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saw now in Shanti’s eyes. “No,” she rasped. “Grace, I can’t. You’re not strong enough.”
    “Oh yes I am,” Grace said, though really she wasn’t all that confident. She and Shanti were of a similar weight. What if Shanti dragged her down rather than Grace pulling her up? Grace had to shut out the thought. She was going to do this. They were both going to be all right. She reached out her hand. “Come on, Shanti,” she said. “All you have to do is let go of that plant and I’ll catch you.”
    “I can’t!” But as Shanti spoke, the shrub began to move. The ground was loosening again and, as Shanti closed her eyes and prepared for the worst, Grace reached out and grabbed her arm. “I’ve got you,” she said. “I’ve got you.” Now, all she had to do was pull her up onto the solid patch of path.
    But as Grace began to pull, she had the grim realization that she was not strong enough. Now what was she going to do? There was no sign of the captain and there was no way Lorcan could get here without someone leading him. She felt a rising panic but was determined not to transmit it to Shanti.
    “What’s wrong?” Shanti asked. “I was right, wasn’t I? You’re not strong enough! We’re both going to die!”
    Now Grace faced a terrible dilemma. Either let Shanti fall into the void alone or be dragged down with her. She looked down the brutal drop. There was no way either of them could survive such a fall.
    Suddenly, Shanti’s weight became lighter. Grace wondered if she had managed to summon some unknown resources deep within herself. Then she saw that another pair of hands were reaching out to hold Shanti. Grace turned and saw a young man crouching beside her on the path. He was dressed in the robes of a shepherd.
    “I’ll count to three,” he said. “Then we pull her up, okay?”
    Grace nodded. The man smiled at her. It was a smile that instilled complete confidence and calm in her.
    “One, two, three . . .”
    Grace focused all her strength as they pulled Shanti up and onto the path. She lay on the ground, covered in dirt, sobbing. Grace’s own heart was pounding. They had both faced certain death. If it hadn’t been for the shepherd, it would have ended very differently. What a miracle he had been passing at that very moment.
    “Thank you,” Grace said, turning to the man.
    But he was nowhere to be seen, gone as mysteriously as he had arrived.
    She glanced down at Shanti. “Well done!” she said.
    “I nearly died,” Shanti said, twisting her head back toward the drop. “We both nearly died!”
    “No,” Grace said, reaching out and turning Shanti’s trembling face toward her. “Don’t look down. Don’t look back. We must only look forward! Do you understand?”
    Shanti nodded, too terrified to speak.
    “Wait here!” Grace said. “Catch your breath. I must go and fetch Lorcan, then we’ll all go on together.”
    “No!” Shanti cried out. “Don’t leave me!”
    “It’s just for a moment, just to fetch Lorcan.” Grace wavered. “All right, let’s get you up on your feet first.” She held out her hand and helped Shanti to her feet. The girl was hobbling. For a moment, she feared that Shanti had twisted her ankle or worse. Then she saw what was wrong.
    “The heel has come off one of your boots,” Grace said.
    “Where is it?” Shanti asked.
    Grace glanced over the mountainside. “It doesn’t matter where it is,” she said.
    “But what am I supposed to do?” Shanti’s voice spiraled into panic. “I can’t go on, Grace. I’ve tried. Haven’t I tried? I really have but I can’t do this, not with one shoe without a heel.” She slumped to the ground and pulled herself into a ball, sobbing.
    Grace made a decision. She crouched down and took Shanti’s foot in her hand. Grabbing the one remaining heel, she twisted it as powerfully as she could. It came off in her hand.
    “What are you doing ?” cried Shanti.
    Saying nothing, Grace threw the redundant heel