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Authors: Courtney Schafer
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reached Kost.
I threw a set of pitons, a hammer, a hemp rope, my climbing boots, and a waterskin into a pack. “Bet you I make it back before Harken shares out dinner.” At least I’d have a chance of spotting Kiran from the ridge, unless he’d worked his way too deeply into the thickets.
Cara surveyed the ridge, then grinned. “You’re on. One free drink in Kost if you make it back before dinner, two free drinks if you make it back before we finish taking care of the horses.”
I flicked my fingers in the old streetside gesture used to seal a bargain, shouldered my pack, and raced off, leaping from rock to rock up the steep slope above the trail. My breath came fast and hard by the time I’d scrambled up the boulders to the base of the ridge. I stopped to let my heart slow before starting the climb. Plenty of small ledges and flakes studded the mica-flecked rock in front of me, and I judged the route well within my ability to climb without protection. But Sethan had long ago hammered into my head that it only takes one instant of carelessness or overconfidence to kill a climber.
I braced my back against the rock to put on my climbing boots, careful of the sharp iron nails protruding from their soles. The vivid pink of the western sky was edging toward paler violet, but an hour or so remained before the light grew too dim for contrast. From my vantage point I had an excellent view of the long line of the convoy, and below the trail, the thick tangle of catsclaw. I scanned the head-high bushes as I laced my boots, searching for Kiran, or at least some signs of his passage. But catsclaw was tough and resilient, its interlocking branches difficult to bend and nearly impossible to break, and I couldn’t spot any trace of him.
I was about to give up and start the climb when something else caught my eye. A drover, approaching the outrider wagon with a casual stride. And damn it, though I was too far away to make out facial features, from the man’s height and coloring I was sure it was Pello.
He sauntered up to Harken and Jerik, waving a friendly greeting. The two men paused in the act of unloading a grain sack, and Cara’s blonde head turned, though she didn’t stop currying her horse. Their conversation was lost in the indistinct hum of voices floating up from the convoy, but Harken pointed up in my direction. I clenched my teeth. Pello was sure to find out Kiran had run off alone. Oh, this got better by the minute.
Sudden and unwelcome as rockfall, memories of Jylla overwhelmed me. She’d always been the one clever with people and plans, even back when we were a pair of desperate, angry kids just past our Change. If she were in my place, she’d outfox Pello without even trying. Dealing with people’s no different than Tainting a mage ward, she’d told me once. We’d been lying sprawled in a tangle of sheets, her slender fingers tracing lazily down my spine. Find their weak spot, and push them the way you want.
Yeah, just like she’d pushed me. How could I have been so dumb as to think she saw me any different? I spat and banished the image of Jylla’s golden curves and teasing eyes. I might not have her cunning, but I’d never yet failed on a job. Shadow man or no, Pello wouldn’t keep me from earning my pay.
Still no sign of Kiran in the catsclaw. This time I felt only relief. I turned back to the rock and flattened my hands on the stone. Shoving all my worries away, I concentrated on the gritty texture under my palms until nothing else existed. Then I moved, stepping smoothly up onto the rock while my fingers searched out ledges.
For a glorious interval, the entire world consisted of me and the cliff. My body flowed up the rock, every muscle perfectly under my command, my mind locked in absolute focus on each succeeding set of holds. When I reached the ridgetop and wedged myself into position straddling a block of stone, my grin stretched nearly as wide as Bren’s. My nerves sang, and the stark
I threw a set of pitons, a hammer, a hemp rope, my climbing boots, and a waterskin into a pack. “Bet you I make it back before Harken shares out dinner.” At least I’d have a chance of spotting Kiran from the ridge, unless he’d worked his way too deeply into the thickets.
Cara surveyed the ridge, then grinned. “You’re on. One free drink in Kost if you make it back before dinner, two free drinks if you make it back before we finish taking care of the horses.”
I flicked my fingers in the old streetside gesture used to seal a bargain, shouldered my pack, and raced off, leaping from rock to rock up the steep slope above the trail. My breath came fast and hard by the time I’d scrambled up the boulders to the base of the ridge. I stopped to let my heart slow before starting the climb. Plenty of small ledges and flakes studded the mica-flecked rock in front of me, and I judged the route well within my ability to climb without protection. But Sethan had long ago hammered into my head that it only takes one instant of carelessness or overconfidence to kill a climber.
I braced my back against the rock to put on my climbing boots, careful of the sharp iron nails protruding from their soles. The vivid pink of the western sky was edging toward paler violet, but an hour or so remained before the light grew too dim for contrast. From my vantage point I had an excellent view of the long line of the convoy, and below the trail, the thick tangle of catsclaw. I scanned the head-high bushes as I laced my boots, searching for Kiran, or at least some signs of his passage. But catsclaw was tough and resilient, its interlocking branches difficult to bend and nearly impossible to break, and I couldn’t spot any trace of him.
I was about to give up and start the climb when something else caught my eye. A drover, approaching the outrider wagon with a casual stride. And damn it, though I was too far away to make out facial features, from the man’s height and coloring I was sure it was Pello.
He sauntered up to Harken and Jerik, waving a friendly greeting. The two men paused in the act of unloading a grain sack, and Cara’s blonde head turned, though she didn’t stop currying her horse. Their conversation was lost in the indistinct hum of voices floating up from the convoy, but Harken pointed up in my direction. I clenched my teeth. Pello was sure to find out Kiran had run off alone. Oh, this got better by the minute.
Sudden and unwelcome as rockfall, memories of Jylla overwhelmed me. She’d always been the one clever with people and plans, even back when we were a pair of desperate, angry kids just past our Change. If she were in my place, she’d outfox Pello without even trying. Dealing with people’s no different than Tainting a mage ward, she’d told me once. We’d been lying sprawled in a tangle of sheets, her slender fingers tracing lazily down my spine. Find their weak spot, and push them the way you want.
Yeah, just like she’d pushed me. How could I have been so dumb as to think she saw me any different? I spat and banished the image of Jylla’s golden curves and teasing eyes. I might not have her cunning, but I’d never yet failed on a job. Shadow man or no, Pello wouldn’t keep me from earning my pay.
Still no sign of Kiran in the catsclaw. This time I felt only relief. I turned back to the rock and flattened my hands on the stone. Shoving all my worries away, I concentrated on the gritty texture under my palms until nothing else existed. Then I moved, stepping smoothly up onto the rock while my fingers searched out ledges.
For a glorious interval, the entire world consisted of me and the cliff. My body flowed up the rock, every muscle perfectly under my command, my mind locked in absolute focus on each succeeding set of holds. When I reached the ridgetop and wedged myself into position straddling a block of stone, my grin stretched nearly as wide as Bren’s. My nerves sang, and the stark
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