Crown of Ash (Blood Skies, Book 4) (59 page)

The Obelisk plummeted.  The artifact struck the dark
and
jagged walls before
it vanished
into cloud
s
of black fog
below
. 
Cross
heard no impact, and knew
that
he wouldn’t – it
was just
stupid luck that the Obelisk had ever landed
t
here
and been
lodged in
that
fissure in the Rift wall
.  I
t had
dangled
there
for years,
stuck
between worlds on
a
crumbling ledge. 

M
onstrous calls
echo
ed all around him. 
The ledge
he stood on
climbed
up
wards
at a steep angle
,
forming
a rough path along the canyon wall
. 
When he was in
the Whisperlands h
e’
d spied clefts in the
Rift’s
wall
s
,
shallow rock
shelves
and steep slopes
,
walkways
and ancient ladders.  If he was lucky
he
might be able to
find his way to
the surface
.

Cross held the blade in his
leathery
fingers
.  He felt the beard on his face, and
he
ran his hands over cracked and aging skin.  He shook as he stood t
here, burdened with regret
.  He had n
o idea
what had happened to the rest of his
team
.  He didn’t even know if any of them were
still alive.  He had no idea how to find Danica,
or
how to even start. 

For a moment his eyes went to the black smog below,
to
the void of shadows and screams and vented cold fumes
.  I
t would be
so
easy to go there, to drop down into that utter darkness.  To be done with
it
all
.

The notion only crossed his mind for a moment. 
He shook himself. 
He would
n’
t take that easy path. 
All
his
life
Cross had tried to do the right thing,
to
make the right choice.

And that means pain
sometimes
, he told himself. 
That means walking the difficult
road
and finding your way
,
even when there’s no one there to help you
.  The dead have the easy road: they know the way, because that decision has
already
been made for them. 

Only the living are lost.

He held the image of Danica’s face in his mind,
then
turned and started the arduous climb up the narrow ledge. 
He had a long way to go.