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“I can warn you,” Talon says from somewhere beneath us.
The pointy shadow has finally caught up. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching our backs?”
“I did, but I’m no good at catching you if you fall, so it’s better if I prevent the fall.”
That isn’t comforting. I don’t trust him to call out the rocks. He might like it if I crack my head open. I push the thought aside. No, we all have the same goal: figure out how to change and get to the center and then home.
We are on the same side.
Yet, there is a part of me that wants to fight him and kill him for being so close. I have to remind myself that it’s Under getting into my blood and nothing more. I can always kill him later if he hurts Julie. Though killing him will not result in the changes I want.
I turn my head a little and glance down to where I think he is, but I can’t see him at all.
Julie stops moving and sucks in a breath. I can only guess that he is now on the path in front of her. If she lets go of my hand, I am stuck. The only option I will have is to climb down.
I am the one who is weak and vulnerable. Not Julie.
With only one eye, I am easy prey for everything.
“Here is the notebook. Sorry about the wet pages.”
What is going on? Is she smiling at him? Why the fuck are the pages wet?
“Can we stop for the catch up once we are at the top?” I snarl. I don’t mind climbing, I usually enjoy it—both the climb up, the view and the trip down—but I’d give anything to be off the path and on flat ground where I can see Talon and Julie with my one good eye.
The scent of her fear does nothing to calm my own racing pulse and I don’t want Talon to sense my fear. He might use it against me. What if he tells Tail and they decide to leave me behind?
No, I found her.She’s mine.
Because of my horns, I can’t look up to see how much farther we have to go. All I can see is how far I have to fall. It’s then I understand Julie’s tears. The paralysis of knowing what needs to be done but being unable to move past the fear.
“I can’t hold your hand, Julie. But you might be able to hold my arm,” Talon says.
She makes a small noise—of agreement or disgust? There is something in that shadow and I wouldn’t mind finding out what. Does he bleed like every other monster?
“Michael, there is an outcrop about six yards ahead. Julie will be able to duck to go beneath.”
He doesn’t need to say anything else. “I won’t fit.”
“I don’t think so. But when we are closer—”
“Fuck. I should go back and find another way.”
“No. You aren’t far from the top,” he says. He could be telling the truth, or he could be looking forward to watching me fall.
I exhale. Julie will help me, won’t she? Or will she choose only the most useful monsters and my purpose has been served?
She tugs on my hand, and we are moving again, a little faster that before, though this time it is me who wants to move slower. I keep expecting my head to crash into something.
I can hear the grit crunching under three pairs of feet and the heavy breathing of all of us. Have we gone six yards? My steps become more hesitant.
What if there’s nothing there and Talon just wants to watch me shit myself out of fear?
Fuck.
I can’t do this.
Julie squeezes my hand hard and doesn’t stop until I do.
