The air hazed around me, and when it cleared, the hunter and three others were nearby. Some discomfort tightened my chest, but it was minor after a solo port.

"A Saursune swung by," the older hunter commented. "It left, just like last time. I'm guessing it's the same one since it was the same color."

"It probably put more trackers in the carry nets. There were two really big tracking beads in the last batch."

"That would explain why the Saursune showed up shortly after you ported, then immediately left without bothering us. We're probably packing another tracking bead," the hunter crossed his arms unhappily.

Trying to dig through a pile of wilted greens while looking for something potentially as small as a grain of rice was so futile it might as well have been pointless. Thankfully, the scanner would allow us to find it in seconds. I was tempted to bring the scanner here, but a lot of groups would be returning about now, and it would be needed there.

I sat with my back against the crystal while waiting for the others to arrive. Light shimmered through my veins pleasantly. It had a calming and relaxing effect, which was why I didn't sit like this when I had to be vigilant. Some birds sang overhead, prudently remaining in the dense branches and out of sight of the hunter.

"It's back," the hunter said, stepping closer to the crystal. The other three ran over.

I scrambled to my feet. Once I was standing, the Saursune's light green scales made it easy to spot. It was close enough for me to see its eyes meet mine. It padded silently through the forest as it circled us at a distance, then disappeared into the undergrowth.

"If that wasn't a check-in to see what we were doing, I don't know what is," the hunter said, still watching the shrubs.

"What—what is it waiting for?" a woman asked nervously.

My eyes drifted to the carry nets beside the crystal. "We haven't moved the nets in over an hour. Maybe it thought we found a tracking bead and left it behind?"

The woman shuddered and took a half-step away from what she had helped collect. We remained mere footsteps from the crystal but saw no further sign of the Saursune.

Not long after, rustling in the distance put us on alert. Our last six companions emerged from the undergrowth at a run. Their swift pace could only mean one thing.

"Get ready to bounce," I told those near me, although they were already grabbing the carry nets.

"There's a Saursune behind us!" one called across the distance, out of breath.

"The others are already safe," the hunter beside me called back, holding out a hand. "We're just waiting for you."

They put on a final, weary burst of speed and grabbed onto the outstretched hands offered. Even though I didn't see anything behind them, I saw no point in waiting around.

"Guard Station."

Even as the forest disappeared, a glimpse of light green appeared on the trail the group had used. It blurred out before I could see any details.

As soon as we arrived, the hunter said, "Check for trackers."

The guard was already following the scanner, which showed two regular dots and a larger, pulsing one. I waited by the crystal, rubbing the area above my heart with a faint frown.

The discomfort was back and worse than before. The hour-long break had helped, but porters could only manage so many trips a day—especially if they were heavy ones—regardless of how well we rested between. Thankfully, it wasn't a deep ache. I didn't have time for a fifteen-minute break.

Three guards and two gatherers quickly shook out the carry nets and dug through the greens to locate the foreign objects. The larger tracker was quickly located, and I held out my hand. He tossed it to me before following the scanner to a different net. A regular tracking bead quickly joined the one in my hand as another carry net was opened to locate the third one.

"Where is it?" the guard asked, frantically digging through the pile a second time.

I uneasily checked the horizon as they pushed more and more plants to the sides, trying to locate the elusive bead.

"It's in the tuber!" another guard exclaimed.

A dirty root was deposited in my hands, and I immediately ported. "Apple Orchard."

The lack of recovery time turned the discomfort into an ache. It took me a second to get my bearings and throw the trackers in the same direction I had last time. At the same time, three Saursunes stood up among the concealing shrubs. Still off-balance from the throw, the shock made me stumble and drop to one knee as the beads pattered against the leaves. One of the aliens lifted a device in its hands, pointing it in my direction.

I quickly grabbed onto the crystal, murmuring, "Guard Station, Guard Stat—"

My voice disappeared as the world hazed around me, clearing as I appeared back in the desert. I rested my forehead against the crystal, more relieved at escaping my close call than wearied by the deepening ache.

The older hunter was immediately beside me. "Are you okay?"

"I need a minute after that bounce," I said, making a mental note to avoid the Apple Orchard for quite some time. The last thing I needed to do was port into a trap now that they knew I frequently dropped tracker beads there.

"Take as long as you need," he said as he began putting the wilted greens back into their carry nets while keeping a close eye on me.

It took almost twenty minutes for the ache to fade. I moved to the bench as several groups came and went. Two had regular trackers, which their porters or the elderly porter had removed. I didn't offer to help port them—I was resting so I could get my group back to the village. My ports would be adding up and handing me the bill soon.

