"But the Talent came out in you in a different way. You're a Finder."

"I can find possessors of the Talent, sure. But I can't communicate with them. I'm cut off."

"But your ability to find makes you the most valuable member of the group. Through you we can find new members to add to our ranks. And we need every Talent we can find." He glanced up and down the column of travelers. "Every single one."

"That still doesn't keep me from feeling like a cripple." She didn’t want to sulk, but couldn’t help it. "And according to Overlord Mekk I'm still just as much a tery as you are. So he wants to kill me, too. I get all the danger but none of the benefits."

In the silence that followed, the tery had time to ponder what he had just heard. He now understood why these humans were fleeing Kitru. They, like the teries, were now on Mekk's extermination list. His mother had told him that humans had always enjoyed killing each other. This was just another excuse to do more of it. His mother also had spoken of these people once: Talents, or psi-people. That explained the eerie silence of the camp — they spoke with their minds. All except Adriel.

"Teries." Dennel said, his eyes flashing. "This whole situation is so foolish! We're not teries! Everyone knows that teries are a product of the Great Sickness — dumb, misshapen animals, like this brute here."

"And you think you're not?" said another voice.

Adriel and Dennel reacted with surprise, but the tery had heard his approach. His heart warmed at the sight of the human who had caused his rescue yesterday.

"Oh, hello, Tlad," said Dennel. "And yes, I'm sure our special talents didn't come from the Great sickness."