“Jacob!” Pare yelled. “You still up there?”
The call was met by a long silence, and Samuel’s anxiety spiked. “Jacob?” Samuel followed. “Are you okay?” Still no response.
Pare let out a long breath and shook his head, looking down into the space the slide had created. Samuel looked, too, but wasn’t sure what he was looking for—or if he’d want to see whatever he might find. Another friend lost, and more death on Samuel’s shoulders. Both of them were shaken out of the onrushing grief by a groan from across the gap, and movement as someone stirred.
“No way,” Pare said.
His close-cropped hair was caked with blood, but Samuel could see it was the silver-eyed man who had recovered to his knees, his back to them, next to the other body Samuel had spotted earlier. He absently reached over and shook the other man, who also groaned and, after a moment, sat up with a hand over his eye. With a loud grunt, Silver Eyes forced himself to his feet and stumbled, disoriented. Both Samuel and Pare were transfixed, watching this man will himself upright. The other, a gruff looking man with salt-and-pepper beard, was looking around with his uncovered eye when his gaze stopped on them and lingered.
“Sir,” the man said, his voice barely audible.
Silver Eyes froze, then turned around to face them. He took in a sharp breath and walked forward to the edge, threatening to pull them into the break with the sheer force of his hatred. Pare stepped back as though struck. All Samuel wanted was to be on the other side of the gap, to put his hands on this man, fling him over the side, and implore the universe to trade him for all the loss he had wrought.
The other man was on his feet now, and the four of them stood still and silent in the falling snow, staring at one another. The leader’s silver eyes were wide and crazy, his nostrils flaring as he fumed. Samuel knew they should turn and run, but neither he nor Pare moved. The bearded mercenary broke the silence.
“What now?” The question was simple, but the scarred one reacted as though he had been stabbed, turning his malevolence on the mercenary. The man stepped back, but not before Silver Eyes had a hand on his chest.
“Now, Samuel,” he heard Pare say, his voice low. “We have to go now.”
In the space of a breath Pare was already behind Samuel, helping Eriane to her feet. Samuel wanted to leave, but was paralyzed by what he saw. The bearded man had gone rigid, his eyes wide and his mouth open in a soundless scream. Silver Eyes drew his hand away from the man’s chest, streams of khet following it from all along the mercenary’s front, as though he had grabbed the man’s skin and was pulling it straight off of his body.
Silver Eyes flicked his hand and the streams of blue power shot across the empty space and struck Samuel in the chest, then wrapped around him and took hold of his torso. The bearded man staggered forward, his breath ragged as he looked up to the scarred one.
“No, no… please, no… don’t…”
Samuel took a step back and the bearded man stumbled sideways, the stream having formed a tether between them. He couldn’t move without moving the other man, and walking away would drag him off of the edge.
“Come on, Samuel!” Pare said from behind him.
“I can’t move, Pare…” Samuel said.
He heard Eriane say “Oh, no…”
“Please, sir…no…please no…” the mercenary begged.
Silver Eyes stared straight at Samuel, ignoring the pleas of his man. He put a hand on the bearded man’s shoulder, took a breath, and pushed. The tether slackened as the man floated above the abyss, then snapped taut as he fell to its end, swinging downward and pulling Samuel off balance. His screaming followed his path from below as he passed by, and, at the apex of the swing, the momentum of his fall dragged Samuel over the edge.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
* * *
Eriane sat down hard when Pare pushed her aside. He faced the edge, his muscles rigid, white knuckles adorning clenched fists at his sides. A groan escaped his throat between neck muscles drawn into taut cables from his jaw to shoulders. His entire posture took on a backward lean. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his whole body shuddered with the strain.
She scrambled to her feet and ran, kneeling at the edge. Samuel hovered before her in mid-fall above the chasm just below the edge of the road. A tether of blue energy clawed at his torso, extending to suspend the bearded mercenary far below. There was a moment of stillness before Samuel’s whole body jerked, shifting a few inches downward before his limbs slammed back into his sides and he stopped again. Pare grunted in pain.