I finally stood up and asked, "Ready to go?"

The group began collecting everything as I stretched and limbered up. When they were ready, I walked over to the crystal. The light shimmered through me as I rested my hand on a spire.

I took a deep breath and said, "Home."

The porting strain returned with a vengeance, and the ache radiated into my arms and legs. Transporting ten people was noticeably harder than eight or nine. Once we arrived, I stumbled over to the resting hides on aching legs.

When Grant appeared in the doorway of his office with a concerned look, I gave him a thumbs-up and a smile that hopefully didn't reflect the pain in my muscles. Now that I had proven I could port nineteen people, I would very likely be doing it for the foreseeable future.

I just hoped the foreseeable future didn't include Saursunes and tracking beads.

~

I finished the last of my soup and sighed contentedly. My bowl had been full, as had everyone else's. Mostly greens, of course, but it was a welcome change from the meager servings over the last two days. I set my empty bowl beside me.

About half the porters were at the porter's circle. Merryl, Calum, and Callie were enjoying a quiet evening on the top ridge, pretending to have a picnic.

"Natalie, how many people do you think you can port?" Grant asked, contemplating his notes.

I gave him a quizzical look, not understanding where this question was going or why he was asking it with others present. Usually he was the one advising me to downplay my abilities, although that was mostly around the villagers, not other porters.

"At once? I wouldn't try more than twelve, and even that would be pushing it. I could manage two groups of ten if there isn't a rush bringing them back."

"What about three groups of eight?"

"Uh... Maybe? Porting eight is easier than ten. Why?"

He passed several leather sheets to me. "We still don't dare go near the fields, and the areas around the crystals are picked bare. Your group brought in almost half of our food today, and I have a couple more volunteers who are willing to walk hours away from the crystal."

I looked at the leather, and the numbers staring back at me were worse than I had realized. The only reason our bowls had been full was because of the greens, which didn't keep well in the desert heat, even if put into buckets of water. Two groups had come back early due to Saursunes showing up, but their porters hadn't had enough strength for another round trip.

Other than a dozen pails of water with submerged greens—just enough for the villagers to have a tiny lunch—there were no food reserves left. The village was on the verge of starvation. Part of me wanted to immediately agree, to keep the village fed, but twenty-four people wasn't a small group.

"Is it wise for me to take so many?" I quietly asked. "If I get ambushed, that's a lot of people lost. I can't port that many back-to-back if we have to run."

"They know the risks," he said with a heavy sigh, unhappy with the situation. "But they also want to make sure their grandchildren have enough to eat."

Grandchildren? That meant the new volunteers were all older people. No one would say it aloud, but with the village facing starvation in the face of a cull, anyone non-essential to the village's survival could be considered "dispensable" if certain, horrendous decisions had to be made.

Even thinking the words made my lips twist as if I had bitten into an unripe lemon. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time the villages had been faced with the hard choice of watching everyone become malnourished or evicting the eldest individuals in order to have enough food to keep the children alive.

"I'll take as many volunteers as I can port," I told him. "But if trouble shows up, there's no guarantee that I can get them out in time. Please make sure they know that."

I'd probably only get people who were over forty or were hindered by past injuries, but I figured it was only right to give them a chance to contribute. I refused to let them face the fate of being kicked out if it was in my power to prevent it.

Most porters could only take four or six passengers, so they took the fastest and strongest, those who could gather the most in the least amount of time, but I wasn't as limited. It just depended on how desperate the volunteers were. The farther they went from the crystal, the more food they'd find, but it also increased the risk they faced.

Grant nodded. "Thanks. I'll make sure they know, but I don't think it will dissuade them."

The creaking of wheels had me glancing over my shoulder. "There's my chariot." I wasn't even sure what a chariot was, other than it was something that had been pulled by horses, but it seemed to fit since I'd be dragging it between the crystals. Or did that make me the horse? Either way, the water cart needed to be ported.

"Actually," Grant told me, "I'm going to ask Roxanne to take the water cart today. If you think you have energy to spare, you can check if the cracked crystal has shed that shard yet, and the cooks saved some rabbit guts and other bits for that cat you're trying to train."

"I'm happy to help with the cart," Roxanne said, standing up and stretching.

Two hours of rest wouldn't have undone the invisible strain accumulated from my earlier heavy ports, so all I could do was say, "Thanks."

I visited with them for a while longer, then decided it was time to get moving. The guts were in a small leather bucket with just enough water to cover them, so I decided to visit the cat first.