The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [164]
He was at the table with Clay and Zero. Rosette sat on the couch with Drayco, her back to them all.
‘How’s that?’ An’ Lawrence asked.
‘No more acid rain.’
‘That fast?’
‘Not really, but it will lessen, slowly over time, until the rain is sweet again.’
‘Because…?’
‘Once those shields are down, people can use solar power again and stop burning combustion fuels and trash. There’ll be less exhaust smoke and fewer fires puking out wastes that damage the pH balance of the atmosphere.’
An’ Lawrence looked around the room, his face confused.
‘Smoke’s dirty; solar power’s clean,’ Rosette explained, clipping the words without turning around.
Kreshkali looked at An’ Lawrence, her eyebrows raised.
He shook his head.
‘Kreshkali,’ Rosette continued. ‘The cupboards are empty. What do you expect us to eat?’
‘There’s plenty of Nutries.’
‘They don’t count,’ she said, turning away from the fire and looking Kreshkali in the eyes. ‘Disgusting green paste.’
‘Don’t throw them out! You never know when we’ll need them, even with new supplies.’
‘So you did bring something decent?’
‘I did, and I’ll cook it up while we work out the last of the plans.’
‘Last? I didn’t know we had a first.’ She turned her back again and stared at the fire.
Rosette felt her guts turning. The only thing that kept her from screaming was the quiet purr of Drayco and the insistent thought that this would all be over soon, one way or another. Between ASSIST, the environment and the witch-trackers, she didn’t think any of them had much of a chance. She would do her part, because it was her inheritance, but if she got out of this alive, she didn’t plan on coming back, or ever seeing any of them again.
Maudi?
We’re going to go deep into Dumarka and never come back.
He flicked his tail, continuing to purr.
‘Come to the table, Rosette. We need you in on this.’
She squared her shoulders and took the seat next to her mother.
‘Here’s the plan,’ Kreshkali said, tapping the blueprints. ‘Jarrod deactivates the orbit sequence of the solar panels and brings them down.’ She paused. ‘A soft landing, please. And you’ll need to take less than a few nanoseconds to do it because once you’re in, the worm is baited, so to speak. An’ Lawrence, Rosette and you two,’ she nodded to the familiars, ‘can keep the exit open. We get him out before he’s consumed, and then level the place. Comments?’
‘I particularly like the last bit,’ Jarrod said. ‘Where I get out in one piece. My only question is, how’s it to be done? And fast! I’ve been here too long already. I can all but feel that worm crawling under my skin.’
‘Can’t we send him back through the portal?’ Rosette asked. ‘Keep him safe while we work out these details?’
‘Too late for that. Jarrod’s right. The worm’s hovering. It would have him the second he passed the plasma.’
Rosette frowned.
‘It’s the electromagnetic pulse of the portal Entity. The worm would sense me as soon as I touched it again.’
‘Then what are we going to do?’
‘We’re going to be quick!’ Kreshkali placed mugs on the edges of the blueprints to keep them flat. ‘In and out before they see us coming.’
‘Do you need me in on this?’ Clay asked, patting his guitar. ‘Or…’
‘I’d love some music,’ Rosette said. Her eyes softened towards him, but he didn’t look at her.
‘Music you’ll have then,’ he said. Clay set up at the far end of the flat, playing a series of traditional guitar pieces from Gaela. The music filled the room with a melodic ambience, easing the tension at the table.
‘Let me see if I can summarise what we’ve got so far.’ An’ Lawrence spoke up after a lengthy tactical debate. Jarrod had given his interpretation of their choices and it had left them stunned. ‘First we get into the ASSIST complex, which is as heavily guarded as any high temple, with DNA-triggered lockdown protocols.’ His face had a puzzled look. ‘Whatever that is, and guards on every level, each armed with repeating razor rifles.’
‘Laser,’ Jarrod corrected.
He paused. ‘What exactly is that again?’
‘A beam of red light that cuts through