Eriane was on her feet without knowing it. She flung her arms around Pare’s waist and pushed. Even with the extra effort she felt him sliding, the weight of Samuel and the tethered mercenary pulling them both toward the edge. Pare took in a coarse breath and tensed against the pull, trying to power through his lack of leverage. Panic set in and she pushed again, hoping to add to his strength. It felt as though she pushed against solid stone.
A new sound scraped across the rocks and echoed around them. The silver-eyed man watched their struggle from across the gap, laughing. Her face went hot with anger.
Pare’s feet slipped again, dragging her backward. They were only a few feet from the edge now. She could hear the mercenary far below pleading with them for help through sobs of fear. She buried her weight into Pare’s midsection.
“Don’t…” she heard Samuel say. “Don’t let me take you over this edge. Pare, just let go.”
Eriane’s chest tightened. Tears flowed down her face as she pushed against Pare. He grunted again, louder.
“I can’t hold it, Eri,” Pare said, his voice almost inaudible through gritted teeth.
“Don’t you dare let go, Pare!” she screamed. “Don’t you dare!” She poured all her strength into holding him up, pushing him away from the edge.
Samuel spoke again. “Eri, don’t. If this is where it ends, then it ends with me. Please don’t let me take you down with me.”
“Shut up, Samuel!” How could he say these things, after what they’d been through? She wrapped her arms around Pare’s waist as tight as she could. His breathing was shallow and his body felt like it was forged of steel. His feet slid again and she felt his body jerk back against the pull. Against her ear, she heard one of his ribs crack.
“Eri, I can’t,” he said.
His jaw trembled and the lower half of his face was covered in blood. She felt his body shudder, his muscles vibrating under the strain. Even with her help, the full weight of the construct and the mercenary bore against them. She stepped back, found a rock to plant her foot against. She put her hands on Pare’s chest, shifting to gain more leverage. He grunted in pain.
“You hold him, Pariadnus Jameson,” she cried. “You hold him and I’ll figure this out.” Even as she said it, she knew there was nothing to figure out. None of her knowledge or talents could help here. Her mind raced, but she had nothing to offer. Pare might have something up his sleeve, but in the split second it would take him to release his grip on Samuel and try something different, Samuel would already be lost.
“Eri,” Samuel said. “You have to let me go.”
She heard herself scream. Her nose ran. Tears froze to her cheeks. Every muscle in her body burned and quavered, and her breathing was ragged. Pare groaned.
“Promise me,” Samuel said, “you’ll go live your life.”
Eriane felt Pare shudder again, and the shaking in his muscles became constant.
“Get away from here—away from them.” All she wanted was for Samuel to shut up. “I’ve already done enough to you. Let me go, leave this all behind, and don’t look back.”
She began to hyperventilate. She couldn’t let go.
“Promise me.”
Pare’s shaking was getting worse. Their footing was slipping.
“Eri…” Pare whispered.
She closed her eyes and forced in a deep breath. There was only one thing to do now. As the choice settled into her mind, she felt like it
would eviscerate her right there in the snow. She looked up at Pare and her throat caught.
“I’m s—” A thump of air struck her in the back. There was a tearing sound and something snapped. Pare’s muscles slackened and they were both flung away from the edge, Pare slamming into the cliff wall and cushioning her impact. She heard a scream die away over the edge, and then silence. Pare’s strength must have given out, and he must have let go, throwing them backward as the tension of holding on to Samuel’s weight was released.
She slumped to the ground over Pare’s lap as he sat against the rocks and she began to weep. All she could feel was devastation, and her exhaustion was complete. With no energy for anything else, she just lay in the snow and bawled. To her surprise, she felt Pare’s abdomen shake with sobs, as well. She was almost lost in her own sadness when she realized Pare wasn’t crying. He was laughing.
It was too much. Pare had never been very fond of Samuel, but how could he be this callous? She flushed with anger again and sat up, about to launch into a tirade at his laughter. He just smiled at her and her anger melted into confusion as he nodded his head and looked over her shoulder. There, slumped against the rock wall in the snow was Samuel, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Next to him, Jacob was on all fours, vomiting into the snow. Ribbons of black energy dissipated around them like steam.
