Page 20 of Citadel

I let out a little squeal as I scramble backward, but no foothold is solid as several feet of ground disintegrates in a rockslide down the steep bank toward the river.

I flail frantically—by reflex more than any strategic attempt to save myself—and it’s purely by luck that I manage to grab hold of a solid piece of rock to stop my fall. I hold on with one hand until I find a foothold that feels safe.

With all the foliage and looser ground sliding toward the river, all that’s left is a rocky cliff, descending straight down toward the water. If the river was deep enough, I might just let go. I know how to swim, and I’m not afraid of water. But the river through here is barely a foot deep, and I’d fall hard onto rocks and either kill or injure myself.

Besides, I can’t let go. I can’t loosen even a finger. Nothing inside me will allow it.

“Del! Del, are you okay?” Breanna sounds frightened. She must have heard me squeal.

I’m hanging from a fucking cliff like a damsel in distress from an old story. It would be ridiculous if I weren’t paralyzed by fear.

“Del!” she screams even louder.

“I’m here!” I manage to squeak out.

Some people are able to scream when they’re scared. It’s their first instinct. I’m the opposite. My throat closes up, and I can barely make a sound. It takes all my will to even reply at all.

She must hear me. Her voice is closer. Then her head peers over the side. “Del! What the hell? Hang on. Don’t let go! I’m coming.”

I’m not about to let go. I can’t even move a muscle. My hands ache from gripping the one piece of solid rock I can find. My injured arm is already weak.

Breanna lowers herself to her knees and reaches down. Her arms aren’t long enough to reach me, but it’s close. She scoots out farther, and more ground starts to crumble, falling right into my face.

“No!” I scream, suddenly finding my voice when my sister is the one in danger. “Back up! Back up! You’ll fall too!”

“I’m not going to leave you clinging there! You’re barely hanging on. Try to reach up toward my hand.”

“Back the fuck up! Cole! Cole!” I scream his name at the top of my lungs. He needs to come now. Right now. Or both Breanna and I will end up in a broken heap on the rocks of the river.

He’s gone ahead to check out the route. There’s not much chance he’ll hear.

“Del?” It’s Cole’s voice. In the distance. He must have heard me after all.

“Cole!” I cry out again. “Get her back! She’s going to fall too!”

I hear the sound of his pounding feet. He must be running. Then he’s there, hauling a loudly protesting Breanna back from the ledge.

His face appears over the edge. He’s sweating, but there’s no obvious emotion in his expression. He assesses the situation in about three seconds and then disappears again.

“Hold on, Del!” Breanna calls. She must realize her weight on the unstable ground would only make it worse because she doesn’t appear again. “Don’t you dare let go!”

I’m not about to let go on purpose. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me to hold on. But I have very little foothold—no more than the support of my toes. The wound on my arm is burning fiercely. My hands and arms and shoulders ache, shake. And if I move even a muscle, I know for sure I’m going to fall.

I’ve been in life-threatening situations before, but in all of them I was able to act, run, fight back, do something. I can’t do anything right now. I’m completely trapped.

Cole appears again just then, sweat dripping down his face and the sides of his scalp. Dirt falls into my face as look up at him. He reaches down toward me with one arm.

“Grab it,” he mutters, so tense he sounds almost mean.

I try. I really do. My hands will simply not release.

“Del, I can’t reach you. Grab my hand!”

His arm is extended as far as it will go, and his hand is at least half a foot away from mine. His other arm is extended in the opposite direction, and I realize it’s because he’s got a rope wound around it.

He must have tied a rope to something stable so we don’t both fall off the side the way Breanna and I nearly did.

“Del, do it! Right the hell now!”

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