Dragongirl (28 page)

Satisfied, Disaller returned to them and tugged on another rope that lay nearby. “This’ll raise a sail,” Disaller said, tugging on the rope. “The wind’s in the right quarter.”

A small sail appeared above the raft several dragonlengths in the distance. They could hear the faint sound of the bell ringing out on the water.

“There,” Disaller said, satisfied by the raft’s position. He jerked his small rope again and the sail disappeared. “Now what?”

“We wait for the dolphins,” Lorana said.

“And when they come?”

Lorana hefted her carisak. “We give them these.”

Kindan rolled closer to Lorana to shelter her from the wind and keep her warm. In the next hour, the others also huddled around her, keeping themselves nearly as warm as she was.

The sun rose higher and the mist cleared. Lorana was dozing, half-awake when a noise startled her.

The bell. It was ringing loudly. Disaller jumped up, peering into the distance.

“I see fins,” he called back. “Dolphins.”

“Pull the raft back,” Lorana said. “We’ll load it up.”

They pulled the raft back and loaded the contents of the carisak on it. Disaller eyed the strange enclosures carefully.

“I’ve never seen the like,” he said. “How do you open them? Are they watertight?”

“Yes,” Kindan said. “We tested them.”

Disaller pulled off a glove and ran his finger over the surface of the matte material. “It feels slick; do you know what it’s made of?”

Kindan shook his head. “There are some Records written on something similar, but we don’t know what it is or how to make it.”

“Pity,” Disaller said, putting his glove back on. He glanced at the handiwork of the others as they placed the enclosures on the raft. “They’ll not stay, you’ll want to tie them on.”

“No,” Lorana told him. “This is the right way.”

“Very well,” Disaller grumbled, shaking his head. He pushed the raft back out past the surf and raised the sail once more, sending the raft skidding out farther before lowering the sail yet again.

The bell rang once more, then started pealing rapidly.

“Something’s jostling the raft!” Disaller said. Before he could react, the raft had overturned. Fins raced around it for a moment and then were gone. Disaller turned to Lorana, worry and surprise on his face. “We could run back to the Hold and maybe launch a ship!”

“Why?”

“To recover your artefacts,” Disaller said, glancing from Lorana, to Kindan, and finally to Fiona in surprise.

“No, they’re fine,” Lorana said, her eyes closed. She had a slightly quizzical look on her face.

Kindan stepped closer to her, his arms held out protectively. “Lorana?”

Lorana shook her head. “I’m fine,” she told him, glancing up and nodding encouragingly. “It’s just that—”

“Look!” Fiona said, pointing off to the distance. The others followed her finger and saw a spout of water burst into the air, followed by another, and another.

“The Deep Ones,” Disaller said, his eyes wide with awe. As they watched, something huge and stately broached the surface of the water where the last spout had appeared and then dove below the water once more. Disaller could spot dolphin fins racing toward it.

Lorana smiled. “They’re beautiful!”

“They don’t often come this close to land,” Disaller said, glancing at Lorana incredulously. “How did you know …?”

Lorana shook her head. “I didn’t,” she told him.
“They
did.”

“Lorana?” Fiona asked.

“I can almost hear them,” Lorana said. She turned to Kindan. “They’re like the dragons, only different.”

“Telepathic?” Kindan asked in surprise.

“Almost,” Lorana said. “Or just different.” She shrugged. “They thanked us. I got the impression that there was more but I couldn’t understand it.”

“Sea dragons?” Disaller asked wonderingly.

“No,” Lorana said. “Not dragons.” She stared back out to sea, hoping for one final glimpse of the Deep Ones. “More like dolphins, only bigger, much bigger. And different.”

“How different?” Fiona asked.

“Like I doubt I could ever understand them,” Lorana said. She turned to Disaller. “You’ll want to recover that raft, for the bell.”

“The bell?” Disaller asked, giving her an inscrutable look.

“Yes,” Lorana said. “They like the bell.”

Disaller’s brows narrowed in surprise. “How did you know—”

Lorana turned back to the sea and that was answer enough for the Lord Holder.

“They
told you,” he breathed in awe, pulling gently on the mooring line. To the others he said, “That bell was the same one used by Wind Blossom.”

T
hey stopped at High Reaches Weyr on the way back. Weyrwoman Sonia was happy to see them, as evidenced by Lyrinth’s proud bugling when she spotted Fiona’s queen.

