CarnalPromise (33 page)

“Shatz,” she screamed as it hit her ass. “Damnation, stupid
thing.”

Then the wind stopped, as rapid as it had started. Jinn
looked up. Lying next to her was the large vine. She crawled to the edge of the
crevice. The vine grew from the side she lay on. Could she use this?

She looked up. The sky above her was clear but dark clouds
hovered on the horizon.
Thank you.
Some spirit looked over her, she was
sure.

Securing the vine around her waist, Jinn studied the landing
on the opposite side. Looking at the length of the vine, she knew she couldn’t
make the jump, even if it were long enough. But the incline on the other side
came closer to her and there were a few very small ledges farther down she
could grasp onto.

Can I make it?
She swallowed at the thought. “Jinn,
this is your burden. You must go.” She spoke to her inner self. She could not
allow fear to stop her.

Jinn closed her eyes, allowed her thoughts, her mind to
envision the result she wanted. If she didn’t succeed, the fall would kill her
but she now had the life line. Would it be long enough?

Looking ahead, she narrowed her view to the one ledge she
thought she could make. Backing up, she ran. When she reached the drop, she
leapt into the crevice as another freezing squall slapped her body.

* * * * *

With speed, Drakkar reached and grabbed Anya’s hands,
twisting the barrel so it pointed to her. The movement caused her to pull the
trigger herself. The ray etched up the left side of her breast and scored her
shoulder but she held on to the weapon.

“Bastard!” She worked to yank the weapon from him but her
damaged shoulder gave Drakkar an advantage.

He struggled with her and the barrel point drifted from one
to the other and back again. Drakkar tried to reach the power control, hoping
to overload the weapon, making it blow quickly, but Anya read him before he
could and protected the mechanism.

“Bastard!” She yelled at him again, this time loosening her
hold, just slightly.

Drakkar worked to point the barrel at her but she caught it
and lifted her foot. Drakkar protected himself just enough as she stomped on
his groin, missing his scrotum and most of his penis. Dizzy, Drakkar rolled
over from the pain.

“I’ve had enough of you.” Hate and disgust rolled off Anya’s
bitter tongue. She lowered the pistol and aimed.

Drakkar prayed to the ancestors to save Jinn.

A blur flashed in front of him and rammed into Anya,
crushing her against one of the boulders.

When the vibrating stopped, Cassius stood in front of her.
With one hand, he’d grabbed her shirt and held her off her feet. “You damned
fool bitch,” he derided. “I should kill you now but I know Craddock will want
to see it.”

Anya’s face paled and became riddled with fear. She
struggled to get away from him but all she could do was flail in the air.

Cassius ripped her battle pack off and tossed it to Drakkar.
“There’s a healing agent in there. It won’t cure but it will help. Take it.”

Drakkar ripped open the pack and found a vial. “This one?”
He lifted it for Cassius to see, trying not to show how much pain he suffered.

Cassius nodded. “Hurry. Your mate is struggling to get up
the mountain.”

“Oh, hell.” This time Drakkar paled. He couldn’t lose her
now. He had to tell her that…

…That he loved her. He pressed the delivering end of the
vial into his stomach. It would take faster that way. He stumbled as he rose
but the pain quickly receded.

Cassius pressed a button on his belt with his free hand. The
craft he’d used uncloaked and the door opened. “There’s a disc flyer in there
by the pilot’s seat. The techno-shield is still up but the flyer’s geared to
overpower that. Take it and save the royal. Just stay to the lee side of the
mountain or the winds will crush you.”

Drakkar already knew the winds were up but he couldn’t waste
any more time. He rushed through the opening and grabbed the disc then ran
outside. As he powered the flyer up, he looked at Cassius. “Why?”

“Craddock does not want your mate dead and it is too late
for me to capture her. Too many would see me. Go. Save her.” With that, he took
Anya and entered the space craft.

Drakkar didn’t tarry. Stepping on the flyer, he grasped the
handle that materialized and took off.

* * * * *

The cold blast seemed to buoy Jinn, at least for a moment.
Then she fell. Hard.

But at least she hit the other side.

Grateful for just a cut on her cheek, Jinn firmed her grasp
on the rock and pulled herself up to the small but flat surface. The wind
buffeted the cliff but at this angle and this low down, the ridge shielded her.
She took a moment to rest and let her racing heart calm. In most cases, Jinn
had confidence, but today, with this test, she did not. Yet she’d pushed
through—so far.

