Behind the Canvas (28 page)

“Come on, kid!” Cash barked.

Boom!

The viaduct convulsed, this time more violently. Again they immediately found themselves scrambling forward over bricks and sections of stone that were separating and falling into the canyon below.

Pim slipped, and Claudia grabbed his elbow and hauled him upward as they ran. Cash bounded beside them.

That had to have been the second column.

There were only three.

Pim must have realized that as well, because he now pushed her forward with a frenzied force. The ground fell away behind them, and no sooner did they step on a solid, unmoving portion of the bridge than—

Boom!

The impact threw them both to the path. Claudia bashed her knees against the stone. Large segments of the path ahead of them ruptured and began to fall, but this time the brickwork beneath their feet stayed firm.

Pim yanked her upward and forward. A great fissure was opening ahead between them and the inviting green grass on the far side of the canyon.

And the remaining segment of the viaduct swayed beneath them.

An image flashed in Claudia's head of the nearly broken final column teetering on its base before falling like a cut tree to the canyon floor, taking the last portion of the viaduct path with it. They would have to jump for it.

White dust enveloped them. The path tilted forward and they climbed frantically uphill on the broken stone. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. Cash slipped and fell flat beside her. She scooped him up and tossed him forward with everything she had. He yelped and disappeared into the dust. Pim threw the staff after him.

She grabbed Pim's hand and they charged toward the top of the fragmented path as the column pitched forward. And they leaped.

 

C
HAPTER
25

C
LAUDIA FLEW
through the thick cloud of dust as the last column of the viaduct crumbled beneath her. Pim's hand pulled away from hers and she wondered for the hundredth time since entering the world behind the canvas if this was the end. Then the base of the viaduct, attached to the lip of the canyon, appeared through the dust. It held the last few feet of path leading to the grass at the top of the canyon.

Claudia fell short. Her upper body slammed into the path, but her feet dangled along the side of the base where the bricks of the massive viaduct had broken away. Her hands frantically scrambled to find purchase on the surface of the path, fingers digging into the crevices between the bricks, armpits pushed painfully against the path's broken edge.

Something smashed into her, grabbing her ankle and yanking her downward. She cried out, digging her fingers harder into the crevices.

“Claudia! Hold on!” It was Pim, dangling from her ankle ten stories in the dusty air.

She couldn't answer. She focused every possible ounce of energy on gripping the bricks, willing her fingers not to let go. It felt like she was being ripped in half. How could Pim weigh so much when he didn't eat anything?

Below them, the remaining column thundered as it crashed into the canyon floor. A new wave of dust shot up.

She looked around for something—anything—more substantial to hold on to. The path ended just a few feet in front of her, but it may as well have been twenty feet away. A mess of bricks and masonry equipment lay to the side just off the path. Beyond them, in the green grass, was a white mound of fur.

“Cash!” she called out. The dog didn't move.

Suddenly the weight on her ankle lessened. “Pim!” she shouted, certain he had lost his grip.

“I'm here. I found part of a brick beneath my foot that will hold my weight,” he replied, his voice taut. “For the moment.” She could still feel his hands tight around her ankle.

She pushed with her forearms and elbows against the bricks. She could probably lift herself up to the path, just like getting out of a swimming pool. Then she could find something to lower down to Pim.

“I think I can climb up,” she said. “Can you let go?”

Silence.

“Pim?”

There was reluctance in his voice. “The brick will hold my weight, but I'm at an angle. You're all I have to hold on to.”

Without her, he would fall.

With him, she couldn't climb up.

Her fingers ached.

“Claudia,” Pim said, “there are window-caves to the northeast, on the other side of the forest. Run. Pick a window. You'll be safer in your world than you will be here. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.”

What was he talking about? He couldn't really be thinking—

“Pim!” she shouted. “Don't be stupid!”

“Either I fall or we both do.”

“We'll find a way. Just hold on!”

“Thank you for everything, Claudia.”

