A low growl woke me, and I lifted my head in panic, only to find myself unable to move my arms. I blinked rapidly into the tree-dappled sunlight, trying to adapt to the brightness and finally seeing the Saursune baring her teeth at a bear. When I shifted my arms, I realized her tail was still curled over me.

The bear was already making itself scarce, and the growl faded into silence. The Saursune glanced at me and noticed I was awake. She nudged my shoulder with a comforting hum, her tail finally uncurling and resting on the ground.

I cautiously sat up. I felt mostly recovered, but still tired after my power nap. From the sun's position, I guessed I had slept five or six hours. I couldn't believe I had slept that long or that hard, especially with a Saursune curled around me! Merryl would have called it a mini coma, not a nap.

And the Saursune had stayed with me—guarding me?—the entire time. I looked at her—truly looked at her—trying to see her as an intelligent "person" instead of a deadly predator whose species had killed thousands in the last century. It was a very difficult thing to do after so many years of running from them, seeing friends killed by their sharp claws, and hearing of dozens or even hundreds of deaths every year.

She gazed back at me; her eyes clearly reflected her intelligence. Perhaps not all Saursunes were the same? This one could have easily killed me while I slept, or even just left me to my own devices while I recovered. Yet, she had remained.

"Thank you," I quietly said, trying to put as much gratitude as I could into my voice, hoping the tone would convey the meaning.

She nuzzled my shoulder, deepening her hum. I gently brushed my fingers against her arm, pushing a tiny tendril of energy toward her. I could feel my porting energy so much more clearly now.

Instead of the faint resistance I had felt last time, I was met with something akin to a solid rock wall. It completely blocked me. I wasn't sure if she was keeping "me" out or just not letting me share any energy right now. Either way, it was probably a good thing since I was going to need everything I had to get my three groups home.

I took the chance to admire the subtle beauty of her hide and the scale-like pattern. Her arms were just the right length to double as forelegs if she chose to move on all fours. To my surprise, her claws didn't seem to be extendable like I had assumed. Several pale scars marred the scales on her right arm and hand.

My stomach rumbled, more concerned with food than the fact that I was sitting beside a Saursune. The dark brown female tilted her head, glanced at my stomach, then rose to her feet. She shook herself off and trotted over to the grass basket I had left in the creek.

I took the opportunity to convince my sleep-stiffened muscles to move. I managed to stand without embarrassing myself and stretched as the Saursune picked up the basket in her teeth and brought it over to me. My hands trembled as I slowly reached toward the sharp teeth to take it.

"Thank you," I murmured as she let go. It was a good thing clams could live out of the water for a day or so, because I wasn't about to put them back in the creek after the Saursune had taken them out.

My stomach gurgled again, and I picked some nearby sweet grass. The Saursune came over and sniffed the clump of grass. She circled behind me and bumped my arm with her head before walking away.

I watched her in confusion. When I didn't move, she came back, this time walking behind me and nudging her nose between my shoulder blades just hard enough to make me take a step forward to keep my balance.

She came alongside me and angled her neck underneath my hand. As she stepped forward, my hand slid up along her neck. Her hide was only as warm as the sun and internal body heat could account for, nothing like earlier. When my hand rested on her shoulder, she paused and looked at me.

It vaguely reminded me of when the cats tried to convince me to go to the hides and sit down with them. I took a tentative step forward. She took one as well, matching my pace and clearly waiting for me.

Feeling more than a bit lost, I kept my hand on her shoulder and let her guide me farther upstream. I glanced back uneasily at the crystal I was walking away from. As long as I could find the creek, it would be easy to follow it back. I grew more and more nervous as I followed the Saursune into the forest.

Two hundred paces later, she went around a dense thicket and stopped in front of a previously hidden berry bush. She dipped her shoulder out from under my hand and trotted away, not looking back. My mouth watered at the sight of all the berries.

I debated about trying to slip back to the crystal in case I had to port to safety—but why should I? If this Saursune wanted me dead, I wouldn't be standing here. Since I had obviously been guided to the berry bush, I ignored all of my training and began shoving the sweet fruit into my mouth.

Berries were a rare treat, and I'd never had more than one or two handfuls at a time. I alternated between the fruit and crisp plants in case so much sugar upset my stomach. The rustling of plant leaves made me turn around as the Saursune returned with two of my empty baskets in her jaws.

She set them down beside me and wandered to the side. Grabbing a large mouthful of sweetgrass, she ripped it free and dropped it in the basket. I continued picking berries and putting them in the smaller basket as I watched the Saursune.

After a quick sniff of the ground, she began digging. She paused and backed up a step, dropping a bunch of tiny objects into the basket. I craned my neck and finally realized that she had dug beneath a wild potato plant.

I was surprised that she had known to dig from the side to avoid killing the plant. The dirt was shoved back into the hole, and she trotted into the bushes again, leaving the basket where she had been digging.

My stomach quieted as I filled it, and I kept adding plants to my basket. I kept an eye on my surroundings, but I didn't see anything bigger than some songbirds. A high-pitched scream made me jump before I recognized it as a rabbit's death cry.

Barely a minute later, the Saursune returned with a gutted rabbit and dropped it in the basket. She grabbed the basket in her mouth, walked over to me, set it down, and gazed at me.

I bowed my head. "Thank you very much."

She looked around, then turned and disappeared into the foliage. After picking all the ripe berries, which took me quite a while, I stacked the various baskets and walked toward the creek.

