The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [169]
An’ Lawrence shook his head. ‘It isn’t the DNA that decides; it’s the totem, the image itself. It colludes with something deep within the individual and then asserts itself—its intention. It’s always been that way. Always will be.’
They looked up at him, Kreshkali nodding.
‘He’s really all right, then,’ Annadusa said. Her usual brassy voice was small, her eyes glistening.
‘He is, and he recognised me right away, even in the Tulpa of the delivery man,’ Jarrod said.
‘Can he help us get to the mainframe?’ Kreshkali asked.
‘He’s onto it. The challenge will be with the timing. There is only a few minutes between intervals of lockdown around the mainframe once alarms are triggered, and we can’t blow the place until we switch off the satellite controlling the solar shields.’
‘And we can’t have you loitering in the circuitry once the worm gets a whiff of you.’ Kreshkali put her hand on Jarrod’s shoulder.
‘It’ll be close, like a game of bull-in-the-paddock—get its attention and run like a demon.’
‘You were always good at that, when we were kids.’ Rosette wrinkled her brow. ‘When I was a kid, I mean. You were never a kid, were you?’
‘Not really.’
Rosette got up and cleared the bowls away while they rolled out the maps.
‘I want to bring those shields down nice and easy,’ Kreshkali said. She held onto her cup when Rosette tried to clear it.
‘You can land them?’ An’ Lawrence asked.
‘Hope so. On the San Fran strip to the north. There are enough solar panels on one of those craft to light up our complex for the next hundred years. It would be a shame to drop them in the ocean.’
‘We also need to give everyone the choice, at least, of getting out,’ Jarrod added.
An’ Lawrence scratched his jaw. ‘The guards too?’
‘Some of them may be with the Resistance. Grayson thinks there are a dozen at least.’
‘Out of?’
‘Five hundred.’
An’ Lawrence looked at Kreshkali, mouthing the words ‘five hundred’.
‘No-one knows Grayson’s identity?’ Annadusa asked.
‘No-one. The blood samples that are assessed go to ten different departments. Even the outside contact has no idea who does the work.’
‘And ASSIST doesn’t suspect?’
‘They do! They suspect everyone. That’s why there’s been no outside communication for over a decade.’
‘This is going to be tricky,’ Kreshkali murmured as she rubbed her neck. ‘I see what you mean about needing an army.’
‘I’m going to do a little reconnaissance of my own,’ An’ Lawrence said, getting up from the table.
‘How’s that?’
‘I’m going to see if I can bring this scattered, untrained Resistance under one roof.’
‘I knew I’d brought you here for a reason,’ Kreshkali said.
Jarrod leaned over towards her. ‘Care to call in your puppies now?’
Drayco hissed, and Scylla sharpened her claws on the rug.
I will not hunt with the demon dogs. Drayco joined Scylla with the claw sharpening.
‘What puppies?’ Rosette asked.
My claws would do well on a Lupin.
Her face darkened. ‘Them?’
She turned to Kreshkali, scowling.
‘This is their world too, Rosette. They have a right to fight for it.’
She pressed her lips together but didn’t respond. Dray? They’re on our side…apparently.
It didn’t feel like it on Los Loma.
I know, but we need their help.
Just see that they do the helping far from me and you.
Jarrod held Rosette in a silent embrace, rain hammering down on the street above, forming rivulets along the slick tunnel walls. He felt her face press into his neck and shut his eyes.
‘Ready?’ An’ Lawrence asked, coming up behind them.
He loosened his hold as Rosette straightened. ‘I’m ready, Sword Master,’ she replied, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
‘We’re off, then.’
Jarrod watched as they ran down the dim sewer with Clay, Zero and the temple cats. Their boots clanked on the steel grating, echoing back long after they’d disappeared around the first