edge was serrated, and it had a straight edge on the bottom. He pronounced it perfect for him.
'The plan is simple,' Benjin said. 'We travel north and go straight at the approaching army, but we stay high in the mountains. Once we sneak past them, we will turn east, toward the desert. Perhaps we'll get lucky and have foul weather to hide us, perhaps not; either way, we'll need to be ready to take cover at all times. Keep your eyes open for places to hide as you may only get a moment's notice. We could go due east from here, but I fear those passes are heavily guarded. As outrageous as it may sound, sneaking past the army is probably our safest choice.
'I doubt the patrols will be this far out by first light. We need to get to the next plateau soon if we are to avoid them,' Benjin said, and he set out at a breakneck pace.
When they crested a rise, Benjin paused and strained to see into the distance. 'We should be able to see the falls from here, but I can't make them out,' he said. Catrin and the others squinted in the predawn light, but visibility was low.
'I think they are still a long way off,' Chase said.
Benjin nodded. 'Let's go. We've no time to waste,' he said, heading off at a brisk walk.
As they drew closer, Catrin saw the falls. They did not seem as grand as Benjin had described them, barely visible in the distance. Perhaps they had been larger when Benjin last saw them, but she wondered how that could be possible when this was the rainiest spring any of them had ever seen.
They froze when Benjin hunched down and signaled them to do the same. 'I thought I saw something moving in the trees,' he said after a few moments. 'I think it's clear, so let's move.'
As they neared the base of the falls, the banks of the river came into view. 'Above the falls there is no eastern shore. The river runs along the rock face. We'll need to stay on the west side for now,' Benjin said.
As they came closer to the river, they were surprised by what they saw: the water level was extremely low, the flow muddy and sluggish. The water was well below the normal watermarks, and they estimated it was less than half what it should be.
By the time they reached the base of the falls, the sun was high in the sky, and Benjin said he planned to use the sun for cover. They would climb the jagged cliff wall while the sun was high, which would make it harder for soldiers to spot them with the sunlight in their eyes. He found a place far enough away from the falls for them to remain dry, and there were many irregularities in the rock face, which would make for an easier climb.
Their ascent was slow and tenuous, irregular rocks providing some handholds and footholds, but in many places they were widely spaced. In some instances they had to scale the nearly sheer face with little, if anything, to grab onto. When they finally reached the plateau, they did not find the river they had been expecting and instead saw a muddy lake that covered almost the entire plateau. Chase spotted the cause of the flooding near the top of the falls. The recent storms had downed a large number of trees. At least a dozen had been swept away by the river and were creating a dam just before the falls, where the river narrowed. Only a fraction of the water flowed past the debris; the rest continued to flood the plateau.
A narrow ribbon of land separated the newly formed lake from the cliff, but it was clearly saturated. The valley beyond the plateau was completely swamped by the backed-up river, effectively cutting off their escape.
'Cripes,' Benjin said, 'we're going to need to find a way around this. Stay alert.' An enormous rock finger jutted into the air above the valley. Skirting the lake, they plodded through the mud, which threatened to remove their boots with every step. At times they walked through ankle-deep water. Around the rock finger, the soil border was less than a pace wide. The promontory was slender and appeared fragile, warped and twisted by eons of windborne sand.
'Stay back. I'm going out for a look,' Benjin said.
'You aren't really thinking of walking out on that rock, are you?' Strom asked, incredulous. 'That thing looks like it could fall at any moment, even without your weight on it.'
'It's been here for thousands of years, and I'm betting it'll be here for thousands more; its frailty is only an illusion.'
Benjin crept onto the rock; the winds whipped around him, and he was nearly blown off. He caught himself, but the movement sent rocks bouncing into the valley below.
'I think we've been spotted,' he said. 'There are soldiers below, and they are climbing toward us. We need to retreat as fast as we can; we must go back the way we came. I don't think we'll be able to get through the flooded valley without ruining our food supply or drowning.'
Catrin sat to one side, absorbed in her thoughts, and with every moment her anger grew. The Zjhon threatened everything she held dear. Struggling to think of a way to stop the approaching army, or at least hamper its progress, she stewed, biting her lip. Benjin interrupted her thoughts.
'C'mon, li'l miss, we need to get out of here.'
Catrin wondered if she was making a mistake; then she recalled the words Nat had written: 'Embrace your role as the Herald. I implore you to use the divine gift you have been given.' She considered those words, and they urged her to act.
'No,' she said in a firm voice. 'I will not run from this challenge, and I will no longer tolerate these invaders of my homeland.'
'What would you have us do, Catrin? I am yours to command,' Benjin said, shocking everyone. He knelt in the sodden soil and bowed to her. Chase, Strom, and Osbourne stood silently.
Catrin considered her next words carefully, not knowing what she was going to say or do. She looked around her, and the muddy water brought back a part of Nat's message, one line in particular, and she said, 'The water shapes the land.'
'I want you to dig. From here,' she said, pointing to the soil around the base of the finger of rock, 'to here. We need a trough from the dry to the wet, and it should be as deep as possible.'
'What are you talking about, Cat? We don't have time for this; we need to get out of here,' Chase said.
'We cannot run anymore, Chase; there is nowhere safe to hide. I choose to fight,' she said, and she began to dig with her bare hands as Benjin loosened the soil with his sword. All but Chase began to dig, but he soon crouched down along with the rest. The trench grew quickly, the sodden soil making their work easier.
'Stay on the north side of the trench,' Catrin warned.
'But we need to go south to escape,' Chase argued, looking at a massive fist of rock that blocked their path and would not budge.
'Just dig around it,' Catrin said, following Chase's gaze. 'The trench need not be straight.' As they dug their way closer to the water, the ditch began to flood, and they continued to dig from higher ground. As water began pouring over the cliff's edge, Catrin and Benjin looked over to see what was happening below.
A few soldiers watched from the valley floor, but most were scaling the cliff face in an effort to reach them. Catrin and the others watched the water move through the ditch, eroding the soil around it. Deeper and wider the trough grew, gradually sending larger amounts of water into the valley, but it was not enough; it was happening far too slowly to make any difference. It mocked their meager effort, and helplessness washed over Catrin.
She watched the flow intently, seeing tremendous potential energy latent in the calm water, and she knew there must be a way to unleash it. Without realizing it, she opened her mind to Istra's energy and attempted to ply it with her will. She started by trying to push the water over the edge, hoping to make it go faster, but the water repelled her.
Any force she exerted on the water became fragmented, scattered in a hundred directions, and her efforts had no visible effect. Her frustration flared into anger, and she turned to the rest of the group. 'Go north. I'll catch up with you soon.'
'But, Cat-' Chase began, but she cut him short.
'If you value your lives, go north. Now!' she said in a commanding voice, despite her fear. Her legs trembled; her face flushed and nostrils flared; her heart pounded in her ears. Chase and the others headed north, frequently looking over their shoulders. A strange feeling came over her as she watched Chase walk away. So many times she had followed him on his adventures, but now she knew she must stand alone. As she embraced the energy around her, she prayed she would not unwittingly create another disaster. The lives of her friends now rested in her hands, and she was determined to save them.
With confidence born of every lesson her father and Benjin and Chase had ever taught her, Catrin moved to the finger of rock. Its base had been exposed by the modest flow of water that rushed by, but she strode to the end of the finger, seemingly oblivious to the winds tearing at her. Doing her best to keep from trembling, she spoke in a
