Marcello slept against the rough bark of an old tree, his back molded to its trunk, breathing slow and steady. Out here in the depths of the forest, he feared nothing. Why should he? The wildest creature in these woods was him.

The sudden fracture of a mind-link snapped his eyes wide open. In an instant, he was upright.

The fire before him had burned itself out only embers remained, glowing faintly like dying stars in a bed of ash.

He rose to his feet and began the trek toward his ...