friends, but we'd been through so much together, we were practically family. It really sucked that I was missing out on some of the most important days of his life.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "I'm adding this to Cephus's list of crimes, right below trying to destroy Eden."
Elyssa pushed through a thicket and stopped. "We're at the cliff."
I stepped beside her and looked up at the steep rock face. The stone arch seemed impossibly far away. Didn't Flava tell us to find a trail?"
"Yeah, but I don't see one."
Elyssa gripped a small outcropping of rock and hefted herself up a few feet. "We might be able to boulder to the top."
I shook my head. "It'd be like climbing the Cliffs of Insanity, but without a thick rope and a giant to carry us." Try as I might, I couldn't see any way up.
We were stuck.
Chapter 10
Thankfully, I already had a Plan B. "Remember the hotel in Thailand?" I said.
Elyssa's eyebrows arched. "How could I forget? Can you climb all that way with me on your back?"
I nodded. "I dragged my dad up a cliff at the Three Sisters while Nazdal tried to eat us, so I think I can manage it with you."
"What if I try to eat you?"
"I would lose my concentration, but for other reasons."
Elyssa leaned forward and traced her tongue along my earlobe. "Can I do that while you're climbing?"
I swallowed hard and shifted the crotch of my Nightingale armor. "Where are we again?"
She laughed and walked behind me, lacing her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. "I'm ready when you are." Her lips nibbled my neck. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"You're making it hard for me to walk." I gathered my wits and flung a strand of Murk up the cliff wall. Like a web, it stuck to the rock. I willed it to contract. The web jerked us like a rubber band, launching us thirty feet up the rock wall. Using the momentum, I flung another web and yanked us up again.
"Whee!" Elyssa cried. "This is amazing!"
I laughed. "It's only fun when you're not running from a tsunami or hungry Nazdal."
"How far up can you throw a web?" she asked.
"Fifty feet at most." I grunted as the next strand tugged us upward. "Beyond that, it doesn't stick as well." I flung out another rope. Just as it contracted to pull us up, the section of rock it attached to crumbled.
"Fart bastards!" I shouted as we reversed course toward the rocky ground two hundred feet below. My reflexes responded before my brain, and another strand of Murk caught the cliff just above. We jerked to a stop and hung for a moment.
"Did you just say 'fart bastards'?" Elyssa said in an amused voice.
I wiped sweat from my eyes with a free hand. "How can you ask me that after we almost fell to our deaths?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "It all happened so fast."
A deep breath helped to calm my nerves. "Upward and onward."
Elyssa kissed the back of my neck. "My sexy rock climber."
I channeled a rope and began climbing again. "I'm about to take you back into the forest and go Tarzan on you."
"Me Jane," she whispered in my ear.
"You're going to get us killed," I groaned.
"I'm giving you a reason to live," she replied.
"My testosterone levels are off the charts." Another strand jerked us closer to the stone arch. "Junior is rubbing uncomfortably against the cliff."
She giggled. "Want me to shield it with my hand?"
"That's it, we're going back to the forest." The last aether rope jerked us up and over the lip of the stone arch. I landed heavily on my feet and stumbled.
Elyssa climbed off my back. "Aww, I thought we were going back down."
Flava and the others saw us and ran over. I stood slightly behind Elyssa so they wouldn't see the awkward bulge in my skintight armor.
Elyssa looked down and snorted. "Someone needs a cold shower."
"Shush, you evil woman." I looked at the approaching Darklings and plastered on a casual smile. Down, boy, down! Junior seemed to sag with sadness and deflated.
The Darkling I'd lent my rocket stick handed it to me.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "I'm adding this to Cephus's list of crimes, right below trying to destroy Eden."
Elyssa pushed through a thicket and stopped. "We're at the cliff."
I stepped beside her and looked up at the steep rock face. The stone arch seemed impossibly far away. Didn't Flava tell us to find a trail?"
"Yeah, but I don't see one."
Elyssa gripped a small outcropping of rock and hefted herself up a few feet. "We might be able to boulder to the top."
I shook my head. "It'd be like climbing the Cliffs of Insanity, but without a thick rope and a giant to carry us." Try as I might, I couldn't see any way up.
We were stuck.
Chapter 10
Thankfully, I already had a Plan B. "Remember the hotel in Thailand?" I said.
Elyssa's eyebrows arched. "How could I forget? Can you climb all that way with me on your back?"
I nodded. "I dragged my dad up a cliff at the Three Sisters while Nazdal tried to eat us, so I think I can manage it with you."
"What if I try to eat you?"
"I would lose my concentration, but for other reasons."
Elyssa leaned forward and traced her tongue along my earlobe. "Can I do that while you're climbing?"
I swallowed hard and shifted the crotch of my Nightingale armor. "Where are we again?"
She laughed and walked behind me, lacing her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. "I'm ready when you are." Her lips nibbled my neck. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"You're making it hard for me to walk." I gathered my wits and flung a strand of Murk up the cliff wall. Like a web, it stuck to the rock. I willed it to contract. The web jerked us like a rubber band, launching us thirty feet up the rock wall. Using the momentum, I flung another web and yanked us up again.
"Whee!" Elyssa cried. "This is amazing!"
I laughed. "It's only fun when you're not running from a tsunami or hungry Nazdal."
"How far up can you throw a web?" she asked.
"Fifty feet at most." I grunted as the next strand tugged us upward. "Beyond that, it doesn't stick as well." I flung out another rope. Just as it contracted to pull us up, the section of rock it attached to crumbled.
"Fart bastards!" I shouted as we reversed course toward the rocky ground two hundred feet below. My reflexes responded before my brain, and another strand of Murk caught the cliff just above. We jerked to a stop and hung for a moment.
"Did you just say 'fart bastards'?" Elyssa said in an amused voice.
I wiped sweat from my eyes with a free hand. "How can you ask me that after we almost fell to our deaths?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "It all happened so fast."
A deep breath helped to calm my nerves. "Upward and onward."
Elyssa kissed the back of my neck. "My sexy rock climber."
I channeled a rope and began climbing again. "I'm about to take you back into the forest and go Tarzan on you."
"Me Jane," she whispered in my ear.
"You're going to get us killed," I groaned.
"I'm giving you a reason to live," she replied.
"My testosterone levels are off the charts." Another strand jerked us closer to the stone arch. "Junior is rubbing uncomfortably against the cliff."
She giggled. "Want me to shield it with my hand?"
"That's it, we're going back to the forest." The last aether rope jerked us up and over the lip of the stone arch. I landed heavily on my feet and stumbled.
Elyssa climbed off my back. "Aww, I thought we were going back down."
Flava and the others saw us and ran over. I stood slightly behind Elyssa so they wouldn't see the awkward bulge in my skintight armor.
Elyssa looked down and snorted. "Someone needs a cold shower."
"Shush, you evil woman." I looked at the approaching Darklings and plastered on a casual smile. Down, boy, down! Junior seemed to sag with sadness and deflated.
The Darkling I'd lent my rocket stick handed it to me.
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