I fidgeted as I stood beside the crystal. Five hunters remained within arm's reach as the stars overhead faded with the coming dawn. But we weren't in our village, and it wasn't possible to relax and appreciate their beauty while I was out here.

Nor was I happy about being rousted out of bed this early to make sure I was able to claim the Blackbird Marsh crystal for our village today. Yes, it would ensure we weren't followed by another hunter when hiking out to locate the new crystal, but I liked my sleep.

I could have gone back to the village, and the hunters had tried to convince me to go, but I wasn't about to leave them out here alone. Not when it was this dark. We'd already had some sort of knee-high canine circling the area earlier, although it was too dark to identify our growling guest. It had left, but who knew what else might be lurking nearby.

The air shimmered beside me as Roxanne appeared with a yawn. "If you can take three hunters and claim some crystals, I can guard the remaining two."

"I'll stay here," a hunter said. "Back-to-back ports don't agree with me."

I nodded as the others discussed who wanted to stay behind and who'd accompany me. My morning "hops" had become notorious, and the rapid, multiple ports made their stomachs churn. While waiting here this morning, I'd learned that it took half a day before they felt normal. Non-porters seemed to feel porting lurches and multi-port effects more strongly than the porters did.

"I assume I'm still supposed to avoid the farms?" I asked Roxanne.

"One ripe field, as per Janette's very firm request that even certain nosy busybodies didn't dare argue against. Otherwise, remote places with decent pickings, if possible." She rolled her eyes and lowered her tone as she mimicked a voice. "Avoid farms at all costs. They're just too dangerous. Even the alpine slopes are preferable."

"Which patriarch was that? Barrett?" I muttered. Grant and every porter, hunter, and gatherer knew the slopes were picked bare. The people there wouldn't even find enough for themselves unless they traveled at least a couple of hours away. Most of the villagers knew it too.

She nodded. "The one and only. Surprisingly enough, Tieber was absent."

"Well, Barrett wanted us as far as possible from the Saursunes, so that was to be expected." I was still miffed at the man for burning the magazines and then lying to me. When three hands barely touched my shoulders, I glanced at the hunters in confusion. "Are you sure you're hanging on well enough? I don't want to drop you mid-port."

Such things were rare, but if the connection was tenuous, it was possible. Anyone dropped mid-port was often knocked unconscious for hours and left with a migraine that lingered for days. Those events quickly reminded everyone how important contact was during a port.

"We don't want to hurt you," one said quietly, her eyes flickering down to my wrist. There was enough light now to see the dark blemish around my wrist.

I made a face. "The usual is fine. Just please do me a favor and don't yank me back with all your strength unless it's a life-or-death situation. And at this point, I don't count a non-aggressive Saursune as a threat."

Their hands gained a bit more weight. I touched the crystal, and light shimmered through my veins as I murmured the name of a field that had been recently harvested.

It took eight ports before I found enough open crystals for my passengers, even at this early hour. I returned home and discovered I had time to rest. Only a few of the hunters and gatherers were waiting. The rest were still sleeping or just waking up.

I told Grant where I'd left the hunters and went to sit on a bench. Nolani headed directly for me, not looking entirely happy, and I mentally braced myself for whatever she was going to say.

"Sorry about your wrist," she said gruffly, not sounding entirely sincere. "When I saw that lizard appear, it reminded me of my cousin, and I couldn't let you walk into danger." Firmly, she added, "I'm not about to let a porter die on my watch."

I could see several people on ledges above watching expectantly, so I was pretty sure family and friends had pressured the hunter into making an apology to maintain the village peace.

I picked my words carefully. "While I appreciate your vigilance, I'm hoping this doesn't happen again."

"You and me both," she replied shortly. "Those Saursunes are killers. Don't let your guard down around them."

This discussion was about to go downhill if it continued, so I merely nodded. Nolani gave me a curt nod and promptly went over to Grant. Three hunters—Tib, Brielle, and Cruz—came to stand near me. My guides looked far too rested for my peace of mind. Thankfully, we wouldn't leave until the sun had completely risen, so I had a small respite.

"That was an uncomfortable conversation," I murmured to them. "Nolani and I definitely don't see eye to eye when it comes to the Saursunes."

Tib shrugged. "It's best to just give her space for now. She's paranoid that the Saursunes are going to kill someone else she knows. Even if the Saursunes have been bringing us food and trading for your energy, it would be wise to be cautious. We have no way of knowing how deep these changes go."

As much as I'd been assuming the Saursunes' recent behavior was a permanent change, Tib's words were true. And what harm was there if some people decided to avoid them like we always had? At worst, they collected less food. But if I was wrong, many lives were on the line.

I waited on the bench, giving the sun a bit more time to rise. Like we had planned last night, Merryl and Roxanne each took half of my group with them. My wrist got more than a few looks as groups gathered and ported out.

As the last of the porters left, Grant came over. "Please tell me that you smeared mud on your wrist for it to be that color."

I held it up so he could see my wrist was clean. "Mud poultices aren't my favorite. I'm hoping to find some herbs while we travel."

There hadn't been any point in checking with the doctor. Any herbs he had were reserved for serious injuries, such as the bites Janette's group members got when fighting off the feral dogs, not mere bruises. His stocks were still dangerously low after having so many plants end up in the soup pots instead of being reserved for minor ailments.

