“Just take the second rope,” he said.
Managing not to take a swing at Connor, Shay secured the second line to his body and moved a foot from the spot where I’d slid over the edge. He dropped to his hands and knees. I wanted to call out for him to be careful, but I worried that I’d only undermine his confidence.
Fifty feet doesn’t sound like much of a distance, but watching Shay making steady progress through the cavern verged on painful. He had an ice ax in one hand, at times swinging it down and burying it in the ground in front of him as he inched forward. He placed the cams at regular intervals, threading the rope through. A zigzagging path began to emerge as he crossed the cavern. Even with the rope outlining our route, the crevasses remained impossible to see. To the naked eye it looked as though a deranged, or very drunk, climber had charted his nonsense course along a flat surface. Only the memory of the floor dropping out from under my paws reminded me that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Shay suddenly swore, the sound echoing through the ice-coated chamber.
I screamed. Shay was falling. And then he wasn’t. He’d swung his ice ax up, burying it in the side of a crevasse he hadn’t found soon enough. He hung from one arm, but the safety line he’d placed had already pulled taut. Just as he’d predicted, he only dropped a few inches. But that didn’t stop my heart from trying to break free of my rib cage.
“You okay?” Connor’s call was strangled.
“Yeah,” Shay yelled. He also sounded a bit breathless. “This part is going to be a problem. These two holes are only separated by about three inches.”
“Damn,” Adne said. “That’s narrower than a balance beam.”
“And I’m no gymnast.” Mason’s laugh was tight. He and Sabine had both switched back to human form when Shay began his crossing. Wolves might have good reflexes, but if we were strapping into climbing gear to make the passage, we’d need to be human.
Shay placed a piton, securing himself to the side of the crevasse. “I’m going to carve out some holds here,” he shouted. “We’ll have to climb across the side at this point.”
“Climb?” It felt like cotton had been shoved down my throat. Scurrying along the edges of the pits was one thing, voluntarily dropping down into one was another.
Mason leaned over, elbowing me. “That was pretty damn sexy—did you see what he can do with his shoulders? Shay’s the wolf to beat, I think. I may need to give Nev better odds.”
I growled at my packmate, but Mason just laughed.
True to his word, Shay was chopping at the wall with his ax, creating small fissures in the rock where a foot or a hand could be placed. He moved forward, placing another piton, making more holds. He’d almost reached the dark gap in the shimmering ice wall. Finally he found the other side of the crevasse and climbed up, setting a piton and hauling his body over the lip of the pit, the force of his push propelling him straight into the crawl space. Then he tumbled out of sight.
“Shay!” Connor yelled. “You all right?”
I held my breath until Shay’s head poked out of the darkness.
“I’m good!” He was on all fours, unable to even kneel without hitting his head on the roof of the tunnel. “The ceiling’s low, but we’ll all be able to squeeze in. And there’s light on the other side. I’m pretty sure we’ll find the hilt where that glow is coming from.”
“Nice work!” Connor called. He was already threading a line through Adne’s belt. “You cross first,” he said to her. “If something jumps out at the Scion in that little cave while most of us are still crossing, you get him out of here.”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“The line’s secure over here,” Shay yelled, waving and pointing at the final cam he’d fixed into the far wall. “Get started!”
Adne moved stiffly, as if she had to force herself toward the edge of the first crevasse. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t want to go anywhere near them either. Silas picked up the rope and was about to hook himself in when Connor snatched it away.
“You’re last,” he said.
“What?” Silas’s eyes bulged.
Connor grinned, handing the rope to Sabine, who started after Adne. “This seems like a thrill-a-minute episode in your marvelous history, doesn’t it? I think our crossing deserves your best writing endeavors.”
Silas stared at him before slinking backward. To his credit he did begin to write again immediately, though I couldn’t have guessed whether he was describing the cavern or lodging another complaint against Connor.
I hung back with Silas, not because I craved his company but because I wanted to wait until I absolutely had to make the crossing. Adne was already on the other side, squirming past Shay into the narrow tunnel. My stomach clenched as I watched Sabine swing down into the crevasse. Her lithe form seemed to take naturally to climbing as she easily found Shay’s holds. Ethan was behind her, followed by Mason.
“You’re up.” Connor was clipping a carabiner onto my belt and sliding the safety line through it.
I managed a nod. Words, even thoughts, wouldn’t surface as I moved to follow Shay’s rope. I’d never really thought I was afraid of heights, considering I’d spent my life in mountains. Somehow this was different. The slopes around Haldis were soil and rock. Even when it was snow-covered, it was familiar. This cavern, hidden in the heights of the Alps, full of ice and light that wove a wickedly beautiful web in which to snare its prey, made my blood as cold as the mountain air I breathed. The cave’s deception unnerved me in ways I’d never experienced. I didn’t want to go farther into its depths. I wanted out.
I gripped the rope, willing myself to start across. Looking at the far side of the cavern, I met Shay’s eyes. He was waiting for me, hovering on the lip of the crawl space. He lifted his hand.
Get to Shay. Get to Shay.
I forced all other thoughts out of my mind. The only thing I wanted more than to escape this death trap was to be with him. If I could make reaching Shay my goal, I could do this. An ice-edged wind swirled through the cave, its sounds bouncing off the walls in millions of whispers, murmuring in my ears about slipping, falling. I pulled myself along the rope, trying to shut out the wind’s voice, knowing it was more Keeper magic trying to seize on my fears and manipulate me into making a fatal error.
