Arrows of Time (31 page)

‘How can you be sure?’

‘No injection scars.’ He turned to the woman entering the room. ‘Lena, get a message to Isolation Unit. Level Ten precautions.’ Goosebumps covered his arms. He continued to treat her, alternating cardiac stimulants with electric shocks, but there was no response. A half-hour passed.

‘Are you going to pronounce her dead?’ the medic asked.

‘Of course not.’

‘She looks dead to me.’

Everett turned to the man. ‘How would you know what death looks like?’

Everyone around him paused for an instant, the heart monitor alarm cutting through the silence. The tech backed away, gathering his gear and signalling to his partner to follow.

‘Clear,’ Everett shouted. ‘Where’s the attending?’ He shocked her again. ‘Get her and Richards! I need help, stat!’

Rosette felt a sense of relief, warm and comforting. As the fractured images in her mind merged into coherent scenes, the confusion she had experienced earlier gave way to a clear sense of self. She had no idea where she was, but she knew her name. She was Rosette de
Santo, a witch of Treeon Temple, daughter to the High Priestess Kreshkali and Sword Master Rowan An’ Lawrence. She also knew the sound of her familiar’s voice, purring in her mind.
Drayco?

Here, Maudi. I’m right here.

Her whole body sighed. It felt light, as if she was floating—a curious sensation. She checked her senses, trying to follow the line of her arms and legs as they extended out from her torso. Nothing. Her body was like mist, and she hovered over a deep valley. She couldn’t feel anything, yet she was definitely alive. Her inner sense of self confirmed it, but, like a dreamscape, her physical self felt nonexistent, or perhaps wrapped in layers of cotton wool.

She reached out, but there was no feeling of fingers, nothing to wiggle and no sense of touch. She couldn’t stretch her back or flex her muscles. Her hair didn’t fall over her shoulders and down her arms. There was no contact of air or cloth against her skin, no tightness as she tried to clench and relax her jaw. No feeling of teeth. She tried to blink, to open her eyes wide. Her lids wouldn’t budge. There weren’t any.

Can you still hear me, Maudi? Are you awake?
Drayco’s voice felt nervous, like a cat scampering across the kitchen table when the light’s flipped on. Something had gone wrong. She slowed her stream of thought for a moment, wanting to laugh at herself.
Wrong
was an understatement.
Drayco! I’m fine, more or less. Where are you?

Oh, Maudi. You didn’t know me. You didn’t answer me. I thought you couldn’t hear me.

It’s all right. I’m here now, lovely. Where are you?

Still stuck behind the wall.

What wall?

The corridor wall. Remember? I couldn’t follow you into this world.

She wanted to widen her eyes and leap.
My sword! Where is it?
She glanced around. There was nothing to see.
I remember drawing my blade. Fighting. Then everything went dark. Where in the demon’s pit am I?

You’re still in that world. I’ve been trying to get to you.

But I did fight, didn’t I?

You did.

How did I go?

It actually went rather well, considering the weapons they had.

What weapons?

They shot you with a lightning bolt. I think it disrupted your neuro-pathways.

My what?

You know, the pathways of electrical impulses transmitted through the central nervous system.

Drayco, where did you get such words?

I’ve been listening to the doctors and med students.

The what?

The healers. Maudi, you’re not breathing. You need to do that now.

Funny. I feel like I am breathing. I feel fine.

Your body’s not breathing. Your heart’s not beating either. I’m concerned.

My heart’s not beating? Oh, that’s no good.
She focused on her lungs, trying to fill them with air, wondering why she wasn’t desperately hungry for the stuff. It didn’t seem to matter. Breath or no, she felt fine—light and easy.

I don’t know what we can do for your body, Maudi, but I think you can get out.

I have a feeling I already am out, Drayco.
She could sense the temple cat pacing.

Maudi, I’d like it if you would try breathing again
for a bit and see what happens. You can always go back to not breathing if that doesn’t work.

All right.
She returned her focus to her lungs, doing everything she could to expand her ribcage and draw in a breath.
It’s not working, Dray. Nothing’s working.

Plan B then.

Which is?

Get you back into the corridors and we go for help.

How do I do that? Do you see a way? A door? A crack or crevice? I think I could squeeze through just about anything right now.

Her familiar didn’t answer immediately.
I don’t see any opening.

She tried again to breathe, to move, to shout. Kick her legs.
There’s nothing here. I can’t feel my body, or see anything in this fog. Can you tell me what’s going on?

It’s hectic. The healers are working on you.

Not doing much of a job, are they?

We need help, Maudi. I’m going for Kreshkali
, he answered back.

You can’t. The corridors won’t run true without my key-codes. I have to come too.

Maudi, you may not remember this, but the corridors haven’t been running true for quite some time, with or without your key-codes. By the way, if you’re not in your body, you don’t have the key-codes anyway. I’m going to risk it.

I’m coming with you.
She heard purring in her mind and felt something like a spontaneous smile.
You can’t pretend that thought doesn’t please you.

I don’t pretend. But someone needs to guard your body, the key-codes in your DNA. You’d be leaving them behind. That isn’t wise. Jarrod could be lost. We need help.

Wait a moment.
She tried to turn inside her skin—to move, to breathe, to speak. It felt like pushing
against a void. She gave up.
I want to see for myself what’s happening, Dray. If I can only open my eyes.

Rosette turned her attention to the dense film that obscured her vision. She pushed past it, focusing her inner sight, letting go of her notion of physical perceptions and activating something else—a different mode. The haze began to dissipate, slowly replaced by a bustle of energy below. She was elevated, looking down on a stainless steel table.

