“Branth says you’re hurt?” The man slid down quickly beside her.
“My feet!” She’d run the boots to uppers without knowing it, and her lacerated feet were bloody from toe to heel.
Til tell the world. Here we gol”
He grabbed her by the wrist, gave a practiced yank and laid her over his shoulder. As he made for the entrance to the lower Caverns, he called out for someone to bring a pot of numbweed.
She was uprighted into a chair, the blood singing in her ears. Someone was propping her damaged feet onto a stool while women converged on her from several sides.
“Hey, Manora, Felena,” yelled the brown rider urgently.
“Just look at his feetl He’s run them rawl”
“Tgran, wherever…”
“Saw him trying to Outrun Thread down Nerat way. Bloody near didl”
“Bloody’s quite accurate. Manora, could you spare a moment, please?”
“Should we wash the feet first or…”
“No, a cup of weed first,” was Tgran’s suggestion. “You’ll have to cut the boots off…”
Someone was holding a cup against her lips, bidding her drink it all down. On a stomach empty of anything but a few blades of cress, the fellis juice acted so quickly
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that the circle of faces about her became a confused blur.
“Good heavens, the holders have gone mad, going out in Threadfall.” Menolly thought the speaker sounded like Manora. “This is the second one we’ve rescued today.”
After that, voices became indistinguishable mumbles. Menolly was unable to focus her eyes. She seemed to be floating a few handspans off the ground. Which suited her because she didn’t want to use her feet anyway.
Seated at a table on the other side of the kitchen cavern, Elgion at first thought the boy had fainted with relief at being rescued. He could appreciate the feeling certainly, having been sighted by a dragonrider as he was pelting back towards Half-Circle, fully winded and despairing of life. Now, with his stomach full of good weyr stew, his wits and breath restored, he was forced to face his folly in going outside the Hold so close to a Fall. And, more daunting to contemplate, the reception on his return to Half-Grcle. Talk about disgracing the Sea Holdl And his explanation that he was searching for fire lizard eggs would not go down well with Yanus. Even Alemi, what would he think? Elgion sighed and watched as several weyrwomen carried the boy off towards the living caverns. He halfrose, wondering if he should have volunteered to help. Then he saw his first fire lizard and forgot everything else.
It was a little golden queen, swooping into the cavern, calling piteously. She seemed to hover motionless in midair, then winked out of sight. A moment later, she was diving into the kitchen cavern again, less agitated but looking for something or someone.
A girl emerged from the living cavern, saw the fire lizard and held up her arm. The little queen delicately landed, stroking the girl’s face with her tiny head while the girl evidently reassured her. Tlie two walked out into the Bowl.
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“You’ve never seen one, Harper?” asked an amused voice, and Elgion came out of his trance to attend the weyrwoman who’d been serving him food.
“No, I hadn’t”
She laughed at the wistfulness in his voice. “Thafs Grail, F’nor’s little queen,” Felena told him. Then abruptly she asked Elgion if he’d like more stew.
He politely declined because he’d already had two platefuls: food being the weyr’s way of reassuring those they rescued.
“I really should be finding out if I can get back to Half-Circle Sea Hold. They’ll have discovered my absence and…”
“Don’t worry on that account, Harper, for word was passed back through the fighting wings. They’ll let Half-Circle know you’re safely here.”
Elgion expressed proper gratitude, but he couldn’t help fretting over Yanus’s displeasure. He would simply have to make it clear that he’d been following Weyr orders, and Yanus was nothing if not obedient to his Weyr. Nontheless, Elgion did not relish his return to the Sea Hold. He also couldn’t politely insist on going when he chose because the dragons were tired as they returned to their Weyr, Thread successfully obliterated on this Fall.