Guarding the Princess by Loreth Anne White

Author:Loreth Anne White [White, Loreth Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: cookie429, Extratorrents, Kat
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“It feels as if it has a presence,” Dalilah said, looking up at the wall. “Like it’s got eyes.”

“The Batswana call it Solomon’s Wall,” Brandt said. “Sangomas—the local witch doctors—claim it’s a place where old spirits live and watch over the plains to the Tsholo.”

“Must be about seventy yards high,” she whispered.

“Around sixty meters of columnar basalt straight up, higher in other places. The wall runs for maybe forty or fifty kilometers—a rift caused by volcanic upheaval thousands of years ago.”

She studied the big blocks of rock—cubes of various sizes stacked one atop the other almost as if by a giant human hand, an ancient ruined city wall now being pried and twisted apart by the gnarled roots of crooked trees and sparse shrubs that had found sustenance in crevices.

Again the hot breeze, an almost imperceptible sensation, rustled over her skin, as if the wall itself was softly exhaling. A prickle ran over her skin.

“It feels like it doesn’t want to let us through, or over.”

“This land has a way of doing that, like something primitive whispering just beneath the veil of the surface, reflecting back your own emotions.”

She looked at him oddly, something shifting in her. Brandt handed her water. She met his eyes as she drank. He still didn’t take any, but he felt thirsty now.

“You going to be okay?” he said.

She forced a wry smile and cast another glance up the cliff face. “I’m scared of heights.”

“Because you’re afraid of falling and dying?”

She bit the corner of her lip. “I suppose that’s what it boils down to.”

“You could look at this two ways—if we stay down here, you probably will die at Amal’s hands. Or you could let me help you climb, and only stand a faint chance of dying at your own hand.”

“Oh, great. You sure have a way of making someone feel like they have some nice options—stay down here and get my head cut off, or go up there and get smashed.”

He crouched in front of her and looked up into her face, examining her, weighing how much mettle she had left, how far he could push her. “Dalilah, you can do this. You’ve shown me that you’ve got more grit than most men. You’re a survivor. You have everything it takes and then some.”

She turned her face away.

“No, look at me.” He took her hand in his. “I’m going to help you over this. Once step, one rock at a time. We’ll take it at an angle instead of straight up. It’ll be easier that way. And near the top, there’s water.” He pointed. “That dark stain on the rock? Waterfall. We’ll rest on that ledge up there by the water, then go the last short haul. We can be up on the plateau and in shelter before dark. I’ll build you a fire, we’ll eat. You can sleep. Then tomorrow, we start fresh. We’re a team, okay—got that? No man left behind. Ever.”

She gave a half laugh and her eyes flicked briefly to her finger with the ring.

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