Arrows of Time

by Kim Falconer

  ‘And the third concern is…’

  ‘An’ Lawrence?’

  The smile on Kali’s face disappeared. ‘He’s nowhere to be found.’

  Jarrod put his arm around her shoulder and held her tight. ‘Then we’ll have to look beyond nowhere.’

  She leaned her head on his shoulder and murmured, ‘That we will, and soon.’

  Shane looked out of the portal, taking in the scene. He scratched his head and turned to Selene. ‘Beautiful, we might have a problem.’

  She came to the edge of the crevice and linked her arm around his waist. ‘What’s the worry?’ She sniffed the air. ‘It’s as putrid as ever. We’re home!’ She put her hand over her nose.

  ‘That’s the problem,’ Shane said. ‘The portal entrance to the swamp was gone when we left.’

  ‘It’s hardly gone, Shane. We’re standing in front of it.’

  ‘But the mountain caved in. The portal was destroyed.’

  ‘When you and Rosette were here?’ Her eyes narrowed.

  ‘It was a time loop—a repeating sequence of events.’

  ‘I know what a time loop is and I’ve heard the story before.’

  He shrugged. Somehow Rosette was still a sore spot, though he couldn’t work out why. Every time he broached the subject, she flared up. He had decided to leave it a mystery and move on. They were having a wonderful time at the moment and he wanted to enjoy it. Getting caught in the past wasn’t going to help.

  ‘So what do we do, if this isn’t “supposed” to be here?’ she asked. She sounded as if she already knew the next step and didn’t care for it at all.

  ‘Let’s explore. If we’re trapped in a loop, I know the way out. We’ve nothing to lose.’

  ‘That’s a new attitude,’ she said.

  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, his hands resting on the small of her back. ‘I’m not so stuck in a bog as you think, gorgeous one.’ As if to reinforce his words, he straightened and released her from his hold. With his hand on the hilt of his sword, he led the way out of the portal, Selene at his side.

  ‘Don’t speak too soon about bogs,’ she said. ‘We have that one to navigate.’

  He half expected an earthquake to rumble beneath his feet as he headed down the tunnel towards the light, but nothing happened. The swamp and its noisome odours were like a still-life painting in the distance. They made their way to the cliff face, Shane looking over his shoulder as they went.

  Nothing moved. Not a bird or a breath of wind. The sun, at its zenith, was obscured by clouds. The trees were grey with dull leaves and twisted trunks, patches of lichen growing over their thick bark. The mud was black, the surface slick. It must have rained recently.

  They stood on the ledge, the very outcropping where he and Rosette had spent so much time. His heart tugged at the thought and his mouth turned down at the corners. Was she all right? Recovering? Perhaps they should have seen her before they left. He’d wanted to, but hadn’t pressed the point.

  ‘You’re doing it again,’ Selene said.

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘You’re thinking about her.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Don’t be daft. You’re obsessed with Rosette. Admit it.’

  ‘I’m not thinking about her. I’m certainly not obsessed. I’m just wondering about…’

  ‘Her.’ Selene supplied the word when he hesitated. ‘It’s obvious. The more you deny it, the weaker your case.’

  ‘I’m on trial. Is that it?’

  Selene ignored the question. She headed out into the swamp, testing its depth. He watched her pick a path around the darker pools, skirting the edges of the black pits. He followed. There was no point in trying to explain his connection to Rosette when Selene was like this. They needed a new topic, quickly. ‘Do you think we’ve been spotted?’ he asked.

  A lone raven landed on a nearby branch, calling out before it took flight again, its wings whooshing overhead.

  ‘Perhaps we have now,’ she answered. ‘In any case, it looks like your time loop theory was wrong.’

  His boots were squelching in the mud as he hurried to catch up to her. He nodded. ‘It’ll be interesting to see what time we are, though.’

  She slowed her pace and turned to him. ‘You mean, we could be in the past?’

  ‘That, or even a completely different now.’

  She shrugged. ‘Not too different.’ Her nose wrinkled. ‘Demon’s darkness, this place is rank.’

