by S. J. Bryant
Kari held up her hands. "Oh no, we can't do that. She'll be following us and we have to keep moving."
"You're moving into scrag country. If you keep going, you'll be dead by nightfall."
Kari swallowed and glanced at her companions. The man could be lying, but was that a risk they were willing to take?
"My name is Loko," he said. "It's not right for people to be hunted when they've done nothing wrong. You will come to our village. We will feed you and give you shelter. At least for a night."
Kari wanted to argue. More people meant more complications. But the tone in Loko's voice made her suspect that she didn't really have a choice. "One night," she said.
Loko shrugged. "To begin. This way."
He turned into the trees and the sway and flow of his loose cloak made him blend with the leaves as the wind rustled through them.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Ryker said from the corner of his mouth.
"We don't have a choice," Kari said. "If he's got friends in the trees…"
"He does," Piper said. "At least five. I can hear them breathing."
"…then they could kill us at any second. We'll do what he says, see what they want, and then get the hell out of there as soon as we can."
"And Wren?" Atticus said.
Kari winced. "Maybe having more people around will put her off?"
Ryker snorted. "More likely it will make her harder to spot and she'll sneak up on us and stab you in the back in broad daylight."
Kari could almost feel the sharp blade between her shoulder blades. Would Wren do that? Would she stab Kari in the back after everything they'd been through? Although… Wren had already tried the honorable fight and Kari had been saved by Ryker and Atticus… not exactly fair.
"Come," Loko's voice drifted through the trees.
Kari shrugged and started after him, trying to weave through the forest like he did. But she ended up getting caught in the vines and having to wrench and pull her way through. It was as if he could move without the trees touching him—an impressive skill but it made him damn hard to follow.
"Are the others still here?" Kari said after ten minutes of shoving through branches.
"Yes," Piper said. "They're watching us. I don't think they're impressed."
Kari tore her sleeve free from yet another prickly vine. "I don't blame them. I feel ridiculous."
"Just keep going," Piper said. "They haven't given any alarm."
"Yet," Kari muttered. She did her best to keep a sense of direction but in the thick of the trees it was impossible. It didn't help that the thick foliage above blocked out most of the sun so she couldn't even use it to work out which direction they were walking.
She just had to trust that this Loko wasn't leading them into a trap. Ha! Trust some man she'd only just met in the middle of a bloody forest?
What could possibly go wrong?
CHAPTER 16
A short time later, Kari pushed through a thick wall of leaves after Loko and came to a stop. The forest opened out around them, creating a cleared area free of undergrowth, broken only by the thick trunks of trees that shot out of the ground like massive sentinels.
The earth had been packed down by many feet and the undergrowth and vines pushed back or cut away to create a small pocket of order amongst the chaos of the forest. Rope ladders hung down the sides of the trunks, leading to wooden shelters that peeked out from amongst the upper branches of the trees. Some had roofs made of curved hunks of metal that looked like the hulls of spaceships.
A smell—of cooking meat—permeated the area, making Kari's stomach rumble.
"Nice place," Ryker said.
Loko stopped and spread his arms wide. "Welcome. You will have to excuse my people. They are shy of strangers from the city."
Kari frowned, only then spotting a few faces peering out from around the trunks of the trees or looking down on them from above. Like Loko, they wore flowing cloaks of mottled green and brown that blended with their surroundings.
"Come," Loko said.
He led them deeper into the clearing, to a tree bigger than Kari had ever seen. It would have taken more than ten people with arms outstretched to encircle it. A rope ladder hung down its side. Loko slid his spear into a loop of material on his back and scampered up the ladder as if it was a sturdy set of stairs made of marble, rather than a flimsy piece of rope with a few chunks of wood tied across it.
"You first," Ryker said.
Kari glanced back at him, and to the others, but none of them seemed keen to climb up. She drew a deep breath. It was her fault they were in this mess, so she would go first. It was unlikely Loko was setting a trap at the top of the ladder, he or his people could have skewered Kari a dozen times during the walk, but that didn't mean she couldn't lose her grip and fall to a messy death on the forest floor.
No. She could do this.
Kari gripped the rope in both hands and hauled herself up high enough for her feet to reach the bottom rung. The piece of wood twisted and tilted under her weight and the rope swung.
Butterflies swarmed through Kari's stomach. She was barely a foot from the ground and yet already she didn't want to look down. It's not that she was afraid of heights, after all, she flew to the level of space all the time. But a fear of falling… that was more than reasonable.
Kari forced herself to reach higher and haul herself to the next rung. The rope swung further, bumping her wrists against the hard wood of the trunk. Sweat sprang out on her forehead and wet her palms. Great. What if the sweat made her lose her grip and she fell?
"Are you going to take all day?"
Kari jumped at Ryker's voice, realizing she'd been hanging with her eyes closed for several moments. She'd thought she was well on her way up the tree but when Ryker spoke, she glanced sideways and found her head was barely higher than his.
"I didn't know there'd be climbing," she said through gritted teeth.
