Page 47 of Stealing Mercury
“We have more digging to do.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that. Watch out below, I’m coming down.”
“No!” Mercury added his growl to his voice, but it was too late. She was already over the side and moving down the rope. A small part of the edge collapsed in and tumbled down around them. Not enough to harm, but enough to make it clear the area could collapse further at any moment.
Mercury belly-crawled over to the rope and steadied it as she crawled down ending in his arms.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” He wanted to argue, but her fingers on his lips stayed his lecture. “There’s a storm coming. I’ve been watching the rain moving our way for the last hour.”
“Rain?” He looked up to see the trees shaking.
“Yes. The water will come pouring down here in an hour or so. We’re running out of time.” Her knuckles were white where she gripped the rope, but he didn’t think it was a fear of falling that had her so tense.
“You can’t be down here.” He was grateful for her warning, but he wanted her safely back up the rope. “This area could collapse.”
“I know,” she said. “Right on top of Carn.”
“If we dig faster, we could create the same result.”
“I heard Lo say there was a passage down here.”
Why wouldn’t she go back up? She knew the need for speed. “The passage is too small.”
“Let me try.”
“No.” The response came automatically, but her offer meant he could no longer dismiss the possibility he’d been unwilling to contemplate.
She took one hand off the rope and reached for him. “He could be bleeding or trapped. If I can get down there, I could stabilize him. Maybe move him to a safer part of the cavern. Then you could dig faster. We don’t have time to argue.”
Mercury cupped her face. “My bravecourra. If anything happens to you—”
“I’ll be careful,” she interrupted.
Careful. He doubted it. It seemed she was always jumping into trouble. If she’d been careful, they’d still be headed to the hunt planet. “Spread your weight across the ground and wait until I free the rope.”
Samantha’s brows lifted. “The rope?”
“You’re not going down there without some way for me to pull you back.”
Mercury made sure she was in a stable spot, then scrambled up the side of the rift. Working quickly, he untied the rope and tossed it down to Lo, who’d moved into position near Samantha. He knew she was still uneasy with his troubled brother, but she fought to accept him. If anything happened to her... He had no idea how to finish the thought. She was human or close enough to have lived her life as one. She should mean nothing to him, but she had quickly come to mean everything.
***
Samantha waited impatiently as Lo tied the rope around her waist. “Where’s the opening?”
“Just below.”
As he released her, he crawled down and over, then reached out a hand to guide her. She hesitated only a moment. She no longer worried he might intentionally hurt her, but it was hard not to fear those claws.
When she took his hand, he guided her to a narrow hole that hadn’t been visible from above. He moved closer, pressing against her and increasing her heart rate.
“Don’t be afraid. This area is more stable because of the rock.”
She wasn’t sure it was fear that made her heart pound. Every time he got near, her insides tightened and every place he touched her burned.
He tugged at her pack, and she shrugged out of it. The opening was narrow and dark and too tight for her to wear it, but she clung to one strap.
