Only another mile remained before Brant got to the sandstone motherlode, and Teeka wondered how long it would take him to get there and back. Several yingtzao, their yellowish orange fronds undulating in a breeze, clumped nearby like a signpost. The lode they had found made any other recent one look minor in comparison. His new Contract seemed pleased as he went off to enter his code in the Claim Stake.

Brant didn't speak much, but as Contracts went, Teeka could have done worse for his first time. Older than Teeka liked, the Hunter nonetheless seemed to value Teeka and his skills. As an established Senior Hunter of five years, Brant gave Teeka status by sharing Contract. A new Contract with a Hunter would be easier now, even with Teeka's relative inexperience. A small bit of remorse twinged him for leaving Brant, the fondness having grown over the last two and a half months. But Teeka wanted other Contracts.

At least, that was what he had told Brant the night before. Then Brant stunned Teeka with his offer. "I'll share the profits of this Stake with you, Keeper. After all, you helped to find it."

Though he saw Brant's Contract as business, Teeka would be heartless not to let such a generous gesture warm him. He had hedged when speaking to Brant about extending their time together and said only he would consider it. Truth to tell, the offer excited him -- not only to repay his debt to the Keep, but for the respect and status a Claim in his own name would give him.

This Claim stirred excitement for other reasons as well. Brant had only harvested spurs and left Teeka behind at Kotek City, stating it was too much trouble to move camp for a few days at a time. A lode this big meant Teeka could be out in the Great Valley, even if it was still close to the tent city. He'd always dreamed of going on Stake for real, and not just as a Keeper to a successful Hunter.

The gem Brant had given Teeka as a Welcome Gift more than made up for their difference in age. Teeka pulled his silks open and lifted his tunic to see it. The size of his thumbnail, it nestled in his belly button with the help of a small, inexpensive cyberplant. The dark green stone winked at Teeka as he studied it. He tucked his tunic back down, patting it into place, and took another sip of water.

He wished Brant would hurry up! It was lonely sitting here. It would have been nice if the Hunter had agreed to bring his young truffle; at least that would be company. Brant claimed that he didn't want to keep track of the little creature as well as a novice Keeper. The morning heat beat down on Teeka's forehead like a fist, even in the shade. He couldn't find cover from both suns at the same time, so he hid from Sol's brighter glare that overwhelmed the softer blue glow of Minah.

He blinked his eyes, heavy with drowsiness, and realized the rhythmic sounds nearby came from footfalls.

"Why are you on the ground?" a harsh voice demanded.

Teeka craned to peer around the trunk of the baku tree. "It's hot."

"Get up! It's not safe here." The speaker moved closer, dressed in the silks of a Hunter. He unwound the face cloth, and Teeka gasped.

Faded scars, dark red now, split his right cheek from temple to chin. Three of them, they bore mute testimony to the violence of whatever fight had caused them. "What in Landing did that to you?" Next to the scars, the reflective prosthetics on his eyelids seemed less spectacular, even though their dark gray color gave him an intense stare.

The speaker scowled. "You are Teeka."

He frowned. "Yes."

"You wait for Brant."

"Yes."

"You may call me Quill. Come with me. We must return to Kotek City."

Teeka cast his mind back, trying to remember this Hunter. Dim recollections of the silent man at dinner festivals, on the outside of the group, came to him. Even when Brant introduced them, Quill had only nodded his greeting. He'd never spoken to Teeka, though, nor anyone else.

Teeka scrambled to his feet as Quill grabbed his provision bag with its precious yingtzao fronds, evidence he'd brought back for Brant. How he'd searched for days in the library files on the net for maps and other geological data! After several weeks of research, he'd located the proof to his theory -- yingtzao could only grow that thick over waterstones, and where waterstones lay, there had to be a lode. These fronds, even this close to the tent city, indicated a lode of significant promise, overlooked until now.

Quill slung the bag over his shoulder with a powerful thrust of his arms. His robes flared, and a flash of crimson caught Teeka's eye. Blood spattered the inside of Quill's robes and trailed along his left arm.

"You're bleeding!"

