Free SnaredbySaber by Shelley Munro

can
change to their other form. It’s something to do with the transformation.”
    “Can all your family shift?”
    “Yes, apart from my mother. Is that a
problem?”
    “I don’t have difficulties with other
races,” Eva said.
    “Good to know.”
    “I can’t afford to alienate my customers.
We’re near a spaceport and our customer base comes from all over the galaxy.”
    Below them, the creatures squabbled over
fallen yarrow fruit.
    “How long do you think we’ll be trapped up
here?”
    “As long as it takes,” Saber said.
    Frustration sliced and diced Eva. “We’re
never going to get to civilization at this rate.” She’d worked so hard, and now
it seemed revenge was slipping from her grasp. “I need to get back home as soon
as possible.”
    Saber cocked his head. “Why?”
    “None of your business.” Eva shifted her
weight, trying to find a comfortable spot, and the branch creaked. She clutched
at her wooden perch, a gasp of panic escaping.
    “Don’t move,” Saber said in a calm voice as
if he were discussing the weather patterns for the upcoming day.
    A distinct crack sounded, and Eva let out a
squeak of terror, gripping the branch even harder. Beneath her the creatures
gobbled up the windfall of fruit while she swayed on the wobbly tree limb. “The
branch is going to break.”
    “No, it will be fine. I’ll move to another
tree.” Like a youngster playing on a swing toy, he reached for the next branch
and swung over.
    The branch made another ominous cracking
sound. Eva shifted to the left then overcorrected to the right. She felt
herself falling and shrieked at the top of her lungs. Her hands clung to the
branch and her shirt rode up, the cool breeze whistling over her bare ass.
    “It’s all right, Eva. The pigs have
wandered off. You can drop.”
    “Pigs? Is that what they were? How do you
know they’re not going to wander right back?”
    Saber grasped her by the hips and helped
her down without making a comment about the shirt riding up. He did, however,
smooth his warm palm across one buttock as he set her on her feet.
    “Stop trying to sneak a touch,” she
snapped.
    “If you continue with your caterwauling,
you’ll attract their attention.”
    Eva consciously lowered her voice, but it
still emerged with a hint of strident attitude. “You touched my bottom.”
    “I could have left you dangling or let you
fall to the ground. I can put you back up there if it will make you feel any
better about the situation.”
    “You think you’re funny. You’re not.” Eva
cast a cautious look in both directions and started down the narrow track. This
time she kept a wary eye on both the sky and ground, and she didn’t bother to
check to see if Saber had decided to follow in her chosen direction.
    A tiny red creature darted across the path
in front of her, and Eva almost jumped out of her filthy socks. She patted her
chest and took a deep breath, hoping to regulate her heartbeat.
    “I hate this planet,” she muttered. “Give
me a dirty market full of thieves and purse grabbers any day. At least I know
what to expect.”
    The cat-man trotted past her in feline
form, and she glanced at his rear leg. He appeared fine, so obviously shifting
to heal the wound inflicted by the pig thing had worked. He looked a little
silly with his tied trews looped around his neck, but that was probably a wise
idea. He didn’t exactly have pockets.
    The track led into a clearing and a narrow
valley lay before them. Beyond the valley, several mountains sat in a compact
group. Eva came to a halt and stared at the purple plumes of smoke coming from
the tops of the cone-shaped peaks. “Why are they smoking?”
    Of course the black cat didn’t answer. He
continued moving down the path while she stared and attempted to puzzle out
this new mystery. The trees growing in the valley held a pink tinge on their
trunks and branches, which was an attractive contrast to the green of the
foliage.
    Eva resumed her trek and