heaving. He kept up the earpiercing snarls, his tail snapping the air.
Teg stayed out of his way, silently asking the Entity to make it quick. We’re here now, Drayco. In the corridors. The Entity will take us to her. Everything will be all right.
Teg wasn’t sure what to do if it wasn’t. The fresh blood on the temple cat’s neck and red strands of saliva stuck to his throat spoke louder than any words. Teg felt concerned about what had happened to Rosette as well—he’d never seen someone scream for their life and vanish in front of his eyes. But the savage reaction of the temple cat shocked him, even in his wolf form. He was doing all he could to balance the fear and rage with trust. He sat on his haunches, panting, waiting for the Entity to take them to Rosette.
CHAPTER 13
TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA
‘Sit back, everyone.’ Kreshkali waved them away. ‘I can’t breathe with you all so close.’ She studied the letter. It was handwritten, not clicked out on a keyboard, and the page was in perfect condition, unlike the other notes she’d found.
‘How could it be for us?’ Rosette asked. ‘It was written centuries before we were born.’
‘True, but it says, To the daughters of my line, though we have never met.’
‘She was a techno-witch,’ Grayson said. ‘And we have evidence that she linked with the quantum sentient