"It's not mine. A sandboar gored Brant. I killed it." He shifted, showing the carcass to Teeka. Too big to be carried in its entirety by one Hunter, the traditional cuts included the haunches and forequarters. This one only included the haunches, which spread the length of the back harness.

Teeka's eyes widened, a chill sparkling down his back. "That is enormous."

Quill shrugged. "Get your things. There are more in the area."

A spurt of fear went through him and he glanced around. "You're kidding! What about Brant?"

Quill studied him, his cold gray eyes remote. "I told you. A sandboar gored him."

Teeka froze, the air going out of him. "Wait. You mean he's dead?"

The Hunter turned and set out along the path to Kotek City. Numbness spun out from Teeka's chest. Dead. Brant was dead?

Tears for the quiet Hunter spilled down his cheeks. They'd only lain together a few times, but Brant seemed patient and gentle. He'd died without Teeka even hearing the attack.

What would to happen to Teeka now? True, he neared the end of his Contract, but he was far from any Keep. After meeting Brant in Cyrus, they had traveled six days to get to Kotek City. What was he going to do?

He followed Quill into the blistering heat, the yingtzao fronds poking out of the corner of the Hunter’s pack like an accusation.

The walk back to Kotek City seemed longer than before. The Great Valley spread out from the nearby mountain range like a rippling golden blanket. A wide swath of short grass separated the rough peaks from the sand. Their tent city seemed small, a child's toy dropped on a carpet, but Kotek City did a brisk trade. Tucked between two crescent-shaped walls, the stones shielded it from the forty to sixty mile-an-hour winds and sand sweeping in from the desert. Close to the mountains, though, the Herders and Riders found plentiful grazing while the Hunters found good goldstone lodes out in the shifting dunes.

Prosperous and settled, Kotek City thrived. He'd been ecstatic to live here as his first Contract.

But in his dream, his Contract lived and breathed.

He smeared kohl along his cheek and into his eye when he wiped his face and rubbed it with his sleeve. He wished he could hide, fish his mirror out of his pack and fix his face, but Quill never slowed nor even looked back. Teeka tried to ignore the sensation of being exposed and vulnerable, out of sorts and disheveled in front of a stranger. Of course, he followed behind. He stumbled and hurried to catch up to Quill's robed figure.

Quill didn't wear the usual Hunter garb. Quill seemed like a wraith, his gray outer daysilks covering a deep, burnished chocolate robe underneath. His leggings peeked out from under the browns, and the unexpected flash of slate blue caught Teeka's eye, like the sky after a storm. Quill's turban lay tight to his face, allowing no hint of his hair to peek out. Silk edge-stitching decorated it with what looked like a repeating geometric design. Where had he purchased it? The idea of the taciturn Hunter shopping a bazaar for such delicate work made him want to smile, but the urge was smothered in the horrible heat -- not that Quill would see him. Quill's long legs kept him ahead of Teeka by several strides.

Discovering where it was made seemed important, though Teeka's curiosity only served him as a distraction. Right in front of him, the sandboar haunches swung from Quill's pack. Secured to a leather back harness, the enormous animal's legs hung from Quill's broad shoulders. Its savage claws glowed red with what could only be blood. His stomach tightened with the realization it could be Quill's blood, or perhaps Brant's.

He swallowed, praying he wouldn't throw up or otherwise embarrass himself in front of the man.

When they reached the canvas walls of Kotek City, Quill led the way to a side gate away from the Central Promenade and greeted the guard in a soft voice. They spoke together for several moments until Teeka caught up and Quill set off for the Hunters' Quarter. Teeka hesitated, he'd never been to the section of Kotek City where all the Hunters had their tents.

"You may go with him, son," the guard murmured in a kind voice.

Quill slowed to allow Teeka to catch up. He retracted his sunshade implants and his gray eyes found Teeka's gaze. "You may accompany me to the Hunters' Pavilion. You can check to see if your Stake is registered there."

Teeka hesitated. "I can go in there?"

Quill frowned. "I know it's for Hunters, but you'll be with me."

