Our group leader nodded and handed it to me.
Working quickly, I wrapped the rope around my chest and waist.
Lysara checked my knots. "Well done. We'll lower you down." She motioned for several pilgrims to come forward and help her hold on to the other end of the rope. "Signal if you need to stop."
Meanwhile, the other pilgrims who had been pulling Morek back along with Shovia and Codric managed to get all three of them to solid ground. When they were safely on the other side, Morek turned on his back and groaned in pain. The front of his shirt was torn, and I could see that he was bleeding; the skin on his chest and belly was injured from being dragged over the rocks.
I owed him big time for saving my cousin and Kailin's best friend.
On my signal, Lysara and her helpers lowered me steadily while I kept my body close to the rock face. The girl remained remarkably calm given her precarious situation.
When I reached her, I carefully secured the second rope around her before she wrapped her legs around me and let go of the ledge she'd been clinging to.
"You are incredibly brave," I told her as Lysara and the others pulled us up. "Nerves of steel."
"So are you." She smiled. "Thank you for coming to get me."
When we made it back up without incident, Lysara clapped both of us on our backs. "Good job, you two. You kept your cool."
She helped untie us and then looked at the trail. "The question is, what do we do now?"
A section about twelve or thirteen feet long had collapsed entirely, leaving a gap that was impossible to cross without leaping over, and that was too dangerous. We, along with the pilgrims behind us, would have no way forward unless we could find a solution.
"I saw fallen trees back there," Lysara said, gesturing behind her to where the path curved around the mountain. "We might be able to build a bridge."
While she backtracked to where she'd seen those trees, I looked over the gap at my cousin and thanked Morek and Elurion for saving his life.
Morek was sitting now, his shirt was off, and Shovia was dabbing ointment over his wounds.
I turned to Kailin, who still hadn't moved from her spot against the mountain face. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her whole body trembled. Her fear of heights and the terror of watching her friends nearly fall to their deaths must have overwhelmed her.
"Hey," I said softly, touching her arm. "They're safe now. Shovia and Codric are okay."
She nodded but didn't open her eyes. "I know. I heard them. I just need a minute."
"Take your time." I kept my hand on her arm.
Across the gap, Shovia moved to check Codric for injuries, but he seemed mostly fine, more shaken than hurt. Still, I was sure that his armpits were severely chafed from the backpack straps cutting into them.
It took nearly an hour for Lysara to return at the head of a procession of pilgrims holding two long but slim tree trunks.
"This should be enough," she said, examining the gap before shifting her gaze to me. "I've never built a bridge before. Have you?"
"No, but it shouldn't be too difficult." Reluctantly, I let go of Kailin's arm and went to work.
We secured ropes around the two long trunks and carefully maneuvered them into position. Slowly, we lowered the first trunk across the gap, where Morek and two other pilgrims guided it into place. The second trunk followed, and we lashed them together. We positioned them right next to the rock face, so it could be used to provide additional stability.
With the makeshift bridge secured, Lysara tested the knots one final time. "Okay." She looked at the pilgrims next to her. "We need someone light to go across first."
"I'll go," the girl I rescued volunteered.
Lysara arched a brow. "Looking for more adventure, Baila?"
Baila shrugged. "Paying it forward."
Lysara nodded. "Then go."
We all watched, holding our breath, as Baila carefully made her way across our improvised bridge. The logs shifted slightly under her weight but held firm.