It was surrounded by people working on a body, though she didn’t actually
see
it. The perception felt more like watching a dream while it was still happening. The treatment was violent. She wanted to stop the healers, but made no move. Extending her energy closer, she recognised her own face looking blankly towards the ceiling—staring through eyes that saw nothing at all.
That explains a few things
…

They were shocking her heart with jolts of electrical currents, firing fluids directly into her veins and blowing air into her lungs. There were tubes coming out every which way—from her arms, her throat, her belly. Dark blood flowed from her abdomen into a spinning vat. It whirled around in circles and went, as far as she could tell, back through a vein in her leg.
You call yourself healers? You’ve nicked my serpent tattoo!

They seem to have other priorities, Maudi.

I don’t! What are they thinking, defacing my totem?

The tube down her throat was attached to a bag, like a blacksmith’s bellows, and someone was using it to force air in and out of her lungs. The mechanical rise and fall of her chest was the only movement, save for when they discharged the electrical shocker through her heart. When that happened, her whole body arched, convulsing for an instant before falling back to the table.

A man was in charge. He was young, stressed and
surrounded in an aura of purple edged with muddy brown. No wonder he was not able to help her. He needed healing himself. She moved her energy closer to him, offering a whisper of curiosity and concern. His aura jumped, turning a brilliant violet that expelled the murky undertones. She reached out to him, like a child to a flower.
You are going about this the wrong way
, she whispered.

His head turned towards her, eyes seeing past.
What was that?

So you can talk to me. Good news.

He looked around; no one noticed his confusion.

What’s your name?
Rosette asked.

The word
Everett
came to her before he formed the thought.
Everett? That’s nice
. She said his name slowly, as if they had all the time in the world.

I’m hearing voices now? Lack of sleep, no doubt. I’m going mad.

Not madness. I’m real, and, Everett, I don’t know where you learned your healing arts, but this is all very cart before the horse.

Cart? Horse? Who are you?

Rosette de Santo, a witch from the Dumarkian Woods.

I’m hallucinating.

If so, it’s a shared experience.

I don’t understand.

For now, just pretend you aren’t hallucinating. I’m real and you need to listen to me.

What?

You need to take a different approach. Your emergency measures are making my body uninhabitable.

He looked up at the clock, sweat trickling down his temple. He shouted ‘clear’ again and everyone stepped back from the table. Her body jolted as the paddles shocked her.

That’s not working. You’re trying to revive my body when you really need to give me more energy.

Energy?

Mine’s badly depleted. Can’t you see that?

What I see is a cardiac failure on the table and a minor schizoid episode in my head.

Great. So now I’m some kind of minor episode? Everett, jump-starting my heart and cleaning my blood won’t help. I need more energy. Don’t you know anything about healing? We are energy beings. You’re treating me like I was blood and bone.

‘Last heparin?’ Everett asked aloud.

‘Fifteen minutes ago.’

‘Give one more. Resume compressions.’

Rosette watched as one of them rammed her chest like it was a tyre pump.
This isn’t the way. Look, he’s cracked my ribs. That’s going to hurt like demons when I get back in, you know.

Who are you?

I explained all that. Please. Just stop this nonsense and boost my energy field with your magic. That will fix it.

Even if I could give you energy, I wouldn’t know how.

Sure you would. You do it all the time.

Explain.

You’re flooding me with stress and anxiety right now. Everyone is. You could start with giving me a boost of something a little lighter—more nourishing. The fear in here is making me close off. Actually, I’m totally disconnected from my body now, so if you can come up with a different methodology quickly, that would be grand.

Like what?

Joy, for example. Bliss. Are you familiar with those terms?

Joy?

Can you think of something that makes you happy?

I never think like that when I’m working.

And you can see how effective it is. Zilch. Everett, give it a go. Just think of one good feeling. Otherwise, I’m dead.

He didn’t respond but shouted ‘clear’ yet again, ordering more injections—using words she didn’t know.

Bother him, Dray. He’s not listening.

She floated away, a balloon slipping out of a toddler’s hand. Rosette watched the scene from a mountain-top perspective. They were like ants below, busy with tasks, industrious but ineffectual. When they stopped, only a drone sounded. It came from a monitor displaying a single flat line.

No one moved. They were transfixed, staring at her body.

What’s the problem now, Dray?

I think they’ve given up.

Everett cleared his throat, his voice a scalpel slicing the air. ‘Time of death…’ He paused to look at the clock. ‘11.07.’

That’s it, Dray. Let’s go.

Maudi?

My body’s dead. I can’t get back in.

Come to me, Maudi.

She focused her energy on her familiar and instantly was by his side.
I’m here, Drayco. Can you see me?

I can’t see you, but I do feel you.
He purred.
Let’s go get Kali. This is salvageable yet.

But my body? The DNA. What will happen to it?

They put them on ice. It’ll be all right. We’ll get help and come back for it.

You know an awful lot about this place, Dray.

I’ve had nothing to do but watch and listen. This way, Maudi. We can find Jarrod too. If nothing else, he can teach you how to make a tulpa.

Good plan.

She focused on the sound of her familiar’s voice and shot after him. They travelled some way before she stopped.

Oh, crap. Drayco, I forgot about Fynn? Where is he?

Sorry, Maudi. They shot him. He’s gone.

Shot him? With an arrow?

With a bolt of lightning. Then they froze him.

Oh no
. Her heart sank as she followed Drayco into the corridors.

‘How long’s she been down?’ Everett asked. The voice in his head had gone but he was having trouble shaking the sensation.