Chapter 7 Elegance in Human Form
Elegance in Human Form
ANNA
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Cody muttered.
I stared at the cliffside, dread twisting my stomach. There was no way we were going to climb that. It was at least twenty stories high. It was rocky, and with a few narrow ledges, but the last third looked nearly vertical.
“Not at all, recruit,” Commander Everson said. “You have two hours to reach the top. For those of you who do not make it, and find a way back down, you will spend several nights in the valley before someone may rescue you.”
I noted a hint of amusement in his voice and narrowed my eyes.
Glancing sideways at Isabella, I saw that she wasn’t moving. She was scared. And she was right to be. My heart was pounding, and my pulse was throbbing against my skin at every major artery. Others were already rushing to the cliffside.
I tipped my chin up. It was high. There was no way we would get to the top in two hours. And there was no gear. If anyone fell…
I closed my eyes.
Calm. Control. Focus.
The cliffside was rocky and looked difficult for a skilled climber, which I wasn’t. As a child, I’d climbed my fair share of trees and dangerous ravines, but this was nothing like that. Even climbing up to the cave had an angle to it.
This? This was madness.
I watched as Isabella pulled herself up, carefully finding a solid foothold before shifting her weight.
“Damn it,” I muttered.
“Don’t look down,” Cody said, staring up at the cliff.
There were several others still contemplating the climb, but many were already making their way up, too.
I nodded. “Let’s go.”
I found a solid place to grab and quieted my thoughts.
The sun’s rays were bright, which made it challenging to see what I was doing.
Closing off my thoughts, my mind calmed.
There was only the cliff and me. Without eye protection, this was going to be tough.
It’d be much like navigating the cave—I’d have to feel my way up.
Squinting hard, I lifted myself from solid ground.
I stayed that way for some time: my heart calm, my breathing steady, following a pattern.
It was the only way to do this. If I got excited, it was all over.
I was nearly to a ledge when the rock I grasped came loose.
My heart plummeted as I slipped, holding on with my other hand as I desperately clung to the rock face.
My nerves were on fire as I heard the sound of the rock hitting the cliffside before only the biting wind filled my ears.
Sweat beaded on my forehead and trickled down my face. The wind was getting stronger as I climbed, blurring my vision with tears. My muscles were burning with pain, but I refused to acknowledge that I was out of my depth.
Reaching the ledge, I tried to rest for a moment, but my nerves flared at the sound of a scream. My fingers slipped from the grip I had on the rock as my heart raced. I saw Isabella above me. One hand clung to the ledge, the rest of her dangling in open air. A slab of rock tumbled past me.
Shit. She was going to fall.
“Hang on,” I shouted.
I climbed, pushing myself beyond my limit, determined not to screw this up now. She couldn’t possibly survive a fall from this height. I had to reach her.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself up, searching for the best route to her.
My arms shook. This wasn’t good. And I was no longer calm.
I couldn’t pull her up. No way. But I couldn’t let her fall.
Fuck.
I heard her cries, despite the wind's howling. It whipped my hair in my face, making it hard to see.
I had to try.
There was no other choice.
“Take my hand!” I shouted, stretching it toward her. Then I saw it, and hope ignited in my mind like a match. “There’s a foothold! Down and left!”
She was watching me, her eyes wide with fear, before she tipped her head forward.
“No!” I yelled. “Don’t look down.”
She didn’t move.
“Focus, Isabella. You have to.”
She closed her eyes and nodded. The wind was getting stronger. We didn’t have long before a storm came in.
“Down and left! You can do it, Isabella. Then, reach for my hand,” I yelled over the wind.
I couldn’t feel anymore as I watched her take a deep breath.
Then, with nothing but trust, she dropped her weight and caught the foothold hidden in the cliffside. My arm was on fire as I stretched to reach her, and somehow, despite the odds, her hand closed in mine.
A quiet whimper of relief sounded beside me as she leaned heavily against the rocky wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“You did it,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
I looked up the cliff again. We were nearly there.
“Come on, we have to keep going,” I said breathlessly.
She didn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She tried to shake her head, but it was more like an eerie twitching.
“I don’t think I can do it,” she whispered. “We’re so high.”
“We’re almost there,” I snapped, far more harshly than I meant to. “One last push.”
She stared into the cliff face, unmoving. How long had it been? Did we already miss the two hour window? No. Surely, we still had time.
