by Kim Falconer
‘Again these riddles!’ Selene said. ‘I don’t think she knows anything at all.’
‘Wait,’ Jarrod said. It wasn’t a request. ‘What do you mean, Nell? A fine line between what?’
‘Between knowing or not knowing. Is it choice or fate? Is it “bad” or is it necessary?’ She touched the tender skin around her heart. ‘It doesn’t matter either way. I know what has to be done.’
‘It matters to me,’ he said, the fire in his voice rising again.
‘Let’s just say she’s on ice for now.’
Jarrod frowned. ‘Ice?’
‘She’s not going anywhere for the moment.’
Jarrod stood still. ‘I think you best tell me what you know, straight and clear, or I’m leaving all the chips on the ground where we stand.’
Nell sighed. ‘She’s gotten herself mixed up with a medic on another world—strange place. Very dark. Bad smell…a lot of rules. Why would people want to live that way? It’s crowded, bleak, and devoid of any pleasure as far as I can tell. Terrible climate. The population seems to be in a constant state of mourning, though they claim nobody has died.’
Jarrod’s eyebrows went up. ‘No deaths?’
‘Chip number one.’
‘And Rosette?’
Nell hesitated. ‘She’s reached a bit of a stalemate.’
‘Explain.’
‘That healer has her held up somewhere and isn’t keen to let her go.’
‘What about Drayco?’ Shane asked. ‘Surely he’s with her? He’ll protect her.’
Jarrod and Selene turned to look at him. He licked his lower lip. ‘Can you see someone getting past that beast?’ he asked.
‘That’s why it doesn’t make sense,’ Jarrod replied. ‘Between the two of them, they’re more than formidable.’
Nell shook her head. ‘Last I saw her temple cat, he was wandering the corridors.’
‘Alone?’ Jarrod’s voice was barely audible.
‘I didn’t see anyone else at the time,’ Nell replied. ‘Though us blood witches aren’t the only ones travelling these paths.’ She whispered the last sentence, but he heard it loud and clear.
‘Trackers?’
‘Perhaps.’
He felt his body give way, his knees buckling beneath him. In an instant several possible ramifications flashed through his mind at once, all of them threatening his life. Drayco would never leave Rosette. Even if things became extreme, she wouldn’t send him off on his own. Unless she was trapped? Injured? Dead? He thought he would be sick.
If Rosette was lost, so was he, and with him their branch of the many-worlds. Without her, he was mortal—his CPU, the key-codes, all that he needed to self-perpetuate, would be gone. Without her, without her offspring, the spell—Passillo—would unravel along with every one of the many-worlds they’d touched. The impact would be unpredictable though certainly devastating. The integrity of the corridor Entities depended on the spell. He shook his head. What would happen to Earth? Gaela? Was it happening already?
Yet it sounded like Rosette had stumbled upon a world that was circumventing death. That could be the key to Tensar’s imbalance, though she wouldn’t realise it if she never made it onto Tensar. The paradoxes rocked him.
‘Rosette!’ He screamed her name, and his legs gave way. If it hadn’t been for Selene’s and Shane’s automatic response, he’d have hit the ground hard. They grabbed an arm each and propped him up, one on either side.
‘Come on,’ Selene said in his ear. ‘Stay with us.’
His eyes fluttered as he lifted his head to Nell, who was still standing before him. She took a few steps back. He locked onto her, boring into her with his gaze. ‘Take me to Rosette!’
She faltered, and her familiar’s hackles went up. ‘There’s no rush,’ Nell said, stroking Torgan’s head until he calmed down. ‘Rosette, like I said, is on ice. We’ve got time to take care of these problems in their proper order.’
‘And what order is that, Nell?’ Jarrod pulled out of his companions’ grip.
‘My Gaela has to come first.’
‘Why?’
She cocked her head. ‘You’ll have to trust me on that one, Jarrod. All I can say at this point is there are wrinkles in a few worlds that need smoothing out and one must follow the other. I can help you, but you’ve got to help me first. The High Priest Corvey has to go. That’s not negotiable.’