I followed it back to where I had left the water. I scanned my surroundings, catching a brief glimpse of brown in the distance. Did I dare keep collecting clams? Was there any reason not to?

I set down two baskets and took the one with clams with me as I stepped into the water. I hadn't put my shoes back on, so I didn't need to take them off. I waded through the clear water as I began checking between rocks for more clams.

After an hour, my feet were wrinkly, so I got out of the water and drifted toward the crystal while picking various edible plants. I occasionally saw glimpses of brown, and I was pretty sure the Saursune was checking on me. The last few times I'd spotted her, I was quite certain she had let herself be seen.

It left me baffled, torn, and thoroughly confused. All my life, I'd only considered their presence to herald death if we were too slow in running. The last week had both reinforced that and proved there were exceptions.

One village had been destroyed and hundreds were dead. Yet, some Saursunes were putting food near the crystals after they cornered a porter. This one had kept guard over me and had even helped fill a basket.

My mind fretted over the details, rolling them around while trying to find any other explanation besides the one that we'd already noticed: the villages who raided were being eradicated, with only the porters being spared. Had that been an unnoticed trend in the past, back when all villages had gleaned the fields to some extent?

I shook my head; I'd been chased too many times in remote locations for it to be true. The real changes had started about a week ago—right after the one had caught my ankle. Until then, no porter had ever been pinned and released without a tracker, and during every other cull, most porters hadn't survived the encounter.

A week ago was also roughly when the Saursunes started trying to track anyone they could find. What would happen if they discovered the village locations of those foraging in distant areas? Was it possible they already knew where some of the villages were and were just waiting? And if so, what were they waiting for?

I finally sat down beside the crystal, feeling somewhat tired, like I needed a nap or at least a break from my swirling thoughts. I wondered how many porters had been caught today, and if they'd been pinned or if the Saursunes had acted like cats.

I highly doubted any of them had used a Saursune as a backrest.

I scratched my head as more questions surfaced. Those who had been pinned, had they all tried to run? Or was there a chance that most Saursunes would pretend to be cats if a porter stood still? Were all Saursunes following the same rules?

Another flash of dark brown proved the Saursune was still in the area, although I had no idea why she was hanging around. I really hoped she didn't come looking for more energy, not when I had twenty-four people to take back.

I nibbled on some plants while waiting for my group to return. They shouldn't be much longer, and I really hoped no one got lost.

The hunters slowly trickled back in, each carrying two or three carry nets containing small animals and a couple carry nets of highly desirable plants. It was a very good haul.

I told them that a Saursune had shown up, but I did not tell them about taking a nap with it or that it had guided me to a berry bush. I phrased my story to sound like I had stood still and it had just circled around me before leaving.

Once eight hunters had returned, I left a note on a piece of bark saying I'd be back soon, and ported the group to the Guard Station. I felt my energy drain while the air hazed around us. The tiredness returned even though no hint of porting strain was present.

The guard's scanner was green as he walked around us. "Only eight this time? Not nine or ten?"

My porting abilities were apparently becoming a discussion somewhere.

"I'm trying to see if I can port three groups of eight back," I said with a shrug. "I might end up asking one of our porters to help."

He raised his eyebrows. "Best of luck with that endeavor."

"I'm hoping I don't pass out on the last trip, or my ears will be ringing for weeks from Grant's lectures."

"Looks like they found quite a bit."

I nodded and sat on the resting hides, not elaborating on our new tactic of going farther afield or that it was a relatively new location.

"Did you hear that another village was destroyed?" a different sentry asked.

"No, which one?" I sat up straighter as my heart sank. Who had been lost? Which faces would I never see at the gatherings again? After spending so many hours around the peaceful Saursune, this hit hard.

"Citadel Village."

That name had me furrowing my eyebrows, then blinking. "Isn't that the village that was banned from the Oasis after not honoring their half of trades?"

"Same one. Got caught raiding a farm and must not have stopped to get scanned. It sounds like less than a dozen got out. Two other villages had to evacuate since the porters went there."

"Where did those villages go?" That was too many people to merge with another village, and not everyone was prudent enough to have a backup location.

"Both had a backup location, so they're out there. Citadel's survivors are scattered among a few villages."

Villages always had the risk of being discovered or having a well dry up, so many places planted a shard or two elsewhere in case they had to move. The only place the Saursunes rarely ventured was the desert, but it wasn't easy for us to traverse it either.

There weren't many places big enough to hide a village, and no one in their right mind would inhabit a location previously found by the Saursunes. A hunter skilled in reading the stars would undertake the week-long trip and travel at night until they found a suitable location to plant the shard. Years later, the hunter would guide a porter to where the crystal was planted.

The guard with the scanner asked, "Have you seen any Saursunes lately? Quite a few people are reporting sightings. Most were left alone if they were holding onto the crystal but we've had several bounce here to evade the lizards."

I made a face. "One caught me away from the crystal. Thankfully, it seemed more curious than anything, and it just circled around me before wandering off."

The sentry scratched his head. "Weird. Someone else had that happen too. Four others got pinned to the ground."

I blinked in surprise, and sensing an opening, asked, "Do you know if the other person ran? Last time, I ran and it gave chase, but this time it was between me and the crystal so I stood still."

"Hmmm. Not sure, but they were from your village, so you can ask them."

"Oh, thanks. I will."

Only then did I realize that no one had asked if the porters had been killed or seriously harmed. We had reached the point where people assumed they survived unless someone said otherwise.

The stunning revelation stuck with me as I sat on the resting hides.