The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [4]
That night, Janis went back to Earth. Jarrod remained behind, hidden from the worm in the rustic land of Gaela.
‘When will I see you again?’ he’d asked, her hand slipping from his as she stepped into the portal.
‘When I delete the worm.’ She reached out, touching his face. ‘If not me, then my daughter.’
Her hand fell away and she disappeared.
Janis slipped off her gumboots and pulled open the screen door. The aroma wafting from the kitchen made her mouth water.
‘Luka?’ she called out, brushing wisps of hay from her jeans. ‘What’s cooking?’
She washed her hands in the bathroom sink, pouring out half a cup of filtered water that went down the drain and into the recycling system. Drying her hands, she tilted her head.
‘Luka? Where are you? Is Ruby awake yet?’ she called again, her smile fading when she reached the kitchen.
Two pots boiled on the stove, steam escaping from the lids. A half-empty tomato can lay on its side, spilling red liquid over the counter. It trickled down the front of the cupboard to the floor, where it pooled. Janis frowned as she turned off the flame. A breeze wafted in through the window, bringing with it the scent of the sea. Her nose wrinkled. It was becoming worse each day.
‘Ruby?’ she whispered, watching the clouds turn red in the evening sky. ‘Ruby,’ she called out louder.
She reached her daughter’s bedroom, goose bumps rising at the back of her neck. The door was ajar.
‘Ruby, are you up?’
The gauze curtains fluttered across the empty bed. A child’s robe lay crumpled on the floor. She stepped over it to reach the window, leaning out until she saw tiny, bare footprints in the mud below.
‘No!’ She spun around, darting down the hall. ‘Luka! Ruby’s gone!’
She reached the front verandah and stopped short. He was there, standing motionless at the far edge of the deck. He stared straight at the horizon without shading his eyes against the setting sun.
‘Where is she?’ Janis asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘She’s looking for them,’ Janis whispered.
‘The Lupins are her kindred spirits.’ His shoulderblades tightened as he lifted his head towards the first stars. ‘They call to her.’
‘Damn your beasts.’
‘It’s not their fault.’
‘Nor is it hers.’ She stepped closer. ‘They share the same blood, and we can’t keep it hidden any longer. If ASSIST finds out about your experiments…’
His lips pressed together, giving the slightest nod.
‘Luka, I know you don’t want to give them up, but they’ve got to go. Earth is no place for them.’
‘This is their home! I engineered them, brought them back from extinction.’
‘You brought back more than an extinct species. You created a new one. You used your own blood.’ She glared at him.
‘It was the only way.’
‘Maybe, but now it’s Ruby’s blood too.’
He lowered his eyes. ‘They’ll be safe on Gaela?’
‘I’ll take them there myself.’
‘You can’t, Janis. ASSIST is watching. You’d be leading that blasted worm straight to JARROD.’
‘I’ll weave a glamour. They won’t see me or my tracks through the portal,’ she said. ‘The Lupins can settle in the catacombs under Los Loma. It’s a perfect territory for wolves.’
‘They’re more than wolves, Janis, just as we are more than human.’
‘You are,’ she said. ‘And Ruby. Not me.’
‘Janis, your DNA’s been altered too.’
Her jaw tightened. ‘I didn’t ask for Lupin blood.’
‘It was the only template I had.’ He reached for her hand. ‘They’ll do no harm on Gaela.’
‘It’s unpredictable what they will do, Luka. Here or there, it’s a risk either way, as long as they exist.’
‘I’ll not have them destroyed.’
‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘Me either.’
She cupped her hands around her mouth and called over the dunes for Ruby. Her voice sounded shrill, whisked away in the wind. ‘She sees them as siblings. Longs for their company. How will we explain it to her when they’re gone?’
‘We’ll find her and tell her together.’ He turned to meet her eyes. ‘Come with me.’
‘You’re going to shift?’ she asked.
He looked back at the horizon. ‘I’m faster on four legs.’ His body gleamed in the low-angled light, muscles flexing as he lifted his arms above