I can still hear that terrible sound of rock giving way when the path crumbled suddenly, taking Shovia and Codric with it. I can still see them falling, the terror lodging a scream in my throat.
Thank Elu for Morek's quick reflexes and incredible strength. If not for him, I might have lost my best friend.
And Baila, hanging on to that narrow ledge with such composure while Alar was lowered down to her.
I know that I wouldn't have been that brave.
I would have most likely plummeted to my death before Alar got to me.
—From the journal of Kailin Strom
The memory of watching the path collapse replayed in my mind as we trudged upward through thickening snow. The image of Shovia and Codric disappearing over the edge kept flashing before my eyes, followed immediately by Morek's incredible save.
I was so grateful to him, and I'd told him that before Lysara had called the break. He was the hero of our group, and once we got to the summit, I was sure the story would spread to everyone else. Perhaps now, Erona would give him a chance. It was a shame she wasn't part of our group, so she hadn't witnessed his heroics firsthand.
"Storm's getting worse," Shovia called from ahead of me, her voice barely carrying over the rising wind. "I can barely see three steps ahead."
The snow was falling so heavily now that the auroras were just a dim glow above us, their light diffused through the thick clouds. The wind whipped ice crystals against my face or rather the only part that was exposed, which was my eyes. I had a scarf wrapped around my mouth and nose and a hat over my head beneath the hood of the coveralls. But even with all that, I still felt the cold seeping into my bones.
"Everyone, stop!" Lysara's voice cut through the howling wind. "I need you to form groups of five. Those with ropes, get them out now."
A blizzard protocol was part of the preparation classes we'd all taken part in, so we knew what to do. One in five pilgrims was carrying a rope for just that purpose, and the job had beenassigned to the strongest and largest, as they were the ones tasked with heading their quintet. In our small group, it would have been Morek, but he was in no shape to have the rope tied around him and pull the rest of us. His entire torso was covered with lacerations from being dragged by his feet while pulling up Shovia and Codric along with their backpacks.
"I'll be the spear," Codric shouted from somewhere ahead.
I couldn't see a thing.
"No, I'll do it." Alar passed me to get to them. "You are also injured."
A short discussion ensued that I couldn't hear, but Alar was going to be our spear.
"Kailin," Shovia called. "You are the second, then Morek, then me, and Codric is the tail."
I pressed closer to the mountain face as I crept up the trail to where I was supposed to be. The drop might have been inches or miles away—in this snow, I couldn't tell, and my chest was tight with panic.
Alar appeared beside me, a solid presence in the swirling white. "Clip your carabiner to the rope right here." He pressed the loop of rope into my hands.
The carabiner was attached to the coveralls, sewn in, and reinforced so the protective garment wouldn't tear in case my life depended on that one point of connection. I struggled clipping it because of the gloves and how badly my hands shook, so I was grateful when Alar took it from me and clipped it to the rope.
I felt so incredibly pathetic.
How could anyone expect me to become a dragon rider when I needed help with the most basic things because I was scared out of my mind?
"Everyone hooked up?" Alar asked. "Shout yes if you are and no if you aren't."
As a chorus of yeses followed, I wondered if Alar could tell the voices of people in our quintet apart from the others who were answering their spears.
"Group secured?" Lysara called out over and over again as she trudged up the trail, checking on each quintet.
"Listen carefully," she yelled over the howling wind. "We're going to move slowly and steadily. Group leaders, call out regularly so those behind you can maintain their position. If anyone starts to feel disoriented, speak up immediately."
I gripped the length of rope above my carabiner, grateful for having an anchor and a guide. With Alar ahead of me and Morek behind me, I was a little less scared.
"The shelter is less than an hour away, even at a crawling pace. Slow and steady will get us there safely."
There were rumors about an enormous cave that could shelter over a thousand pilgrims, but since everything about Mount Hope was shrouded in mystery, I didn't know whether it was true, and if it was, where it was located. Now Lysara had confirmed its existence, and I thanked Elu for it.
Severe weather like this was rare this time of year, and I couldn't recall when a storm of this magnitude had occurred during a spring pilgrimage. We were lucky that the blizzard had hit today and not the day before when we'd slept on the trail, but we still needed luck to make it to the shelter without losing anyone.
