Strange Attractors Read online

  In memory of Matthew & Xe’nedra Grace

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Dedication

  Maps

  Epigraph

  CHAPTER 1 TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON FIELDS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 2 CORSANON FIELDS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 3 TENSAR & CORSANON, GAELA

  CHAPTER 4 TEMPLE LOS LOMA & BORDERLANDS, EARTH & CORSANON, GAELA

  CHAPTER 5 DUMARKIAN WOODS, CORSANON & RIVERLANDS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 6 CORSANON & RIVERLANDS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 7 CORSANON & RIVERLANDS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 8 BORDERLANDS, EARTH & CORSANON, GAELA

  CHAPTER 9 RIVERLANDS & CORSANON, GAELA & BORDERLANDS & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 10 TEMPLE LOS LOMA & BORDERLANDS, EARTH & CORSANON, GAELA

  CHAPTER 11 CORSANON, GAELA & BORDERLANDS, EARTH

  CHAPTER 12 TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON, GAELA

  CHAPTER 13 TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 14 TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 15 TEMPLE LOS LOMA & BORDERLANDS, EARTH &; PRIETA FOOTHILLS & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 16 PRIETA FOOTHILLS & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA & BORDERLANDS, EARTH

  CHAPTER 17 DUMARKIAN WOODS, CORSANON & CUSCA PLAINS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 18 DUMARKIAN WOODS, PRIETA FOOTHILLS, CUSCA Plains & Corsanon, Gaela & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 19 PRIETA FOOTHILLS, CUSCA PLAINS & CORSANON, GAELA & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 20 CORSANON, CUSCA PLAINS, PRIETA FOOTHILLS & GOREGAN RIVER, GAELA & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 21 CUSCA PLAINS, PRIETA FOOTHILLS & GOREGAN RIVER, GAELA & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 22 TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & PRIETA FOOTHILLS & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 23 PRIETA FOOTHILLS & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 24 DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  CHAPTER 25 DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH

  CHAPTER 26 BORDERLANDS & TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & TEMPLE LOS LOMA & DUMARKIAN WOODS, GAELA

  RECOMMENDED READING

  RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  About the Author

  Books by Kim Falconer

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Maps

  A strange attractor is a pattern that appears chaotic, random in both trajectory and purpose, until seen from the right perspective.

  CHAPTER 1

  TEMPLE LOS LOMA, EARTH & CORSANON FIELDS, GAELA

  ‘Demons,’ Rosette whispered. She gripped the rock face, her fingers cramped into spider shapes. The sun was scorching hot. Her clothes stuck to her back, sweat dripping down her spine. She didn’t know how much longer she could hang on. Below was a red desert plain marked only by the wrought-iron gates of Temple Los Loma and the boulders that concealed the portal. Her familiar paced in front of them, pausing every few strides to look up.

  You’re not moving, Maudi. What’s wrong?

  Her boot slipped and she hung midair. I’m fine, Drayco. She caught her breath and found better footing. Can you see them yet?

  I can, Maudi, and if you want to stay concealed, I suggest you hurry things along.

  Thanks, Dray. I’m coming.

  Drayco had made it look easy; he’d scampered down the cliff then waited for them to catch up. Teg wasn’t so sure. He had suggested they shape-shift, her flying to the portal while he followed Drayco’s descent in wolf form, but Rosette had cautioned against it. The shock wave from the transformation could be felt for a fair distance, like sounding an alarm. What they wanted was stealth. How hard could the climb be?

  Harder than I thought. Rosette swallowed the dust in her throat and looked up. ‘Teg, we have to jump!’

  ‘From here?’ He was squeezed into a narrow crevice, loose dirt breaking free as he tried for a better grip.

  ‘It’s not that far.’

  ‘Easy for you to say. You’re ten feet closer.’

  ‘There’s no more time.’ She took a breath and let go, pushing back from the rock wall as she launched. The ground came up to greet her sooner than she expected, jolting her legs and spine. She tucked into a backward roll as Teg landed in front of her.

  Finally, Maudi. Drayco rubbed his cheek on a nearby rock. They come.

  ‘We have to hide,’ she said.

  ‘Where?’ Teg looked at the open expanse. ‘They’ll know if we go through the portal now.’

  ‘Not the portal. Come closer, both of you,’ she said as she dusted herself off. ‘And don’t move.’

  ‘You’re going to weave a glamour out here?’ Teg asked, rubbing his elbow. ‘They’ll spot it, won’t they?’

  ‘Not if you stop talking and keep still.’ She visualised a circle around her body and pulled him in. ‘Slow your breathing. Think calm thoughts.’

  Drayco sat in front of them, his tall ears pointed forward. There’s no more time. Make the curtain now, Maudi.

