Chapter 10 #2
I thought coming above would be terrifying; being so exposed was dizzying at first, but now…
now I feel free. True freedom is flying through an endless sky on the back of a dragon.
The thought pulls my lips into a soft smile, and then I realize I haven’t had such a dream since coming to The Above.
Every night since my run-in with the dragon, I have been plagued by dreams so vivid the lines of reality blur, and now, they are just gone—
A shadow passes through the canopy, casting the pine needle blanketed trail in darkness. A tug at my heart pulls my gaze up. I squint into the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the magnificent beast. I search between the sparse islands of pale blue sky scattered between the treetops.
Strong arms crush me against hard planes of muscle, wrenching my breath from my lungs.
“Were you mentally rehearsing your stances?” Caius hisses in my ear, his iron grip locking me against him, the leather of his gauntlet creaking. He still insists on wearing his full uniform, even on days like today when the rest of us strip down to sleeveless tunics.
I could lie to him. He may be observant, but he’s no mind reader. “I was—”
“Daydreaming about dragons?”
I pull my arm forward to drive my elbow back into his gut as he had taught me, but Caius is a quick study. He grabs my arm and locks it against my belly.
“Pay attention. Those things will eat you if given the chance…”
I feel Caius tense behind me. The forest is silent. Gone are the bird songs, scufflings, and soft chirps. It’s as if the forest has gone into a deep freeze, and while a light perspiration still clings to my skin from the hike, a chill creeps over my flesh.
“Run!” Caius releases his hold on me, shifting to grab my hand as he sprints after Cressida and Dom. Their expressions tell me everything I need to know. Their eyes bulge, the color leeches from their faces, and then Caius is screaming again. “I said run!”
One second I’m sprinting through the forest and the next my world is nothing but fire. Flames lick up the trunks of trees and catch light in the boughs overhead. The air smells of charred sap. Billows of white smoke reach through the blackened skeletons of ancient trees.
We break through the treeline and find ourselves at the top of a steep incline.
I hesitate, but Caius grabs me and throws us down the grassy slope, tightening his grip on me as we tumble down the hill.
Every time my back slams into the ground, the force of it robs my lungs of air, and I fight back the panic as my mind begins to reel.
What if we fall forever? Or what if we don’t?
What if the second we stop the dragon scoops us up in its gaping maw and devours us whole?
I don’t want to die in Caius’ arms. If we die here, Bǎodela dies too— “Move!”
I vaguely register Caius tugging me forward toward a crack in the earth.
To safety. I scramble over the edge of the crag.
Caius follows close behind. Finally, my mind focuses.
There is only dirt and stone and handholds.
The energy radiating from the rock through my fingertips grounds me. There is only the climb.
I relish the excitement of a new route to discover.
Even as I know I should be afraid. Afraid of the monster hunting me from above, and from the danger below.
We had no time to secure the climb. One false move on this descent was just as much a death sentence as remaining above.
Despite my desire to speed climb to the bottom, my father’s warning is a siren blaring in my mind.
Once I find a lip large enough to stand on, I pause and take in the crag.
The sky has narrowed to a crack overhead, but we are still far from the canyon floor.
As Caius slowly descends to my perch, I pull my rope from my bag, tie into my harness and set an anchor.
Caius places one boot next to mine, and the rock gives way. There is no time to think. I throw myself from the ledge. I have just enough time to wrap my arms around Caius.
“Hold on!” I scream, and then the line pulls taught. I crush him against me, or maybe he crushes me against him. We slam against the rock face. Caius takes the brunt of it, but my arms ache from the impact and the strain of holding on to his sizable frame. I won’t be able to hold him much longer.
“Hold on, I need to tie you in.” I grunt.
Caius tightens his grip around my waist, and my breath grows shallow as he nearly squeezes the life from me.
I work as quickly and carefully as I can, holding a life in my hands suspended four hundred meters in the air.
I slip a rope from Caius’ pack, then wiggle my arm between us to attach it to his harness.
Sweat pours down my neck, and my hands begin to shake as I finally anchor Caius’s line to the wall.
“Slowly sit back,” I instruct.
Tentatively, Caius loosens his grip around me, sitting back into his harness and testing the slack on his line. The line slips just a centimeter at his adjustments, and his hand shoots out, grabbing mine. His eyes are wide with fear, and I give his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s okay. There was just a little slack in the line.
You’re safe.” As the words leave my mouth, I can’t believe I’m the one saying them.
Not only did I save Caius’ life, I was holding his hand and reassuring him.
The thought turns my stomach, but the look of fear still etched on his face stills my hand when I go to pull away.
He looks younger now, with the facade of captain melted away.
I can almost see him as the little boy I used to race through canyons with.
“Hey Caius,” I say, and his broken eyes look up from the drop below and lock onto mine.
I hate the way my pulse quickens under his gaze.
“Race you to the bottom?” I flash him a devious smile.
I need to get us on solid ground. I need him to stop looking at me like that.
Slowly, a matching half-grin spreads across his face.
“You think you can take me?” he asks.
“I’ll beat you on a rock face any day.”
“We’ll see.” Caius shifts into position, his hand hovering over the belay that will control his descent, his feet planted against the rock face.
I square up with the wall, ready for a rapid descent.
“Three, two, one.” I wait only a moment to ensure that Caius doesn’t freeze up.
Climbing back up here to get him would be a pain in the ass.
Caius races down the rock wall, and I quickly make up ground behind him.
He is faster than he was the last time we raced, but still not fast enough.
With my boots planted firmly on the canyon floor, I watch Caius descend the last two meters.
“Nice try.” I smile at him as I unhook my rope and secure it to an anchor.
“When did you get so fast?” Caius asks as he does the same.
I punch him in the shoulder. “I’ve always been faster than you, Fox.” This time the nickname comes unbidden, an echo of an earlier time.
Caius gives me an uneasy look, but then he chuckles softly, running a hand through his hair. The half-grin he gives me is dangerous; it threatens to make me forget all the history between us.
My cheeks burn, and I clear my throat to change the topic. “Where are Dom and Cressida?” I ask, my blood boiling at having forgotten myself with Caius.
“I lost sight of them in the forest. We should wait until dark, then we can climb back up and search the woods.”
“What if something—”
“Nothing’s happened to them. Cressida is smart. She will watch out for Dom. But if that dragon is still hunting and we go up too early, we will bring down hellfire on us and them.”
I push out a long breath. He’s right, and I hate it.
“You can wait it out if you like, but you won’t find your friends up there.” An unfamiliar voice calls from the dark.