Page 38 of Vistaria Has Fallen
He leaned out and reached for a branch below her. It was thinner than the branchshe lay on, yet still sturdy. He lowered himself in a slow, controlled roll. The athletic move spoke of muscle power beyond her own. Hanging by both hands meant his legs brushed against the unconscious Duardo. Nick rolled himself up and hooked his legs over the branch he hung from, reminding her of a similar movement made by trapeze artists at the circus. He had to pull himself up with his armsto bring his legs high enough to do it. He let go of the branch and rolled back down again. Now he hung upside down, right next to Duardo.
The movements on the tree grew closer. Quiet murmurs. Hands on her calves, holding her steady.
Nick reached into the ragged remains of his shirt and pulled out two belts, one of them Calli’s. Putting the other between his teeth, he looped Calli’s belt aroundDuardo’s abused wrist, below her fingers. He slid the buckle tight like an emergency tourniquet. He laid the other end of her belt against the free end of his own, then threaded both through the buckle of his belt. The tongue of the buckle slid through the holes of both belts. It created a secure loop in his belt. Nick pushed the loop over his arm, high over the elbow, and took a grip on the leatherdown by Duardo’s wrist and tested it.
He looked up at Calli. “Do you know what I’m doing?”
“You’re going to take his weight.”
“Yes. Then I need you to climb down his body and hang onto his legs, because we will swing you.”
“What?”
“Yes, like a pendulum. That will bring you over to the high ground there, right in front of Minnie.”
“Wait!” she called and frowned, thinking it through. “I getto the ground, hang on to Duardo, then what?”
“You’ll see. Take care of that for now. Climb down, hang on.”
“Okay...” She took another breath.
He lifted his free hand to touch her shoulder. “As soon as the weight goes, your arms will feel numb and useless. You still must use them to climb down. It has to be you, you’re lighter.”
“If you’re trying to scare me, Nick, it’s too late.”
He smiled.“You’ll be fine. I will take the weight, now, okay? Let go when you’re ready.”
She looked at her hands around Duardo’s wrists. “My fingers won’t let go.”
“Think of what it would be like to put them into nice warm, soapy water. The way the warmth seeps through to the bones.”
She thought of her kitchen in Montana, the morning sun shining in the window over the sink, water in the sink. She wouldplunge her hands into the water and spread her fingers, enjoying the sensation...
Her fingers uncurled as if she had flexed them as she had in in her mind.
Duardo dropped another few inches, while Nick’s grip on the leather stayed firm. He checked the strain on the leather then looked up at her.
Her shoulders were white ice, cold and locked solid. She gave a little choked groan and rested herhead against the branch, fighting back tears. It was as bad as Nick had forecast. She was glad of the hands holding her steady on the branch because she could not have held on for herself.
“Calli.” Nick’s voice. He had curled up a little to watch her. “Ready?”
“Okay.” She’d lied. She wouldn’t be able to do what he wanted.
He pointed to his eyes. “Watch me. Okay?”
She nodded.
“Reach out formy hand.” He held out his left hand, across his body, for his right arm stretched below, holding up Duardo.
She reached and her arm obeyed. It was lifeless, light and insubstantial. There was no strength. She forced her fingers to curl around his hand.
“Now lower yourself down.”
It took all her courage to lower herself off the branch and let go. For a moment she hung purely by Nick’s grip.It brought her swinging into Duardo’s body.
“Sorry,” she said.
“I don’t think he noticed. Can you grip the leather?”