“Wait! I see something!” She said it just to stall him, to break him out of his heroic determination. She looked around. A coil of rope lay in the pile of masonry trowels and shovels. One end was tied around the base of a nearby tree. Perhaps someone had used it to work on the side of the viaduct. “A rope. I think I can reach it.”

She waited for a moment, and Pim's grip stayed firm. But her heart sank. There was no possible way for her to reach the rope. There was no way to save Pim.

“Cash!” she shouted again, but he still lay motionless.

Grasping the bricks tighter with her left hand, she lifted her right and stretched toward the rope. Her fingertips were still three feet away. She strained against the broken stone ledge, arm outstretched, trying not to kick the leg that Pim held.

It was useless, of course. She would never reach the rope. But it was all she had. Nothing else would save Pim and it was all she had.

So she stretched and fought back the tears welling in her eyes, wishing for Cash to be all right, wishing for the rope to draw closer, wishing for it to fly through the air into her open hand. She visualized it, saw it in her mind's eye, concentrating only on that because how could she think about Pim plunging into the canyon below? She stretched her fingers and concentrated, and wished without any hope.

The rope twitched. Just the end of it, lying atop the coil. There was no wind, and the ground had already stopped shaking. It had to be an illusion, but she didn't break her concentration, didn't withdraw her hand.

The rope moved again, the loose end inching toward her. She held her hand steady. What was happening? Could the rope be alive? Was it dangerous?

The thought made her hesitate, made her withdraw her hand a little, and the rope stopped moving.

She stretched out her hand again as far as it would go, wishing for the rope to come. It slithered across the stone path directly toward her hand.

Somehow
she
was controlling the rope.

And then it didn't matter because the end of the rope was close enough to snatch up. Gripping the stone path hard with her other hand, she grabbed the rope and tossed it over her shoulder.

“Pim!” She grabbed and tossed a dozen more times until the rope pulled taut against the tree. She yanked on it and it seemed firm. “That's it,” she called down. “Grab the rope.”

The entwined fibers of the rope creaked as Pim pulled on it. Then the pressure around her ankle disappeared and the rope snapped tight.

Now it was her turn. She pulled against the rope and pushed with her arm against the ledge. She twisted her body until she could swing one leg over the edge of the broken viaduct, hauling herself up and rolling over onto her back.

A grunt came from over the edge and she scrambled to her feet just as Pim's hand appeared on the stone path. She reached forward to help him up and caught a glimpse of the drop to the canyon floor below, still thick with dust. A wave of dizziness hit her but she tried to shove it away and focus on Pim.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled as he heaved himself up over the edge. They tumbled backward and sprawled on the grass.

Claudia lay there on solid ground, staring at the blue sky through a cloud of dust, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

“Thank you, Claudia,” Pim said. “That's twice today you've saved my life.”

“Yeah. Let's not make this a regular thing, okay?”

Her hand brushed something soft. She sat up to find Cash by her side. She stroked his fur and gently shook him.
Please be all right.

Cash's eyes fluttered open and he raised his head. “We there yet?”

She laughed in relief and scratched behind his ears. “Are you hurt?”

“I don't think so. Heckuva dream, though. I was flying through the air.”

“That was a nice throw, Claudia,” said Pim.

Cash rose groggily to all fours. “Wait now—you
threw
me?”

“Sorry about that,” she said. “I wasn't sure you would make the jump.”

“Well, next time find a different way,” Cash grumbled. “Nobody chucks this dog.”

Pim smiled as he stood. “That's a shame. I was hoping for a turn.”

Cash growled and Claudia reached over to kiss his head. “I'm glad you're okay.”

An elephantine blast echoed in the distance. Claudia looked at Pim, who had found the staff in the grass.

“Do you think she knows we survived?” she asked.

“There was a lot of dust. She might not have seen us.”

