The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [58]
‘If you’re finished with the semantics,’ Rosette dropped her arms to her sides and pushed forward, ‘I’m going to the pools.’
‘Not quite. I’ve a message.’
Rosette stopped. ‘From whom?’
‘Your “friend” Clay. He said if I saw you to let you know he couldn’t wait any longer. He’s off in the morning to Morzone.’ She winked, her grin widening.
What are you hiding, little witch? Rosette glared. ‘What else?’ she asked aloud.
The girls around Amelia burst into laughter.
Without another word, Rosette pushed through them and continued down the track. Silly girls full of gossip and jealousy. When would they grow up? This was more about Clay than her, no doubt. Amelia had had her eye on him from the start.
Take him then, if it’s so damn important to you. I don’t care.
Rosette didn’t bother to send her mental thoughts straight to Amelia. The girl wouldn’t hear her anyway.
Take who? Drayco replied.
Oh, my lovely. It was just a random thought spilling out into the night.
Girls bothering you again? No.
Really?
A little.
Do you want an escort?
Nah. Nearly there. She didn’t want to think about it any more. She just wanted to submerge her body in the hot pools, have supper, curl up with her familiar and go to sleep.
To dream of the one I have never met? The question came from Drayco’s mind, still linked.
Rosette smiled. Yes, if I’m lucky. She blew him a mental kiss and jogged down the path.
The high wooden doors that led to the granite bathing pools were open. Rosette unlaced her boots and lined them up on a low bench. There were no other shoes there, no sign of anyone else. Clay really had gone. He was travelling so much this season he’d make journeyman before his next birthday. She yawned. At least someone was progressing.
The granite slabs felt rough on her bare feet. They were wet but not slippery. Steam enveloped her, making her skin warm and damp. The place echoed with drips from the vaulted ceiling. She looked up only to see the reflected darkness of the pools and the orange glow of the torchlight. Beads of perspiration rose on her brow. The water would be hot tonight.
The pools were fed by deep underground fissures, heated by the lava streams that flowed beneath the surface. Although the temperature fluctuated, it was always warm. According to rumour, it was once so hot that an initiate had passed out and drowned. They were warned not to bathe alone, though Rosette did so from time to time.
Pushing lank strands of hair off her face, she looked down at the shimmering surface. The crystal water was black in the torchlight, as if it had no bottom. She watched the drips make circular patterns that radiated, sending on impact tiny waves towards all four corner steps. She couldn’t wait to get in!
Unbuttoning her robe, she let it slip over her hips and fall to the ground. Reaching down to retrieve it, she cursed. The floor was soaking wet, water pooling around her feet. There had been many people here recently. She shook the robe out and hung it on a hook.
Rosette tuned into picking up any sound or thought around her. She was a receptive and a mind-traveller herself, more than a novice. Her range was expanding and she hoped to surprise Nell with a message this winter—a solstice greeting, mind to mind. Dumarka was a long way to send a thought deliberately—even Drayco couldn’t do it—but she was determined to perfect this skill. Tilting her head and listening, she convinced herself she was the only one in the cavern.
She reached high above the row of hooks to the top shelf and found a dry towel. Inhaling, the scent of lavender and rose made her smile. She finished undressing and hung the rest of her clothes up, throwing the towel over her shoulder. While making her way to the steps, she untied her hair, setting the tiny silver bells chiming. She coiled her hair ties and bells into a nest at the edge of the steps, picked up a handful of salt grains and dipped her toe into the pool.
‘Hot!’ she exclaimed aloud. Her voice echoed through the empty chamber. ‘Hot, hot, hot!’
She dropped her towel. The steam