Only a few villagers were still protesting that decision; after the initial shock, most were swayed by hungry stomachs. There were enough herbs for minor injuries, but otherwise, if the person survived until the next day, the doctor was allowed to take fresh herbs from what the groups brought in.

That was the villagers' logic anyway. It still didn't sit right with me. There was never a guarantee on what we'd find.

Grant's lips tightened. "I told her to watch how much force she uses. She did admit that she was focused on your safety and probably grabbed you too hard in the heat of the moment. But if she does it again, I'm removing her from the hunter groups, and I don't care what the patriarchs and villagers say. The last thing we need is a porter with a broken or sprained wrist."

I shrugged. "I plan to avoid her for a while. I know she's grieving over lost relatives and was probably just reacting to danger, but that doesn't change how much it hurt. That Saursune is always at that spot. Everyone knows it isn't aggressive." Although, after the way the brown female had narrowed her eyes at Nolani, she probably was wise to be careful in the future.

"I've had requests from several people about not being assigned to the same location as her," Grant said, crossing his arms. "Organizing groups could get problematic."

"I'll leave that fun to you, but in the meantime, the sun will have risen enough at Blackbird Marsh for us to start walking." Standing up, I gave the hunters a smirk and added, "Go easy on me."

Tib looked amused. "We'll let you set the pace."

With a wave at Grant, I went to the crystal with my guides in tow. As our view cleared, we discovered that Merryl, Calum, and Ariel had been assigned here.

"Have fun," my sister told me with a grin.

"Next time, I'm sending you out with them," I mock grumbled.

She laughed. "But every time I offer, you won't let me go!"

"Of course not," I retorted, fighting a grin. "You have to babysit Callie and Calum."

As I had hoped, Calum raised an eyebrow as if trying to remind me which sister was always getting into mischief. Now that I had reminded him how much fun he could have had if I stayed here, I followed the three hunters, who were already waiting by the shrubs for me.

Cruz had a leather map with sketches of various landmarks and the location of the crystal he'd found. He had purposefully not used charcoal trail markers on his way back so other villages wouldn't be able to find it.

The ground between the trees was fairly flat without any devious moss hiding holes and protruding roots, so we were able to manage a brisk walk without much effort.

~

I stepped over a fallen log as Tib quietly said, "There's a Saursune to the right."

We all paused as a glimpse of blue scales slipped between the shrubs.

"Do we keep going?" I asked.

"Might as well. It knows we're here."

We kept walking, and the glimpses got closer. Its head rose above a shrub for a few seconds before disappearing again, just long enough for me to tell it was a male and not one I recalled meeting before.

My eyes followed its path. "How far are we from the crystal?"

We'd been walking for at least four hours, but that was at my speed.

Tib checked his map. "About half an hour."

"At least we got this far," I said with a sigh.

The Saursune appeared farther ahead and stopped. He tilted his head at us and looked around before disappearing behind the shrubs again. Half a minute later, the bushes to the side rustled as he emerged about fifteen paces away. He wasn't wearing armor or a belt, but he did have an armband.

The hunters hesitated, instinct telling them to gather around me protectively, but also aware that a porter was probably safer than they were. We kept walking, and the Saursune ambled beside us, still fifteen paces away as he examined us.

"He's probably wondering what we're doing out here," Tib murmured. "They're used to finding hunters far from the crystals, but not porters."

We continued like that for several minutes before the Saursune bounded ahead. A rabbit darted out in front of him, and the agile alien raced after it just like one of Mack's rabbit hounds. It only took him six strides to catch up, and a snap of his jaws brought the chase to an end.

He picked up the rabbit in his jaws and trotted back to us. With a flick of his head, he threw it at Cruz, who caught it despite the lack of warning. He trotted back into the shrubs without looking back.

We looked at each other in confusion but continued walking. Occasionally, the blue Saursune swung back as if to check where we were. Another rabbit was brought and tossed to Brielle.

When we finally reached the crystal, the Saursune was already sitting to the side. He got up and circled around us, coming closer. I held out a hand, although he ignored it and went to my other hand to sniff the rudimentary poultice wrapped around my wrist.

He made an odd keening sound, walked to the trees, then walked back to us. He repeated it several times.

"I've never heard that sound before," I murmured, "but I think he wants us to follow him?"

Brielle replied equally as quietly, "He didn't take your energy either."

Tib added, "If it were anything but a Saursune, I'd say it was asking for help, but their medicines are far above the poultice he was sniffing."

"Let me just familiarize myself with this crystal, then we can follow it," I said.

Nodding to the Saursune, I jogged to the crystal and rested my hand on it. The Saursune keened again, possibly thinking I was leaving. His second keen cut off when he glanced at the hunters and noticed they weren't following me. Sitting, he tilted his head as I "felt" the crystal and used a stick to quickly scratch Beyond the Marsh into the leaf litter.

Now that I knew I could return here when I wanted, I walked toward the Saursune with my hunters. His head came up in excitement, and he trotted down an animal trail, returned to us, and trotted back the way he'd come, clearly leading us somewhere.

The hunters kept a close eye on our surroundings, and Tib frequently used a piece of charcoal to mark trees in case we had to find our way back.

"Were there any fields, farms, or buildings this way?" I asked them.

"None of us found anything like that, and I went farther out than this," Tib replied.

To think the patriarchs almost had a fit when we let a Saursune herd us into a pasture. This time, we were following one deep into a forest that our hunters had only explored once.