“Who’s been nagging me? They wouldn’t let me go. Make them let me rest, Lessa. I’m so tired!”
“Oh, Master Robinton, please!”
Please what?
Harper, stay with us. Lessa will weep.
“Oh, Master Oldive. Over here!” That was Lessa again, leaving his side.
Robinton tried to reach for her.
“Don’t exert yourself!” She was holding him down, but she was staying beside him. Dear Lessa! Even when he was angry with her, he loved her nonetheless. Perhaps more, because she was angry so often and anger intensified her beauty.
“Ah, Master Robinton.” Oldive’s soothing voice made him open his eyes. “The chest pain again? Just nod. I’d rather you didn’t make the effort to speak.”
“Ramoth says he has great pain and is very tired.”
“Oh? Convenient having the dragon listen, too.” Master Oldive was putting cold instruments to his chest and on his arm. Robinton would have liked to protest.
“Yes, I know they’re cold, my dear Harper, but necessary. Now listen to me, your heart has been overstrained. That was the pain in your chest. Lessa gave you a pill which has relieved that pain for the moment. But the immediate danger is past. I want you to try to sleep. You are going to need a lot of rest, my good friend. A lot of rest.”
“Then tell them to be quiet and let me sleep.”
“Who’s to be quiet?” Oldive’s voice was soothing, and Robinton was vaguely annoyed because he suspected Oldive didn’t believe he’d heard them keeping him awake. “Here, take this pill and a sip of wine. I know you’ve never refused wine.”
Robinton smiled weakly. How well they knew him, Oldive and Lessa.
“It’s Ramoth and Mnementh talking to him, Oldive. They said he had nearly gone …” Lessa’s voice broke on the last note.
Nearly gone, was I? Is that what it feels like to be so close to death? Like being very tired?
You will stay now. Harper. We can let you sleep. But we will be with you. We love you.
Dragons talking to me? Dragons keeping me from death? How kind they are for I did not want to die yet. There is so much to be done. Problems to be solved. There’d been a problem on my mind .. . about dragons, too …
“Who flew Caylith?”
Did he manage to say that out loud? He didn’t even hear his own voice in his ears.
“Did you hear what he said, Oldive?”
“Something about Caylith.”
“Wouldn’t you know he’d worry about that at a time like this?” Lessa sounded more like herself, acerbic. “Barnath flew Caylith, Robinton. Now, will you sleep?”
Sleep, Master. We will listen.
The Harper drew a deep breath into his lungs and relaxed gratefully into sleep.