Free The Fire Sisters (Brilliant Darkness 3) by A. G. Henley

walking from your house to Petrel and Moon’s, only… um … we’re walking sideways for some reason. Anyway, the wind is blowing through the trees, shuffling the leaves below you. It kind of sounds like a river… but it’s not. Not at all. It’s just leaves and trees.”
    He snorts. “Those leaves look like they can drown you.”
    “Stay with me,” I say. “We’re in the trees. Maybe a storm is coming in, and it’s blowing hard. But you’re safe.”
    As a matter of fact, it sounds like a storm is coming in. The wind plucks at my pack on my chest; the air holds the charged feel of rain ready to be unleashed. We need to hurry, get everyone across this death trap and back on land.
    I’ve lost count of my paces. “How much farther to the bridge?”
    “A few more steps,” Peree says. “Almost there.”
    I start over counting. One, two, three, four … Will we ever get there? Finally, my hand meets what feels like a taut rope.
    "We need to duck under the handhold," Peree says with relief. "It’s secured to the rock.”
    We both tug on it. Feels secure. Carefully, holding the rope, I bend my knees and go under. I grope for what I assume will be another handhold on the other side. It’s there, about the distance of my outstretched arms, also nice and tight.
    “The bridge is in front of you, now,” he says. “Kai’s going across.”
    Her feet thud against what sounds like wooden boards. She’s moving one step at a time, probably to test each slat before putting her weight on them. I pull a face in her direction; I could have done the same thing . Slinging my pack onto my back again, still holding each handhold, I step forward onto the first slat. My muscles relax—plenty of room here on the bridge.
    “I’ll wait until you get a little way across before I start,” Peree says. “Be careful.”
    “Okay. You, too.”
    “Get moving!” Moray yells from behind us somewhere, his voice faint. “Storm’s coming!”
    The slat under my feet feels strong and fresh, not soft or creaky like wood rotted beyond its useful life. I press down on the next slat before putting my full weight on it. Then the next. Another step, and another.
    A hard gust buffets the bridge, sending my heart careening around my chest. I yelp, but the wind rips the cry from my mouth. A second blast of wind hits, shaking the bridge like a toy, throwing me off balance. I step awkwardly to the left, gripping the handholds to keep my balance.
    Wood splits with a sudden crack, crack , and a panicked shout for help comes from in front of me, farther along the bridge.
    Right about where Kai should be.
     

Chapter Nine
    Raindrops splatter against my face, and the wind shoves me again—hard.
    “Kai?” I shout. “Are you okay?”
    “No!”
    Peree yells at me to wait, but it doesn’t sound like there’s time. Moving as fast as I can, while testing each step, I cross the bridge.
    “Where are you?” I call.
    I only hear the sounds of the storm. My pulse, already racing, puts on speed. Did she fall? Would I hear a splash?
    “I’m … here.” Her voice comes from around my knees.
    I move closer.
    “Stop there!” she gasps. “A few slats broke… there’s a gap.”
    I grip the rope handholds and feel for the hole between boards with my foot. “Are you on the other side of it?”
    She makes a strangled noise. “ In it. Hanging from the handhold. To… your left.”
    Oh no.
    I grope along that rope until I find her hands, cold and hard, clenching the rope. My feet are basically behind me now.  I move my arm down to her back, trying  not to think about the empty air we must both be hanging out over, or the hungry river below. she’s too far away;  I can’t reach all the way around her .
    “Can you pull yourself closer?” I blink rainwater from my eyes. Peree’s a few feet behind me now, his feet thudding closer.
    Kai moves my way, bouncing a little. I keep an arm around her, but I have to hold the rope with the other. If she