Free Strange Attractors by Kim Falconer Page A

asked. ‘His signature is all over this mess but I can’t trace him.’
    ‘He’s…’ Teg forced himself to concentrate. Where was the Sword Master? They had run with him from the battlefield near Corsanon all the way to the foothills of Prieta. It was coming back to him, their wild escape. Rosette and Drayco got into the portal but An’ Lawrence had stopped him. He conjured the spell, releasing it too soon and then…‘Shot,’ Teg said, blurting it out.
    ‘What?’
    ‘The Sword Master was shot and the Corsanon warriors took him away.’
    Shane couldn’t believe his eyes. He blinked, closing his lids then opened them wide again. A kelp garden? He was weightless, buoyed up by the liquid around him. His toes barely touched the sandy bottom and he felt himself drifting along as if in a dream. Tiny fish swam inches from his face, clinging to each other in close-packed schools. When he reached towards them, they darted away, all turning in the same direction as if guided by a single mind. That confirmed it: definitely a dream. Either that or he was drunk. Perhaps it was both.
    Everything was soft, blurry; a landscape ringed by underwater plants. They undulated around him, dancing to an invisible breeze. He gripped a rock,resisting the pull. Reeds were bent at an angle, shaped by the current. Was it getting stronger? The plait at the nape of his neck streamed out to the side, longing to escape. He guessed it would be best not to breathe but, strangely enough, he had no inclination to.
    Brightly coloured fish emerged from the rocks—yellow with blue dots, black with white stripes—or was it the other way around? White with black stripes? In any case, they looked like banded saucers with bulging eyes and transparent fins. It was the most peculiar, wondrous experience—watching them navigate in the current. It had to be a dream, though if it was, he was in no hurry to wake up. He let go his grip, pushing off the bottom, exploring, smiling, until it all came to a stop.
    Something gripped his shoulder, clamping like a vice. He rolled away from the grasp and kicked hard. He couldn’t see the lovely gardens any more. It was dark, murky and cold, the rapids dragging him over rocks. Again the attacker grabbed him, this time with two hands, and before he could get away they yanked him upward, pulling him into a pale light. When next he opened his eyes, Selene was sitting astride him, pushing on his chest. Water came up out of his lungs and she rolled him over, thumping his back none too gently.
    ‘Breathe, you idiot!’ she said, slapping him hard between the shoulder blades. ‘Breathe!’
    Her hand against his wet skin stung like a cactus. He coughed and choked, trying to push her away as he braced himself for another blow. It fell hard, pressing his cheek into the ground. He went into fits of coughing. ‘Leave off, woman. I’m breathing.’
    She sat next to him, her arms crossed. ‘You weren’t when I found you, so stop grumbling and thank me.’She pressed her fingers into his jugular vein, feeling his pulse. ‘I just saved your life.’
    Shane pushed her hand away. ‘I wasn’t dead. I remember fish. Brightly coloured little things and the most lovely kelp gardens.’
    ‘Then there are fish on the other side of life because you, my friend, were dead. Unconscious, anyway. Why didn’t you just swim up? You were under the opening.’
    ‘What opening?’
    ‘This one.’ She waved her hand. ‘Look around. We’re out of the mountain and…somewhere else.’
    He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, the action no longer sending him into sputtering fits. ‘Where else?’
    ‘See for yourself.’
    He propped up on his elbows. They were in a meadow fringed by unrecognisable trees, their thick trunks sprouting twisted branches and small prickly leaves. The grass beneath him was clover green with white flowers. A few bees hovered, alighting on the blossoms briefly before moving on to the next. Slender willows swayed