True Believers Read Online Free Page A

as soon as she put weight on the bad ankle. Damn it. Not now. Her na'hala reacted at once and started the process of regeneration, but there was no time for a full recovery. She had to reach Doc before he dragged Paul off the cliff.
    Doc loosened another piton and more of the cliff. A river of rock pelted him like shrapnel. The last piece, no bigger than a baseball, hit him on the back of his head with a sharp crack. He slumped on his tether, like a puppet on a string.
    Paul gaped over the edge with his hands on his knees. His chest heaved hard, and he struggled to catch his breath.
    “Doc!” he wheezed. “Doc! Answer me.” Paul ratcheted the pulley with inhuman speed when he looked up once more.
    Rachel crumpled the map inside a fist, staring at the old man hanging limp on his tether. He was dead. Aw, Doc. Why didn't you listen?
    Doc's spirit oozed out of his body as wet and crystalline as new snow. It wafted toward her, drawn by her energy, his thin voice echoing in her mind. Get up, Rachel. Get up! It's a flash—
    “Flood! Flash flood!” Paul screamed. He waved his arms above his head to get her attention. “Rachel, get on the rope. It's coming this way.”
    Rachel snapped to her senses and bolted to her feet. The pain ripped through her, but she couldn’t stop now. She limped, hopping more than walking, focused only on the rope ahead. Her arms spread out to keep her balanced, but she tripped and staggered into Doc's spirit.
    They stared at one another in mute regret. Did he realize what had happened? Rachel held out her hand.
    I'm sorry, Doc.
    He looked at her with a bewildered expression, his eyebrows arching. She tried to speak, but that was useless. There were no words to explain eternal damnation. Rachel touched his face in apology then walked through him without looking back.
    She hobbled in short jumps until she reached the cliff wall. Her hands patted down her chest. No harness! And no time. She didn't bother looking back. The torrent thundered behind her, and she could feel the air pressure in the canyon thicken.
    Her hands latched on to the rope with all the strength she could muster. She jumped against the rock face with her one good foot and climbed hand over hand. The roar of rushing water blanketed the area. The temperature dropped by several degrees in an instant.
    A wall of water raged down the narrow pass. Time was up. It was all or nothing. She looped the rope around her hip and hung on, taking one good breath before the first belt of waves struck and rammed her against the cliff.
    By the time she pushed her head above the water, Paul had clamored toward her. He grabbed her by the elbow, fighting the force of the water to get her head above the torrent. “I've got you, Rachel. I've got you.” He took a deep breath and ordered her to wrap her arms around his neck.
    “I can't.” Her voice sounded like a far-off squeak as she tried to yell above the roar of the flood, spitting out more water than words.
    “You have to. I can't pull you up by myself.”
    “I can't, Paul. I can't. Leave me here. I can hold on until the flood goes through.” Her heart felt like it was pumping outside her chest. Fingers locked in a death grip, her knuckles as white as snowcaps. They'd have to cut off her hands before she let go now.
    “Are you nuts? Get your ass over here. We're climbing up together.”
    Rachel stared up at him. Wind and water slapped his face, and he trembled in the cold. He was scared. So was she.
    She wanted to trust him, wanted to obey, but her hands refused to budge. She couldn't swim, and if she lost her grip, she was a goner.
    It seemed a stupid design flaw for an immortal to be trapped by the confines of a body, but that was physics. Her corporeal shell was as fragile as any human's. If the body drowned, she'd have to abandon it or remain trapped in its fleshy coffin. That was physics too.
    Selfish, maybe. But she wanted to keep her body. They could make it. They just had to hang on until