  Jarrod knocked on the door. He knew he’d already been announced. Drayco had spoken to him as he’d climbed the stairs, searching for Rosette’s room. He’d left Kreshkali and Teg in the library. They were casting horary charts and checking the planetary transits, searching for clues to where An’ Lawrence might be found, or where in all the myriad realities they could look. He’d wanted good news to take Rosette—a destination at least. She would surely ask after him. So far, there was nothing positive to relay.

  When he focused his quantum thoughts on the matter, he came up with so many waves of potential, so many seemingly random places the Sword Master might have reached, it was no help at all. It was very strange. It was almost as if An’ Lawrence was nowhere and everywhere all at once. He knocked again.

  You don’t need to keep banging on my door, Jarrod. I heard you coming up the steps and down the hall.

  Rosette?

  Enter!

  Rosette’s voice in his mind made him smile. ‘And I’ve heard you snoring into your pillow all morning,’ he answered back.

  ‘You have not!’ She swung the door open, and greeted him on the threshold, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him deeply.

  As he held her body, he sensed for damage, scanning her DNA.

  ‘Hey, Dr Cossica,’ she whispered. ‘Stop probing. I’m fine.’

  As she stepped aside, his eyes caught Grayson’s. He sighed and let his hands slip from Rosette’s waist. ‘How’re you feeling?’ He turned her left and right. ‘Good to be back in the old body?’

  ‘Not as old as yours,’ she laughed, pinching him.

  Grayson got up from the couch and grabbed his pack. ‘I’ve got work,’ he said. He thrust his hands deep in his pockets and headed for the door.

  Rosette reached for him but he slipped past. ‘I’ll come down to the stables and find you,’ she said, but he was gone.

  Jarrod lifted his brow.

  ‘It’s always been a tricky one,’ she answered his silent query. ‘Seems more so now.’

  He roughed the top of Drayco’s neck and sat on the couch, patting the space next to him. The temple cat leapt up, which made them both laugh.

  ‘I think he meant me, Drayco.’ She squeezed between her familiar and Jarrod, putting an arm around each.

  ‘How is it with him?’ Jarrod asked, after a few moments of silent communion.

  ‘With Grayson?’ She held her smile a moment longer before letting it fade. ‘We’re close, connected. You know that. But…’

  He didn’t interrupt or push her thoughts along. He leaned his head back and waited, listening.

  ‘It works best when we are off on our own,’ she said.

  Jarrod leaned across her to scratch Drayco. ‘Just the three of you?’

  She laughed. ‘That’s part of it. The trickiness. I’m not a simple witch with a simple life. I have deep connections with others, my familiar, you…’ She nuzzled his neck and gave him a nip. ‘Lately I haven’t had a body. That’s been a real damper on my affairs.’

  He grinned at her. She was so beautiful. ‘No worse for it,’ he said, tracing the curve of her cheek.

  She turned to face him square on. ‘Jarrod, I seem to have spent a great deal of time in, well, other times. The results are not conducive to a solid, predictable relationship with anyone. Grayson and I haven’t had a chance to discuss it, but I sense it might be too much for him.’

  Jarrod took a deep breath. ‘Rosette, first of all, there’s no such thing as a simple witch and you would be bored a
s a toad on dry land if you had a “predictable” and…what was the other word you used?’

  ‘Solid.’

  ‘A predictable and solid relationship. That’s never been your “feel good”.’

  ‘You’re right, but it’s never stopped me from loving.’

  ‘Of course not. No reason for it to. The question is, will it stop you from having a child?’

  Rosette stiffened. ‘What?’

  That was subtle, Jarrod. The temple cat seemed to be chuckling as he spoke.

  I don’t actually have a plan for this, he said to Drayco.

  Pity. A bit of scripting would have been wise.

  Rosette was up and pacing. He ignored her familiar and patted the seat again. ‘Sit with me. Let me explain what I meant.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ She stood in front of him, arms crossed. ‘What are you talking about reproduction for now?’

  ‘I tried to bring it up in Timbali, before we were called, but then it didn’t seem so urgent.’

  ‘Urgent?’

  ‘I’m just saying that we nearly lost you. We nearly lost the spell and…there’s no backup.’

  She clamped her hands on her hips. ‘That’s what this is about? You need me to brood like a mare in a paddock to make sure your key-codes pass on?’

  ‘Not quite like a mare in a paddock.’ He caught her look. ‘I mean, nothing at all like a mare in a paddock!’

