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glider?
    Impani was a lump rolling inside the bridge. Somersaulting most likely. She managed to move a good fifteen meters from the pillar. A knife flashed as it pierced the fabric and sliced from rope to rope. She gathered the material as she scooted laboriously back to the cliff.
    It would have been easier to attach lines to the cut edge and drag it back, but he didn’t tell her so.
    He retraced his steps to the bird’s nest and the cache of wing bones he’d stumbled upon before. With a sense of being forced against his will, he filled his arms. Some bones were so long they dragged behind him and made it difficult to walk. He scuffed his boots and hunched forward for balance. Dust rose with his footsteps.
    Suddenly, the surface heaved beneath his feet. Crevices raced across the monolith. He windmilled his arms, throwing off his load.
    The pillar was falling. Impani .
    Trace ran. Rock exploded and shot skyward in geysers of debris. Thunder echoed in his chest. He leaped across spreading fissures, skidding on broken stone. The surface bucked and threw him to his knees. Ahead, the bridge swayed and tugged at the tower. He sprinted toward it, teeth bared, arms over his head against the fall of rock shards.
    As he reached the cliff, one of the pinions pulled free. With agonizing slowness, the support ropes parted. Impani scrabbled at the cloth. Her face was pale and stricken, her mouth wide. She lifted her gaze to him.
    He felt an electrifying jolt. Textbook scenarios raced through his mind. The bridge shook and dropped another meter. Rock crumbled about its mooring and exposed the final pinion.
    Impani climbed the fabric, one hand stretched toward the remaining rope. The bridge flapped as if to shake her off.
    He extracted a length of metallic line from his belt and swung it over his head. “Catch!” he shouted as he released the line and sent the barbed end flying. It struck the bridge too high, too far out of her reach.
    This can’t be happening .
    He reeled in the line. With a steadying breath, he threw again.
    The metallic line flew outward. She reached for it. But the tower jerked and tossed him onto his back. The line fell short.
    “No!” He scrambled to his knees.
    Impani lost her grip on the rope. She clawed the slick material as she slid down the length.
    He rushed to the rocky cliff, snagged the bridge, and pulled it in by fistfuls. In the back of his mind, reality shifted. A sense of duality stirred.
    The Impellic ring was approaching.
    Elation filled him. “Hold on! The ring’s coming. They’re bringing us back.”
    The frayed edge of fabric ripped. Impani shrieked. She clung to the cloth as it dropped several meters.
    What if she fell? She could be dead before the technicians got them home.
    With both hands on the exposed pinion, he eased over the cliff. He had to reach Impani, had to help her hold on. His head swam, and he blinked to clear his vision. Hand-over-hand, he shuffled along the rope.
    Behind him, the stone pillar broke with the sound of cracking glass. Rock slid into the chasm. Dust filled the air.
    Then the bridge heaved a tremendous snap. The metal pinion twisted. Trace froze, fists locked, as the pinion pulled free and the final rope dropped away.

Chapter 5
     
     
    I mpani felt the pinion snap. Her fingers clutched the fabric. She turned her face away, unable to scream, unable to breathe.
    The bridge fell smoothly. Drapes of material fluttered around her as she rode the fabric into the chasm. Panic welled inside, belying a vague sense of disbelief.
    She was going to die.
    Her fingers lost their hold. She fell free. Wind wailed around her and ripped at her limbs. In the back of her awareness, a misty void took shape. Her thoughts leaped with recognition.
    The Impellic ring.
    Darkness flooded her vision. Tendrils of energy latched onto her being and dragged her from reality. She thrashed and tumbled. Helpless. Hopeless.
    Then there was rock. Impani clawed frantically as she tried to break