Free 1.5 - Destiny Unchosen by Lindsay Buroker Page B

she hung there by one hand, wondering how many more times her heart would try to leap out of her chest before it succeeded.
    Jakatra, already standing on the branch, looked down at her. Doubtlessly wondering what was taking so long. Temi swung up her other hand and hauled herself onto the slender branch. As soon as her feet were on it, Jakatra jogged along its length, the wood shivering beneath his steps, and leaped a couple of feet, landing on an equally slender limb stretching across from the next tree. He trotted out of the way, then stopped to wait again.
    Temi wiped sweat out of her eyes, spread her arms for balance, and tightrope-walked after him. She wished for some of the gripping skills of those simian cousins. Her shoes lay at the bottom of the tree, and she had flung her socks down at some point, as well, so she tried to use her toes, but mostly she relied on her balance, inching farther and farther. The branch trembled, growing narrower as she moved along it. The snaps and cracks of the fire reached her ears, adding pressure to the situation. As if the yips and whines coming from the base of the tree weren’t enough. Temi kept hoping the animals would take off, but a handful of them were following her progress from the ground, their snouts tilting upward as if she were the only food they had seen in months.
    “You will find it easier with more momentum,” Jakatra said when she stopped at the point where he had crossed.
    “Good to know,” Temi said and very carefully made the jump. She bent her knees and spread her arms, catching her balance on the new branch. “Next,” she said when she got over the relief of making it.
    Jakatra led her to the trunk, then out onto a branch on the other side. Temi did her best to keep up, all too aware of how quickly that fire was spreading.
    A whine like that of a mosquito, but louder, sounded, and one of the branches above her snapped. It fell, nearly dropping onto her head. She batted it aside with her arm, but it upset her balance, leaving her flailing for her life once again.
    “What was that ?” she blurted when she had regained her balance.
    “A projectile weapon not unlike your firearms.” Jakatra pointed into the air above the fire. The hovercraft was back, its beam probing the trees again, the smoke making the light hazy, surreal. This whole damned experience was surreal. “Hurry.” He ran along the branch as he spoke, jumping onto the next one.
    “Hurry where ?” Temi growled, though she raced after him as quickly as she dared. She grudgingly admitted that he had been right, that it was easier when she went faster instead of checking her balance every inch of the way. But it hardly mattered. The cats were guarding the ground, whoever had the gun was guarding the air, and the fire was coming from the side. Where could they possibly flee to? “We’re going to have to confront... somebody.”
    The animals, the people, she didn’t know which confrontation they would be more likely to survive, but they were targets at the moment.
    Another whining weapon fired, blasting into the side of the trunk. Bark flew everywhere, this time battering Jakatra. So, he was as much of a target as she. Later, Temi might find that interesting, but right now, she was too busy trying not to fall off the branches. She lunged behind a trunk, expecting to have to climb to another branch, but Jakatra was waiting there, the bulk of the tree hiding them from the hovercraft.
    He gripped her arm. “You are correct. I will confront my people. You continue in the trees. Get as far as you can. Make sure you’re out of the fire’s path.” He pointed in a direction, though how he could tell which way the fire would turn, she couldn’t guess. “Don’t go down unless you’re certain the animals have given up the chase. Even then, stay near the trees. Eleriss will find you eventually.”
    She imagined him snoozing in a bed—or a funky hammock—back in a city somewhere. “At