“Severance!”

He was on his feet at once, the pulser in his fist. “What is it?”

“The hopper. The one you just finished cleaning. It’s gone.”

He swore, striding toward the spot where the carcass had lain on the ground. “I left it inside the circle.”

Cidra’s eyes widened. “I know. Something with a long orange tail just reached into the circle and grabbed it. Severance, in all the time we’ve been here nothing has come inside that circle.”

“Either there’s something else besides us that’s immune or…” He dug the toe of his boot into the invisible line of protection. A small worm slithered to the surface and disappeared again. Until now there hadn’t even been any worms inside the protected area. “Or the circle is shrinking.”

“Why would it start shrinking now?”

“How should I know? It might have been a lot bigger once than it is now. It might have been gradually shrinking all along but at such a slow rate that you haven’t noticed.”

“Or perhaps it started fading when the mind call was activated one last time. It’s probably all connected.” Unhappily she stared at the edge of the circle. “I hope everything we’ve found isn’t going to disappear. There’s so much to learn here, Severance. So much to be explored.”

“We can worry about that later. Right now we’ve got another problem.”

“What problem?”

He absently massaged his shoulder. “I was thinking of spending one more night here and leaving in the morning. But if this circle is shrinking, I don’t want to risk it. The whole reeting thing could disintegrate in the middle of the night, and we’d be left in what would definitely qualify as an awkward situation. We’ll have to start back to the campsite today.”

“Do you feel up to making the journey?” Cidra asked anxiously.

“My shoulder’s stiff, but I feel fairly normal.”

“I would have thought that the fever would have left you feeling exhausted.”

“I know. But maybe the fever wasn’t caused by the wound,” Severance said thoughtfully. “Maybe it had something to do with what happened in the safehold. If I’ve been as sick as you’ve said, I shouldn’t be feeling this good so soon. But my shoulder feels the way it should after two days of that antiseptic. And I’m not weak the way I should be after spending several hours in a delirium.”

“You think the eggs caused the fever? I wonder. What if they were capable of sensing your weakness after the lock-mouth clawed your shoulder? Perhaps they sensed the blood and somehow focused on you. Something drew you back into that safehold. And when you came out, you wouldn’t let go of that stone.”

His mouth tightened. “I think our luck here is running out.

We’ll be better off making a try for the campsite than sitting here waiting for the circle to collapse. This time around I’ll make it a point to stay alert on the trip out. Let’s get our stuff together.”

Cidra obeyed, collecting the water bag and the knife as Severance repacked the utility loop. She paused when she spotted the stone shard on the ground. “I think I’ll take this back to Desma. She’ll find it interesting.” She dropped it into her pocket.

“All set?”

Cidra nodded, glancing back at the safehold. “I hope it lasts until someone gets here with a holotape set to record the history stored inside.”

“Even if the circle doesn’t hold much longer, it will take quite a while for that safehold to be reduced to rubble, even here on Renaissance. Let’s go.”

“Does it strike you, Severance, that you’re always asking if I’m ready to go?”

“You’ll get used to it.” The pulser was gripped in his right fist as he started back into the jungle. The utility knife was in his left hand.

Cidra smiled to herself and followed.

One hour and two dead green slicers later, Severance called a halt. He tapped the face of the directional indicator and sighed. “We’ve got a problem.”

Cidra battled at a small buzzing creature intent on landing on her cheek. “You’re thinking we didn’t walk for much more than an hour that first night?”

“I see that the thought has crossed your mind too.”

“We might have been totally unaware of the time,” she offered.

“It was dawn when we reached the safehold. I think we left the campsite just shortly before dawn. No more than an hour before.”

“What does the directional gadget show?”

“That we’re within a few meters of the skimmer.”

Cidra looked around at the heavy vegetation surrounding them on all sides. “I don’t see a river.”

“Neither do I.”

“Perhaps we’re just a few meters away.” Tentatively Cidra shoved at a hanging vine. “This stuff is so thick, we could be a short distance from the river and not be able to see it.”

“We should be able to smell it.”

She remembered the unique scent of the muddy water. “You’ve got a point. Okay, fearless and respected leader, what next?”

“We’ll give the beacon another ten minutes. If it hasn’t led us to anything familiar by then, we’ll backtrack.”

“Is that why you took a whack out of the tree with your knife every couple of meters? So we’d have a trail to follow back to the circle?”

He lifted one shoulder negligently. “You can’t be too careful on Renaissance.”

“So I’ve noticed. How are you feeling?”

“Fine. The shoulder’s stiff, but it’s not getting in my way.”

“Want me to wear the utility loop for a while? I imagine it gets a little heavy. You’ve got so many interesting things packed inside.” She stepped close, reaching for the closure of the rantgan leather loop. “I was going to ask you a couple of questions about what you carry around with you, Severance.” As she moved, the edge of her skirt brushed against Severance’s arm.

“Forget the loop. I said I’m fine. I’d feel naked without it.” He was staring at the directional device as she stepped back. “Do that again, Cidra.”

“Do what?”

“Come close.”

She saw the direction of his attention. “Something wrong?”

“Just brash up against my arm again.”

Uneasily she did as she was told. When she started to move back, Severance caught her wrist and held her close. “What is it?” she asked.