"Just get up there," Ryker said. "I don't remember you having a problem in Clevaria."
"That was different. People were shooting at us."
Ryker laid a hand on the gun at his waist. "I can start shooting at you if that will help?"
Kari scowled at him as she reached higher. He was right. What was she so afraid of? She'd faced things a hundred times worse than climbing a tree. She was overthinking it, that's all. And besides, she'd rather die than show weakness in front of Ryker.
So, Kari forced herself to climb, ignoring the sway of the rope and the feel of empty space beneath her feet. She focused on the top, on a wooden platform that spread between the upper branches of the tree.
Her arms ached by the time she clambered onto the platform, but at least she hadn't frozen in fear.
Atticus came next. His face was pale and covered in sweat by the time he reached her, but he'd done it.
Piper scampered up only moments later, apparently unconcerned by the climb. Kari couldn't understand it. Her sister had always been brave, and yet just the day before she'd almost gone into a catatonic state because she didn't want to forget a single detail of the rain. Now, she could climb a tree without a single worry. How did that work?
Ryker came last and when he put his weight on the rope it groaned where it was tied around a thick branch beside the platform.
"Will it hold him?" Kari said.
Loko stood behind them and grinned. "The rope is strong."
Ryker grabbed the top of the platform, dragging himself up. His face was red and his shirt drenched in sweat. "Why the hell did we have to come up here?"
"We build our houses here to keep away from the scrags," Loko said. "Otherwise we would have the same problem you did last night."
"Right," Kari said. At least that she could understand. "They can't climb?"
Loko's face darkened. "We bring the ladders up at night. Now come, the elders will want to meet you."
The huge tree spread out around them, with platforms and rooms built into it, like a mansion on top of the fore
st. Steps led up to the biggest of the shelters, with a curved hunk of metal for a roof.
Loko led them inside, where two women and two men sat around a fire. The fire danced inside a curved metal plate, the red coals gleaming in the relative darkness. Heat emanated from the flames and filled the room.
Loko bowed to the four. "Elders, these are the strangers we heard last night."
"You assessed them?"
"They won't be trouble," Loko said, meeting Kari's gaze.
She nodded.
"Then sit," said the older man. His gray beard hung down to his chest and his thick eyebrows covered most of his eyes. "You too, Loko."
Kari did as he said, although the heat of the fire was suffocating. What did they need flames for? Couldn't they just cut a window in the roof?
"You speak the common tongue well," Kari said, when the silence became too much.
"As do you," said the elder with a twinkle in his eye.
Heat—more than from the fire—spread over Kari's cheeks, forcing her to look down. That would teach her for trying to break an awkward silence.
"Why are you here?" the elder said.
"We're just passing through."
"No one comes into the forest without a reason. Usually the city people we see are coming to join us, but somehow I don't think that's you."
"The city people?" Kari said.
"We're not stupid," the elder said. "And we're not blind. Many of us came from the city or the other planets originally. I used to be a banker."
Kari's eyebrows shot up and she shared a glance with Ryker. "A banker? So you weren't… born here?"
Loko winked. "No. Not many of us were. We came here by choice."
"To live?" Ryker said, looking around at the sparse room and the hot fire. "I think I'd rather a real bath any day."
"I think it's beautiful," Piper said.
The elder nodded. "It's not for everyone, but some find it… soothing."
"It's so quiet," Piper said.
Kari couldn't have disagreed more. The noise of birds and animals in the trees made a cacophony of noise, not to mention the constant rustle of leaves. At least on her ship she could block out the noise of everything outside.
"It has appeal," Atticus said.
"You're both crazy," Ryker said.
"This is often the way," Loko said. "Some see it, some don't."
"But that doesn't answer the question," said the elder. "What are you doing here?"
Kari shared a look with her companions. What would these forest people think if she told them the truth? But would they know if she lied? And what did she want anyway? Perhaps staying with the tribe was a good thing. Wren might have lost their trail, and even if she followed them here, her chances of sneaking up the rope ladder without being seen were small. Perhaps this small village could give Kari the protection she needed until she could come up with a better plan.
"I'm being hunted," she said at last.
The elder raised one of his bushy eyebrows. "Hunted?"
"Yes. By… an assassin."
The elder clicked his tongue. "Trained?"
"The Guild on Zenith."
The elder winced. "It has been a long time since I heard that name, but still I remember stories of the Guild. Is there a reason they're hunting you?"
Kari shrugged. Was there a reason the Guild had put a hit on her? In all the rush and panic she hadn't had much time to properly think about it.
"Well?"
"I upset the Imperium," Kari said at last. That had to be it. Who else would have taken a hit out on her from the Guild?
"You're a terrorist?" the elder said, face stiffening.
"No!" Kari said. "No." Then she paused. Of course, she'd never considered herself a terrorist, but then… she had gone into an Imperium facility, killed a bunch of people, taken their stuff, and then destroyed it. What did that make her in their eyes?
"You seem uncertain."
"I just…" Kari looked at Piper, who was admiring a tapestry of woven fibers hanging on the wall. "I just wanted to save my sister."