They both stared at the edge of the canyon and the broken remains of the viaduct. Nee Gezicht and Celebes had caught up with them so quickly. And the strength of that beast was terrifying.

“Who on earth painted that monster?”

“Ernst. A favorite of Nee Gezicht. Also created the Fireside Angel.”

Claudia took a deep breath. The fact that they had almost plunged to their deaths was starting to sink in. Her hands were shaking. She folded her arms.

Pim seemed to notice. He knelt down beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders. It took her by surprise, but it was comforting. She leaned her head against him. After a moment her body stopped shaking, but she didn't pull away from him.

“Do you think they know where we're going?” she finally asked.

Pim bit his lip. “It wouldn't be hard for her to guess. She knows Colossus well. But without the viaduct it's a much longer route.”

“She seems to get around pretty quickly.”

“Then we'd better move.”

Pim turned to Cash. “This is where we part ways, puppy dog.”

Cash bared his teeth. “I stay with the kid. I've known pawn dealers I trust more than you.”

“We're going someplace you can't follow,” Pim replied.

“And where's that, exactly?”

“The window-caves,” Pim said. “And beyond.”

Cash took half of a step backward. “What's in them caves?”

Pim smiled knowingly. “You'll have to go inside one of these days and find out. But not today.”

“I ain't leaving her alone with you.”

“This is bigger than you,” Pim said quietly. “And it's bigger than her. I need you to take a message to Rembrandt.”

“Rembrandt?”

“He needs to know that the Sightless One will strike soon.”

That seemed to take Cash by surprise. “Where?”

“Southern Tier. Within a week.”

Immediately Claudia remembered Nee Gezicht's words to Pim in her living room. That was what she had meant. An attack here in this world.

“How do I know you're not still working for the witch?” Cash asked.

“Please, Cash,” Claudia said. “It's true. I heard her say it. You need to tell Rembrandt. I'll be fine. Really.” She hurriedly took his head in her hands. “Thank you for everything.” She leaned in and kissed his white fur.

Cash backed up and brushed his face with his paw. “All right, all right. Don't get all emotional on me, then.” He licked her hand. “Be careful.”

He barked in Pim's direction. “Take care of her, Dutch boy, or we'll have something more to settle later. And I'll be back for my dough, anyhow.”

Then he turned and trotted off into the trees. It pulled at Claudia's heart to see him go.

She cinched down the straps on her dusty and battered backpack as they stood. “Hey, Pim?”

“Yes?”

“No more viaducts.”

“Agreed.”

“Or bridges.”

“That's reasonable.”

She took a deep breath. “Let's move.”

*   *   *

Evening fell in earnest now as they hurried through the patchwork terrain beyond the canyon and the fallen viaduct. They followed a paved road for a time but then left it for a rough path that faded into the underbrush soon after they set foot on it. The land was forested but rocky, with craggy hills and ridges soon surrounding them on all sides. Some of the hills off to the left turned into foothills and rose up into a series of rocky gray mountains in the distance.

“Do you recognize those?” Pim asked, nodding toward the mountains backlit against a setting sun.

Claudia winced as she turned her ankle on a stone. “No,” she replied with a heavy breath. “Should I?”

“The window-cave with the Rubens,
29
the one you came through, is at the foot of those mountains. When we're done with Colossus, we head straight there—whether the staff is broken or not.”

She was too tired and breathless to argue. The backpack slipped from her shoulder for the tenth time, so she dragged it by its top handle instead. One of the straps was hanging on by only a thread, and the zipper was busting open at the top. Their escape at the viaduct hadn't been kind to it—or to her aching fingertips. But at least nothing had fallen out. You never know when you'll need underwear or nail polish.

Their escape at the viaduct … She hadn't told Pim about the thing with the rope. She didn't know what to make of it. She hadn't imagined it, right? The rope really did move. It was almost like in old cartoons where a snake charmer makes a rope rise up out of a basket. But why had it happened for her? It had saved Pim's life—maybe even hers.