  ‘Like what, then? And with whom? Have you picked him out for me too? Demons, Jarrod!’ She looked around as if the walls held the answer.

  ‘Rosette, I haven’t picked anything out and I have no hidden motive. I’m not telling you what to do or what must be done. I’m only saying that in the past, the Richter line has naturally passed down the quantum key-codes in their DNA—without prompting, I might add.’

  Without prompting? Smart tag, Jarrod. I’ll bet you wish they’d programmed you as any other sign but Aries right now. Perhaps the diplomacy of Libra? Or maybe the compassion and poetic subtlety of Pisces? You seem to possess neither.

  Drayco, can you hold off on the commentary, please? I’m having enough trouble getting this out as it is.

  I see that. The temple cat yawned.

  Rosette’s face was turning red. ‘I’m not going to have some random child, Jarrod, just because you think it’s time to run a backup program for your operating determinants. Why would I want to set aside my training and my chance to take on an apprentice of my own now that I’ve actually made it to Temple Los Loma? I just got my body back, for flaming demons’ sake. I’m not turning it over to some little tyke for the next few decades. Not now. I’m not ready. Forget it.’ She started to pace again. Drayco’s tail lashed as she spoke. Jarrod realised his timing was terrible.

  Perhaps it would have been good to ask Kreshkali to run a chart for the most opportune moment to broach this topic. Clearly this wasn’t it, Drayco said.

  Clearly.

  Rosette didn’t stop talking. ‘I’d love to know who you think I’m going to have this child with!’ She sucked in her breath. ‘Is that why you asked about Grayson? You think he’s the one? Have you examined his DNA? Are we well-matched lab rats?’

  ‘Lab rats?’

  ‘I’ve read the journals. I know how this all started, back when Luka Paree was dabbling with an extinct species and Janis Richter thought she could save the world with…with you!’ She stopped pacing and pointed her finger at him. ‘Experiments! Laboratory animals! Is that all I am to you?’

  Drayco growled deep in his throat, or was that laughter? I’ve heard, Jarrod, that when people have something very important to say, they get a bard to help them write it out. Do you think that would have been a good idea? Even Clay, were he still alive, could have said all this much better.

  Stop it, Drayco. I get that it’s not coming out the way I’d hoped.

  I’m curious to see how you’ll extricate yourself. You’re in deep, deep…

  I know!

  Rosette’s arms were gesticulating wildly as she ranted on, firing one protest after the other. Jarrod got up, blocking her in her tracks. He grabbed her shoulders, and forced her to look at him. ‘Do you think that Nell put her life on hold to have you?’ He cringed. It wasn’t what he’d meant to say.

  Going deeper with that line of thought, Jarrod. She’s still wrestling abandonment issues. Did you forget?

  Rosette flushed. ‘What? Nell put her life on hold for me? Hardly. She gave me up to Bethsay, remember? She didn’t even know where you were, but she passed the spell along anyway.’ Her eyes were fierce. ‘Why don’t you ask her to have another daughter? I’ll gladly hand the spell to my little sister when she comes of age. You could time the birth for a more convivial moon sign. Ceres perhaps? Maybe that’ll make her clucky.’ Rosette spun away from him. She grabbed the door and, balancing on one foot, stomped into her boots. ‘Where’s my sword?’

  Jarrod looked around, speechless.

  ‘Never mind.’ She snapped out the words. ‘An’ Lawrence will have it. Is he on the training grounds?’

  He coughed.

  ‘Oh, great. So he’s still not here? Demons with him. Demons with you all.’ She spun back, her face crimson, fists in the air, poised to strike.

  He raised his hands. ‘Tio, Rosette. Tio. I don’t want to fight.’

  ‘Really? Then why’d you bring this up?’ She turned and stormed out, Drayco bounding after her.

  Rosette says to…

  I hear what she says, Drayco. Thank you.

  He sank to the couch, rubbing his face in his hands. He thought of going after her, but changed his mind. She needed time to get used to the idea. It would work out. It always had.

  There was a tap at the door. Kreshkali looked in, and gave him a soft smile. ‘Everything all right?’ she asked, one eyebrow raised. ‘I heard a commotion.’

  ‘It could have been worse,’ he said. ‘Her sword wasn’t here, thank the goddess.’

