The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [90]
Concern. The answer came from Drayco, though she couldn’t even see where he was now. He’s very concerned.
Why?
Because we’ll freeze to death if we don’t get out of this blizzard.
‘It’s his fault if we do. I could have told him the crossing would be like this.’
It’s serious, Maudi.
‘Still his fault.’ She followed, her pace slowing—each lift of her leg getting lower, each step smaller. Actually, I think it’s all right, Drayco. I’m starting to feel warm. It’s getting better. Feels good.
You’re starting to fade. Keep walking. I come!
Her toes dragged on the ground and she stumbled, the horse halting before he trod on her. He stretched his nose down to sniff the icy lump in the path.
Get up, Maudi! Get up!
Rosette struggled, clenching the horse’s mane, pulling herself up.
Keep walking.
She followed An’ Lawrence blind, her eyes closed, her body leaden. It seemed to take an eternity to get where they were going. The roaring wind, the ice and the chill had infiltrated her mind, slowing movements and deadening her already frozen limbs. She couldn’t feel her fingers or toes and her knees buckled again. An insidious peace rose up through her, an embracing, soothing radiance—a spell of warmth and ease. It called to her, impossible to deny. Heavenly, blessed sleep.
Her body dropped and she didn’t fight it. She didn’t try to get up. Just a little rest, Dray-Dray.
The last thing Rosette remembered was a disturbing sound—a vicious screech from Drayco. It annoyed her terribly, interrupting the languid descent into oblivion. She tried to raise her hand to shoo away the intrusion, but Drayco’s hot breath assaulted her face, his tongue rasping across closed eyelids. She heard him scream again, this time from far away. Where was he, she wondered.
After a moment, she heard nothing at all.
Jarrod led his horse beside Nell, skirting the small town below. The pre-dawn sky glistened with stars, white sparkles against a deep purple background. The new moon had not yet risen. A dot of light shone from the village, a solitary glow in the silhouette of rooftops. It had to be a bakery with its ovens stoked. Columns of smoke rose above the chimneys, unbent by any wind or gust. It was a peaceful scene—unlike Jarrod’s mind, which buzzed like a hornets’ nest.
He and Nell walked their horses in silence. The Three Sisters perched on the back of Nell’s saddle, eyes closed and soundless. When well past the outermost dairy, they mounted and returned to the main road. The sun was rising now in a haze of red and orange that washed over the landscape, heralding a bright, new day. Nell watched it with reverence, as she always did. The Three Sisters woke, squawked a surprise at their strange surroundings and took flight.
‘Why are they always so noisy?’ Jarrod’s mouth was turned down, his shoulders slumped.
‘They like to comment.’
‘On everything?’
Nell smiled. ‘Pretty much.’
The look on her face made him laugh, and in the glow of the early sunrise Jarrod felt the turmoil subside. He even thought the landscape had improved, but once the sun was fully above the horizon he saw the same desolate brown hills, drought-stricken fields and scrawny cows.
‘I’m going in alone,’ Nell said as they trotted across a wooden bridge.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ll go in first and find out what’s happening.’
‘I thought we were in this together.’
‘Jarrod, how do you feel?’
He put his hand on his stomach and frowned. ‘Anxious. Twisting knots in my stomach. Like I want to run, or fight.’
‘Exactly. I feel the same and we’re going to heed the warnings. We’re going to keep you out of the picture until we know more. I don’t think Rosette is here. I can’t feel her close at all, and there may be trackers.’
Jarrod looked over his shoulder. ‘What’s the plan?’
‘Simple. You wait at the edge of the valley, out of sight, and I get an audience with Makee. We