“We know,” said Giddon. “Everyone’s all right. We can talk about it after we’ve gotten you out of here.” Then he shuffled into the cave opening beside Katu and began to unwrap himself from the sheet rope, and Katu began to panic.

“What are you doing?” he cried, knocking Giddon’s hands away from the halter.

“Tying you to this rope so my friends can pull you up,” said Giddon.

“But you can’t stay here!”

“They’ll lower the rope for me after you’re safe.”

“You have to come with me! I’m not leaving you here!”

“Katu,” Giddon said, grasping the man’s shoulder. “There’s not enough rope for us both and the weight would be too much. My friends aren’t going to leave me down here! One of them is your niece, did you know that? Your niece is on the other end of this rope.”

“My niece?” said Katu, in utter disbelief. “Lovisa?” Then his shoulders dropped and he began to sob.

“Let’s get you attached,” said Giddon, returning to his halter. “We don’t want to waste time.”

But Katu was too overwrought. Leaning into Giddon, he shook and cried. So Giddon wrapped his arms around his smelly companion, waiting until he was ready.

—

Katu had no strength to contribute to his own ascent. Imagining him tipping upside down and sliding out of his halter, Giddon triple-knotted the sheet rope around Katu’s waist and groin and even passed it over Katu’s shoulder once. He tried not to worry about what happened to sheets when dragged over rock with the full weight of a person at one end.

Next, Giddon tugged with the signal that meant “Pull!” Then he lay on his side in the cave opening with his feet braced and his arms and torso hanging over the ledge, so that should Katu fall, Giddon could grab for him. He knew it was unlikely to work, though. More likely, Katu, falling, would bring Giddon down with him. I’m risking my life to save the life of my future wife’s past lover, he thought with a sigh.

Slowly but steadily, Katu rose; he even attempted alertness, grasping for handholds in the rock to keep himself from spinning. When Katu got to the top, the arms of Davvi reached down for him. Then, with a flailing of limbs, Katu was on solid ground. Giddon supposed everyone up there must be pretty surprised to see Katu Cavenda instead of Hava. And then he forgot about it, because he needed to get Hava out of there.

Carefully, he felt his way deeper into the cave. “Hava?” he called, his voice echoing.

“Here,” she said, her voice echoing back to him from some distance. “Don’t shout any more than you have to,” she added calmly. “It makes the ceiling crumble. Walk slowly and watch for metal eggs.”