Brianna was in his arms, and if he had to choose how to die, this would be the way. They were tied together with rope that Brianna had carried since they had left Brighton’s Gate. They hadn’t needed it to scale the steep mountains because Zollin had levitated them with his magic, but after the dragon had almost crushed Zollin in its cave, Brianna had used the rope to tie them together, and then she had pushed them off the ledge. Brianna had been so brave, Zollin thought. She had saved him, if only for a moment longer. He knew that no matter what it cost or how badly he was hurt, he had to save Brianna. His love for her fed the flame of his power, and although it was like reaching his bare hands into a blacksmith’s forge, he took hold of his magic and slowed their descent.
He had wanted them to land softly on the ice and snow below, but there wasn’t enough time. He managed to slow their descent only marginally and rotated himself so that he landed on the bottom. The impact with the snow, which had filled the canyon after an avalanche caused by the battle Zollin had fought with the dragon in the beast’s lair deep inside the mountain, was much softer than the boulder-strewn canyon floor, but to Zollin it felt as if he had slammed into solid bedrock. He felt a terrible, rending snap, and then everything went black.
* * *
Brianna remembered rolling off the ledge with Zollin in her arms. After that she had shut her eyes and held her breath. The fall took less than three seconds, but it felt much longer. She had felt Zollin holding her tight, then suddenly they hit the snow and the jarring impact was terrible. Brianna felt as if she had been kicked by a giant horse, but she was alive.
She raised her head and opened her eyes. They were surrounded by snow. The force of their fall had plunged them deep into the snow, ice, and debris from the avalanche. The light was dim, but she could make out Zollin’s face. He looked peaceful, like he was sleeping. Brianna pushed her aching body off Zollin, causing snow to fall on top of them. She took a deep breath and looked at Zollin again. Something was wrong with him somehow. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew she needed to get him up and out of the snow.
“Zollin,” she said out loud, her voice sounding strange in their snowy hole. “Zollin, wake up.”
She patted his face, but there was no response. She leaned close, placing her ear next to his nose and listened. He wasn’t breathing. Terror of a magnitude Brianna had never experienced struck like lightning. Zollin wasn’t breathing. He was dead or dying and she didn’t know what to do.
“No, Zollin!” she screamed. “Don’t you die! Don’t you leave me! Zollin?”
She slapped him hard in the face. She knew that if he died she would die, but fear of her own mortality wasn’t what scared her the most. She loved him, and more than anything in the world, she wanted to spend her life with Zollin. She had no more doubts, no second thoughts or contingency plans. He was her life, and without him she was lost.
“Wake up!” she screamed again, this time slamming her fist down on his chest like a hammer blow. “You wake up and talk to me Zollin! You aren’t allowed to die!”
She hit him again and then again. For some reason it felt good to hammer away at Zollin, to fully embrace the fear and terror she was feeling and act it out, even if it meant hurting him. She hit him again and screamed at the top of her lungs. This time there was an answering cry, but not from Zollin. The dragon roared in reply, its terrible scream echoing off the mountains and sending more snow toppling down on Zollin and Brianna.
She grabbed snow and rubbed it over Zollin’s face until his skin was bright red, then she leaned forward, her hands on his stomach, and kissed him. Then she lifted herself back up, hoping for some subtle sign of life. She hit him again, and tears rolled down her checks.
“No, Zollin!” she cried. “Don’t leave me! I love you, Zollin. Please, don’t leave me.”
She leaned forward again, and this time she saw his lips move. It was a tiny movement, but she saw it. More importantly, she felt his breath as it gushed out from between his lips. She sat up again, and then she understood. She had pushed the air out of his lungs when she lay down on him.
“Breathe, Zollin!” she ordered him sternly. “Breathe!”
She leaned forward again, this time blowing air into his face. She sat up and watched his chest. It wasn’t inflating the way it should if he were breathing, she realized. She needed to get air into his lungs. She leaned forward again, this time pulling his chin down to open his mouth and placing her lips over his and blowing air into his mouth. She felt the air rush in and then come back out of his nose. She pinched his nose and tried again. This time she could feel his chest inflate with air. She let go and sat up again, pressing on his stomach as she did. Again the air whooshed out of his mouth. She leaned forward and repeated the process. Over and over she breathed for Zollin, telling him not to give up and letting hot tears drip onto his face.
* * *
Zollin saw light. It was bright and warm, and he felt himself moving toward it. He wasn’t walking; he felt weightless and still, but he could sense that he was moving, that he was in control of the movement. The light felt good. It was more than simple warmth, it was as if the light were love. He felt loved and accepted and welcomed. He wanted to go to the light and stay there forever. He could feel every inch of his body and every part of him felt good. It was an ecstasy like nothing he had ever felt or even imagined that he could feel. He was so happy that he felt like laughing for joy.
Then he heard a voice. It wasn’t coming from the light, but from somewhere else, a dark place that was cold and hard and frightening.
Don’t leave me, the voice said. Don’t you dare leave me.
Zollin was conflicted. He wanted to drift away, into the light, but for some reason the voice made him hesitate. He knew he didn’t want to move back into the dark, but there was a note of desperation in the voice that made him pause. He couldn’t remember what had happened or how he had gotten to the this place, where the light was calling to him. He didn’t associate the voice with anyone or anything. He knew that he had lived a different life, but it was so dim and distant from the light that he didn’t want to remember it.
Wake up! the voice said. But Zollin didn’t think he was dreaming. In fact he had never felt so alive before in his life. He decided to ignore the voice and go into the light, but then pain racked his body. It was a sharp pain that started in his chest and drove out the ecstasy. Over and over the pain shot through him.
I love you, Zollin, he heard, even though his ears were ringing so loudly now that it was hard to make out the words. Please don’t leave me.
Then he remembered Brianna. She was calling to him from the dark place of pain. She was desperate for him. He could see her in his mind, jet black hair surrounding her beautiful face. Her high, proud check bones and fierce, intelligent eyes were as tangible in his mind as the light. He didn’t notice that he was moving away from the light now. He was simply thinking of Brianna, remembering her long, shapely fingers, the graceful way she moved, the beautiful sound of her laugh.