  ‘She didn’t take the news well?’

  Jarrod shrugged. ‘I haven’t exactly told her yet.’

  ‘About An’ Lawrence or the pregnancy?’

  ‘Neither.’

  ‘The portals?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘All the wrong things. It’s never been an issue before. I was on unfamiliar territory.’

  She patted his arm. ‘Her mind shield is up, Jarrod. Do you know where she’s headed?’

  ‘Out of the manor at a run.’

  ‘I’ll send Teg. Time they met properly anyway. It’ll be all right.’ Kreshkali closed her eyes for a moment.

  ‘Come.’ She extended her hand. ‘It’ll sort out. She’s not the first young witch to have a child she wasn’t expecting.’

  He nodded. ‘Let’s just make sure she’s not the last.’

  EARTH—TIME: BACKWARD

  CHAPTER 43

  Everett stepped off the chopper, wind tearing at his clothes, the whirl of the blades deafening. He stooped, running hunched until clear of the landing pad, his pack bouncing against his back, his baggage nearly slipping from his grip. As he reached the abandoned building, the chopper took off and disappeared into the clouds. There was no wave of farewell. He hadn’t expected one.

  Everett took in the surroundings. His eyes welled up, blurring the vista like a watercolour left in the rain. Oh such colours! He struggled between the rush of emotion and the desire for clear vision. The sun was shining a brilliant yellow, the horizon blue—something he’d only seen in computer simulations and digital imagery. Puffs of white clouds were strewn overhead and there were birds—real ones—flying in the distance.

  It was beautiful beyond his wildest imagination—the sky, the clouds, the mountain peaks, the birds. There were trees too, healthy ones of different shapes and shades of green ranging from almost yellow to a teal blue. Tall varieties with smooth bark and long leaves were clustered around the building, shading it from the sun like guardians. The building itself was double-storey,
the corrugated iron rust-red with age. A sign hung sideways from a large wooden beam, one of its chains snapped. It squeaked in the breeze, swinging on its single support. He tilted his head to read the words ‘Flight Centre’.

  According to the archives, this had been a heavily trafficked air transport complex before the ‘conflict’. He laughed at the euphemism. ‘Holocaust’ would be a more accurate description for what had happened in his world, but ASSIST was big on prevarication. Whatever it had been, this Flight Centre now marked the edge of the Borderlands—a place with horrors of its own, supposedly. At least it existed, and was not a fabrication of ASSIST.

  He took a deep breath. If this was the gnashing hell he had been led to believe, he welcomed it. It looked more like paradise to him. He turned full circle, arms outstretched, taking it in. A mountain filled his view. It was jagged and snow-capped. Majestic. His eyes welled again.

  Insects of some kind chanted in the midday heat. He brushed one from his face and laughed. He couldn’t believe such luxuriance of nature existed only a few hours’ flight from the city. Why hadn’t he come here sooner? He’d had all the status and credits he needed, but, like his colleagues, he’d been led to believe the world was wretched beyond the protection of the sector walls. Not until the recent death of his Jane Doe did he start to wonder, to research for himself what was ‘out there’. Standing in the abandoned airstrip and seeing where she must have come from, he began to understand her better.

  Everett had uncovered an underground contact while searching the history of the Borderlands. The contact was eager and the requirements clear. He had a way into this new world, this strange culture that had sidestepped the regimented and endless life offered by the Allied States One. He exhaled. They were to meet him here. He only had to wait.

  As the heat brought perspiration to his forehead, he heard their voices. They were unmistakably human, and unmistakably happy. The conversations and laughter rode the breeze. In the distance several people were walking up the road, heading straight for him. This was it. First contact.

  He waved, the other hand going to his pocket, automatically checking for the tiny cryo case. It was there, safely zipped into the lining of his jacket. He wouldn’t rush, he told himself. He’d do what he came here for—establish the in vitro fertility program for those who wanted to conceive, and somewhere along the line he’d find the perfect host for his project, none the wiser. But he would know, and eventually he would discover the secrets of the egg he’d harvested—a DNA combination that had left him awestruck. Jane Doe’s child would have answers to questions he’d not even considered. He was sure of it. ‘Hello.’ He projected his voice, searching their faces.