The fall probably didn't kill Niimmo, but the shockingly cold water and harsh rapids surely would.
When he reached his wife, Jool drew her shaking body against his and hugged her as she dealt with the shock at what she'd done.
Reassure her.
He hugged her close. "My dear brave wife."
"Brave?" Said with a note of hysteria. "I killed a man."
"No, you acted to save yourself. To save our child." The magic words that let him lead her from the scene of her crime.
She followed, her hand icy cold. Her expression haunted. When he reached the cliff wall, he found the faded symbol of a gear. He gave it blood, and a stone door rolled aside, revealing the passage through the mountain.
The tunnel had many twists and turns, but the voice guided him, and soon they'd exited the mountain and trekked a
