“Well done, Rayna,” he felt relieved she’d thought to observe their current surroundings while he focused on the distance. “Seems your study of plants has more uses than we knew.” Kai took her by the hand and charged forward, the purple leaves guiding their way.
One step later, a rumble started to build beneath their feet. Kai grabbed for Rayna. Earlier in the day, the mountain had grumbled. This time Rayna heard it too, her eyes filled with fear. Then they felt the ground shake. Small rocks tumbled down from above. Tiny dust particles plumed into the sun’s rays above them. The sound grew louder, and the falling stones became larger until they were as large as his fist. Afraid he took Rayna’s hand. “Run.” He yelled, pulling her along.
They dodged falling rocks, and the ground in front of them began to shake and shift. Rayna stumbled and let go of Kai’s hand. He stopped to help her to her feet. “The walls. They are closing in on us!” he shouted through the din. “We must find a way up.”
Rayna turned to go back the way they’d come but stopped. “We have come too far to go back. There is no end in sight either way.” She froze and looked to him.
Kai grasped her arm, but he didn’t know what to do next. “Wait.” He let his eyes trail the walls from top to bottom. “Wait,” he repeated, swatting away a few falling rocks.
She pulled at her wrist, trying to break free of his grasp. “Let me go. We have to run back, or we’ll be crushed!” she shouted.
Kai reached around her waist and pulled her close. Their eyes locked together. “Do you trust me?” he asked, pushing a feeling of calm to her.
Frozen in fear, tears ran down her soft cheeks. Rayna’s brown eyes locked on Kai’s. She watched them turn from their usual deep blue to green. Her breathing slowed. “I trust you. What do we do?” She wiped the tears from her face.
If he had been thinking ahead, maybe he would have seen this coming. Doubt clouded his mind. The pressure to find a way out hung around his neck. The metallic, earthy smell intensified with the shifting rocks. That is what he’d smelled earlier. Stones scraping over damp earth had created this smell. He would need to remember the smell.
Kai watched the various levels closing inward. Staggered interlocking tiers of stone jutted out from each side. They looked like stone teeth, ready to devour them. Slow and steady, they moved. He studied the ground. She was right, the canyon was going to clamp shut around them. He thought again about how the Guardians had had time to prepare this place. The test was about fear and control. Everything in his gut told him the Katori people were warriors, yes—but, killers no. “This is the work of Stonekings. They are moving the stone walls around us. They must be close by.”
Above them, the trees were closing the gap. The sunlight was fading. “Could we climb up the sides?” Rayna’s finger bounced up the jutted rock formation.
He contemplated her idea. “Yes, I think we can.” He pulled her along. “Step where I step.”
Kai leaped onto a low protruding rock and pulled Rayna with him. The ground continued to shift and grumble. He pointed to the next jump. She hopped the gap and fell to her knees. Taking a step back, Kai ran and jumped, landing safely on the next tier. He pulled Rayna to her feet. The other side was getting closer, and they still had a long climb to get out.
The next level was above their heads. Kai hoisted Rayna onto his shoulder, and she climbed up. With another step back, he stood on the far edge of his current level. He ran diagonally at the wall, pushed off, and reached up with his hands. His hands locked onto the stone ledge, and Kai pulled himself up, joining Rayna.
He looked for the next level. “That ledge is too high,” she insisted, pointing across to the other side. “There, that is the next jump, but it is ten feet across. There is no way we can make that!”
Above them, the walls were closing in. Did they risk waiting for the other side to get closer? Or climb up the wall on this side. Kai wasn’t sure. Beside them, the steep wall was filled with tiny cracks and crevasses. “We can’t wait, too risky. We climb here.” He pointed. “Get on my back, I will carry you. It’s not that far to the next level.” He crouched down.
Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs clamped tight to his sides. He stood and reached one hand up. He jammed his foot into a crack and began to climb. Above he felt another crag in the stone; he pulled them higher. Dust fell from above and caught him in the face. He shook his head. Oh, how he wished he could use his sight to climb.
Rayna dusted debris from her eyes. Kai reached for the next crack in the wall. On his left, there was a small ledge; he reached his leg over and stepped up and grabbed a thick root jutting out between the stones. Again, he found another spot for his foot and pushed up. Finally, Rayna tapped his shoulder. “I can make it from here.”
Kai held fast, and Rayna climbed up his back, tugging the exposed roots. Once she reached the next level, he jumped up beside her. The ground shook harder, and the stones closed in. Now the gap was only five feet apart, but they had another twelve feet to climb. Rayna did not hesitate—she hopped across the gap to the next level, then up one and over again. Kai quickly followed suit. Back and forth, they leaped, up and over and back. Around them, the ground rumbled and shook.
When they reached the top, Rayna ran from the edge with
