Strange Attractors (2 page)

‘I don’t know. I think he suspected something. I know Fynn did, and he might mention it. We’d better go.’

‘If he did, it baffled him.’ Teg gave her another pat. ‘You’re fantastic. I almost wish we were going to Dumarka to train for the winter.’

‘There’ll be plenty of time for that once we find An’ Lawrence.’ She looked down at her belly. ‘I don’t plan on this rescue taking long.’

Drayco’s tail lashed.
Less talking, more moving, Maudi.

Good idea.
‘Safely tucked away indeed,’ she added in a barely audible tone.

‘Shall we?’ Teg gestured towards the portal.

Rosette took a final look at the green apple trees and the gates of Temple Los Loma, scanning the dry red lands beyond. She bowed to the Entity and followed Teg and her familiar into the portal. Her face relaxed as she touched the warm plasma stream, electricity zapping towards her palm. ‘Follow them,’ she said. ‘Take us as near to Rowan An’ Lawrence as we can
possibly get.’ She closed her eyes and the portal swept them away.

In retrospect, Rosette wished she’d worded the request differently—perhaps with less urgency and more circumspection. Where the Entity took them was as close as they could get to her father, Sword Master Rowan An’ Lawrence, but it was also right in the midst of a battle. The place was a sea of uniforms, red tunics and feather-crested helmets of foot soldiers interspersed with a darker-garbed cavalry. Scores of riders charged past, hooves churning and coat-tails flying.

She couldn’t tell who they were fighting. There was no sign of an enemy, but by the casualties alone it had to be a powerful one. She took in the landscape; the hot golden plains spread out like butter on bread in every direction, fringed with pines and white oaks. ‘The Corsanon Fields?’ she whispered. The troops were defending their city, though the gates were not visible from where she stood. ‘What in the many-worlds is he doing in here?’

Teg pointed to the south. ‘That’s their target.’

The red-mantled troops were converging on a distant knoll—all their energy was directed there, but she still couldn’t spot the enemy. The Corsanons drew their swords as they rushed past, the broad blades glinting in the midday sun. Those on foot were running double time to keep up with the cavalry—tall riders mounted on golden horses. She frowned. ‘
When
in the demon’s underworld are we?’ she whispered. It was clearly not any Corsanon she knew. The palominos had vanished before she was born.

Teg scratched his neck. ‘This can’t be right, can it? It looks like before the temple wars.’

Or during.
Drayco’s hackles were up.
Maudi, they have yellow horses.

I see that, Dray. We are before our time, again.
The din of battle droned in the background. Rosette shook her head. ‘The Entity’s askew. This can’t be where the Sword Master is. Let’s get out of here before we’re spotted.’

As she spoke, the Entity expelled her from the portal, like an innkeeper tossing a stray cat. She landed on her feet, eyes flashing. The stream of Corsanon warriors stopped, stunned for an instant, before pointing their swords at her. She tore back to the portal, but Drayco and Teg were flung out as well, the crevice snapping shut in front of her face. ‘Swords!’ she screamed. ‘Teg, kill circle!’

She drew her blade and extended her arm in an arc as she spun around. Her eyes relaxed, losing focus as she widened her peripheral vision. She barely noticed the three heads rolling from her single swipe. Teg had jumped to the side, out of the reach of her swing, drawing his sword and covering her back. For an instant they stood motionless. Drayco crouched at her side, facing down the horde. Frozen by the sudden decapitations, the warriors quickly recovered and sprang.

Rosette ducked to avoid an axe slicing over her head and Drayco sprang at the wielder, snapping his neck. The axe fell from his hand, clattering as it hit the rocky ground. Two more stepped up to replace him. They were stripped to the waist, their chests soaked red with blood and sweat. Their swords were thick blades and heavy, made more for cleaving than her thin, articulate weapon. She knew she could outmanoeuvre these fighters one at a time—but so many? That would take something else. She needed to conjure a massive boost
of magic. Teg was holding ground behind her but they were surrounded, and ridiculously outnumbered.

