Page 10 of Mountain Summons

There was only one way to find out. He had to get to her.

He pulled his emergency climbing equipment and slipped into his harness. He had to work fast. His fingers were already numb from the cold.

He scanned the wall, searching for something he could use. There. A deep crack ran along the rock. Tristan slipped his hand into the crack, testing it. It looked just wide enough. He pulled out his first cam, wedging it into the crevice and giving a sharp tug. It held, and he exhaled. Good. He did the same thing again with a second cam, then clipped a locking carabiner through the loops, securing them with a twist—praying it’d be enough.

For extra safety, he found a second anchor point—a pointy rock a few feet to the side. He wrapped a length of webbing around it, securing it tightly before clipping his last carabiner through the loop. Then he tugged, harder this time. Both points held. It was as good as he was going to get.

He took a deep breath. He wasn’t a natural-born climber, like Gael, or an all-round athlete, like Lorenz. But he’d trained for this, and he knew what he was doing. He clipped himself in, securing his harness to the rope with a quick, practiced motion, then leaned back slightly over the ledge, testing his weight against the rope.So far, so good.

Without waiting, he began lowering himself down the nearly vertical slope. His headlamp swept downward. He caught a splash of color—something red. His heart seized for an instant, then relaxed when he realized it wasn’t big enough to be Lena.Probably an item of clothing. Smart, placing it there for people to see. If it hadn’t been so dark, he would have seen it sooner.

He looked beyond the red item, sweeping his gaze left and right, catching glimpses of the treacherous slope below—loose rocks, exposed tree roots, wet patches of scree shifting like sand beneath the weight of the rain. And then—Lena.

She was curled beneath an overhang, small and motionless.Too still.

His gut twisted.Lena, hold on.

Step by step, he lowered himself down, careful not to dislodge loose debris that could tumble straight onto her. His muscles burned, his fingers aching as they clung to the rope and fought against the rain that made everything slicker by the second.

Finally, his boots reached the ground, just a body’s length above where she was holed up. He unhooked himself, leaving the rope dangling in the storm, and rushed towards her, trusting his boots to find purchase on the rain-slicked ground.

“Lena.” He fell to his knees next to her, his headlamp casting eerie shadows across her face. The freckles on her nose and cheeks stood out like beacons on her pale skin. His hands sought the pulse at her neck. Her skin was ice cold.

She stirred weakly at his touch, her eyelids fluttering open for an instant. Recognition flickered, barely there. Then her eyes closed again.

Relief crashed over him so hard it nearly buckled his knees.

“I’m here, Lena,” he said, his throat tight. He brushed the wet strands of hair away from her face, cupping her cheek for a moment. Too cold. Too pale. “I’ve got you. You’re gonna be okay.”

She tried to say something else, but her lips barely moved. He leaned in to catch her words.

“C-cold,” she whispered.

“I know, sweetheart,” he murmured, already shrugging out of his jacket. “Where are you hurt?” He didn’t want to move her if there was a risk he’d be making an injury worse, but he couldn’t let her freeze to death out here either.

“My ankle.”

“Not your back?”

“My ankle,” she repeated mutinously.

“Okay.” He raised her body gently and peeled off her soaked rain jacket, then wrapped her into his own jacket, tucking it as tightly as he could around her before wrestling the rain poncho back onto her.

God, she was trembling so hard. Fear and relief warred inside him. He exhaled roughly.You found her.She’s alive.

His radio crackled at his hip. He flicked the volume dial. And there was Beau. Still calling for him. Loudly. Angrily. “Tristan. Where the fuck are you?” Tristan pressed the button with more force than necessary.

“I found Le—Madeleine.”

A pause. Then Beau’s voice, sharp with urgency now, his anger momentarily forgotten. “Where are you?”

“Northeast corner of my search area, on the path along the river. She must have fallen when the ledge she was on crumpled.”

“Status?”

“She’s alive but injured. Sprained or possibly broken ankle. Hypothermia setting in.” He scanned their surroundings again, already calculating his next move. Getting her out of here wouldn’t be easy. “We need immediate evac.”

“Kat is grounded.” Beau’s voice was tight. Frustrated. “Wind’s too strong. You’ll have to stabilize her until we can get a rope team to you.”

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