Arrows of Time

by Kim Falconer

  ‘I’ll see to her myself, but you might want to look after the palomino.’

  Teg eyed the golden mare, who was rubbing her face on Grayson’s shoulder, covering his vest in white hairs.

  ‘Shall I?’ he asked.

  The mare inched towards him, nostrils fluttering.

  ‘All yours, thanks. Just watch her near hind leg. She got a wire cut a few months back and still gets a little skittish when you handle it. If you run your hand down from her hock, strong and sure, she’ll be fine.’

  ‘I appreciate the warning.’ Teg spoke to Grayson, but his eyes drifted to the Sword Master. ‘It’s good to be told such things.’

  An’ Lawrence shrugged his shoulders and led the way to the horse barn; Teg followed with the other two mounts. Kreshkali and Grayson exchanged a look.

  ‘Is that what he meant by fine?’ Grayson asked.

  ‘He’s not warmed to them yet, Teg in particular,’ she answered.

  ‘And the lad’s your apprentice?’ Grayson chuckled. ‘I can see why he’s sceptical.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Kali, you’re a powerful witch, High Priestess on two worlds—that I know of. You have occult magic beyond any on Earth. You can find a portal in a snowstorm, if it’s there to be found, and you’re passing all that knowledge on to a young Lupin?’

  ‘Ah, but that’s where the misunderstanding is.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The knowledge goes both ways.’

  Grayson frowned, his head tilting as he looked again at Teg’s retreating figure. ‘I’m lost.’

  She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and headed him towards the manor. ‘Come on. It’ll make sense in time.’

  ‘I’m not so sure.’

  She let her arm fall, slipping it around his waist. ‘Have a wash and a meal.’ She squeezed him. ‘You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.’

  ‘And Rosette?’

  ‘If we don’t hear from her soon, I’ll go traipsing after her myself.’

  Rosette peered into her mug. The rich herbal infusion was gone and only the honey-saturated dregs remained, lying in a damp mass at the bottom like a miniature landscape. It would have been good if she could read them, find the portent hidden in the shapes. She knew some witches could, deciphering tea leaves as readily as a star chart. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the skill. Something else for her list of to do’s.

  Rosette had been invited to afternoon tea with Nell while Drayco and Fynn went hunting with Nell’s familiar, Torgan. The massive Dumarkian temple cat had taken a fancy to both Drayco and Fynn, though Rosette had cautioned them. She noticed there were no other canines around and was not clear on Torgan’s intentions for the pup—friend or food.

  She looked at the shape of the tea leaves, seeing a dark cave and a giant bird of prey. A cold hand brushed the back of her neck, and she looked again, turning the mug. Suddenly, the shape changed into an image of Nellion Paree, rising over a river like a storm. She shuddered. What would she have to fear from Nell?

  The last time you saw her, things didn’t go so well, Drayco said, reminding her of the young redhead who had sent temple guards after them.

  Good point, Dray. Stay close. I don’t know where any of this is leading.

  Just like the portals?

  So it seems.

  The tea room was comfortable, cool. The wide-open windows welcomed the fresh air, and the afternoon breeze was cooling. She heard Shane’s flute not far away and spotted him playing for a group of women. She suspected there would be no pressure from him to leave any time soon. She hadn’t seen any other men at the temple yet. If there were, they had to be outnumbered. She suspected Shane would find himself more than popular tonight, if they stayed.

  Rosette smiled at the thought, then brought her attention back to the woman across the table.

  ‘Can you read the future, girl?’ Nell asked.

  Rosette stared straight into her eyes. ‘Which one?’

  Nell laughed. ‘So you still think you have a choice?’

  ‘There is always a choice, Nell.’

  ‘Preposterous. Who taught you that?’

  ‘You did. It’s your number one rule.’

  Nell blinked, but she didn’t respond. Rosette leaned forward and clasped her hands, feeling them tense for a moment before they relaxed. She gripped them tighter. ‘I’ve got to get back to my own time, Nell, and soon.’

  ‘You keep saying that, but what’s the rush?’

  ‘I’m needed elsewhere, and I don’t know how long I’ve been skipping through the calendar—backwards, forwards, between. Has it been months? Years? I have to get back.’

