Strange Attractors by Kim Falconer

Author:Kim Falconer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780732287733
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
Published: 2010-01-31T10:00:00+00:00

Drayco sat in the tub, Rosette leaning over him with a stiff bristle brush. His coat was finally clean, the last of the sticky blood washed away though the water was tinged deep red.

‘You need a good rinse now.’

The waterfall pool would be nice, Maudi.

She roughed his neck. ‘Perfect. Let’s go.’ Rosette straightened only to squat back down. She groaned, her brow knitted tight.

Maudi?

‘Just a twinge,’ she said, rising again slowly. Her knees were shaking. ‘I guess I can’t stay in one position for so long these days.’ She panted, waiting for the gripping feeling to subside.

Drayco leapt from the tub and shook. Do you want me to get Kreshkali?

‘No!’ She laughed. ‘No, I’m fine. I think when the time comes I would rather have Nell with me anyway.’

They are one and the same, Maudi.

‘Technically they are but…’

Nell’s not quite so fierce?

‘With me? Yes, that’s one reason.’ She pulled the plug, letting the water drain towards the filter system and the crops below. ‘But I’m fine now. The feeling’s past.’

Swim?

‘Lead the way.’

Drayco shook again and loped towards the palm-shaded bathing pool, Rosette waddling behind. They dove in together, both making a big splash. The water was warm, almost too hot in the midday sun. Plumes of black smoke still rose from the distant mountains, the peaks of the Sierras, but Temple Los Loma remained clear, pristine under the protection spell, save for the slivers of ash filtering down from the sky like tiny black threads.

‘How long can it last?’ An’ Lawrence said.

He sat by the edge of the pool as she floated on her back. Drayco dog-paddled to the edge and climbed out, giving Scylla a nose touch before shaking the water from his coat and lying on the hot tiles. He began licking his fur.

‘Not long if we can’t get Jarrod back,’ Rosette answered. ‘How are they going in there? Ready for me yet?’

‘They sent me to find you, but that’s not what I meant.’

She tilted her head, taking his hand as she climbed the steps.

‘I meant, how long is your pregnancy going to last?’

‘Good question!’ She swiped water from her arms. ‘I’ll need to have a good look at those images too.’ She reached for his book.

He held it back. ‘Come. Dry off first. You can study on the way.’ He looked at her belly and frowned. ‘You feeling all right?’

‘Fine,’ she said, taking the towel he offered. ‘Never better.’ When they got to the library she had a clear picture in her mind of the images and what they needed to amplify. Grayson would do the rest. If he could see the embedded message codes, he could translate them. All she and the others had to do was enlarge the image of her DNA and project it onto a wall.

‘There you are. What have you two been doing? Raiding the kitchen?’ Kreshkali asked.

‘Washing enemy blood from Drayco’s hide,’ Rosette said, pushing damp hair out of her eyes. ‘But food’s a good idea. Can we…’

‘Later. Grayson needs to see this now.

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