Page 131 of Only Cold Depths
VESPER
Thebridgecrackedawayto nothingness under my feet. The glass plummeted down like raindrops falling from the sky, and I followed it.
Air rushed over my body, and everything spun around in dizzying circles. My arms and legs instinctively flailed, trying to grab onto something that would stop my fall, but I forced my mind to reach out for Kyrion’s telekinesis. His power threatened to slip away, but I clung to it as tightly as possible and used it to propel myself toward the ledge that I’d seen through the bottom of the bridge—
Smack!
My left shoulder clipped a rock jutting out from the waterfall, then slammed into the stone ledge below. Pain exploded in my body, so intense and white-hot it blotted out everything else, and I couldn’t even draw air into my lungs . . .
Vesper . . . get up . . . get up now!
Kyrion’s voice roared in my mind, and my eyes snapped open. Some of the hot, agonizing pain receded, ebbing like a tide being pulled away from the shore, and I could breathe again. I blinked away the white stars flashing in my eyes, and the realization that I was still alive flooded my body.
My crazy plan had actually worked.
More sensations washed over me. The rough scrape of stone against my cheek. The cool mist from the waterfall gathering in my hair. The wind whistling up from the chasm below.
My fingers twitched, and the familiar weight of my stormsword settled into my right palm. I propped myself up on one elbow, then dug the point of the blade into the stone like a crutch and hoisted myself upright.
My mind spun around, and I swayed back and forth on my feet for several seconds before everything settled into focus.
I was standing on a long narrow ledge that curved around this section of the cavern like a crescent moon. The waterfall was only a few feet away, and the mist had already soaked my hair and seeped into my clothes. My body was cold and numb, but that might be for the best, given my abrupt landing.
I glanced down, but the bottom of the chasm was hundreds of feet away and lined with sharp, jagged rocks, as though I was staring into the gaping maw of a monster. I shuddered and looked away. Next, I glanced up, but I’d done an excellent job of destroying the permaglass bridge, and nothing of it remained, except for some metal support beams that were out of reach. The cliff face itself was slick with water. Even if I’d had the strength to climb up, I wouldn’t have been able to get any foot- or handholds on the wet surface.
Once again, I was trapped.
An angry snarl sounded behind me, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I slowly turned around.
Esmina had also landed on the ledge, and she was picking her way over to me. She was still clutching her dagger, and the lunarium blade blazed a little brighter with each step she took.
“You crazy bitch!” she yelled. “You almost killed us both!”
“That was the idea! I’d rather be dead than let you hurt Kyrion!”
Esmina growled and lifted her dagger. I snapped up my sword. Esmina took another step toward me, and I braced myself for her attack—
Crack.
Crack-crack.
Crack.
Beside us, bits of stone tumbled down, and the cliff started splintering. Jagged openings appeared, and water seeped into the empty spaces, pushing more bits of stone out of its way.
My stomach sank. The ledge had been weakened by the bridge debris battering it, as well as the force of Esmina and me landing on it. Now the waterfall was going to finish the job and wash the rest of the stone away—and us along with it.
Esmina spun toward the cliff face. She stabbed her dagger deep into the stone and tried to hoist herself up, but even more of the stone crumbled away, and she slid right back down onto the ledge.
Her eyes widened, and she stared at the rocks as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.
“What’s wrong?” I called out in a mocking voice. “Didn’t see this coming?”
She shot me an angry glare and stabbed her dagger into another spot, once again trying to hoist herself up. I didn’t bother doing the same thing with my sword. I didn’t have the strength to drive the blade deep enough into the stone, much less pull myself up. Instead, I glanced around, searching for another way off the ledge.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted several flickers of movement. Somehow Asterin had gotten into this chamber and was running down a set of stairs. Zane was following along behind her, with Kyrion right on his heels.
The three of them reached the bottom of the stairs, rushed forward, and skidded to a stop at the edge of the chasm.
