Mirror 04 The Way Between the Worlds by Ian Irvine Page B

piston. 'Lilis!' she shouted.
A flare soared high in the air over Carcharon. 'What's happening?' she
shouted.
'I can't see,' Nadiril yelled back. 'The snow is too thick. But Carcharon is
all lit up now. Something's going on! Are you all right?'
'No!' She had done a crazy, stupid thing. 'I'll have to come back up.' She
pressed gently against her foothold, her boot skidded and she shot down again.
The lightglass was jolted out of her hands to disappear down the slope, still
shining until the whirling snow obscured it.
Tallia?'
Now she couldn't see Nadiril either. 'I can't get back up.' Why had she done
this foolish thing? 'Lilis!' she roared. There was no response. 'Lilis!'
Nothing could be heard above the howling of the wind. Tallia clung to the
slippery slope, not daring to move. Exposed to the full blast, it was
perishingly
cold. She kept calling but Lilis did not answer. She must have gone over the
cliff.
Some time later a light appeared above her, a blazing brand. 'Tallia, where
are you?' Jevi's voice had never been so welcome.
'Straight below you. Don't come down, it's too slippery.'
'Have you found her?' She could hear the agony in his voice.
'No!'
'Are you stuck?'
'Yes,' she shouted.
'Don't move!'
Tallia felt a sudden spasm of fear. She did not want him risking his life for
her. She braced one foot and the slope slipped under her, hurtling her down
half a dozen spans before she thumped back and head into a clot of ice, a
frozen seep. She lay utterly still, hurting all over. The sheer plunge could
not be far below her. She prepared herself for death.
'Tallia, Lilis! Tallia, Lilis!'
Jevi's torch moved back and forth, a long way above. It must be snowing less
now. 'Go back,' she said weakly. The cold attacked her bruises and
lacerations. She couldn't get out of the accursed wind. Her clothes were
shredded. The snow stopped for a minute and through rags of cloud she saw
stars shining brightly. It would have been peaceful, save for the wind.
Pebbles rattled past once or twice. She called Lilis until she was hoarse, but
there was no answer, A pain at the base of her skull grew sharper. The stars
began to wobble across the sky, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes, which
made it worse.
All at once the torch was spluttering in her face and Jevi had his hand under
her chin. 'Tallia! Are you hurt?'
'Nothing broken,' she said softly.
'Have you heard Lilis?'
'No. How did you get down?'
'I'm a sailor, remember?' Taking off his gloves, he felt her
head. She flinched as his callused fingers roved over the bruise. 'I've
climbed many an icy mast on a stormy night, and I don't go anywhere without a
length of rope.'
'Oh!' she said in a daze. 'Where is it?'
'It didn't reach this far. Hold my hand.'
She clung to his fingers, her lifeline. His courage made her heart ache. Jevi

held up his torch, pointing out where to put her hands and feet. Going up was
easier, for she could test her footholds before putting weight on them. After
much slipping and sliding they found the dangling end of the rope.
'Can you climb it?'
Her head was spinning. 'No!'
He tied the rope through their belts and went up behind her, heaving her up
with his hand on her backside. Eventually they saw Nadiril's face looking over
the edge. He extended his hand to her.
'Look after her,' Jevi said, 'she's banged her head.' He moved the rope over
to the bottom of the steps and went down again.
Tallia watched in a daze where every second seemed to take an hour. The light
drifted back and forth across the slope like a firefly. She sweated blood for
Jevi, knowing that he was far beyond his rope. He was a small, wiry,
unhandsome man that she could have held up in one hand. Her bottom remembered
the imprint of his fingers. I care for him, she realised, in a way that I care
for no one else. I have ever since I met him. That reminded her of her
tropical homeland, beloved Crandor, of helping Jevi to escape from the