“Congratulations on your flight!” Fiona said to Sonia and D’vin when they met.

“And you on yours,” D’vin returned.

“On your
two
flights,” Sonia added. “I take it that I’ve lost my queen to Telgar.” She raised an eyebrow questioningly as she added, “Unless you’re here to request a transfer?”

Fiona smiled and shook her head. “No, Kindan and Lorana were at Tillek returning borrowed gear and insisted on stopping here.”

“They did, did they?” Sonia said, eyeing the pair speculatively.

“If we could, we’d like to check in your Records Room,” Lorana said, hefting a carisak onto her shoulder.

“Let me send for some
klah
and we’ll join you,” D’vin said.

“Actually, my lord, we’d prefer to do this ourselves,” Kindan responded smoothly, gesturing to Lorana and himself. Fiona hid her surprise and hurt at the exclusion, giving Sonia a look of resignation as if to indicate that one had to make allowances for harpers.

“Well, then, we’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Sonia said, waving them away and motioning for Fiona to precede her.

When Kindan and Lorana rejoined them half an hour later, Fiona saw the way that Sonia’s eyes darted to Lorana’s now empty carisak and the Weyrwoman’s thoughtful expression.

D’vin waved them toward chairs and continued saying, “I understand that we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sonia gave Kindan a triumphant look as if to say “Take that!” but the harper merely nodded, saying, “So you’ll be at Telgar tomorrow noon?”

“A bit later than noon,” Sonia said in response. “I’ll need
some
sleep.”

R
ecalling the conversation now, with the arrival of all the Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen of Pern imminent, Fiona wondered if perhaps Sonia wasn’t also obliquely giving Telgar more time to prepare.

Certainly Shaneese had worked wonders, although, to judge from the fatigue-smudged eyes of the Cavern staff, she’d kept most of the weyrfolk up through the night.

“I’ll not have it said that Telgar doesn’t know how to entertain!” Shaneese had said as soon as she’d recovered from the shock of Fiona’s news.

And, indeed, the Weyr looked cleaner than Fiona had ever seen a Weyr look before. Even the dirt on the Weyr Bowl floor looked freshly washed and raked.

H’nez, for his part as senior wingleader, had ensured that all riders and their dragons were turned out smartly in their finest. The watch dragon was a bronze—Fiona had offered Talenth’s services, but had quickly demurred under the weight of H’nez’s affronted look and Shaneese’s gasp of indignity.

“If you’ve no further need for me, Weyrwoman,” Birentir said as they neared the entrance to the Dining Cavern, “I should make my rounds.”

Fiona waved him away with a smile, entering the Cavern alone. She was not surprised to see Xhinna and Taria hustling their young charges through their breakfast.

“Will we be able to see the Weyrleaders?” Aryar asked hopefully as she pranced alongside her older carers.

“I think they’re going to be busy,” Taria said.

“But will they hear our singing? With harper Norik?” little Rhemy asked, eyes wide with hope.

“I’m sure, if there’s time, we will be delighted,” Fiona told her.

The group halted and whirled around, breaking away from their minders to rush over and crush Fiona in a hug and a chorus of giggles.

“The Weyrwoman’s busy! You need to let her go!” Shaneese called crossly from across the kitchen.

Fiona gently shooed the youngsters from her side, telling them, “And you’ll need to practice very hard if you’re going to sing for us!”

“We will!” Aryar said, shoving the others back to Taria and grabbing the older girl’s hand in hers, tugging her toward the exit into the back corridors. “Come on, Taria! We’ve got to practice!”

Fiona waved farewell and turned her attention back to the area prepared for the Weyrleaders’ council. When they’d first planned for it, Fiona had naturally assumed that they’d just use the Council Room of the Senior Queen’s quarters. But once she’d checked out the size of that room and tallied up the number of attendees, she decided that the room would be far too small to accommodate everyone—not only were there to be Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen, but also many of their healers, wingseconds, and junior queen riders, as well as harpers from the Harper Hall, smiths from the Smithcrafthall, and a smattering of interested Lord Holders.

Fiona had despaired of housing them all, but Shaneese had strung thick canvas curtains in the Cavern to separate the designated section from the rest of the room. Fiona looked inside and was pleased to see that the chairs were also festooned with canvas covers, grouped in pairs on opposite sides of the long table, the backs and tops marked with Weyr symbols for Fort, High Reaches, Telgar, Ista, and Benden.