“We’re going,” I said flatly. “Ready?”
The longer she stood there, the more likely she was to pass out and fall. We had to move.
I tore my eyes away. I had to get a grip, or we were both dead.
Calm. Control. Focus.
Steeling my nerves, I scraped along the cliffside until I felt a flat surface.
Reaching down, I shouted, “Take my hand!”
Nothing.
Then, finally, her frozen hand locked into mine. With a final jolt of adrenaline, I helped her up and over the edge. One last pull, and we were both over, slamming against the rock.
My chest ached as I panted, desperate for air.
I glanced at Isabella to confirm she’d made it. She was already looking at me, her expression weary.
“Thanks,” she muttered between breaths.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice unnaturally high-pitched. “Don’t mention it.”
Sighing in relief, I turned my cheek only to see a pair of black boots.
Ugh. Seriously?
“Time.”
I looked up at Commander Everson, my chest still rising and falling rapidly.
“Not bad, Kamoria. Last, but you got here eventually. Even your dead weight made it before you,” he said, glancing at Isabella.
I glared at him, but I couldn’t speak. What an ass. If I could’ve moved, I would’ve punched him. Okay, not really, but I was mentally flipping him off as he strolled toward the other Initiates.
“The second task is now over. Congratulations. Only twenty recruits have made it to the top, and you are one of them. Any survivors will return to The Valley of Lost Souls, where they will be escorted home. Those who did not complete the climb will have their body returned to their family,” he said.
“When you are able, rise. I will explain the third task.”
Body returned? A chill crept over me. Of course, some hadn’t made it.
But they let them fall to their death? Surely I’d heard him wrong.
Or was this a scare tactic? Yeah, that was it.
They were trying to scare us into quitting.
But seriously, what kind of place was this?
I was tired in my bones. Everything hurt, even my teeth.
There was no way any of us would be up for this for much longer.
“Are you kidding me?” a voice asked.
I glanced over to see another recruit not far from me, barely sitting up and glaring at Everson. Beside him, a girl with long, dark, braided hair shot him a death look.
“Shut up, Eli,” she muttered. “You saw what he did earlier!”
I wanted to know what they were talking about, but I was too tired to speak.
“Remember, recruits, you may turn back and go home while you remain alive. The choice is yours,” he said.
How many of these tasks were there?
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t move. I wondered where Cody was. Had he made it?
I was too tired to look. Surely, he had.
I would check.
Later.
I awoke to the strangest lights flowing like rivers in the sky. Stars glittered high above, while dancing streams of greens, pinks, and purples hung just out of reach—the Aurora Borealis. I’d always wanted to see it.
I never thought it would be like this, though. I’d only ever seen green lights in the pictures.
I shifted, trying to get comfortable, when a pain shot up my back. I must have pulled something when holding onto Isabella. Moving slower this time, I sat up. If I survived this, I was going to be bedridden for weeks.
Warmth from a fire nearby touched my skin and lit our camp along with several wrought-iron torch stands. Others were sitting around it, a few sleeping, while some had their heads tilted back, watching the waves of color in the sky.
“Hey,” a familiar voice called.
I turned my neck too quickly, a sting of pain making me wince. It was Cody. Isabella was there too, asleep beside him.
“Hey,” I said.
“Sorry,” he chuckled as I rubbed my neck. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No worries,” I said. “I think I may be jumpy for a while after all this.”
He handed me a flask, which I accepted and pressed to my lips, gulping it down until it was gone.
“Where’s Everson?” I asked, wiping the stray drops from my mouth.
“I don’t know,” Cody said. “I think he’s waiting for everyone to be conscious.”
I sighed. “Did you hear what he said earlier? Did anyone fall? Surely, he didn’t mean that.”
Cody shook his head. “I’m not sure. I did see someone slip, but I didn’t look down. I don’t know what happened.”
I stared at him, my lips parted. Narrowing my eyes, I searched for Everson. Instead, I saw a young woman watching me. When we made eye contact, she rose and approached us.
“I saw what you did,” she said.
My brows lifted. “What?”
“I saw you save her,” she said, pointing at Isabella. “That was incredible.”
“Oh,” I muttered, shifting awkwardly.
Cody looked at me.
“There’s no physical way you should’ve been able to lift her like that,” she continued. “It’s not mathematically possible. This place is doing something to us.”
Her words unsettled me as much as the cold sting in the air.