While Jarrod kept his eyes locked with Nell’s, he became aware of the cool breeze on his face and the sun coming out from behind the clouds. It brightened the leaves of a nearby strangler fig and warmed the back of his neck. He also became aware of the many possibilities as he made instant calculations.
‘It’s a fair trade, really,’ Nell said. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘No problem,’ he answered. ‘We’ll go with you.’
‘Like dead demons we will,’ Selene said.
He turned to her. ‘I know what I’m doing.’
Selene snapped her mouth shut.
‘There’s something I’d like to check first, though, Nell,’ he said, softening his eyes.
‘What’s that?’
‘I’d like a small sample of your blood. Just a prick,’ he added when her pupils dilated. ‘It won’t hurt but a sting.’ He waited while waves of emotion washed over her face. Her mind shield faltered. It was just the chink he needed. He was in.
‘A little assurance that you’ll lead us to Rosette when the time comes,’ he said. ‘It’s not much to ask, under the circumstances.’
She lifted her chin. ‘Certainly, if it makes you feel better.’
‘It does.’
‘It doesn’t for me,’ Shane said, pulling Jarrod aside. ‘We can’t go with her, fight her battles. What about Tensar? What about Rosette? This doesn’t make sense.’
‘The best path isn’t always in a straight line, Shane. Believe me, we’re headed for both at the same time.’
Shane kicked the ground. ‘The best path is away from her, I’m sure of that.’
Jarrod turned back to Nell. ‘The blood.’
‘Get on with it,’ she said, holding up her finger. ‘Though what it’s for, I surely don’t know.’
Ah, but you do, my queen. You revealed that to me, if nothing else.
EARTH & GAELA—TIME: FORWARD
CHAPTER 23
Drayco?
Here, Maudi, by the entrance.
It’s pitch dark. I can’t see anything.
You never could see well at night.
True, Dray.
What do they call that?
Night blindness.
That’s it. You’ve always had night blindness.
So it’s not just because I’m dead?
I don’t think so, Maudi. It really is dark. You wouldn’t perceive anything even if you had a body.
You mean, even if I was alive.
Maudi, you are alive. Your body’s dead. There’s a difference.
Rosette wanted to sigh. She felt the sensation, like an exhalation, a wash of relief, but she had no physicality to perform the action—no way to express it. I don’t know how I’m going to get used to this, Drayco. This non-corporeal state.
It’s temporary, Maudi.
I hope so.
She had no body, no connection to physical reality, and the strangeness threw her. It was beyond anything she’d ever experienced or, at least, beyond anything she remembered experiencing. Meditation, of course, was similar, as was astral projection, but the totality of her current state went further, much further. It felt like there was no going back. She didn’t know how to find peace with that.
Was it merely a force of habit, her desire to shrug, to exhale, to relax her shoulders, to let her head tilt to the side, to wink, to rough Drayco’s neck? Or was it more than that, a part of being? She wanted to feel the tension melt from her face, the fine lines around her eyes soften and then spontaneously crinkle again with a smile. She wanted to push her long hair off her forehead and let her hands drop to her
sides, clench and relax her fingers. She wanted to wrap her arms around her familiar and squeeze him tight until his tail lashed and she risked a swipe of his massive paw. She wanted to erupt into deep belly laughter and feel her heart pound against her breastbone. She wanted to cry, letting the well of emotion overflow from her eyes. She couldn’t do any of these things and the realisation caught her head-on.
I’m dead.
Maudi! Drayco’s voice snapped into her awareness. He’d been calling to her for some time. Maudi! Think of what you can do, not what you can’t.
For example? She knew she sounded sulky.
Think of the freedom.
Freedom?
Finally, you can keep up with me.
There it was again—the desire to laugh. But she couldn’t laugh, or sigh or cough or smile, or touch or hug.
