Quantum Enchantment Omnibus by Kim Falconer

Author:Kim Falconer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Voyager
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Kreshkali stepped out of the portal, her long cloak billowing behind her as she strode into the sewers, her high-laced boots splashing in the water that pooled in the uneven concrete.

‘Can you see him?’ she asked, taking in the north and south aspects of the underground causeway. Tiny shafts of sunlight beamed down from manholes, illuminating the tunnel with intermittent spots. Murky water flowed along a central channel, but it didn’t reach the higher ground on either side. She was relieved. Sometimes these sewers were flooded, though now that the rains had backed off, there was more solid ground. She led the group up to a platform directly under one of the manholes.

‘Demons, it stinks down here,’ Teg said.

No one disagreed.

‘She’s found Drayco.’ An’ Lawrence tilted his head towards Scylla. His familiar dashed down the tunnel, disappearing around a corner.

‘What’s he doing?’ Kreshkali asked.

An’ Lawrence paused for a moment, his eyes losing focus. ‘Ratting, apparently.’

‘Ratting?’

‘That’s what Scylla says.’

‘Rosette’s lost and he’s having a picnic?’

‘I suspect he had to eat, no matter what’s happened,’ Grayson replied when An’ Lawrence didn’t. He stepped out of the portal. His hands were shoved deep into the front pockets of his fur-lined coat. His head lifted slightly as he scanned the terrain. ‘It felt different last time I was here.’

‘How long ago was that?’ An’ Lawrence asked.

Grayson’s face was pale and drawn. He cleared his throat. ‘Last year. Coming back from my first visit to Gaela, my holiday with…’

An’ Lawrence looked away. ‘With Rosette,’ he whispered.

Kreshkali stared at them both.

‘Stop being so morbid, you two. We’re here to find Rosette—to bring her back, not bury her.’ She threw her hands up in the air. ‘Do you think I would need all of you otherwise?’

No one replied.

Kreshkali paced, walking the distance of the platform in several long strides. Then she turned on her heels. Teg? Can you go see what’s keeping the temple cats?

The young Lupin pulled his sword out of his belt and bowed as he passed it to her, scabbard and all. She suspected he felt more comfortable on four legs in this unknown space than two. It made sense. She slipped the sword into her own belt as he disappeared down the tunnel. His footfalls echoed back, turning from a two-legged pace to a three-beat lope.

‘Where’s he going?’ An’ Lawrence asked. ‘Did you send him off or…?’

‘Easy, Rowan. I asked him to check on the felines. That’s all. When are you going to drop the grudge? Teg had nothing to do with that day on the plateau.’

‘That was more your doing, wasn’t it?’

‘Finally!’ She stopped pacing. ‘I’ve been waiting for you to get to this, though your timing is awkward.’

‘My timing or your response?’

‘Here they come,’ Grayson said. He laced his hands on top of his head.

Scylla and Drayco trotted towards them. They were being careful to avoid the deeper water, leaping over pools and sidestepping puddles. A black wolf loped easily beside Drayco, his coat luminous with grey highlights when he passed under the shafts of sunlight.

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