The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [105]
Not this. What is it?
Passillo is the cause of all the temple wars. What everybody wants and no-one should have.
Why?
I don’t know. Something to do with keeping the worlds apart.
Worlds?
Apparently. Be ready, Drayco, for anything. This can’t go well.
Maudi, swap! Drayco’s voice commanded.
What? she queried. Now?
Get out of your body and let me in. You’ll be safer if we swap.
We can’t, Drayco. I have to keep my mind-shield tight.
I have no problems with that and you know it. He lifted his paw and placed it on her leg, claws extended.
She almost made the exchange, her familiar was so insistent. But then she shook her head. No, Drayco. It’s going to be all right. Besides, it isn’t always about safety.
I think today it is.
Trust me. We’re fine.
The Lupins had not moved. They did not look at one another or respond in any noticeable way. What they thought of the request was anyone’s guess. Not a twitch or sniff crossed their faces. Their exhalations were smooth and visible, little puffs of steam shooting down from their noses in regular bursts. She suspected hers were doing the same.
In the distance, she recognised the sinking whistle of a bird of prey calling high above the jagged peaks. An answering call followed. For a moment, that sound made her skin flush with a warmth she hadn’t felt in years. It was a goshawk, the same cry Jarrod had been able to imitate so well. The region was full of these birds, but it was the first time she’d noticed now that the storm had passed. Strange what stands out when the body is shaking with fear.
Without realising it, tears welled up and trickled halfway down her cheek before freezing into diamond droplets. The sound of the hawks echoed from mountain top to mountain top. Everything seemed vast and desolate, and still there was no response from the Lupins.
Do something, Sword Master. My shield’s starting to slip.
What little blood Rosette had in her extremities drained, despite her attempts to appear calm, humble and unimpressed. Drayco nudged her with his nose. There was comfort there, but no warmth. The sun was lowering into a thin red line on the horizon. Her mind-shield faded until it seemed to wink in and out like a firefly. They were wearing her down.
‘We do have such an amulet, but it contains no spell,’ the leader of the Lupins said at last.
‘The Spell of Passillo has been encased in the amulet for decades. It cannot escape. It was hidden in Lividica and taken from there. We know Kreshkali has it, and we want it back.’
‘The amulet contains no spell.’
‘So you say.’
Rosette stared at the back of the Sword Master’s head. She had no idea why he was provoking the Lupins, but it had every one of them snarling. Drayco was on his feet, his hackles as high as her waist. An’ Lawrence had one hand on his sword hilt, the other on Scylla’s head.
‘You’ll not live to question our word again,’ the lead Lupin said simply as he drew his sword.
Look out! Rosette screamed and drew her sword as well. The Lupin was on top of An’ Lawrence just as his sword sang from its sheath, blood spurting as he sliced into its shoulder. Scylla went for the throat.
Rosette had no time to watch the outcome. Drayco faced off with one of the Lupins that had shifted back to wolf form. The third remained bipedal, levelling his sword at Rosette’s throat before she could strike.
‘We aren’t here to fight. If you want to know more about this spell, you can come with me, alone.’
‘I don’t think so!’ She sent a charge of energy through her limbs, the lightning flooding her with warmth and strength. She knocked away his blade with a spinning kick and cut towards his head. He blocked it instantly, the ring of steel on steel sounding over the plateau.
Above, the hawk shrieked.
The Lupin wavered, looking her in the eye. ‘Rosette,’ he said, his voice reprimanding her as if she were an errant child. ‘Put down your sword before you hurt yourself.’
Inflamed, she swung again, aiming to cut his head off. Mid-strike she dropped to her knees, pain searing through her body.
Maudi?
For a moment, she couldn’t speak.