Dragonheart впп-8

by Тодд Маккефри

I’ve missed that, Fiona agreed. I’m sure you’re getting quite good at it.

  I was thinking that perhaps we could start flying just before dark, Talenth suggested hopefully.

  “I’ll want to check with T’mar,” Fiona said aloud. “I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.”

  Talenth’s eyes whirled a contented green. If you make this journey, will we get better food?

  What, you don’t like sheep? Fiona teased.

  All the older dragons talk about cattle, Talenth told her wistfully. They say that I’m big enough to eat one on my own.

  Oh, I don’t know about that! Fiona cocked her head to one side as she examined Talenth’s head critically. You’d want to chew, that’s for certain!

  I always chew, Talenth declared, sounding hurt.

  Love, you only chew when I make you, Fiona reminded her, smiling broadly.

  And you always remind me, so I always chew!

  Fiona shook her head, willing to let her beautiful queen have the last word on the subject.

  She turned her head as she heard a noise outside and recognized Nuella and her small watch-wher.

  We’ve got company, Fiona told Talenth. Nuella is here with her little Nuellask.

  Little? Talenth repeated in confusion. Did we meet them before?

  Fiona tried to find a way to explain that they’d met the older Nuellask in the future. Dragons had poor enough memory without adding the confusion of time travel.

  We met them when they were older, she explained at last.

  Older, so bigger, Talenth mused. Smaller now?

  Yes, because she’s younger, Fiona agreed.

  Am I older than her now?

  Yes, you are, Fiona replied. She’s just hatched, so be gentle.

  Talenth arched her neck and blew a wisp of air from her nostrils to the small watch-wher.

  She hears me! the gold dragon exclaimed joyfully. Yes, I’m a dragon, a queen like you. No, you’re not a dragon, you’re a watch-wher. A moment later she told Fiona, She wants to know what is the difference between a dragon and a watch-wher.

  “Talenth is talking to Nuellask,” Fiona said to Nuella, who had stood silently during the exchange. “Nuellask wants to know what is the difference between a dragon and a watch-wher.”

  Nuella smiled, her eyes glowing with an obvious love for her new mate. “What are you going to tell her?”

  Talenth, Fiona said, tell her that watch-whers like the night and dragons like the day.

  I don’t mind the night, Talenth said with an air of protest.

  I know, Fiona replied indulgently. But you spend more time sleeping at night than you do during the day. Nuellask spends more time awake at night than during the day.

  Oh, Talenth responded, sounding mollified. A moment later, she said, I told her. She paused in thought for moment before continuing, I don’t know if she understood.

  That’s all right, Fiona looked at the small ugly creature and felt a sense of wonder that such a beast was related to the dragons. She carefully tamped down her feelings to keep Talenth from picking up on them and alarming the baby watch-wher. Do you like her?

  She’s nice, Talenth told her. Can she sleep with me?

  She’s likely to twitch, Fiona cautioned, thinking that watch-whers were probably enough like newborn dragonets that sleeping would be her principle occupation.

  “Talenth wants to know if Nuellask can sleep with her,” she told Nuella.

  Nuella laughed. “Youngsters are the same whether two legs or four, always wanting to play together or sleep together.” She caressed the baby watch-wher’s head affectionately before adding, “We’ll see how she feels when we get back.”

  Fiona nodded. “Are you ready to go?”

  “I think the sooner the better,” Nuella replied, gesturing toward Nuellask. “You never know when she’ll fall asleep.”

  Talenth, tell T’mar that we’re ready to go, Fiona told her dragon.

  He knows, Talenth replied a moment later. They come.

  Fiona heard the rustle of dragon’s wings and saw Zirenth land nimbly. The sound alerted Zenor who rushed over from the next weyr.

  “All set?” he asked, glancing from Nuella to Fiona. He gestured at the watch-wher. “Are we bringing her?”

  “Of course,” Nuella told him. “She’s still small enough that I can just about hold her in my arms.”

  “Another sevenday and she’ll be too big,” Fiona said with a laugh.

  “I’ve got a bucket of scraps,” Zenor said, wagging the bucket hanging from his hand, “just in case she gets hungry.”

