over to rummage in the wagon. “Grab something to eat, then we’ll go.”
Kiran choked down a handful of hardtack and jerky. Dev assembled their packs with a simmering energy completely at odds with his relaxed posture of a moment before. Despite his apparent confidence, he surely shared Kiran’s relief about taking action to prevent messages from reaching Ninavel.
“Time for your first lesson—walking on talus.” Dev jerked a thumb at the jumble of boulders covering the steep slope leading up to the cliffs. “Take it slow, and watch out for loose rocks. Use your hands to steady yourself, if you need to.”
Dev strode up the talus as if it were no more difficult to navigate than a flagstone-paved courtyard, but Kiran found it a continuous struggle to keep his balance. By the time he and Dev reached the base of the cliffs, his leg muscles ached and he was gasping for breath.
“Sit down and rest a minute,” Dev told him.
Kiran tried not to resent the way Dev wasn’t out of breath at all. He sat down, gingerly. In the shadow of the cliff, the rocks underfoot were smaller, pebble to fist sized—what Dev had called scree. The scree slid and shifted under Kiran with a rattling hiss every time he moved, giving him the uneasy sensation that any minute he might tumble down the slope. He twisted to eye the cliff looming over his head.
“You think there’s carcabon here?” The cliff looked impossibly steep. Kiran had no idea how anyone would get up it without the use of magic.
“On something this easy? Hell, no. Anything useful is long gone. But it’s a good approach to the spot I have in mind, and it’ll make a perfect practice ground for you.”
“You mean I have to climb that?” Kiran’s mouth went dry. He’d imagined practicing more knots and ropework while Dev pretended to give him a climbing lesson by example.
Dev chuckled. “What, did you think you’d get to laze around? I told Cara and Jerik I’d be training you today, and they’ll be watching. We gotta put on a proper show before I do any prospecting.”
“Oh.” Kiran struggled to hide his dismay. He didn’t mind the physical effort, but he was more than a little worried about his instinctive reaction if he fell. Even the tiniest use of magic outside his barriers, and Ruslan would find him.
Dev was watching him with his head tilted. “I’ll show you the basics down here first, and when you climb, you’ll be safe on a rope.” His green eyes measured Kiran’s face. “But if you think you’re going to have some kind of breakdown halfway up, tell me now.”
Kiran flushed, hearing the unspoken like you did last night. “I’ll be fine.” He wiped his sweaty hands on his leathers. He’d survived Ruslan’s storm. He could handle a simple training climb.
***
Kiran clung to the cliff, his fingers wedged in a crack. His forearms burned, and tremors wracked his calves. His right foot threatened to slip off its precarious hold at any moment. He glanced down and immediately wished he hadn’t. The sharp-edged boulders far below reminded him of the teeth of some storybook dragon, ready to rend and maim. His instincts screamed for him to call power to save himself. Grimly, Kiran concentrated on holding his barriers firm. He refused to break under a mere physical threat. But if he fell—
“Hey!” The rope at his waist tugged upward. “You planning on moving any time this century?” Dev’s voice floated down from a ledge high overhead.
Kiran repressed the urge to blast Dev to ash. “If...I move, I’ll...fall!” he panted.
Dev’s brown head poked over the rim of the ledge. “So fall. You’re not going anywhere, I promise.” The pull on Kiran’s makeshift rope harness increased. “Trust me!”
Trust. Kiran wheezed out a bitter laugh. Hardly any existed between himself and Dev. Yet he’d never doubted Dev’s competence at his job. Kiran inhaled through clenched teeth and hauled himself upward.
Overtaxed muscles cramped. One hand popped free of the crack, then the other. Kiran yelped and pitched backward, only to stop short as the rope snapped taut. His chest smacked into the rock hard enough to bruise, but he moved not an inch downward. Kiran leaned his forehead against the rope and tried to calm his racing heart. He’d held his barriers. Barely.
“See? Falling’s not a problem,” Dev called. “Brace your feet against the rock and rest your arms.”
“H-how long can you hold me like this?” Kiran tentatively pushed his body away from