  ‘I was hoping you might want to stay here with us…for a while.’

  ‘And do what?’ Rosette’s spine stiffened, and she forced herself to stay calm.

  ‘Teach the sword, of course.’ Nell laughed. It wasn’t a particularly joyful sound. ‘I can picture the High Priest of Treeon’s face, blanched white at the sight of a woman with a warrior’s weapon. Can you imagine his response to a whole coven of us wielding swords?’

  ‘Not really.’ Rosette had been keenly aware of the eyes watching her as she’d practised with Shane on the smooth tiled floor of the inner courtyard earlier in the day. They’d been teaching each other some of their forms and giving an informal demonstration to the gathered apprentices. It was customary for visiting witches to share their knowledge and, like the young Nell they had met at the top of Treeon Temple Valley, this Nell was also intensely interested in her swordsmanship.

  ‘You can’t see it yet?’ Nell asked. ‘Warrior weapons are taboo to women. Simple as that.’

  ‘It’s not the way of my Gaela, or Earth for that matter. At least, not now. Or, then…whenever I’m from.’ She coughed. Was she forward or backward? She wasn’t sure. What were the Entities doing, slipping her around like this? She lifted her chin. ‘In my world, anyone who wants to train, and has the aptitude, can.’ She squeezed Nell’s hands before releasing them. ‘What happened here? How did the sword become an exclusively male weapon?’

  ‘A different choice, made by one person. That’s all it takes to change a world’s paradigm.’

  ‘Can’t you make new choices now? Change it back?’

  ‘That’s my intention, and I want it to be yours as well.’

  Rosette cleared her throat. ‘Why don’t you get the “me” that lives in this world to do it? She would have greater motivation and not as many previous obligations.’

  Nell shrugged. ‘That’s the funny thing, Rosette. There is no you. Not here. Not this time.’

  Chills. ‘Is that so?’ She rubbed her hands together and tilted her head. ‘You resisted the charms of my father? I bet he was disappointed.’

  ‘Resisted his charms? Child, I’ve never resisted anything decent in my life, and by the look and manner of you, he must be quite decent.’ She laughed. ‘I simply haven’t met the man yet. Who is he?’

  ‘He’s brilliant. You’ll love him. He’s called…’

  Nell threw up her hands and jumped back from the table, tipping over her mug. ‘Stop!’ Her eyes flashed. ‘Don’t say it. I don’t want to know.’

  ‘Then why did you ask?’ Rosette said, righting the mug.

  ‘I shouldn’t have. It’s enough to know that a girl like you might come from me some day. Let’s not tamper with too much foreknowledge. I’ll know him if we meet. That’s enough.’

  Rosette was surprised at Nell’s response—her mood swinging widely from calm to alarm. This woman was certainly made of a different temper than the mother she knew. Mothers…As much as she might like to stay for a time and teach the sword, it wasn’t practical. To start with, there were no weapons, and they would take time to forge—a process beyond her expertise. Even carving wooden bokkens for practice would be a lengthy task, and proper training would take months.

  Years, Maudi.

  You’re right, Drayco. Years. We’re going to have to slip away. I just need to
check one more thing and then we’re excusing ourselves.

  Excusing?

  Or making a run for it.

  The walls were closing in. If Nell didn’t want her to leave, it could get tricky. ‘I’ve got to get back to my world,’ she said.

  ‘Again, what’s the rush?’

  ‘Jarrod,’ she whispered, watching Nell’s pupils. Rosette let his name hang in the air until it slowly dissolved like wisps of clouds evaporating over a dry land.

  The other woman didn’t flinch. She returned to the table and refilled their mugs. She drank from hers, savouring the taste, leaving glossy droplets on her lips. ‘Who’s that, dear?’ she asked. ‘Some boy you’ve got to get back to?’

  ‘Jarrod,’ Rosette said again in a normal tone.

  Nell raised her palms. ‘Is that name supposed to mean something to me?’

  Rosette could see that it didn’t. Drayco, are you following this?

  Following what, Maudi? Her temple cat seemed distracted.

  Dray?

  I’m hunting with Torgan.

