Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) by Jayne Faith & Christine Castle

Author:Jayne Faith & Christine Castle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: science fiction romance, sci fi romance, futuristic romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, alien romance, gothic romance, new adult
Published: 2015-10-15T23:00:00+00:00

11

Maya

A STIFF, COOL breeze hit my skin before my eyes fully recovered from the bright light of the portal. I took in strange smells and the touch of crisp air on my face. Blinking spots from my vision, I immediately noticed the low angle of the sun—it seemed to be evening wherever we were. I had no idea if we were still on Calisto or had passed through the portal to some other world.

There were a few spindly trees nearby. Old wood creaked under my feet, and I looked down to see that we stood on a platform that was fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. Strange calls of birds and other animals sounded all around us.

I whirled, looking for Orion. Finding him behind me, I clutched at his arm. “Will you team with me? Our odds might be better if we work tog—”

My hasty plea ended in a shriek as the platform under us snapped loudly and then tilted. My arms flailed as I reflexively struggled for balance and screamed again. Just before I pitched over the edge, a strong hand clamped around my upper arm and pulled me to safety.

I looked up into Orion’s blanched face. He had a hold on one of the support posts of the platform with one hand, and gripped me with the other.

“We need to get off this thing; it’s going to collapse any second,” he said.

I nodded breathlessly, vaguely registering his use of “we” and hoping it meant he’d accepted my proposition.

A terrified scream and plea for help came from the other end of the platform. The dry, splintering platform had broken away from one of the four uprights, but a scrap of a plank still hung on the post. An Obligate balanced on it, her arms wrapped around the post.

“Pull me over, please!” the girl was begging the nearest Obligates—Cheytan and Britta.

Britta started to reach across the gap to extend a hand to the girl, but Cheytan swatted her hand away. “Leave her! We can’t take any more weight on this side.”

Cheytan was probably right—many Obligates were on their hands and knees clinging to the floor planks to keep from sliding off as the platform creaked and sagged. Still, her heartless tone chilled me.

The other Obligates were talking over each other, wondering where we were, why there wasn’t a ladder down. A couple were whimpering or staring silently with wide, shocked eyes.

“Can you make it over to that branch?” Orion asked in my ear.

I followed his gaze to a tall, thin tree, and nodded. We shifted around so I was nearest the tree. I stood on the edge of the plank, balancing with Orion’s hand to steady me. The branch I was aiming for required a three-foot jump, which I knew I could make. My bigger concern was whether it would hold my weight.

The platform shifted again, the broken side dropping another couple of feet, and everyone shrieked. I grabbed the support post to keep from toppling backward, found my balance, and jumped.

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