Audrey screamed and jerked forward. Levi scrambled to reach her, but with his body leaning so far over the ledge and one arm wrapped around the tree, he couldn’t grab her.
So, he twisted, half rolling so his legs could pin Audrey to the ground. He landed atop her, enough to keep her from sliding father over the cliff. His own head had snapped backward,the sharp stone of the ledge biting into the base of his skull.
He didn’t dare move. Just sucked in deep breaths. Audrey was safe. He was alive, too, though his arms felt like they’d been stretched to twice the length of his body, and he might have a rib or two broken from his efforts.
But Leonard...
Dear Lord, take him to paradise with you today. He squeezed his eyes shut as the awful ordeal played back through his mind. He couldn’t let the images fester, not now when he still had to get Audrey back up the mountain.
At last, he drew enough breath to speak. “Audrey.”
“Yes?” Her voice was so soft he barely heard it. She was lying motionless, too, though part of that might be because of his weight. Yet surely she’d been affected by watching Leonard die.
He had to help her focus on their next tasks. “Can you crawl backward away from the edge?”
“You’re on my legs.” Her voice sounded stronger now, though still soft. Perhaps because she faced the ground.
“As I move, scoot back. All right?”
“All right.” Something didn’t sound normal in her voice, but he would find out more once they were back on solid ground.
He slid one leg off her, then the other, keeping his body twisted so he could see for sure that she moved away from danger. He clung to the tree with both hands now, though his grip trembled so much, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself if he somehow slid over the ledge.
But that wouldn’t happen. He wouldn’t allow it.
Audrey finished crawling backward, then sat on the slope,far enough away that his heart might finally return to its regular pace.
Now he had to get himself upright. Shifting his legs one over the other, he untwisted his body and did his best to roll onto his belly. His face pressed into the tree needles again, and he tried to get his hands underneath him to move into a crawling position.
But his arms wouldn’t hold him.
His entire body was weak as a babe’s. He lay there for a long time, gathering his strength.
“Levi?” Worry tinged Audrey’s voice.
“I’m all right. Just need a minute.” He should make another try now that his breath had mostly returned to him.
Using the strength of his legs more than anything, he managed to crawl backward from the ledge. His chest definitely ached, down near his lower ribs. Maybe he’d only bruised them as he’d pressed against the stony ground while he clung to Leonard. The ache in his side from yesterday’s arrow wound had all but disappeared amid all the chaos. Every inhale pressed into his ribs like a knife, and he did his best to keep his breaths shallow.
At last, he struggled to a sitting position beside Audrey. She stared toward the edge of the cliff, as though remembering the moment Leonard tumbled over. As Levi settled beside her, she glanced his way, sending her gaze down the length of him. A frown drew her brows together, and her attention jerked up to his face. “You’re hurt?”
He shook his head. “Probably just a bruise.” His hand slid across his ribs, but the moment he neared the spot, the pain told him he’d better not touch.
“We should go back to the cave and let me check.” Therewas something distant in her voice, maybe simply the hollow tones of grief. She’d probably known Leonard his entire life. They’d likely played together as children. And now to see his life ended in such a violent way...
Her focus drifted forward again, back to whatever she’d been thinking or reliving before. “I need to go check on him. Just in case.”
Levi’s entire body tensed. That glimpse of Leonard sprawled out on the rocks below would stay with him for a long time. Audrey shouldn’t see a death like that, especially someone she knew well. Besides, he couldn’t imagine there was a chance the man still breathed.
“I’ll do it.” But with the way his body felt, even if he made it down the mountain, it might be a while before he found the strength to climb back up.
She turned to study him again, and after a long moment, she spoke once more in that hollow voice. “All right. I think you can get down over there.” She pointed to the left, where the steepness of the mountain’s base eased. It looked like goats or some other animal had pounded out a route through the stones.
He gave himself three more breaths to gather his strength and steel himself against the pain. When he attempted to stand, even using his hands to push off from the slope behind him, the knife in his ribs plunged deeper, twisting as though on fire.
He only made it partway to standing before his body forced him to stop. He froze in that position, not daring to breathe until the flames inside cooled. At last, he eased back down. He would have to roll over on his hands and knees and work up to standing that way.
By the time he turned over, Audrey was already on her feet and placed a staying hand on his shoulder. “Rest here. I’ll go look.”
