The Whitefire Crossing - By Courtney Schafer Page 0,77
on the west side of the ridge. Ordinary storms dumped their heaviest loads on the Whitefires’ western slopes, resulting in the abundant Alathian waterfalls and rivers. But only a hundred yards west of Bearjaw’s ridgeline, the snow thinned to scant inches deep, instead of the several feet we’d fought through in the cirque. Too bad—I’d been hoping for a nice easy glissade down a snow slope, and instead we had to clamber over slippery talus.
I had to lower Kiran down another cliff, while I took shallow breaths and tried to ignore the pain stabbing my side. I downclimbed the same section, placing my feet with care thanks to all the meltwater dripping down the cliff face. Sporadic rattles of rockfall echoed through the basin as the meltwater loosened rocks in the couloirs. I kept an eye on the narrow couloir directly above, praying no sharp-edged missiles would catapult out before we could clear the fall zone.
Just as I reached the ground, Kiran exclaimed, “Oh! What are those?”
A group of mountain goats perched on the cliff’s edge, watching us. The adults were shaggy and disheveled, their thick winter coats falling out in clumps. Several fuzzy, bright-eyed babies peered down from between their mothers’ legs.
The sharp knock of bouncing rocks sounded from the couloir. The goats scattered.
Shit! “’Ware rock!” I yelled, and ducked, my arms going up to shield my head. A sudden violent shove from behind sent me sprawling into a snowbank. Amidst the whining buzz of rocks flying past, I heard a dull thud, and Kiran cried out.
I thrashed free of the snowbank, my stomach dropping into my boots. A rock strike to the head would kill Kiran instantly, magic or no magic. If all this had been for nothing—!
He lay curled on the ground clutching his left arm. Blood trickled between his fingers, but he was alive. The force of my relief near dropped me into the snowbank again.
I squatted beside him. “Let me see your arm.”
Wordlessly, he took his hand away. The rock had gouged a deep cut, and his lower arm was bent at a strange angle.
“What the hell were you thinking? You should’ve stayed clear,” I growled, digging through my pack for my charm stash. I didn’t own anything near so powerful as the convoy’s precious store of bonemender charms, but my little pains-ease and skinseal charms were better than nothing.
“A rock was going to hit you. I could see it,” he said, in a small voice. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
So he’d taken the hit instead, from a rock big enough to kill if it’d hit my skull or spine. I should’ve been grateful, but instead I felt unsettled, even angry. Far easier to remember he was a liar and a murderer when he didn’t pull stunts like this.
Damn it, his saving me didn’t mean he was a nice guy. He’d only feared his chance to cross the border would vanish if I got too badly hurt to continue.
I reached for his arm, and he pulled it away with a hiss of pain. “Don’t touch it!” His voice broke and wavered on the words.
“I have to clean and bind it,” I said as patiently as I could, and reached for it again.
He leaned away from me. “No! If you do, I don’t know if I could stop, I—”
“Stop what?” I snapped. We’d already wasted enough time on the climb to the notch, and now this.
His eyes looked almost black, his pupils were dilated so far. “It hurts and it wants to heal, and I need power to do it, and up here there’s only you.”
Horror froze my tongue. I stumbled backward, as if that would make a difference. He hadn’t needed a touch to steal Harken’s life.
A bitter grimace twisted Kiran’s mouth. “I won’t take from you. Not on purpose. But if you touch me, you’ll bypass my barriers, and it might happen...accidentally.” His eyes dropped away from mine on the final word.
I shuddered. Khalmet’s hand, but the thought of my life draining away with me helpless to stop it was a nasty one. In my mind’s eye I saw the staring eyes of the dead mule teams. An idea made me straighten.
“What about the goats? Can’t you, uh...take from them?” Even if we could no longer see them, they wouldn’t be far.
He gave a tiny shake of his head. “I’d have to drop my barriers, and that’s dangerous. Ruslan can reach me, then. The only way to draw power and remain safe