Betrayal: Starship Renegades, #3 by S.J. Bryant

Author:S.J. Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saffron Bryant
Published: 2019-11-09T08:13:07+00:00

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

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