She tried to turn her head; thread clutched at her neck. The Hero was swinging his sword, hacking into the web. His muscles were knots under his leathery skin. Thea could see dangling threads brushing against the Hero's bare arms and shoulders, one by one growing taut and then slackening as he moved on, burrowing into the layers of web.

He was cutting through the web towards her.

"Open the suit! It's caught, but you aren't. Come on, girl--"

She managed to raise a trembling hand to her chest. It was awkward finding the seam, with the web constantly clutching at her; but at last the suit peeled open. The soft, warm stink of spin-spider web spilled into the opened suit.

She pushed away the helmet and drew her legs out of the suit.

The Hero, his crude web-tunnel already closing behind him, held out his hand. "Come on, Thea; take hold--"

She glanced back. "But the suit--" The ancient costume looked almost pathetic, empty of life and swathed in spider-webbing.

"Forget the damn suit. There isn't time. Come on--"

She reached out and took his hand; his palm was warm and hard. With a grunt he leaned backward and hauled her from the web; the last sticky threads clutched at her legs, stinging. When they were both clear she fell against him; breathing hard, capillaries dilated all over his thin face, the Hero wrapped his arms around her.

The tunnel in the web had already closed: all that remained of it was a dark, cylindrical path through the layers of webbing.

And, as she watched, the spin-spider's huge head closed over the shining suit.

"I always seem to be rescuing you, don't I?" the Hero said dryly.

"You could have saved the suit."

He looked defensive. "Maybe. I don't know."

"You didn't even try. Why not?"

He brushed his stiff, yellowed hair out of his eyes. He appeared old and tired. "I think I decided that the world had seen enough of that suit -- enough of the Hero, in fact."

She frowned. "That's stupid."

"Is it?" He brought his face close to hers. His voice hard, he said, "It was that moment when I woke to find you inside the suit. I looked through that plate and into your eyecups, Thea, and I didn't like what I saw."

She remembered: In a moment, she could crush the life out of his bony neck --

"I saw myself, Thea."

She shivered suddenly, unwilling to think through the implications of his words.

"What will you do now?"

He shrugged thin shoulders. "I don't know." He looked at her cautiously. "I could stay with you people for a while. I'm not a bad hunter, even without the suit."

She frowned.

He scratched at one eyecup. "On the other hand..."

"What?"

He pointed to the south. "I hear the Parz tribe at the Pole are trying to build a city again."