Brant never took Teeka to the Hunters' Pavilion. He thought it was because he wasn't allowed inside, since he wasn't a Hunter; however, if Quill invited him, that couldn't be true. Why wouldn't Brant want Teeka there?

"Once we check on your Stake, I'll find out what the Elder Hunter decides. A party of Hunters will go out to retrieve Brant's body."

"I don't have the whole Stake, sire." Teeka swallowed, trying to get his voice out around the lump in his throat. "Brant went out to get the Claim Stake and enter the code."

Quill's expression sharpened, and his gaze bore into Teeka's as though the Hunter tried to read his mind.

"Half of that Stake is mine now, isn't it?"

The Hunter's eyes narrowed. "If you can prove it out."

"I can!" Teeka pointed at his own pack and its yingtzao fronds. "I found it, not Brant."

"Did you, now?" Quill's voice held a purr, as though he refrained from laughing or disagreeing out loud.

Teeka flushed, not liking the man's tone. "I know how to find a Stake, Hunter Quill." He yanked his pack away from the man and dug his mirror out. He made Quill wait while he fixed the mess of kohl on his cheek, though he didn't bother re-applying it. He finished and stowed the mirror, then gazed up at the Hunter. Let him make the next move, the sandboar!

Quill cocked a jet-black eyebrow but said nothing, just turned and headed for a long, low tent with its bright sapphire designs.

Teeka entered the sanctuary of the Hunters and curiosity filled him, despite the somber reason for his visit. Thick carpets covered the floor of the Pavilion and several heavy tables stood with papers and maps scattered over their surfaces. Senior Hunters with their armbands of rank clustered on the far side and their conversation halted as Quill appeared.

One, a pale-faced man with long, blond hair, turned as they entered and then he saw Quill's face. He paused in the act of braiding his hair, the silky strands in one fist. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Quill sighed and strode to the hearth and slung the sandboar haunches onto the Meat Stone in front of it. "Brant is dead."

Several other Hunters stood, facing them. In all, thirty men ranged around the tent stared at them, and Teeka tried to ignore the heat flaming into his face.

"How?" the blond asked.

"Gored," Quill responded. "This is the sandboar."

"The body?" Elder Hunter Tybin asked in a deep voice.

Teeka eyed him with interest. The legend of the Elder Hunter had gone through the Keeps like wildfire. A former Gem Keeper like Teeka, Tybinia could have stayed at Sapphire Keep to teach and live a pampered, opulent lifestyle. Instead, after his Contract of twenty years died of the Cancer, Tybinia had left the Keep and dropped his suffix. He petitioned the Hunters as an apprentice and, despite all expectations, they had accepted him. Then, his first season alone, he stunned them all by bringing from the Great Valley four bags loaded heavy with both goldstones and sunstones.

Teeka had only caught two glimpses of him at festivals. The Elder Hunter spent most of the season out in the Great Valley, harvesting Stakes of his own. While in Kotek City, he remained deep in the section of the tent city reserved for Hunters, up against the canvas walls and close to the desert.

The Elder Hunter's face retained the beauty he'd had as a young man, lined now but still handsome. His expressive blue eyes seemed kind and intelligent, and he wore a large sapphire on his left hand. His black hair lay over one shoulder, plaited in an intricate weave and jeweled with more sapphires. Teeka recognized the work of a Keeper in the plait's pattern. Did he Contract with a Keeper after he had retired? Or did Tybin plait it himself?

Quill cleared his throat and faced the Elder Hunter. "I left it covered and shielded. I didn't want the Keeper to have to see it."

Every eye in the tent focused on Teeka, and he resisted the urge to fidget.

The piercing blue gaze of the Elder Hunter focused on Teeka like Sol's glare. "You are from Emerald Keep, are you not?"

Did his gaze denote intensity, rather than censure or, worse, dislike? His body language didn't indicate anything negative. Only the eyes seemed to reach out and grab Teeka with an almost physical presence. "Yes, sire." Teeka brought his head up, feigning a confidence he didn't feel. "Contracted over two months ago."

"Ah." The Elder Hunter's eyes widened, and he glanced at Quill.

