The burning keel came down like a temple pillar. Green flame ran along the charred cedar. Wind tore loose stones off the ridge and sent them rattling into the clouds.
A step to the side would take Pei Jing over the edge. If he tried to stop the timber dead, it would break him against the rock. He needed to give it somewhere else to go.
He bent his knees and felt both boots settle into the crack. He brought up the Nine-Fold Astral Bone Blade with its broad face turned toward the falling cedar. The star iron could take a load that would snap an ordinary blade. The bone in its spine would keep it from folding sideways. He angled it out over the drop and waited for the beam to reach him.
The timber hit. The sound rang through the ridge like a hammer on a bell. Pei Jing’s teeth snapped shut, and he tasted blood. The shock went through his hands and struck deep in his right shoulder.
Cracks spread under his boots. The basalt shelf held. He let the force pass through his back and legs into the rock. It took nearly all his strength just to keep his hands where they were.
