Strange Attractors by Kim Falconer

west.’
    ‘Impossible!’
    ‘Rosette explained it but I didn’t quite follow. Parallel something or other.’
    ‘I suppose Rosette knows everything?’
    He brightened. ‘When it comes to the sun and moon and stars, she’s…’
    ‘Never mind.’ She stopped him with a look. ‘If this isn’t Tensar, then where could we be?’
    He shuddered. His toes burned with the returning circulation. ‘I have no idea.’
    ‘Then we’re lost, Shane MacVenton.’ She laughed and it made him shiver. ‘Come on. Let’s find a road out of here.’

C HAPTER 5
D UMARKIAN W OODS , C ORSANON & R IVERLANDS , G AELA
    R osette swung the cast-iron pot away from the flames and built up the fire with fresh logs. The pot bubbled and she stirred the contents—red tomato soup with a rich blend of forest herbs, winter vegetables and pinto beans. ‘I’m famished.’ She blew on the spoon, testing it.
    I don’t smell any rabbit. Drayco stared at her. Or buck, for that matter. To the temple cat’s dismay, Rosette had taken an aversion to meat, leaving him to eat his quarry raw. He didn’t mind but he missed the aromas that used to fill the cottage at dinner time.
    ‘That’s because I haven’t cooked any.’ She tapped the wooden spoon on the side of the pot and replaced the lid.
    Your litter has become mildly inconvenient, Maudi.
    ‘ She , Drayco. I’m having one, a singleton, a little girl, and she has particular tastes.’ Rosette stroked her familiar’s back. ‘How about we go hunting in thewoods tomorrow? Just think—whatever we bag will be all yours.’
    Drayco became preoccupied with grooming his forelegs. I won’t say no.
    ‘Didn’t think you would.’ She rinsed their wooden bowls in the sink and set them on the rack to dry. ‘I need more snow root cream,’ she said, getting up on her tiptoes to search a top shelf. ‘Ah!’ She winced as she slid the last jar forward. She rubbed the herbal concoction into her cracked ribs and bruised shoulder.
    You’ll find more on our hunt, no doubt.
    ‘It is the perfect time of year.’ She closed her eyes as the salve took effect, warmth spreading deep into her bones.
    A rasping sound came from the rafters. Mozzie’s head dropped down, gliding towards her as he uncoiled, his body draping in loops the size of wagon wheels.
    ‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything?’ she asked the carpet snake.
    If he replied, she didn’t understand it. The serpent’s language was a mystery, one only Nellion had solved. He scented the air around her face, though, his red tongue flickering. His thick coils wrapped around the beams, moving in slow motion as he wound his way towards the back of the cottage. She noticed a large lump in the middle of his body, the shiny green and yellow scales expanding to accommodate the meal.
    ‘I get it. You’re saying goodnight, aren’t you? Off to have a long, digestive sleep?’
    Obviously, Maudi. Drayco answered for the snake without opening his eyes. Are you going to bed any time soon?
    She sighed, pulling another textbook down from the shelves and returning to the table. ‘It’s a good idea,but I’m not quitting until I make sense of this.’ Rosette was working on a horary chart, a horoscope drawn for the moment in time she asked a question regarding the whereabouts of the others. So far the chart described her question perfectly— What happened to everyone when I entered the portal?
    She’d been settled in Dumarka for weeks and still there was no sign of Teg, or anyone else. She had to know why, or—if they were in danger—if they needed help. The chart described the events surrounding her question, if she was reading it properly, but what about the answer? Where were they?
    Neptune, the planet of mysterious events, confusion and drawn shades, was rising. No big surprise there. She was in the dark without a clue. And she certainly needed to let go of the struggle—the only creative way to respond to a prominent Neptune. Relax. That was the