"Ah," the elder said. "They had her prisoner?"
"Yes."
"I've heard stories of the Raxis system," he said. "That is just one more reason that I enjoy the peace of this life, compared to out there."
Kari couldn't argue with that.
"We must consult," the elder said, "please talk amongst yourselves."
He and the three others stood and shuffled through a doorway into another room, leaving Kari and her companions with Loko.
"I visited Zenith once," Loko said. "Before I found this place."
"You did?" Kari said. She couldn't imagine the man, with his forest cloak and his spear, walking through the tunnels of Zenith.
"Yes. I didn't care for it. I missed the open sky."
"You're right," Piper said. "The blue sky is beautiful."
Loko smiled. "Perhaps you will tell me more of Zenith?"
A short time later, the elders returned. "You may stay."
CHAPTER 17
Kari stood on a platform outside the elders' building to survey the forest. This tree towered taller than most and she could look down on the rest of the forest, seeing it stretch into the distance.
They'd spent the day with the tribe. Kari had passed the time in tense readiness, sure that a trap would spring or that Wren would appear out of the shadows, but so far, nothing. Still, the close confines of the tribal hall had been too much, especially when other members of the tribe started gathering. So Kari had come out into the evening air.
It smelled crisp and clean, the scent of leaves carried on the cool breeze. The silver moon lit the tops of the trees but below the canopy the only light came from lanterns hung about the branches. These cast a flickering orange glow over the platforms and shelters but did nothing to light the undergrowth.
Kari dragged her attention away from the stretch of forest to the darkness that spread below her. The trunk of the tree disappeared into it, as if into a black pool, and she could see nothing of the ground. There could have been a hundred people down there looking up at her. Or just one—Wren.
"She's not there."
The voice made Kari jump. Loko stood behind her. He wore his customary lopsided grin and leaned against the railing beside Kari.
"You don't know her," Kari said. It was true. How could Loko, who spent his time living in the trees, have any idea what Wren was capable of? Sometimes she seemed superhuman. Kari's neck tingled.
"Our scouts would have spotted her if she came anywhere near the tribe. Or we would have heard the scrags getting worked up."
Kari didn't bother replying. Wren could sneak into the tribe without them noticing. The bright lights on the platforms were as good as a beacon, calling her in, and she could move silently. They'd never see her in the darkness on the forest floor and Kari had no doubt that Wren could climb the trees without the need of a rope ladder.
It was probably stupid of Kari to be standing out on the platform in the first place, signaling to Wren exactly where to go. But the shelter was so loud, so filled with people, Kari couldn't help twitching every time someone got close.
"Your sister," Loko said.
Kari stiffened.
"She's special."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She could see Loko looking at her but kept her eyes locked forward, on a shelter on the other side of the clearing where the lantern light cast moving shadows on the branches.
"I mean, she's been through some things."
"Haven't we all?"
"Not like that."
"So?"
"So, she's troubled."
Kari's jaw clenched. Who did this guy think he was? He'd barely known them for a day, and he'd practically kidnapped them. What right did he have to say anything about Piper? And besides, did he think she was stupid? She knew as well as anyone that Piper was troubled. It was all very well to say something like that, but it didn't make things better.
"You carry a lot of rage."
"No more than people deserve."
"Look at her now," Loko said.
"What?" Kari finally turned to face him.
He gestured to the open doorway leading into the crowd. A loud rumble of voices came from the shelter, accompanied by the bright orange glow of the fire. If Wren were in the forest, she'd be able to see and hear them from miles away.
Kari stomped across the platform but stopped just outside the door, still in shadows, so that she could see in, but the people inside wouldn't be able to see her.
The tribespeople sat in a circle around the fire. They clapped in time with a deep and sonorous drum that one of them played. They chanted and sang, creating a cacophony of sound that made Kari's ears ring.
And there was Piper, sitting between Ryker and Atticus and all three were clapping along with the rest of them. Piper smiled. A bigger smile than any she'd had since Kari had rescued her from the facility. For the first time that Kari could remember, Piper looked genuinely happy.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Loko said.
A lump in Kari's throat stopped her from talking. What made Piper so happy now? What did she get from a group of strangers, that she didn't get from Kari?
"You're blaming yourself," Loko said.
Kari rounded on him with fists balled. "Are you trying to make a name for yourself as some kind of mind-reader?"
Loko gave a sad smile. "No. I'm just trying to help."
Kari returned to the railing, not so much because she wanted to join him, but more because she didn't want the bright lights from inside to catch on her stinging eyes. "How can you help? You're just some guy who lives in a forest."
"Maybe, but your sister is smiling now, isn't she?"
"Are you saying that was you?"
Loko shrugged. "I helped."
"How?"
"By pointing out that she can enjoy herself."
Kari snorted. "As if I haven't told her that a hundred times."
Loko turned dark eyes on her. "But then you were shot at? Chased? And now hunted?"
Kari gripped the railing, the corners of the wood biting into her palms. "That's not my fault."
"I'm not saying it is."