Managing not to take a swing at Connor, Shay secured the second line to his body and moved a foot from the spot where I’d slid over the edge. He dropped to his hands and knees. I wanted to call out for him to be careful, but I worried that I’d only undermine his confidence.
Fifty feet doesn’t sound like much of a distance, but watching Shay making steady progress through the cavern verged on painful. He had an ice ax in one hand, at times swinging it down and burying it in the ground in front of him as he inched forward. He placed the cams at regular intervals, threading the rope through. A zigzagging path began to emerge as he crossed the cavern. Even with the rope outlining our route, the crevasses remained impossible to see. To the naked eye it looked as though a deranged, or very drunk, climber had charted his nonsense course along a flat surface. Only the memory of the floor dropping out from under my paws reminded me that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Shay suddenly swore, the sound echoing through the ice-coated chamber.
I screamed. Shay was falling. And then he wasn’t. He’d swung his ice ax up, burying it in the side of a crevasse he hadn’t found soon enough. He hung from one arm, but the safety line he’d placed had already pulled taut. Just as he’d predicted, he only dropped a few inches. But that didn’t stop my heart from trying to break free of my rib cage.
“You okay?” Connor’s call was strangled.
“Yeah,” Shay yelled. He also sounded a bit breathless. “This part is going to be a problem. These two holes are only separated by about three inches.”
“Damn,” Adne said. “That’s narrower than a balance beam.”
“And I’m no gymnast.” Mason’s laugh was tight. He and Sabine had both switched back to human form when Shay began his crossing. Wolves might have good reflexes, but if we were strapping into climbing gear to make the passage, we’d need to be human.
Shay placed a piton, securing himself to the side of the crevasse. “I’m going to carve out some holds here,” he shouted. “We’ll have to climb across the side at this point.”
“Climb?” It felt like cotton had been shoved down my throat. Scurrying along the edges of the pits was one thing, voluntarily dropping down into one was another.
Mason leaned over, elbowing me. “That was pretty damn sexy—did you see what he can do with his shoulders? Shay’s the wolf to beat, I think. I may need to give Nev better odds.”
I growled at my packmate, but Mason just laughed.
True to his word, Shay was chopping at the wall with his ax, creating small fissures in the rock where a foot or a hand could be placed. He moved forward, placing another piton, making more holds. He’d almost reached the dark gap in the shimmering ice wall. Finally he found the other side of the crevasse and climbed up, setting a piton and hauling his body over the lip of the pit, the force of his push propelling him straight into the crawl space. Then he tumbled out of sight.
“Shay!” Connor yelled. “You all right?”
I held my breath until Shay’s head poked out of the darkness.
“I’m good!” He was on all fours, unable to even kneel without hitting his head on the roof of the tunnel. “The ceiling’s low, but we’ll all be able to squeeze in. And there’s light on the other side. I’m pretty sure we’ll find the hilt where that glow is coming from.”
“Nice work!” Connor called. He was already threading a line through Adne’s belt. “You cross first,” he said to her. “If something jumps out at the Scion in that little cave while most of us are still crossing, you get him out of here.”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“The line’s secure over here,” Shay yelled, waving and pointing at the final cam he’d fixed into the far wall. “Get started!”
Adne moved stiffly, as if she had to force herself toward the edge of the first crevasse. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t want to go anywhere near them either. Silas picked up the rope and was about to hook himself in when Connor snatched it away.
“You’re last,” he said.
“What?” Silas’s eyes bulged.
Connor grinned, handing the rope to Sabine, who started after Adne. “This seems like a thrill-a-minute episode in your marvelous history, doesn’t it? I think our crossing deserves your best writing endeavors.”
Silas stared at him before slinking backward. To his credit he did begin to write again immediately, though I couldn’t have guessed whether he was describing the cavern or lodging another complaint against Connor.
I hung back with Silas, not because I craved his company but because I wanted to wait until I absolutely had to make the crossing. Adne was already on the other side, squirming past Shay into the narrow tunnel. My stomach clenched as I watched Sabine swing down into the crevasse. Her lithe form seemed to take naturally to climbing as she easily found Shay’s holds. Ethan was behind her, followed by Mason.
“You’re up.” Connor was clipping a carabiner onto my belt and sliding the safety line through it.
I managed a nod. Words, even thoughts, wouldn’t surface as I moved to follow Shay’s rope. I’d never really thought I was afraid of heights, considering I’d spent my life in mountains. Somehow this was different. The slopes around Haldis were soil and rock. Even when it was snow-covered, it was familiar. This cavern, hidden in the heights of the Alps, full of ice and light that wove a wickedly beautiful web in which to snare its prey, made my blood as cold as the mountain air I breathed. The cave’s deception unnerved me in ways I’d never experienced. I didn’t want to go farther into its depths. I wanted out.
I gripped the rope, willing myself to start across. Looking at the far side of the cavern, I met Shay’s eyes. He was waiting for me, hovering on the lip of the crawl space. He lifted his hand.
Get to Shay. Get to Shay.
I forced all other thoughts out of my mind. The only thing I wanted more than to escape this death trap was to be with him. If I could make reaching Shay my goal, I could do this. An ice-edged wind swirled through the cave, its sounds bouncing off the walls in millions of whispers, murmuring in my ears about slipping, falling. I pulled myself along the rope, trying to shut out the wind’s voice, knowing it was more Keeper magic trying to seize on my fears and manipulate me into making a fatal error.