Before any of them had time to register what had happened, a savage scream cut the mountain air. The man with silver eyes, his head thrown back and arms out to his sides, vented his pent up aggravation to the sky. As his head came back level, his eyes fixed on them and he stared, his face inhuman with fury. Movement stirred behind him, and she saw the breaker emerge from under a pile of debris, willing himself upright.
Her vision went red. She was on her feet, her thighs screaming in protest. She stalked toward the edge and fumbled with her winter cloak, clawing to get beneath and draw the pistol that dug into her back. This would end, right here and right now, and damn the cost. The heat of her anger blotted out all sense and her vision tunneled down, so intent on the silver-eyed man that all but his face blurred into nothingness. Her hands worked and worked but she still had not drawn the pistol as she neared the edge of the break left by the falling outcropping. She screamed in frustration and broke her gaze, looking down to see the tangle her probing hands had made of her winter clothes, just as she was enveloped by metal arms.
She was lifted from her feet and carried away from the edge, away from her target, away from the moment that could have put a stop to the entire chase. A wail of anger escaped her throat as she was borne away through the snow, around a bend that took the mercenaries out of her sight just as the breaker stood to watch their retreat next to his companion.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
* * *
“I thought you let go!”
Jacob sat with his head bowed. Eriane had been alternating between yelling at each of them ever since they’d found a place to rest for the night. Her eyes were bloodshot and baggy, and when she wasn’t turning purple in anger, her skin had taken on a pale tinge. Jacob knew she needed to vent, and it seemed like the others did too because they kept quiet and let her go. At the moment, she focused on Pare, but Jacob knew it would be his turn soon enough.
“Eri, come on…” Pare tried to interrupt. He winced and sighed, pulling an arm into his side over his broken rib.
“Don’t you start with me, Pariadnus!” she said. “I feel like I’m the only one here who didn’t know what was going on!”
“Eri, that’s not fair,” Samuel said.
“And YOU!” she turned on him. “‘Just walk away.’ What the was that?” She was almost hysterical now, but Jacob couldn’t help but smirk. “‘Just go live your life.’ Are you joking? What were you even saying?” At that, Jacob let out an audible snort and realized his error too late.
“And YOU…” Now it was his turn. “Where were you? Why this last-second crap!”
“I was unconscious,” Jacob replied.
“THAT’S NO EXCUSE!”
With that, Eriane pulled up short. Her eyes closed and she shook her head, sinking to a seated position with her face in her hands. All of them were beyond exhaustion, and for Jacob, the humor in Eriane’s rant was gone.
“I’m sorry, Eri,” he said. “I got there as fast as I could.” When she didn’t respond, Jacob nodded to himself and leaned his head back against the cave wall. He couldn’t find a comfortable position. Every rock and bump brought to light another spot on his body that flared in pain.
“What did happen up there, Jacob?” Pare said, just as the silence had begun to settle in around them.
Jacob ran a hand over his face, trying to organize his thoughts. “It was the bump field that did it,” he started. “I’d gotten to the top of the outcropping okay, and started dropping what I could down onto the trail. Pare’s idea was solid, really. Any normal person, even if they could get to that position, wouldn’t have been able to drop anything useful. But I was able to translocate some pretty heavy artillery down onto that path.”
Jacob massaged one temple with his thumb. “When the bump field came up, I knew I had to go all out. That’s when I saw the tree. It was growing out of a crack in the rock, close to the edge. When I slipped it out of its place, something shifted. The crack ran deeper than I expected, and pulling the tree out caused the whole thing to break loose. I was on the wrong side of the gap when the whole outcrop came away from the mountainside.”