  She threw the enchantment around them like a cape and there, in front of the gates of Temple Los Loma, it settled over their heads and they disappeared. A moment later Kreshkali and Jarrod came into view, striding along the track. They were on foot and travelling light—backpacks and swords—their long cloaks flowing out behind them. They were overdressed for the desert, but not for where they were going. Rosette reinforced the glamour. Three ravens winged in, cawing and scolding. One landed on Kreshkali’s shoulder. The other two perched on the rocky outcroppings that marked the entrance to the portal. As the birds shuffled their wings and settled, heads tilting this way and that, Rosette reminded herself to breathe.

  From inside the enchantment, the world took on a violet hue—the glamour filtering out all but the shorter waves of light. It created a surreal ambiance, her only hint that the spell was working. From the outside, she hoped it was having the desired effect—a seamless blending of the rock wall with no hint of their presence. Instead of seeing Rosette, her temple cat and the young Lupin a hand’s reach away, Kreshkali and Jarrod would notice only the dry red landscape and the crevice that housed the portal. The sun baking down from its zenith cast no shadow and the hot breeze blew right through them.

  The glamour didn’t actually make them vanish. That would have been the most effective way to weave the concealment, but neither Rosette nor Teg had mastered the technique. Her glamour simply absorbed the light normally reflected from their bodies; with nothing to bounce off, nothing could be seen. It took only a small additional conjuring of the Elementals to paint the landscape behind them. It was a good spell for the occasion but she strained to hear what they were saying. The glamour filtered sound waves as well.

  Do you know what they’re talking about, Drayco? She let the thought slip through her mind shield.

  I do.

  And?

  They’re talking about the Lupin.

  Teg?

  Not him. The one headed this way.

  Teg shifted behind her.

  Hold still! she cautioned him.

  Hotha comes, Teg’s mental voice whispered.

  I see that. Just relax. It’ll be all right.

  Not if we’re caught.

  We won’t be. Hush.

  Hotha loped towards them, shifting from wolf form to human as he came to a halt. The shock wave rushed past, stirring her hair. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the glamour, glad the Lupin was more intent on talking than observing the environment. Hotha was the leader of the Lupin clan on Earth and apparently he had much to say to Kreshkali before she left. Jarrod looked on. Rosette was relieved the glamour worked for him as well. Because he was a quantum sentient, his visual consciousness could perceive energy regar
dless of the light spectrum. All he had to do was tune into it. Fortunately, his focus stayed on the others.

  Hotha was having a tête-à-tête with one of Kali’s ravens. He smiled, bowing with what looked like an apology. Rosette took a step closer to the edge of her glamour and pressed her ear against the violet barrier.

  ‘Your apprentices are safely tucked away in Dumarka then?’ Hotha asked Kreshkali.

  ‘They’d be scathing to hear you put it that way, but yes. They went last night.’

  He nodded, giving her a sly smile. ‘Good luck in your search, my queen. Be safe. The corridors…’

  ‘They’ll run true for me. It’s your safety I’m concerned about. Eyes open, Hotha.’

  They embraced, kissing in the traditional manner of Gaelean temple witches—both cheeks and then the lips. Kreshkali didn’t step out of his arms immediately. She whispered something Rosette couldn’t catch before slipping into the portal behind Jarrod and the ravens. The plasma ripples jumped out—a lightning-flash greeting—and they were gone.

  Hotha remained for some time, staring into the portal that had turned again into an unremarkable rock formation, a fissure in an otherwise banal landscape. As she held the glamour in place, he shifted his view, focusing on where she stood.

  Don’t think! she cautioned both Teg and Drayco, sending the message directly to their minds. Shield!

  Hotha continued to stare until he turned around, shaking his head and chuckling. ‘Fynn, lad. I said to stay.’

  Maudi, this could be a problem.

  I see that, Dray.

  Fynn came loping up, tongue lolling. He may have stayed for a while but the little hunting dog clearly didn’t want to be left behind. He had a particular attachment to her and Drayco. She hoped it wasn’t so strong he would sniff them out.

  ‘What is it, boy?’ Hotha said when Fynn sniffed, his tail going in circles. He was trotting back and forth in front of the portal, right where Rosette and Teg touched down from the cliff. ‘You missing your people? Come on then, you’ll join my pack.’

  Fynn’s head went up and he sat, barking once, his tail sweeping the ground. If Hotha continued to speak to the dog, Rosette didn’t hear. They were moving away; she let out her breath.

  That was lucky, Teg said.

  There wasn’t much of a shock wave when Hotha shifted back to wolf form, the blast diminished by her glamour. He trotted through the gates, Fynn on his heels, and headed back to Temple Los Loma. When he was out of sight, Rosette relaxed, allowing the spell to disperse. Sweat dripped down her brow and she wiped it with the back of her hand. ‘Close one.’

  Teg clapped her on the shoulder, letting out a whistle. ‘That’s the best glamour I’ve ever seen,’ he said, keeping his voice low. ‘Hotha was staring right at me and didn’t suspect a thing.’

  ‘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 o
bscenities. 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.