In addition there were chairs for the Masterharper, the Masterhealer, the Mastersmith, Lord Bemin of Fort Hold, Lady Nerra of Crom Hold, and Lord Gadran of Bitra Hold.

“That old wherry!” Kindan had snorted when they’d learned that he’d been invited by B’nik of Benden Weyr. “I suspect B’nik’s hoping for pointers on how to deal with the old goat.”

“My father is a Lord Holder,” Fiona reminded him. “I’d expect more deference from a journeyman harper.”

“Ah, so you’ve not met him!” Kindan said.

Fiona nodded in agreement, adding reluctantly, “And Father made it a point to introduce me to all his favorite Lord Holders.”

Kindan smiled. “That’s when he was planning to install you as the next Lord Holder of Fort, so he was currying favor,” he told her. Shaking his head, he added, “Gadran has too many sons to ever consider such an outrageous idea.”

“So how ever did he approve of Lady Nerra?” Lorana asked.

“It doesn’t take a majority to seat a Lord Holder,” Fiona told her.

“Lord Gadran was the leader and sole member of the vocal minority,” Kindan noted.

“So this meeting will be interesting on many levels,” Fiona said.

A rustle of wings and the bugling challenge of the watch dragon alerted them to the arrival of the first of their guests.

“M’tal and Daria from Ista,” Lorana told them as they left the enclosure. She cocked an eye at Kindan. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” With a flourish and a bow toward Fiona, he said, “By your leave, Weyrwoman, my lady and I will start conveying the Lord Holders to this meeting.”

“Who first?” Fiona wondered, feeling oddly stung at Kindan’s reference to Lorana as his lady. “Please, not Gadran!”

Kindan snorted. “You haven’t been so ill-behaved recently as to deserve
that
fate.”

“Thank the First Egg!”

“I think, with your permission, it will be your father—”

“And his lady,” Lorana added.

“I’d hardly think that Kelsa would accept being anyone’s lady!” Kindan said with a laugh.

“Yet you claim me,” Lorana retorted in a low voice.

Kindan looked surprised and groped for words, saying, “I—I only thought—”

“You didn’t think, I’d say,” Fiona cut him off. She waved a hand toward Zirenth. “You’d best go.”

Sort it out later
. Fiona wasn’t sure if that was Talenth, Lorana agreeing with her, or her own voice talking to Lorana. From the surprised look on Lorana’s face, it was clear that the older woman was just as unsure.

“Later,” Kindan agreed, turning with alacrity toward the bronze dragon’s lair.

Lorana spared a smile for Fiona before joining him.

“Now,” Fiona said to herself, “what other trouble can I get into today?”

“Trouble comes without asking for it,” a sour voice spoke up beside her. Fiona spun and saw Norik. The older man grinned a strained smile. Fiona fought down the sudden tension in her gut.

“It’s true,” Fiona agreed. “But I’ve often found that diving right into it puts it off guard.”

“Indeed?”

“It at least has the virtue of being novel,” Fiona told him. “And what trouble were you bringing me today?” She glanced around. “I thought you were instructing the youngsters in their singing.”

“I was,” Norik said. “I took a break when I learned you were here.”

Fiona gave him an attentive look.

“I don’t know, with all that has transpired, if you remember my request for a new assignment.”

“No,” Fiona assured him with a relieved smile, “I haven’t forgotten. In fact, I thought that you would be able to appeal directly to Master Zist when he arrives.”

Norik pursed his lips and nodded. “So I’d hoped.”

Fiona nodded, waiting attentively to see if their conversation was over. It was not.

“I think, if I might, I’d like to be posted to Benden Weyr.”

“Yes, you’d mentioned that. But I have to ask, why another Weyr?” Fiona said, surprised. And why, from what she’d heard, would anyone choose to be posted into the care of the prickly Weyrwoman Tullea? Of course, given Norik’s taciturn nature, perhaps the two would be a good match, Fiona thought impishly to herself.

“I’ve not heard of any open holds,” Norik said. He met her eyes squarely as he added, “And, truth be told, I like the freedom of the Weyrs.”

“As a former holder lass, I can’t argue with you!”

“I appreciate that, my lady,” Norik said. His normally flat eyes seemed to have found some sparkle as he continued, “And now, if you’ll forgive me, I must get back to the lessons.”

“Of course,” Fiona said, turning to the two dragons gliding down to the ground before her. She heard the sound of footsteps racing up beside her and was not surprised to hear H’nez say, “They’re early, aren’t they?”