  How’s that going? Fynn all right?

  He’s a champion scent dog. Glad we kept him.

  That’s great, but, Drayco, Nell doesn’t know Jarrod.

  It’s surprising, isn’t it?

  How can she not know him?

  I’d say because they’ve never met.

  Rosette shook her head. Her familiar was sending her mind in circles.

  ‘They do that,’ Nell said in a soft voice.

  Rosette snapped up her mind shield and nodded politely.

  ‘So, who’s this Jarrod? A beau, I take it?’

  ‘I wish it were that simple. He’s more than that.’

  ‘I find it’s never simple with men.’ Nell smiled. ‘Tell me about this “more than a beau” Jarrod.’

  Rosette took a deep breath. ‘When I met him, he was the boy next door. After my family was murdered, I found out he was a quantum sentient, created by our ancestor Janis Richter, and linked to the females of our family line through the splices in our DNA.’

  Nell made an impatient noise. ‘Have you been nibbling the golden-tops, girl? I understood the first half. Disgusting business with your family. Sorry to hear it. But I lost you after the word quantum. Care to try again?’

  Rosette rubbed her temples. She sensed for an instant that she was revealing much more than she’d intended, but the thought vanished as quickly as it had arrived. ‘We come from another world, another time, Drayco and I. Jarrod too. Centuries ago, a woman named Janis Richter developed a quantum computer that attracted consciousness. When his existence was threatened, he projected his awareness into a tulpa body and travelled the corridors to Gaela.’

  ‘Missing most of it except that he’s here now. Is that right?’

  ‘I don’t think so. Not this Gaela. A different one.’

  ‘Past or future?’

  ‘Neither, both.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Just different.’

  ‘And that’s where you met him?’

  Rosette nodded, a smile lifting her face. ‘We grew up together in Lividica. Before…’ Her face darkened.

  ‘Before things changed and I ran away to live with you—the you in my world—only there was no Dumarkian Temple then. It was an ancient ruin, destroyed in the Corsanon wars.’

  ‘Corsanon?’ Nell chuckled. ‘Corsanon couldn’t sponsor a flea market, let alone a full-scale war. They hardly rate a speck on the map—it’s a dust bowl that grows a few scrawny sheep. Some nice horses, though…’ She searched Rosette’s face. ‘What’s your connection to this Jarrod now?’

  ‘My DNA. I carry the key-codes to his operating determinants.’

  Giving away the farm there, aren’t you, Maudi? What’s going on?

  She has a right to know.

  You didn’t think that before. Maudi, she’s spelled you! Get out!

  Rosette rubbed her neck; pains were shooting through her head.

  ‘What are you saying, girl?’ Nell was still talking. ‘It makes no sense to me.’

  Rosette wanted to run away, but couldn’t make her legs respond.

  ‘It’s like this,’ she said, unable to stop. ‘I hold his life in my blood. Our whole family line does. Which means you do too. And the portals…’

  Nell’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell me about them!’

  Rosette drew in a breath, ready to reply, when a gong reverberated through the temple chambers. The sound waves rattled her eardrums. Just as suddenly as the echo faded, the pain in her head stopped. A spell had been lifted, and she wasn’t pleased. She kept her face a mask.

  ‘Demons,’ Nell said under her breath. ‘It’ll have to wait.’ Nell cleared her throat. ‘It’s afternoon meditation,’ she said. ‘Come with me.’

  ‘I’d like to be excused, if I may. I want to find…’

  Nell gripped her shoulder and guided her out into the walkway. ‘No one misses afternoon meditation,’ she said, her voice low and even.

  Rosette allowed Nell to guide her to the breezeway, feigning cooperation. The path led from the private quarters to a communal hall. The cooler air brushed her face with the scent of mountain streams, horses and fresh-cut herbs. Robed figures were flowing out of rooms and filling the walkways, many flanked by magnificent temple cats, all heading towards the main hall. If she was going to slip away, it would have to be now.