  “Can Zirenth handle four and a watch-wher?” Fiona asked T’mar.

  “Certainly,” he said. He couldn’t hide the pride in his voice.

  In a few minutes they were all settled, Nuellask nestled comfortably between Zenor and Nuella, Fiona behind her, and T’mar in the rear, Fiona’s crutches once again strapped below him. T’mar had quickly constructed a harness of spare rope with which to hold the watch-wher securely and had been scrupulous in ensuring that all the humans were properly strapped.

  “Precious cargo,” he murmured to Fiona before signaling Zirenth to rise.

  Between was a refreshing break from the dying heat of the Igen day, quickly replaced by the cool night air of the wherhold.

  “Nuellask liked it,” T’mar reported to Nuella. “She asked if we could do it again soon.”

  “Soon,” Nuella promised the small watch-wher. “Right now we’re going to meet some new friends.”

  “Should I come or wait here?” T’mar asked Fiona as he set her on her crutches.

  “Come,” Fiona said. “I’m not sure I can get around all that well in the dark.”

  The baby queen watch-wher let out a sudden squawk that reverberated in the night air and startled them all.

  “Zirenth says that she felt others,” T’mar reported.

  “Good girl, Nuellask!” Zenor said. “You let them all know who’s the queen!”

  Nuellask chirped in pleased acknowledgment.

  “Well, we don’t have to worry about making ourselves known,” Fiona murmured to T’mar as they moved forward. Zenor guided Nuella, who herself was guiding Nuellask, while T’mar hovered close by Fiona’s side.

  “That’s a pleasant sound,” a voice called from the darkness in front of them. Fiona recognized Arella’s voice.

  “Why are you on crutches, girl?” Jaythen growled from a place so close to them that Fiona stumbled in surprise. “Did you trip?”

  “A dog bit me,” Fiona replied testily.

  “I’ll bet the dog died of shame right after,” Jaythen replied with a raspy laugh.

  “An arrow,” Fiona told him. “But he wasn’t dead until after Talenth spoke.”

  “Your dragon killed a dog?” Jaythen asked incredulously.

  “No,” Fiona said. “She startled him enough that the bowman could get a proper aim.”

  “And the girl bonded?” Arella asked. “Is that her?”

  “I’m Nuella.”

  “I’d heard you were blind,” Jaythen said, surprised.

  “I am,” Nuella said. “But in the dark everyone is blind, except the watch-whers.”

  “You’re the one who rode a green between ?” Jaythen demanded.

  “Yes,” Nuella replied, adding, “Are you always this demanding of your guests?”

  “Don’t get many guests,” Jaythen replied.

  “I can see why,” Zenor murmured.

  “We came to discuss the move,” Fiona said.

  “You did it? It’s settled?” Arella asked.

  “We’ve found a good site, and the Mastersmith has agreed to send some crafters,” Zenor said.

  “Mastersmith?” Jaythen repeated. “What does he have to do with the wherhold?”

  “Not with the wherhold,” Zenor corrected. “With the gold we’ll be mining there.”

  “Gold?” Jaythen repeated, and there was no mistaking the surprise in his voice. “There’s gold there?”


  “There is,” Zenor replied. “We came to talk about how soon you can move there.”

  “How many are there?” Nuella asked, turning her head in search of faint sounds. “I hear the children and one man. Are there others?”

  “She’s good,” Arella declared approvingly. “There’s only four adults: me, Jaythen here, Jifar, and Serella.”

  “Silstra and Terregar will join us from the Smith Hall,” Zenor said. “They have one youngster, and we’ve Nuella’s sister, Larissa.”

  “We’ve five children,” Jaythen said. “We lost three to the Plague.”

  “Would have lost more if Kindan hadn’t sent the dragonriders,” Arella added.

  “Kindan was my best friend growing up,” Zenor said. “He gave his watch-wher to Nuella.”

  “So you’re a miner, then,” Jaythen commented. “No watchwher of your own?”

  “I’ve enough to do keeping her out of trouble,” Zenor said, jerking a thumb toward Nuella, who elbowed him goodnaturedly in response.

  Jaythen laughed. “I’ll bet you do.”

  “Come in,” Arella said, “and we’ll talk plans.”

