Li Wei swings hard and almost manages to land on another small outcropping, but the added weight of being tied to me throws him off. A second attempt also fails. He tries yet again, harder this time, and is at last able to land on the edge. With his footing secure, he scuttles back and tugs me toward him with the adjoining rope. My feet make contact with the ledge, and he pulls me forward into his arms, leaving us cowering against the mountain as a full-on avalanche of boulders cascades beside us. The falling rocks keep triggering more avalanches, and it is spectacular and terrifying to watch.
When it finally ends, we are both shaking, shocked by how close we came to being caught in the full force of it. I let him hold me a few moments longer before reluctantly breaking the embrace. He gestures to my cheek.
You’re bleeding , he says.
I vaguely recall the rock that hit me and am now aware of a stinging sensation. I lightly touch the side of my face with my fingertips and see blood when I remove them. I dab again and see less blood. It’s nothing , I say. It’s already stopping.
Here, let me clean it. He pulls his sleeve over his hand and reaches for me. I shrink back.
What are you doing? I ask.
Wiping up the blood , he says.
Not with that filthy shirt! I retort. And I told you, I’m fine. No need to stain your shirt even more.
I’m a barbarian, remember? His grin fades as concern returns to his features. Perhaps we should rest longer.
For me? I ask indignantly. I get to my feet and hope I’m not still shaking. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m not some delicate flower. I’m ready to go now.
Fei, it’s okay if we take a break , he says. There’s no need to let your pride get the best of you. Again.
Again? I ask, unable to ignore the barb. I gesture imperiously to the rope. Just fix it so that we can keep going.
He gives me a mock bow. Yes, apprentice.
Tension fills the air between us as he readjusts our line to set us on a new trajectory down. My hands hurt badly, even with the gloves, but fear and pride compel me to keep my grip through the discomfort. We continue rappelling down, and though we are still cautious, both of us move a little more quickly. That last avalanche was too close a call, and we’re eager to make it to the plateau I’d noticed earlier and finally get a real rest. Closer and closer it gets, and despite Li Wei’s warnings, I find myself sneaking peeks down. I don’t know what I was expecting in the lands near the mountain’s bottom, but the terrain below us looks similar to what we left behind on the mountain’s top, filled with green, dense forest. The only difference is that from this height, it is all in miniature, almost as though we’re looking down at an incredibly lifelike map.
When we are level with some of the trees growing on the plateau, I hear another boulder above us—in Li Wei’s direction. I tug the joining rope and nod. He scurries to get out of the way, but in his haste, his grip on the rope slips.
He loses his foothold, and all I can do is gasp as he starts to fall. The rope around me snaps tight, pulled taut around my torso by his added weight, cutting off my ability to get air. I jerk forward, struggling to keep my grip firmly on the rope. Gravity wants to take me down with him, and the rope begins to slip through my fingers.
I fight for breath, watching the terror on Li Wei’s face as he is suspended in the air, hanging only by the rope connecting him to me. Panicked, he kicks wildly, reaching out with his hands and feet to make contact with something—anything. He is too far from his original rope or the cliff face to truly touch them, and his frantic flailing only makes it more difficult for me to cling to my rope. It’s slipping through my hands, bit by bit. Soon I will be at its end, and there will be nothing to stop us both from falling to our deaths.
Gritting my teeth, I squeeze my fingers tightly around the rope, refusing to give another inch. More wild maneuvering from Li Wei throws me off balance, causing me to lose my foothold on the cliff. I cling to the rope for dear life now, but I can see it is a losing battle. Li Wei’s weight is too great, his pull on the adjoining line too strong. Pain sears my stomach as the rope digs into me, stretched as taut as it can possibly get. My hands slip again down the rope, and I struggle to draw breath until—
—in seconds, it’s all gone.
The pressure is gone. There is no more pull, no impossible weight for me to fight against. I can breathe again.
Because the rope has snapped, and Li Wei is falling.
There is nothing to save him, and I can only watch in horror as he falls the rest of the way down, his eyes wide with terror. I hear my second human scream in as many days. This time, it’s my own.
CHAPTER 7
THE SCREAM DIES FROM MY LIPS, and for a heartbeat, I hang there, stunned at what has just happened. I take in the awful sight of Li Wei’s body lying inert on the plateau below. A million things go through my mind, all that I should have said to him . . . and never did. A moment later, I spur myself to action. Moving quickly—maybe too quickly—I rappel the rest of the way down, knowing I’m being reckless but too anxious to get to his side. A few rocks skitter after me but nothing else significant. When I hit the ground, I run over to his side, afraid of what I will find.
He can’t be dead, he can’t be dead , I keep telling myself.
He can’t be.
The first thing I see is that he is breathing, and I nearly collapse in relief. I gently tilt his face toward mine, and his eyes flutter open. He looks a bit addled, but his pupils are normal size, and it’s clear he recognizes me. My heart nearly bursts. He starts to lift his hands to speak, but I shake my head.