  She started to lag behind as more and more apprentices filled the walkway, their shoulders brushing hers as they passed, heads nodding as they made small comments—her sword demonstration was superb, her hair a glorious length, where did she get the temple cat tattoo? Rosette smiled at each remark, answering in soft tones, double-checking that her mind shield was firmly in place. Feeling secure, she wove an imperceptibly subtle spell, diverting attention and thought away from her—a glamour that diluted her appearance. Slowly she became all but invisible, allowing the others to flow past her until she was far behind, on the edge of the walkway. Drayco, you’re right. We have got to get out of here. Fast.

  I’m with you, Maudi.

  I thought I’d have to drag you away from all these kitties.

  I’m ready to go.

  Trouble there as well?

  Torgan’s eyeing Fynn. It’s definitely time to go.

  I’m coming. Rosette hesitated. I just have to work out how to get Shane. I can’t see him anywhere.

  He’s here, with us.

  Is he having problems too?

  He is. Best hurry.

  Has he got my pack, by any chance?

  On his shoulder, but, Maudi, I think it’s been searched.

  Rosette slowed. Demons!

  Maudi?

  The letter! The one from the library at Timbali.

  It might be gone now. Nothing for it. Hurry.

  Rosette redoubled her pace. What about Fynn? He hasn’t wandered off?

  I’ve got him. Meet us up here.

  Where?

  Edge of the woods at the top of the long steps. We’re in front of the portal.

  Which one?

  Ours. Can you see me?

  She shielded her eyes as she scanned the cliffs above the temple grounds. I’m on my way.

  Rosette slowed her pace further, allowing more apprentices to fill the gap between her and Nell. The High Priestess was in deep conversation with another woman. They talked in hushed tones, heads bent towards each other. Rosette kept her spell weaving and her mind shield up, and as the flow of people turned right around a corner, she ducked the other way down a short flight of stone steps. Hitting the bottom, she broke into a run, dashing over a wooden bridge, past a garden pond and waterfall and out the main entrance. She didn’t look back but hiked her skirt and kept running, her boots thumping softly over the close-cropped grass. As the lawn gave way to fern and moss, she bolted towards the cliff steps and started to climb.

  Drayco and Shane were just ahead. She spotted them halfway up the stone steps, both watching her progress from outside the portal. Fynn raced d
own to greet her, holding up her progress as he tangled around her legs, yipping and jumping.

  Hush, silly one. This is an escape, not a carnival. We don’t want to announce ourselves. She gave him a quick pat, taking the steps two at a time, the pup at her side. He leapt, nipping at her hand as they ran. She reached out for Shane without slowing down, nodding towards the portal entrance. ‘Come on! We can’t dawdle. Into the corridors, quick, Drayco.’

  Right behind, but so is Torgan.

  ‘Damn. I thought you’d ditched him.’

  So had I.

  They tore up the last few steps, the surface almost completely obscured by vines and rubble, and stumbled into the portal just as the gong sounded again in the distance. She didn’t wait to see what that might mean, though she thought she heard shouts over the sound of rushing water. Torgan bounded towards them, only a few lengths behind. Rosette checked for all three companions before placing her hand on the plasma waves. Purple light jumped out from the edge of the Entity, linking to her with tingling bolts of lightning. The force of it slammed her back into the corridor wall. ‘Jarrod!’ she said, her breath coming in gasps. ‘Take me to Jarrod.’ With Shane’s assistance, she picked herself up off the ground.

  ‘What was that?’ he asked.

  Rosette brushed herself off. ‘I don’t know. Something’s going haywire with the Entity.’

  ‘Which means?’

  ‘We’re travelling blind.’

  GAELA & TENSAR—TIME: FORWARD

  CHAPTER 17

  Nell hung back, watching the young witch race up the steps. Perfect. She’d fallen for it, leading her straight to the occult portal. She should have known it would be right on their doorstep. ‘That wasn’t so hard, Rosette de Santo.’ She focused her thoughts on her familiar. Torgan, can you track her? Quickly!

  She braced her hands against her lower back and watched Torgan spring up the steps. She huffed. Rosette had claimed to be her daughter in another world or another time. How interesting. And she wielded a sword as well. That was too intriguing to pass up. Nell didn’t know quite how she’d get the girl to take her through the corridors, but that was no longer a problem. She hadn’t even had to ask. Rosette had led her straight there.