Glancing up, she reached for a possible hold but remembering
Ragnar’s warning, she tested it first.

The hold crumbled before her.

She tried another farther up—and it held. “One down,” she
mumbled, “And several more to go. Thank the ancestors that this incline isn’t
the sheer face that the last one will be.” Jinn eyed the towering sheer face of
the mountain that she would have to climb.

Sucking in a breath, she began the last leg of her trek.

Ragnar paced in the hut that overlooked the approach,
worried. Two of the combatants had not reported in. Hamner and Pix were
missing.

He glanced at Mace. The lead trainer had the camp commander
on his communicator. “What the hell do you mean there’s something wrong with
the shield controls? Damnation, Karl, the winds have picked up. We need to
locate those two and get them to safety.” Mace’s face reddened with his
bluster.

Ragnar stepped to the window of the overlook and watched the
wind push some of the stones down the mountain face. Where were they?

Frustrated, Ragnar bundled up in some of the cabin’s
emergency winter gear then opened the door to the overlook and stepped out,
closing it quickly behind him. No one appeared on the path below and for that
he was grateful. Perhaps Pix did what he told her. He’d been unsure when he’d
left. She’d seemed agreeable to his demands but something told him she would do
things her way. Still, so far no one had reported to the opt-out station.

Pix could be anywhere.

With a huff, he studied his hands and allowed himself a half
smile. He’d tied with Drakkar’s run. For that, he was pleased. Now, to find Pix
and Hamner.

He straightened and as he did so more rocks tumbled down the
face. He leaned over the rail and watched them fall.

Then he noticed the movement of someone coming up. They
would never make it with these winds. “Mace,” he yelled as he squinted, trying
to get a better view but when the person turned their head, looking for another
hold, he knew who the slender figure with the long hair was. “Oh, hell.” Ragnar
felt the blood drain from his face as he turned and ran into the cabin. “Sir.”
His gaze fixed onto Mace’s. “Pix. She’s climbing.”

Mace rushed out the door and glanced down. With a sneer, he
growled in the receiver. “Karl, you get that fucking techno-shield down now or
I swear I’ll break your well-bred neck. Pixie’s on the climb.” He slammed the
receiver shut.

Ragnar grabbed his pack. Pix was his responsibility. He had
to get to her fast, get her back down the mountain but before he could leave,
Mace stopped him. “You can’t go. We’ll get her. As soon as the shield is down,
I’ll have her beamed to safety.”

“With due respect, sir, I have no choice. Pix is my partner
and we never leave a partner behind.”

“Then wait.” Mace placed a palm on his chest. “You’re not
going alone and not without more gear.” The lead trainer turned and rushed to a
locked cabinet as Ragnar followed. Keying in the code, the cabinet opened and
Mace pulled out some rappelling lines. “These aren’t long enough to reach the
platform below here but you can rappel to a level and tie the second one to
you. I don’t know what happened but Drakkar was supposed to stop her before she
hit the mountain. What I’m afraid of is that whoever wanted to kill her got
him.” Mace turned and pointed to the rest. “Boys, you have your first mission.”
He handed the line to Ragnar. “God’s speed,” he said as the rest of them
grabbed more gear and followed.

Jinn stretched to reach the next hold, hoping it wouldn’t
fail her as some of them had already done. Her fingers ached with the cold and
the skies had darkened with the impending snow.

For a moment she wondered what insanity had taken her but
then she knew why. The secret she would take to her grave—perhaps sooner than
later.

The hold lasted but as she stepped on another to push her
ahead, the rock loosened and tumbled down the face.

She eyed the rolling stone then looked up. She couldn’t see
the top of the climb now. Only rock. Looking below, she guessed she’d gone
about a third of the way yet there was still so much more to go, and she tired.

After resting a moment, she began again, grabbing on as
another gale blasted her. Her fingers were so numb she could barely feel the
rock. Even so, Jinn climbed as quickly as she could during the calm times and
noticed a pattern in the winds. That at least helped. Still, she’d been caught
a few times unaware and thanked the ancestors she held fast.

“Jinn…”

Drakkar’s voice. The faint sound had an eerie note but it
reminded her of her personal mission. “Must succeed.” Her body shivered
uncontrollably, yet she forged ahead, schooling herself that she needed to make
the top quickly.

The holds in the rock appeared more pronounced now and Jinn
moved faster than before but the winds had grown in strength and battered her
with severe brutality. When they got even stronger, Jinn worried if she could
hold on.

