All I could find. And the consonant ended in a sob.
Here, and Lessa held out a half-filled cup, nodding toward the nearest rider. But the child was motionless, staring at the curtain, her face twisted with grief, the tears flowing unnoticed down her cheeks. She was washing her hands together with such violent motions that the skin stretched white across her knuckles.
Youre Mirrim?
The child nodded, her eyes not leaving the closed entrance. Above her the greens whirred, echoing her distress.
Manora is with Brekke, Mirrim.
But but shell die. Shell die. They say the rider dies, too, when the dragon is killed. They say …
They say entirely too much, Lessa began and then Manora stood in the doorway.
She lives. Sleep is the kindest blessing now. She flipped the curtain shut and glanced at the men. These could do with sleep. Have their dragons returned? Whos this? Manora touched Mirrims cheek, gently. Mirrim? Id heard you had green lizards.
Mirrim had the sense to bring the tray, Lessa said, catching Manoras eye.
Brekke Brekke would expect and the girl could go no further.
Brekke is a sensible person, Manora said briskly and folded Mirrims fingers around a cup, giving her a shove toward a rider. Help us now. These men need our help.
In a daze, Mirrim moved, rousing herself to help actively when the bronze rider could not seem to get his fingers to the cup.
My lady, murmured Manora, we need the Weyrleader. Ista and Telgar Weyrs would be fighting Thread by now and …
Im here, Flar said from the weyr entrance. And Ill take a shot of that, too. Cold between is in my bones.
Weve more fools than we need right now, Lessa exclaimed, but her face brightened to see him there.
Wheres Tbor?
Manora indicated Brekkes room.
All right. Then wheres Kylara?
And the cold of between was in his voice.
By evening some order had been restored to the badly demoralized High Reaches Weyr. The bronze dragons had all returned, been fed, and the bronze riders weyred with their beasts, sufficiently drugged to sleep.
Kylara had been found. Or, rather, returned, by the green rider assigned to Nabol Hold.
Someones got to be quartered there, the man said, his face grim, but not me or my green.
Please report, Sgoral. Flar nodded his appreciation of the riders feelings.
She arrived at the Hold this morning, with some tale about the lake here being fouled and no kegs to hold any supply of water. I remember thinking that Prideth looked too gold to be out. Shes been off cycle, you know. But she settled down all right on the ridge with my green so I went about teaching those Holders how to manage their fire lizards. Sgoral evidently did not have much use for his pupils. She went in with the Nabolese Holder. Later I saw their lizards sunning on the ledge outside the Lords sleeping room. He paused, glancing at his audience and looking grimmer still. We were taking a breather when my green cried out. Sure enough, there were dragons, high up. I knew it was a mating flight. You cant mistake it. Then Prideth started to bugle. Next thing I knew, she was down among Nabols prize breeding stock. I waited a bit, sure that shed be aware of what was happening, but when there wasnt a sign of her, I went looking. Nabols bodyguards were at the door. The Lord didnt want to be disturbed. Well, I disturbed him. I stopped him doing what he was doing. And thats what was doing it! Setting Prideth off. That and being so close to rising herself, and seeing a mating flight right over her, so to speak. You dont abuse your dragon that way. He shook his head then. There wasnt anything me and my green could do there. So we took off for Fort Weyr, for their queens. But and he held out his hands, indicating his helplessness.
You did as you should, Sgoral, Flar told him.
There wasnt anything else I could do, the man insisted, as if he could not rid himself of some lingering feeling of guilt.