What can you do? Drayco asked again. Focus on that.
I’m thinking…
There’s a start.
She thought of laughter. She could feel the energy behind the action and its essence. It was like looking at a map of a strange and foreign land—a realm she had never seen before, wasn’t prepared for, but now must travel. The map didn’t make any sense.
Find a reference, Maudi. A point of entry, her familiar suggested.
He was so practical. She loved that about him. An astrological reference? Like what sort of transit this might reflect?
Exactly. Drayco looked in her direction. I’m guessing Neptune?
She exclaimed, but no sound came out. Of course! Perfect! Neptune transiting in opposition to my sun. That’s it. You’re brilliant. She felt her energy whirling about like a dust devil stirring up leaves. Neptune rules the sea, a place where there are no boundaries. In Neptune’s world all the sharp edges, the lines that distinguish one thing from another, are blurred. He’s the god of immersion, the god of dance and ecstasy, boundless love and union with the divine. The god of enchantments and also deceptions. She felt laughter welling up from some deep place of awareness. I know I’m meant to let go of attachments and identification with material ‘reality’, but this is a twist I didn’t count on.
An interesting one, don’t you think?
Very. Neptune makes sense. Everything is dissolving, melting away, so I can see who and what I am without the props. Great goddess of the woods, I never thought of my body as extraneous. This gives me a new perspective on consciousness.
Indeed, me too.
It had been hours since they had left her body in the healing centre, and though she felt neither cold nor hot, or hunger or thirst, those feelings would have been welcomed for the familiarity they offered. She had the opportunity to find out who she was without them now. She wanted to take a deep breath. A wave of reticence struck. So I’m lost.
Not really, Maudi. You’re right here. It’s your body that’s the lost one.
She wanted to nod.
You’ll get used to it, Maudi.
Do you think so?
Drayco’s confidence made her feel stronger, though what part of her needed strength, she couldn’t tell. She was all energy now—liquid light—a spark of consciousness dwelling in the corridors between the worlds. As the reality of her condition settled over her, she felt the magnitude of this event.
We need to get back to Earth, to Kreshkali…or Nell, my Nell, not that Dumarkian Temple witch. She shook her head, but nothing moved. Jarrod’s got no backup now. My DNA, the key-codes, they’re all gone.
I know. Bit of an issue.
Understatement.
I’m talking to Scylla now.
You can reach her? How?
It’s faint, but I’ve got a message through. I’ve upset her, I think. I wonder if it came out right.
How can you be transmitting from so far away?
It’s you, I think. Your energy is like an amplifier. It’s boosting my signal.
Can you hear back? What did she say?
It’s not so clear…
Drayco must have moved closer because she sensed his tail snapping. She stilled her mind, knowing he wanted to concentrate on his connection with Scylla. She was surprised he didn’t shush her outright.
Maudi?
Did you make her understand? Rosette felt a rumbling energy waft through her as Drayco began to purr. They know what’s happened to me? An’ Lawrence? Kreshkali?
I’m not sure what they know, but they’re coming. We need to get to the portal under Half Moon Bay.
That’s where they’ll be?
Drayco waved his tail again. I think so, if we can just manage the correct ‘when’.
That’s not going to be easy.
Drayco’s energy shot towards her. Not if you say it like that, it won’t be.
You’re right. She felt another dust devil pivot her around. It’ll be a snap. We get there, just where we need to be, and exactly the right ‘when’.
That sounds better. Can you focus on them both—the ‘when’ as well as the ‘where’?
I’ll do my best. She felt his energy move off and concentrated her thoughts on the Half Moon Bay portal. When are we meant to be there?
Right about now will do.
She’d discovered the knack of keeping up with Drayco. She stayed focused, kept her eyes on him and watched where he went. Her energy would follow. What am I saying? I have no eyes. She laughed again, a feeling with no sound or action. Drayco? Do you think I’m going to be able to see…I mean, perceive anything when we get out of the corridors?