She swallowed. At this point, she didn’t want to look down.
She didn’t need the reminder that if she failed, she would die. Instead she
looked up. An overhang sat ahead. She hoped she could use it for a brief
respite.

In a few moments, she reached the protrusion and climbed
around the right side of it, away from the sheer face of the mountain. The top
sloped and broken pieces of shale lay on top.
Not a safe place.
No rest
for her. She reached for the next hold then a more frigid wind blasted her. She
turned her back to it, bending as much as she could to stop the gale, grateful
the overhang helped deter the worst part of it.

But she still couldn’t see the top. She had to hurry. As she
released her hold on one rock she breathed on her hand, trying to warm it so
that the cold wouldn’t weaken her grasp even more. Her fingers hurt but she
continued the process, keeping her reach short so that when the winds hit, she
could at least cover and protect one bare hand and the front of her body.

The unforgiving trek was tougher than any obstacle she had
ever faced but guilt drove her.
Succeed or die trying. No one else needs to
suffer Craddock.

“Pix…”

Another voice drifted on the wind. Ragnar?

She shook her head. Couldn’t be. He was at the top and
ensconced in the meeting place, she was sure. No one knew she now climbed.

No one.
The thought frightened her, made her pause.
Alone and weak, she could only depend on herself. Even when she was on the run,
she’d had options. Now she had only one—to move forward. Sheer will was the
only thing that kept her going.

She grasped another hold as the wind hit her again. Hard.
Her left hand pained her even more with the icy blast. A tear leaked from her
eye and chilled on her skin. “Must go. Must do this.”

But with her weakened and battered body, Jinn feared she
wasn’t strong enough.

Another overhang slanted upward and outward. She worked as
fast as she could to reach the lee side of it, hoping to use the formation this
time to break the gales. As she reached for a solid hold by the protrusion, she
saw a rope dangling down, maybe twenty body lengths away.
I can make it.

But the next gale dashed that glimmer of hope. Icy pellets
buffeted the parts of her body not shielded by the rock.
Shatz
. Jinn’s
lean body shivered more and she couldn’t control her hands.

Move faster
, she scolded herself, knowing she’d burn
more energy with more movement in hopes that it would mitigate the chills until
she could reach the rope. Even so, now she could barely grip the rock.

“Jinn…”

Drakkar’s voice lifted to her again. The ethereal sound
seemed so real.

“Damnation, woman, what were you thinking?”

Jinn jumped at his voice and swerved, shocked that he had
come after her, but as she moved she lost her grip. She screamed and slid down
the rock face and onto the loose stones of the overhang, slipping over the
craggy ledge before she could grasp some better holds that stopped her from
tumbling down.

Drakkar sped the flyer toward her. The rock cut into her
hands but so far her grasp held. “Oh.” Her heart pounded.

“Pix!” She heard Ragnar’s call from up above.

“I’ve got her. Stay fast.” Drakkar yelled as he grabbed her
shirt and pulled but his effort made the flyer quiver. “Quick, get on before
another gust takes us. We’re exposed here. This thing won’t hold against the
wind.”

“No, go,” she insisted, angry at herself for what she now
went through. Although Drakkar held on, she grasped two more holds farther up
and was able to ease her hips onto the ledge. “You promised not to interfere.”

“Jinn, this is your life. You can’t do this.”

“I
have
to,” she yelled.

“Drakkar, another gale comes. Get her and move. You have no
time.” Fear sounded in Ragnar’s voice as Drakkar pulled her closer.

“Go,” she ordered. “Save yourself.”

“Damn it, Jinn. I swore I’d die to protect you. Don’t do
this.”

“I don’t want you to die for me. I don’t…want anyone…to die
for me.” With a strenuous effort, she hefted herself to the next hold. “Not
anymore.” But Drakkar wouldn’t let her go. Instead, he yanked her harder, getting
her into a more stable position on the mountain face as the flyer grew more
unstable.

Ragnar called out, “The gale’s rounding the face. Get off
the flyer.”

Drakkar jumped and grabbed on to the rocks near Jinn then
tried to cover her with his body but the winds hit too fast and hard. His foot
slipped and he dangled from his hold as the flyer flew with the wind.

“No,” she yelled and grasped onto his arm, pulling him
toward her. “You can’t die.” Drakkar gripped the rock but without two hands on
the face Jinn’s hold loosened.