"He has a Claim to Stake." Quill shifted his weight, cocking one hip.

"Do you?" The Elder Hunter eyed Teeka. "I shouldn't wonder. Emerald Keep looks to its own and brings value to its Contracts."

Teeka frowned, but the expressions on the faces of several nearby Hunters made him wonder if the Elder Hunter's comment was for them, not him.

Tybin stepped forward and rested a hand on Teeka's shoulder. "I am sorry for your loss, but I can tell you there was no activity on the vid this morn. Brant did not Claim any Stake for either of you. Perhaps, when he examined the site, he realized he was mistaken. Stonedust veins are often confused with sunstones, even to experienced Hunters."

Confusion welled up inside Teeka. He knew no mistake had been made. The sandboar must have attacked his Contract before he could input their codes. What should he do? What could he do? Other Hunters would check that area sooner or later. Brant had too much standing to have his interest dismissed out of hand. All of Teeka's hard work would go to another. The conversation resuming around him broke Teeka from the worry circling inside.

"What happens to the Contract now?" one of the younger Hunters asked. He seemed about Teeka's age, over majority but not yet five-and-twenty. He wore shoulder length reddish-brown braids, gold spacers flickering in them like embers. He still wore his outer robes and a turban lay on the table next to him.

"The Chieftain will rule on that." The Elder Hunter turned to address the younger man. "He will need to return to Emerald Keep, with no Contract."

"I would petition for the Contract. I can buy out Brant's interest." He threw his head back, gazing at the Elder Hunter like a Sultan.

Several others murmured back and forth, and Quill twitched like he'd speak, but said nothing.

Teeka eyed the man with interest. His reddish-brown silks seemed in good repair, not new but not threadbare. He trimmed his fingernails, and what Teeka could see of his musculature seemed promising.

Of course, he was a Hunter; physical conditioning happened as a byproduct of the lifestyle.

"His Contract lies dead, Hunter Ezek. You speak out of turn." The Elder Hunter sounded stern and gazed at Ezek with piercing blue eyes. "All in due time. Let the boy be."

Teeka flushed. Boy? He wasn't a boy! He looked away to hide his reaction from the older man, and Quill snared his gaze. His eyes matched the gray of his sunshades, dark but compelling. The Hunter said nothing, just studied him, his eyes seeming less harsh in his face now that they all stood in the surroundings of the tent.

"I'll take you to your tent." Quill squared his shoulders. "You should rest."

"Thank you," Teeka answered and hefted his pack onto his shoulder.

He could feel the others' eyes on him as he left, Ezek in particular, but didn't turn to look. It wouldn't do to appear too eager.

But another Contract this soon on the heels of his old one? That was luck he hadn't even hoped for! The best he'd thought he'd find would be an escort to the nearest Keep. Emerald Keep lay on the other side of the planet from here, and other gem and stone Keeps stood between it and the Great Valley, but any Keep would safeguard him home. Emerald Keepers fetched high Contracts and had their pick of assignments.

But to find a Contract right here, and with a Hunter, seemed like luck beyond his dreams.

Guilt flooded him next, to consider business right after his first Contract's death. But he didn't want to be sent back, either. Memories of his arguments with Contract Keeper Zeteya flashed in his mind. Though Zeteya favored him above his yearmates, the arguments over Teeka's choice had left a bad taste in both their mouths. Not until Teeka had divulged his secret desire to become a Hunter did Zeteya relent and allow his Contract to Brant. To return so soon, and with an unfilled Contract, would only prove Zeteya's point that he should Contract closer to Reghdad.

Another thought occurred to him: what would his yearmates say? Though no one had witnessed his negotiations with Zeteya, his yearmates knew of his Contract and gossiped about the distance, the remote nature of Kotek City, and Brant's age. He shuddered to think of their reactions now. And what of other Potentials? With his first Contract ending in disaster, it could be that no one would want him on Contract again.

He followed Quill into the covered walkway between the tents, the dusty rugs on the ground cushioning them against the day's heat. He moved along the pathway in a daze, doubts chasing around his mind like sandmice and turning his stomach to acid.