She called on the Elementals, drawing the energy to her, channelling it through her body, up her arms and into her blade. It took longer than she expected, the Elementals distracted by some other summons. They came, though, weaving into her spell as she honed the energy to a pinpoint. The force of the boost heated her sword blue-white.

She swung, releasing the energy. She could feel Teg do the same behind her and was grateful he’d recently learned the technique. They continued to boost and cut, taking down any warriors who didn’t retreat fast enough and hurling away those who charged. It wasn’t long before the attackers were down, the remnants running as Drayco pelted after them.

Leave them, Dray. We have to get out of here.

I’ve spotted the Sword Master, Maudi. He’s over there, by the pines.

He’s here?
Rosette snapped her wrist, flicking blood from her blade before sheathing it.
Got him.
She tuned in, listening to An’ Lawrence grunt obscenities.
He seems upset.

More than usual?
Drayco chuckled in her mind.

Not far from them another band of warriors was charging the knoll. So far, their efforts seemed futile. The slopes were strewn with bodies—limbs askew, many headless—and in the centre stood the Sword Master and his familiar, Scylla. The ferocity coming from them permeated the air. It nearly knocked her over where she stood. There was no sign of fatigue in his aura, nor was there any indication he’d sensed her presence.

Rosette thought to send him a mental message, a scathing one, but changed her mind. No good
distracting him, no matter how much he deserved her wrath. It looked like a tricky fight. The odds would be a challenge even for him and Scylla. The feline swiped at warriors, toppling them like empty tins. None got up again.

Dray, can you tell Scylla we’re here, coming up the north side of the hill. We don’t need her attacking us as well. She’s gone berserk.

Scylla knows we’re here.
He paused for a moment.
She’s glad it’s me.
Drayco’s message was sweet in her mind.

Of course she is. Please make sure she tells An’ Lawrence. He’s gathering for quite a boost there. Can you feel it?

A wind rippled across Drayco’s fur.
I can.

Oh, demons. Here it comes!
‘Teg! To me!’ She clutched his arm and pulled him down. ‘Drayco, get in here!’ Rosette conjured a dome of energy and they crouched, shielded from the blast. It hurtled towards them—a fireball taking out everything in its path.

The force ripped by, knocking the Corsanon warriors back like tumbleweed, even the dead ones. In spite of the shield, some of the blast whirled into their shelter, sending her hair streaming back from her face, eyes watering, sand stinging. Teg gripped her tight and Drayco’s head pressed into her lap. As the wave subsided, the surviving warriors scrambled away, racing back towards the city at the sound of the retreat. Rosette lowered her shield, locking eyes with An’ Lawrence as she stood. She crossed her arms, ignoring the sea of bodies, blood and gore between them. ‘What in the demon’s pit of gnash are you doing? Trying to kill me?’ she shouted.

Rosette! You’re alive.
He answered back with a mental message. His voice sounded thick in her mind,
as if he was choking.

‘Barely, after that blast, Sword Master
.
’ She made a show of straightening her clothes and tightening her sword belt before heading towards him. ‘What in all the worlds are you doing here?’ She swept her arm across the field. ‘And
when
is this, anyway?’

‘Corsanon’s past, I think.’ He flicked blood from his blade and sheathed it then waved them in.

‘And why are you here?’ she asked again.

‘I was searching for Makee, to help you. Last time I looked, you were in desperate need of a High Priestess and Kreshkali was nowhere to be found
.
’

Rosette laughed. Cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting as if he were hard of hearing, she yelled, ‘I’m fine now, but thanks anyway.’

Maudi, is this conversation wise? We are still in the middle of a battlefield and the enemy isn’t far off.

At that moment an arrow shot from the pines and before Rosette could warn him, An’ Lawrence flicked his round shield behind him. She heard the shaft sink deep into the wood. A dozen more followed.

‘Run!’ An’ Lawrence shouted. He flashed his sword and several arrows rebounded off the blade, returning full speed towards the archers. He disappeared down the other side of the knoll, emerging on a golden warhorse with a flaxen mane and tail. He urged it into a collected canter, picking his way across the battlefield towards her, shield slung to his back.

‘Where did you get that horse?’ Her mouth hung open as it came towards her.

‘A parting gift from La Makee. Get moving!’

