Between The Crystals

Ch 51 A Talk with Grant

I brought back my last group and sat beside Roxanne so I wouldn't disturb Merryl, who was still sleeping.

Grant wandered over, and in a low voice, said, "Everyone is back safely. Good job. Still no reports of trackers at the Guard Station?"

"None, and there were only a few groups waiting when I left," I told him.

He nodded and glanced at Merryl before asking Roxanne, "Do you mind taking me to Oasis Springs?"

She gave a yawn that looked so fake I rolled my eyes. Grant crossed his arms in what I called his "tolerant pose" as he patiently waited for whatever joke, story, or excuse she was about to dump on him.

Realizing she'd been caught, she grinned sheepishly and pointed a thumb at me. "Blame her. She wanted to take you. Something about quality father-daughter time."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. I grinned at the familiar habit I'd picked up from him over the years.

He pursed his lips and scratched his head as he turned to regard me. "Come to think of it, it has been a while since we spent time together, hasn't it?"

I nodded. "It's been several days since we were the first ones at the porter's circle, and even then, it was only about ten minutes. We might have to start hanging out on the upper ridge since people are forever talking with you."

Looking back, it was strange to see how we had become preoccupied with our duties and let those responsibilities steal our family time. Even just a few years ago, we spent half an hour every evening playing stone hop with pebbles near his office. I hadn't seen the pebbles in months and wasn't sure where they were anymore.

"In that case, I'll let you escort me. And no dumping me in a mud puddle."

I laughed as I stood up. "I only did that once!"

"Once was enough." Despite his words, he followed me to the crystal.

Remembering the hunters' comments, I opted to port silently instead of uttering a location name when I was going elsewhere. The air hazed around us and cleared.

Grant glanced around. "I was wondering if you still used Sunrise Village as your primary bounce location."

I shrugged, not surprised he instantly recognized the murals sketched in his notebook. "Only a couple of other porters ever come here, and I've never seen a jackal or snake. Let's go sit in the shade."

As we walked, he asked, "So, what's on your mind?"

"Three days ago, when you tallied up our ports and loads to see how much they might have increased, what did you see?"

He hadn't mentioned the results at the porter's circle. Even when he was just starting the tallies, he had seen some increases among the others. I was curious if his observations might match what I was about to dump on him.

He sat on a shaded rock and regarded me. "Depending on how often the porters were caught, most were able to take an extra person or manage an extra port after about two weeks. Your tallies and loads left me with far more questions than logical conclusions."

I took a deep breath. "New theory. I think when those Saursunes first drained our energy, it removed whatever capped our porting limits. Every time we exhaust ourselves or get drained to exhaustion, our abilities increase slightly."

Closing his eyes in thought, he rubbed his chin. I kept quiet to let him think about his previous findings. I'd spent three days mulling this over. With my particular penchant for numerous ports and heavy loads, it was going to take him a few minutes to try and math his way through it.