  Fiona smiled to herself, convinced that the wherfolk would follow Nuella’s lead and accept Zenor’s aid.

  “I think things wouldn’t have gone so well if we hadn’t brought the watch-wher,” T’mar said much later as he helped Fiona negotiate the ramp up to her weyr. Talenth raised her head wearily but still asked, Can the watch-wher sleep with me?

  She’s already asleep, Fiona told her apologetically. And I think she wants to sleep with her mate. She saw the glow of her queen’s eyes and added, How about I sleep with you tonight instead?

  Will you?

  “You can leave me here, wingleader,” Fiona told T’mar as she curled herself up against Talenth, “we girls are spending the night together.”

  “I’ll get you a blanket,” T’mar offered.

  “If you see Terin, please tell her she’s welcome to join us.” Fiona pulled off her jacket and bundled it under her neck, idly wondering if she was treating the Weyrwoman’s garb inappropriately. She shook her head at herself and nestled more tightly against the fur lining; she was too weary to let decorum concern her.

  She was already asleep by the time T’mar returned, carrying a sleeping Terin in his arms, a pair of blankets draped over his shoulders. He smiled down at the young Weyrwoman and arranged the drowsy headwoman next to her before covering both with blankets, which he carefully tucked in around them.

  He stood then, examining his work and nodding in satisfaction. As he looked at the two girls who had done so much in such a short time, his eyes softened, then lingered for a moment on Fiona. Truly a Weyrwoman, he thought.

  He stepped back quietly and turned off the glows that Terin had left lit for their return.

  SEVENTEEN

  Thread burn,

  Thread score,

  Rider heal,

  Dragon soar.

  Igen Weyr, Late Evening, AL 498.9.8

  “That’s the last of it,” K’rall reported as he and his wing of convalescents dispersed in the last of the evening light.

  That wing, in the last three sevendays, had grown to thirty-one as more than two dozen riders and dragons had recovered from their injuries. There were only sixteen of the original forty-seven lightly injured dragonpairs remaining, and Fiona hoped to see at least half of them returning to duty in the next sevenday. That would still leave the thirty severely injured, who would need at least another four months to heal.

  “Good,” she said, gesturing toward the Kitchen Cavern and the Weyrleader’s table. Terin and T’mar were already seated. They had finished eating before K’rall’s return and were engaged in what had become a routine meeting to handle the planning of the next day’s events. As she sat down and Terin pushed a pitcher of iced klah toward her, she added, “We’ve enough ice to trade when Azeez arrives in the morning, and enough to provide the wherhold.”

  “We’ve two rooms full of ice, we should have enough,” Terin added, shaking her head. “Any more and the whole place will freeze.”

  “Don’t say that,” K’rall said holding up a cautioning hand, “or you’ll have every rider in the Weyr demanding his own cooler.”

  “Not if they want to eat, they won’t,” Terin said with a frown, turning toward the large cookpot simmering on the hearth.

  “Has Zenor had much luck mining?” K’rall asked T’mar. K’rall had led the group that had flown the Smithcrafters and their gear to the newly established wherhold.

  “They’ve been too busy settling in,” T’mar replied. “I doubt they’ll be able to start serious exploration for another month or more.”

  “In the meantime, we’ve more mouths to feed than we’ve food,” Terin said grimly.

  “I thought that holder Kedarill had pledged a herd to the wherhold,” K’rall said.

  T’mar shook his head. “Kedarill was willing to let them herd as many head of cattle as they could find,” he explained. “Finding is the problem.”

  At Fiona’s urging, Zenor had taken the lead in negotiating the establishment of the new wherhold with the holder of Plains Hold. Kedarill had greeted the proposal enthusiastically, and his enthusiasm had redoubled with Zenor’s revelation of gold and the Mastersmith’s support. Kedarill was certain, and T’mar agreed, that Ospenar, Keroon’s Lord Holder, would fully concur with his minor holder’s decision, especially after M’tal, the Weyrleader of Benden Weyr, had made an enthusiastic tour of the new wherhold.

  The new wherhold was on land that looked to Benden Weyr under the new boundaries established after Igen was abandoned, and so M’tal’s approval made Ospenar’s acceptance all but foreordained.