I wouldn’t worry about it too much right now. Whatever happens, it’ll be all right.
Okay. She remembered the feeling of a sigh. Good call. I won’t worry. She kept her attention on him, her energy hovering over his body.
At first she could only sense his whereabouts intuitively, but then a lightening in the corridors brought more distinction. She could see, or visualise, the outline of his back and long tail conspicuous against the background.
I’d be lost without you, Dray. She sensed wafts of energy coming from him. Are you laughing at me, black cat?
You’ll have to admit it’s pretty funny.
How so?
Drayco’s rumble turned to purring; a purple aura flowed from his body in all directions. I’m as lost, he said, and as found, as I ever was.
The glow increased.
Me too, Dray. Me too.
She brushed past the Entity as they entered a portal, Drayco right beside her. The jolts of purple plasma engulfed her, filling her vision with indigo light. They settled into the recesses of the portal as a wash of colour sped by. When it stopped, she moved forward, keeping her focus on a shaft of light illuminating the edges of her vision. Beyond, it looked much like the sewers of Half Moon Bay.
On track, Maudi. Good work.
She had no idea of the when, though, and there was nothing to do now but wait to see if Kreshkali showed up. She did the closest thing she could to taking a deep breath.
It was a relief to make out the subtleties of hue, saturation and colour as the light increased around her. She loved visual consciousness and it was a blessing to get it back. Everything became clear in minute detail. The main drain was dark and rusty, strapped to the corrugated wall with brackets and tattered with fine holes, moth-eaten from erosion. The moss growing on it was a pale green. It turned vivid lime where sunlight beamed in from the surface. Algae clustered where water seeped from the walls.
Everything glowed—an aura of energy. Rock, walls, feline, moss, stone, gravel, drain—all had an energy field, and it was that subtlety of light that she could understand now more than anything else. The plasma of the portal Entity leapt towards her as she moved past, a caress. She stayed close to Drayco and explored the causeway.
Can you smell anything? she asked.
Are you kidding? He sneezed.
That’s a yes, I’m guessing.
Are you saying you can’t? Count your luck. It’s putrid.
I can’t smell a thing. Are you sure you’re not imagining it? Mayb
e they cleaned up.
Unfortunately, ‘they’ did not clean anything down here, whoever ‘they’ are.
Most likely ‘they’ would have been you and me!
Exactly. But these tunnels are just as rank as ever. He sniffed the air. I do pick up on rat, which might be a good time-passer.
Hungry?
Very.
I’m not.
Maudi, I don’t think the five senses are going to apply quite the same to you.
Forever?
I don’t know. For now.
Sorry, my lovely. I know you don’t. I’ll deal with it, I promise.
He sneezed again. I’ve got to hunt, and find fresh water.
I’ve got water in my pack…She automatically turned to look behind her.
It’s gone, Maudi. Everett Kelly has it.
In a whirl Rosette realised what she’d left behind. Drayco, we have to go back!
Back where?
Back to that other place, where my body is.
What?
My DNA. My blood. We can’t leave it for that man to examine. We don’t know how advanced they are. We can’t let them get hold of Jarrod’s CPU, the key-codes.
Maudi, we went through all this.
We did?
We’re meeting Kreshkali first. And I wouldn’t worry too much. They weren’t advanced enough to save you and there wasn’t anything wrong.
But that’s just it, Drayco. There’s nothing wrong with me. I shouldn’t have died.
But you did. Drayco sat and curled his tail close to his body, away from the drain.
Not by natural causes, Dray.
By what, then?
I don’t know. A spell maybe? It felt like we were being followed through the corridors.
Her temple cat stood up and shook. We will go back. Straight back. But first we need to wait for the others. We need their help. I couldn’t get into that world, remember.
I can’t wait. It was a mistake to leave that way. It’s what they wanted.
Who’s ‘they’ now?
I don’t know, but I’ve got to go. Rosette felt like she was trying to climb out of her skin—skin she didn’t have.