‘La Makee?’ As she turned towards the portal, a score of riders appeared on the horizon. ‘So much for the retreat.’ Looking back at An’ Lawrence, she caught sight of a full complement of archers, also
on horseback, charging at the gallop. In a matter of seconds they would be trodden into the ground.

‘Shift!’ An’ Lawrence snapped her out of her stupor.

She took the form of a black wolf, a better shape for fighting than her customary falcon.
The portal’s cut off!
she screamed into his mind.

This way.
He rolled the horse back and shot westward.

Teg had already changed into his alternative Lupin form—wolf—and was racing after An’ Lawrence. The warhorse swerved, and they headed northwest at a dead run.

You can’t mean to race all the way to the Prieta Mountains, can you, Sword Master?
she asked as she leapt over bodies and abandoned weapons.

That’s our only way out.
He stood up in his stirrups, looking down at the three as they caught up.
Since when does ‘shift’ mean anything but a black falcon to your line?

You like it?

No.

Well, I do.
Rosette accelerated, running ahead of the others, blazing the way towards the foothills of Los Loma Prieta.

‘
W
e’re too late,’ Kreshkali said, gazing over the battlefield. There was little movement save the wind through the distant pine trees. It wafted over the ground, lifting red hems and ruffling the crows’ feathers as they hopped from corpse to corpse, exposing the white down beneath their black mantles. In the pale blue sky buzzards circled. ‘Damn that man. Where is he now?’

‘Are you sure An’ Lawrence was ever here?’ Jarrod asked, scanning the fields. He had to shout to be heard over the crows.

Kali covered her nose when the wind shifted. She pointed with one finger. ‘What do you see out there?’ she asked, her voice muffled by her hand.

‘Murder? Death? Decay? Way too many black birds?’

‘What else?’

‘Stench. It’s revolting.’

‘You can’t see stench.’

‘I can.’

‘Fair enough, but look deeper.’

Jarrod frowned. ‘I know you can’t recognise his footprints from this far away. Even I can’t do that.’

‘Look at the dead.’

‘I’d rather not.’

‘Jarrod, this is no ordinary battle scene.’

The late afternoon sun emerged from behind the clouds, illuminating the field with a rosy glow. The dead were rotting where they’d fallen; from their uniforms, it was clear they were Corsanon warriors. It was a field of red cloaks, broken limbs and horse-trampled dirt.

‘How so, exactly?’ Jarrod asked.

‘The ground’s littered with the fallen but can you see who they were fighting?’

Jarrod’s eyebrows went up. ‘Now that you mention it, I can’t.’

‘This was a one-sided skirmish, Jarrod, and there is only one…or two…’ She frowned, thinking of alternatives before going on. ‘Only one or two Sword Masters who would take on a legion single-handed. The signature of magic is all over this place. There’s been a colossal spell unleashed here. More than one.’ She felt the air with her fingertips.

‘I get that too. You think it was him?’

‘I do, and not long ago.’

‘Long enough for a moderate level of decomposition.’

‘In this heat, it could be less than twenty-four hours.’

‘It’ll get worse.’

Kali narrowed her eyes. ‘I wonder why the dead haven’t been buried? We’re only a stone’s throw from the city.’

‘Maybe the battle’s still going on? A pursuit?’

‘Maybe. In any case, we need to get wind of which way he headed.’

‘He’d want to run fast with the forces of Corsanon after him. They couldn’t have been happy.’

‘What was he thinking? This isn’t even his fight any more, unless…’ Kreshkali whispered the words to herself, rubbing her hands together. The Three Sisters, perched behind her on the escarpment, cawed, their pale blue eyes glistening.
See what you can discover, my lovelies. You know who we seek?

They took to the sky.
The big man? The Sword Man?
they answered her in unison.

That’s the one. Off you go, and mind the crows. No tussles.

No need. We would out-tussle them all.

Sweethearts, there are hundreds of black birds out there and you’re trespassing in their territory. Please don’t start anything.

They cawed out a cheeky retort as they flapped hard to gain altitude. They were larger than the other birds and their progress went unchallenged. For once there was plenty of food to go around.