The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed]

The Narrows - Part 20

"How do we get them?" I look down the edge of the immense drop-off. They're strapped to the side of the steep cliff. There is so much distance between the water and where they're strung, unconscious, that I can't imagine the tide rising high enough.

Mason looks around and sees a tree with heavy vines wrapped around it. He starts unwrapping it quickly and piling it on the side of the cliff. I move to help him.

He explains as we work: "They would have used these or something like it to get them down there. I'll rappel down the cliff and release them." He starts tying the thick vine to himself in intricate knots. "Listen to me carefully." He glances up to ensure my eyes are on him. "When the tide rises, it rises quickly. If I'm caught in it, don't do anything stupid." He hesitates and seems unsure about whether he wants to say the next part. He mumbles, "I can't be killed, at least not like that."

I stop unraveling the rest of the vine from the tree. "What?!"

He goes still. "You never wondered how Grayson knew how to tie immortality to himself?" He grimaces as he meets my gaze.

"You?"

I hear a whoosh coming from over the cliff; my mind spins in circles and I have to brace myself against the tree. There's no time for answers. Mason gives one last tug on the vine and walks over to the edge of the cliff. He turns around, salutes me and steps back off the cliff. I think he and I have different ideas of what rappelling looks like. I rush to the edge to see him swinging over to Riven first. 

He uses his hands to burn through the knots holding him in place. Once he's partially out of the ties, Mason places a hand on his head and Riven wakes with a start. I hear Riven mumble something to Mason and then he's latching onto the vine and looks like a spider as he makes his way up. Mason swings around, releasing Rocco and he's just starting to release Clara when the waves build to a crescendo. The tide doesn't so much rise as it crashes into the narrow crevice.

"Mason!" I scream down, trying to warn him, but he's pushing Clara up the vine and trying to keep the vine steady. The waves have brought a strong wind; Clara is in danger of being blown off, most likely falling to her death. Riven and Rocco crowd around me trying to keep the vine stable on our end as Clara clambers quickly, trying to beat the wind and the waves. She gets to the top, out of breath; she pops a small, sharp knife out of her waistband. In one quick motion, she slices through the vine.

"No!" I yell as I watch Mason fall into the waves below. "No!" I scream. I turn and shove Clara, hard. Her small statue mixed with my almost super-human strength propels her right into a tree. Rocco and Riven grab hold of my arms, stopping me from pursuing her. Rage swells in me, threatening to consume me.

She latches on to the trunk of the tree like a squirrel and turns back to me. "Calm down. He's meeting us downstream. We need to get a move on." She hops down, dusts off her hands and starts to follow the edge of the cliff at a run. She's so tiny that Rocco, Riven and I catch her without much effort. Riven taps her and motions to his back. She leaps on without a word and we're racing along the edge. I can't look down or I'll feel panic spiral through me. Even if Mason can't be killed, we can still lose him.

We come over a ridge and descend downhill. As I look ahead, I'm shocked at the size and scope of the water; muddy brown liquid spans from one side of the horizon to the other. We're coming down into it at a fast pace and I wonder how we'll ever locate Mason. I try to scan the water as I run, but between the rushing ebb and flow and our fast pace, I can't pick him out. There's no way to know whether he's ahead of us, lost in the sea of mud or if he's behind us. I glance at Riven and Clara beside me and Rocco just ahead; I try to imagine relying on them to get me home and it seems unfathomable to do all of this without Mason.