The blast ended as quickly as it had started and without the
wind buoying her, she slipped toward the sheerest part of the face. Drakkar
clenched onto the nape of her shirt as she grabbed the final craggy edge before
she went over.

“Jinn, kick up and shimmy to me. Quickly, while I still have
you.” Drakkar tugged on her but in his twisted position, if he tried to get a
better grasp on her, they would both fall. “Hurry, Jinn. Move.”

“No.” She shook her head and tried to pull herself up but
she was done. Her time had come. “I can’t. Drakkar, go back. Do not die for me.
You deserve better.”

“I can’t let you die.”

“Forget your promises,” she cried as her stiffened fingers
loosened, putting more weight against Drakkar’s hold. “I release you of them
all.”

He edged his torso closer. “Jinn, it isn’t that.” He twisted
her shirt in his hand and yanked hard, moving her up to some degree but then
her belt caught on the rocky surface. “Damn.”

She froze, afraid to let go of the rock. “Drakkar, I don’t
want you to die. Too many have done that for me.”

“Your father.” He moved his legs, somehow securing his
stance better.

“Yes. Please, let me go.”

“No.” He eased her downward and freed her belt then yanked
her up, resting her torso on top of the skittish rocks.

“No.” She felt her body slip again. If the wind hit, they
would both go over. “Leave.”

He positioned himself behind the overhang and locked his arm
around her back, grabbing her side with a viselike grip. “Why, Jinn? Why die? I
need the truth.”

She closed her eyes. She had already lost. What could she
say?

“Jinn,” he whispered. “Your father’s death was not your
fault.”

“Oh, but it was.” She opened her eyes as they flooded with
regret. Salted warmth streamed down her cheeks and chilled. Ice formed on her
lashes. “He wanted peace. Said we should be friends, that we needed each other.
But I didn’t know how secret…” She winced in pain at the vision of his death.
“I called my uncle. Told him where we were even though my father told me not to
speak to anyone. But he was my father’s brother, he had been my confidant. I
didn’t know…” She shook her head. “It is my fault. My burden. My sin. Because
of me, the war raged on and thousands died. Let me go, Drakkar. You deserve
better.”

He frowned. “Tell me you care, Jinn. I know you care.”

She couldn’t stop the sob that came from her throat. “Care?
Oh, Drakkar, I feel more than care, which is why I can’t let you die for me.”
She tried to free herself but Drakkar wouldn’t let go.

Another blast pounded her against the rock yet Drakkar’s
grip stayed fast. Jinn worked to grab a better hold to help stabilize herself.
She couldn’t let him go down with her. “Drakkar, please,” she yelled through
the gale, “save yourself.”

“I have no intention of doing that, Beloved,” he shouted as
if laughing at the wind. “You can’t die now. There are too many things I want
to do with you before we pass to the next dimension—including making love to
you as many times as you will allow.”

Like a switch turned off, the gale ceased. He pulled her to
him and cradled her against his chest. “Oh, Drakkar,” she cried against him,
“you should hate me.”

“We need to move, Beloved. Can you climb?”

She looked into his eyes, saw the concern that he held. “Yes.”
She swallowed, subduing her other emotions. Now was not the time to grieve. She
turned and moved as Drakkar followed close behind.

They were hit by two more winds before they reached the rope
but each time, Drakkar rose and surrounded her with his large frame, protecting
her as best he could.

When they reached the dangling end, Drakkar looped it around
both of them under their armpits and secured it. “Pull us up,” he yelled to
someone above.

Drakkar’s arms held her tight and Jinn cuddled into his warm
body. He did care for her but with her confession, would he now hate her, too?

A light seemed to burn in her soul, a gem of truth that had
been her biggest fear, that others would despise her because of what she had
done. Her brother, her mother, and now, especially the man holding her.

In moments, the crew at the top raised them over the side,
with Ragnar and Mace at the front of all of them.

A freezing wind hit as Mace wrapped her in a blanket. “You
made it,” the trainer said to them as Drakkar undid the knot. Drakkar then
rapidly told Mace about Hamner and Sasha. The trainer dispatched one of the men
to call for a rescue team while Drakkar lifted Jinn and cradled her icy body in
his arms then ran her into the cabin and sat her down near a fire globe. He
circled his arms around her, trying to warm her, rubbing her body to stimulate
her blood flow, but more than the touch of his body, the touch of his caring
warmed her heart. Did he hate her?