His ears were ringing. Re-l's grip on his shoulder was the only steadying force in the archangel's world right then; he staggered forward to try and help her as best as he could, and had no choice but to trust she'd guide him back onto the track. He could never have imagined that feeling of weightlessness could possibly be so frightening.

Gabriel caught himself half on the cliff but sank immediately to the ground, clutching the stone as if that would stop the world from turning on its axis. He tried to think--how many steps had that been? Third from their rest stop, he couldn't tell how many from the start.

"Hey," he said, breathing hard, shaking his head as if that would clear it. His vision was still white and the sun took care of the rest. "Still with me?" Well, he hadn't heard any screaming or squishing sounds. He reached out, searching for Re-l's shoulder.