  In involving Benden’s Weyrleader, Fiona, Nuella, and T’mar had been careful not to mention the Igen dragons, while at the same time providing a plausible explanation for the future appearance of any dragon at the wherhold — that they were from Benden Weyr.

  “We’ve loaned them some from our herd in the meantime,” Fiona said, sighing deeply at the memory of the twenty head of cattle that had been hauled off by dragon to the fresh pens at the wherhold.

  “I thought your plan would keep us from this,” K’rall said, glaring at T’mar.

  “We’ve enough for the next sevenday,” Fiona said in T’mar’s defense. “By then the wherhold should have found their own cattle, and maybe some gold with which to repay us.”

  “We could cut back,” Terin suggested.

  “It’s not the riders, it’s the dragons,” T’mar reminded her with a reluctant shake of his head. “If it weren’t for the dragons, we would have enough cattle to supply us easily.”

  “A Weyr’s not much use without dragons,” Fiona muttered, wondering if perhaps her earlier castigating thoughts of the old Igen Weyrfolk were perhaps premature. She savored a mouthful of klah, hoping it would keep her awake.

  “It’d be different if we had a proper tithe,” K’rall assured her.

  “But then we’d be a proper Weyr with four times as many dragons,” Fiona replied. She made a face and concluded, “So I’m not sure if we’d be any better off.”

  “Do you think that the holds could support the Weyr in a fair tithe?” T’mar asked K’rall speculatively.

  The older dragonrider pursed his lips tightly. “No, I think that as they are they wouldn’t support a full Weyr.” He nodded toward Fiona as he added, “But if the Weyr were to trade, perhaps then.”

  “So what if we were to scour the area for any more wild herdbeasts?” Fiona asked, sipping some more klah.

  “I don’t know if that would work,” T’mar said.

  “Maybe not if we looked just here, but what about across Pern?” K’rall suggested.

  “I’d not want to rob anyone of their proper herd,” Fiona objected.

  “Nor would we,” K’rall said. “We would look in the wild places, the sort of places we’ve found unclaimed cattle before.”

  “We’re going to
need more livestock as the injured recover and the weyrlings get old enough to fly,” T’mar said. “Even if we survive now, we’ll have too many mouths to feed later.”

  “It seems a waste to leave good riders growing old when they’ll be needed in their prime when we return,” K’rall remarked dolefully.

  T’mar motioned for him to continue and the old rider added, “Three Turns doing nothing more than practicing is at least two Turns, maybe even two and a half Turns, too many.”

  “So why not send them back?” Fiona asked, her face brightening. “They won’t age, and they can eat in the future.”

  “If we send them all back now, we’ll be too short-handed to look after the injured,” T’mar told her. “Besides, we’ll need some older, steadier riders to train the youngsters — drill them on recognition points, teach them to flame, and show them the tricks they’ve learned flying in formation.”

  “But that doesn’t require a full wing for three Turns,” K’rall said. “I think Fiona may have part of our solution — send some of the able-bodied forward in time to meet us when the weyrlings are old enough to learn to fly in formation.” His eyes gleamed with excitement as he went on hurriedly, “That’d save on not just cattle but everything, and the riders would be better off, too. And you’d save on all the clothing and gear that you’d need in the meantime — you could use that extra for more trade.”

  “How would you know when to arrive?” T’mar asked.

  “We use the stars, like the traders trained us,” K’rall replied. “We’d come back a month before the end of the third Turn. If you weren’t ready then, we could train with you.”

  “So you’re offering to lead the wing?” Fiona asked.

  K’rall nodded curtly. “If we use this next sevenday to set things in order, we could leave at the end of it.”

  “What if we find we need you?” T’mar asked.

  K’rall shrugged. “Send someone forward to bring us back again.”

  “What about when the others recover?” Fiona asked.

  “N’jian can train with them, as I’ve trained with this lot, and then bring them forward,” K’rall said. He gave T’mar a broad smile as he caught the other’s surprise at the recommendation and nodded toward Fiona. “I know that sounds strange coming from me, but this Weyrwoman’s done a lot to broaden my horizons.” He pursed his lips tightly before admitting to T’mar, “And so have you.”