Jacob shook his head and closed his eyes. Talking about the incident just reminded him how tired he was, and of everything they’d been through. “It all happened too fast. I tried jumping as the gap widened, and misjudged. I missed the safe side with my feet, and hit the edge at my armpits, but my hands never found any grip. Everything was sliding, falling away, and I was going with it. I had no choice but to translocate blind. I came out too high, up in the trees, and the last thing I remember was a branch coming at my face. I guess that’s how I got this.” He pulled his hair back and winced as he came in contact with the nasty cut on his forehead, ringed by a fist-sized lump.
Eriane looked up from her seat and crinkled her brow, a look of concern washing away the tiredness in her eyes. “Let me take a look at that,” she said, rummaging around in her pack and producing a small, leather-wrapped bundle. She sat on a rock next to him and leaned in, brushing his hair back and probing the cut.
“AAGH!” he blurted, recoiling from her touch.
“Oh, stop it, you big baby,” she said, leaning back in.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” he asked.
“No, not really,” Eriane replied. “But I’m the best you’ve got right now. You don’t want Pare anywhere near this, but I’m sure Samuel could get in here with those fenceposts he calls fingers, if you want.” Samuel clanked the fingers and thumb of one hand together to emphasize her point. Jacob’s shoulders drooped. “Stop whinging and let me take a look. Finish your story.”
With a deep breath, he leaned back toward her and continued. “When I came to, everything was quiet. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but there was no noise, so I figured everything was over. Until I heard the laugh.”
Pare made a noise, something between a snort and a growl, and lowered his head. Eriane’s hands stopped moving, only for a moment, and continued cleaning Jacob’s wound.
“When I tried to stand, the world shifted around me—OW!” A look of disdain from Eriane, a deep breath from Jacob. “Like it was trying to buck me off. I fell down a few times before I got to my feet at the edge. Samuel had gone over, and I thought I was too late… but he wasn’t moving. When I caught sight of the two of you, I knew you weren’t going to be able to hold him, and I saw why.”
“The tether,” Pare said.
“Yeah…” Jacob took a deep breath, pushing back the sudden rush of adrenaline that comes with remembering a moment of fear. “I wasn’t even sure what I did would work, but when both you and Eri got quiet,
I knew I didn’t have any time to think about it. I translocated right down on top of Samuel and the moment I made contact, I slipped us both back up onto the path.” Jacob closed his eyes and pushed the heel of his hand into his temple, trying to ward away the deep throbbing within. “I guess it broke him out of the tether. I didn’t even know if I could do it.”
“Well, I’m glad you found a way,” Samuel said. Jacob managed a slight nod.
“I’m going to need to stitch this,” Eriane said.
Jacob’s face flashed from fear to pleading, then resignation as Eriane threaded her needle.
• • • • •
It was early morning when Jacob woke with a start, the barest flicker of pre-dawn light finding its way through the cave entrance. Every inch of him hurt. Bile rose in his throat and his stomach churned, emptier than he thought possible. Joints popped and creaked as he pushed himself upright. Samuel and Pare were nowhere to be seen, but Eriane asleep on her bedroll meant neither of them would be far.
Jacob struggled to his feet, stretching the ache out of his back and shoulders. Throbbing pain shot through his face from the cut on his forehead. Eriane’s stitching job was admirable, and Jacob hoped it would hold and not leave too nasty a scar. Running his hands over his face, Jacob breathed deep and felt his ribs creak. The acrid smell on his hands and clothes crinkled his nose, one of the aftereffects of his rapid translocations. The musty cave wasn’t much better, and some fresh air was in order.
The black sky was fading to dark blue over the craggy mountaintops outside the cave. They’d camped not too far after the turn onto the Kelef road. This canyon was narrower and more rugged, but the road itself was wider and more level than the pass from which they’d come, and took on a welcome downward slope.
Neither Samuel nor Pare was in sight, but bends in the road meant Jacob couldn’t see very far in either direction. Fishing around inside his cloak, Jacob produced a small glass vial from a pouch at his waist. A faint glow emanated from the bottle, generated by the swirling fog within. With another glance in either direction, Jacob uncorked the bottle. He lifted the vial to his mouth and pressed the opening to his lips. Closing his eyes he inhaled, his muscles flooding with relaxation, his mind swooning with unnatural calmness.
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