Give Yourself Away by Barbara Elsborg Read Free Book Online Page A

harness, he checked he was fastened on—twice. Maybe he wasn’t into tempting fate that much. March walked a little way down the hill. He never used a permanent leash when he was in the water, but if he let go of the kite while he was over land, the results wouldn’t be pretty.
    The lines stretched out behind him and the wind tugged. There was always an element of danger with any sort of extreme sport, no matter how carefully you calculated wind speed, how often you consulted the weather report or scoped out what you might end up flying over or into. While there were no pylons or wind turbines in the vicinity, a stone wall did lie across his takeoff route. He should be airborne before he reached it. Should be. If he wasn’t, he’d smack into it.
    So, Fate? What are you going to do to me? Save me or not?
    March walked forward until he felt the kite pulling more strongly. He glanced over his shoulder, checking the lines weren’t tangled. As the material filled and the kite rose, he faced forward and dug in his heels, waiting for the perfect moment before he started to run.
    Within seconds March was in the air, his feet bicycling as he rose. He veered to the left but still soared up, along with his heart rate. Adrenaline surged and he whooped. Now he was airborne, he’d stepped over the line beyond which death waited. One day he wouldn’t find the way back and that was fine with him. What did he have to live for? What he wanted had been taken away and that’s when he’d lost part of his will to keep living.
    But deliberately killing himself was a step too far. He wouldn’t do that to his mother after all she’d been through. Plus, there was something inside him now that wouldn’t let him make that final move. Instead, he played a game with Fate and let his future hang in the balance.
    The lack of control over his flight both thrilled and alarmed him. If he’d been kitesurfing, he’d have fallen back onto the waves by now, maybe doing a flip or risking a loop. Without water to cushion his landing, tricks were out. Staying airborne for as long as possible was the aim.
    Caught by a sudden gust, March spiraled up until he must have been at least a hundred feet off the ground. Too high. He maneuvered to lose height, then leaned to change direction. Still not quite the direction he’d hoped for. He wanted to avoid built-up areas, and he was still heading for the town. His heart leapt as a bird zoomed across his flight path. Distracted momentarily, he was caught in another updraft and had to turn again to bring himself lower. Now he was going the right way but there was a finite amount of land ahead before the sea stretched in front of him.
    Concentrate or crash.
    And look for somewhere to set down before the land runs out.
    There might have been no pylons or houses, but there were plenty of isolated farm buildings, trees and cows. March hissed with a mixture of delight and terror as he pulled up his feet and barely skimmed the tops of several trees. He tugged at the bar to turn until open fields lay ahead, though the sea still glittered beyond. Maybe he would be landing in water. But between him and it was a steep drop over a cliff where an unexpected updraft could drag him back to disaster.
    One last maneuver brought him into the wind and as the stretch of remaining land shrank and a herd of cows scattered, March tucked his legs up, waited until the last second to unclip himself from the kite to stop it dragging him, then let go of the bar and rolled as he hit the ground. The kite came to earth several yards away. He was lucky the wind hadn’t taken it over the water.
    The landing knocked the breath out of him but not the life. Was that feeling in his chest disappointment or relief? Relief. When he turned onto his back to give his lungs a chance to inflate, he found himself looking up at an inquisitive Friesian. March laughed.
    “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” a guy yelled.
    March looked from the cow