Thats a fine voice you were singing it with, too. Why dont you sound out more often? I was beginning to think the sea wind snatches the voice of everyone at about twelve Turns.
You should have heard my sis and Alemi stopped, flushed, and clamped his lips tight.
Which reminds me: I took the liberty of asking Nton, Lioths rider, to spread the word at Benden Weyr that shes missing. She may still be alive, you know.
Alemi nodded slowly.
You Sea Holders are full of surprises, said Elgion, thinking to switch to a less painful topic. He went to the racks of wax tablets and removed the two he sought. These must have been done by that fosterling who took over when Petiron died. The other slates are all in the older script notations, which the old Harper used. But theseA lad who can do this sort of work is needed in the Harpers craft. You dont know where the boy is now, do you?
Alemi was torn between duty to the Hold and love of his sister. But she wasnt in the Hold anymore, and commonsense told Alemi that she must be dead if, in this length of time, with dragonriders looking for her, she hadnt been found. Menolly was only a girl, so what good did it do that her songs found favor with the Harper? Alemi was also reluctant to put the lie to his father. So, despite the fact that Elgion was impressed by the songs, since the songmaker was beyond them, Alemi answered truthfully that he didnt know where he was.
Elgion wrapped the waxed slates carefully, and with a noticeable sigh of regret. Ill send them on to the Harper Crafthall anyway. Robinton will want to use them.
Use them? Theyre that good? Alemi was startled and regretted the lies still more.
Theyre cracking good. Maybe if the lad hears them, hell come forward on his own. Elgion gave Alemi a rueful smile. Since its obvious theres some reason you cant name him. He chuckled at the Sea Mans reaction. Come now, man, the lad was sent away in some sort of disgrace, wasnt he? That happens, as any harper worth his salt knowsand understands. Hold honor and all that. I wont tease you anymore. Hell surface to the sound of his own music.
They talked of other things then, until the fishing fleet returnedtwo men of the same age but different background: one with an inquisitive interest in the world beyond his Sea Hold, and the other quite willing to satisfy it. Elgion was, in fact, delighted to find none of Yanuss denseness and inflexibility in Alemi, and the Harper began to feel that after all he might be able to follow Master Robintons ambitious plan of broadening understanding beyond the limits of this Sea Hold.
Alemi was back the following day after the children had been dismissed, with more questions. He stopped midsentence finally, apologizing profusely for taking so much of Elgions time.
I tell you what, Alemi, Ill teach you what youd like to know if youll teach me how to sail.
Teach you to sail?
Elgion grinned. Yes, teach me to sail. The smallest child in my class knows more about that than I do, and my professional standing is in jeopardy. After all, a Harper is supposed to know everything.
I may be wrong but I cant imagine that you need both legs to sail one of those little skiffs the children use.
Alemis face lit up, and he pounded the Harper on the back with enthusiasm. Of course I can. By the First Shell, man, Id be glad to do it. Glad.
And nothing would satisfy Alemi but to take the Harper down to the Dock Cavern immediately and give him the fundamentals of seamanship. In his own subject, Alemi was as good an instructor as the Harper; and Elgion was able to tack across the Harbor by himself by the end of the first lesson. Of course, as Alemi remarked, the wind was from the right quarter and the sea calm, ideal sailing conditions.
Which rarely prevail? asked Elgion; and he was rewarded by Alemis tolerant chuckle. Well practice makes perfect, and Id better learn the practical.
And the theory.
So their friendship was cemented by mutual exchanges of knowledge and long visits together. Although their conversation touched many subjects, Elgion hesitated to bring up the subject of fire lizards, or the fact that the Weyr had asked him to search for traces of the elusive little creatures. He had, however, searched as much of the accessible coastline as he could on foot. There were some beaches that should be checked now from the seaside. With Alemi teaching him how to handle the skiff, he hoped hed soon be able to do it himself. Elgion knew with certainty that Yanus would be completely scornful of any search for fire lizards, and the Harper didnt want to implicate Alemi in any plan that would bring Yanuss anger down on his head. Alemi was in bad enough straits over breaking his leg.
One clear bright morning, Elgion decided to put his solution to the test. He dismissed the children early, then sought out Alemi and suggested that today was not only a fine day but the sea was rough enough to test his ability. Alemi laughed, cast a wise eye at the clouds, and said that it would be mild as a bathing pool by afternoon but that the practice now would be useful to Elgions progress.
Elgion wheedled a large package of fish rolls and spicecakes from a kitchen auntie, and the two men set off. Alemi was agile enough now with his crutch and splint-bound leg on land, but he was glad of any excuse to be on the sea.
Once beyond the protecting arms of the Half-Circle cliffs, the sea was choppy with crosscurrent and wind; Elgions skill would be well tested. Alemi, disregarding an occasional wetting as the skiff plunged in and out of the wave troughs, played silent passenger while the Harper fought tiller and sheet to keep them on the course Alemi had set down the coast. The Sea Man became aware of the windshift some moments before Elgion, but it was the mark of his abilities as a teacher that Elgion was quick enough to notice the change.
Winds slacking off.
Alemi nodded, adjusting his cap slightly for the winds new direction. They sailed on, the wind slackening to a gentle pressure against the sail, the skiffs speed aided more by the deep current than the wind.
Im hungry, Alemi announced as he and Elgion saw the stumpy violet crags of the Dragon Stones to leeward.
Elgion released the sheet line, and Alemi pulled the sail down, furling it with absent skill against the boom. At his direction, Elgion lashed the tiller so that the current carried them idly downcoast.
Dont know why, Alemi said through a mouthful of fishroll, food always tastes better on the sea.
Elgion contented himself to a nod since his mouth was full. He also had a good appetite; not, he qualified to himself, that he had been working overhard, just hanging on to the tiller and adjusting the sail sheet now and then.
Come to think, dont often have time to eat on the sea, Alemi added. He gestured to include their leisurely bobbing, the skiff itself and the informal meal. Havent been this lazy on a sail since I was old enough to haul a net. He stretched and then adjusted his splinted leg slightly, grimacing against the awkwardness and discomfort. Suddenly he leaned away from the bulwark, to reach into the small locker fitted against the curve of the hull. Thought so. Grinning, he held up fishline, hook and dry worm.
Cant you leave off?
What? And have Yanus give out about unproductive hands? Alemi deftly threaded line to hook and baited it. Here. You might as well try hook line and bait. Or does the Masterharper object to cross-crafting?
The more crafts the better, says Master Robinton.
Alemi nodded, his eyes on the current. Aye, sending lads away to other Sea Holds for fostering doesnt quite answer, does it? Deftly he threw the line from him, watched the cast carry it well away from the drifting skiff and sink.
Elgion gave a fair imitation of that cast and settled himself, as Alemi had, to wait for results.
What would we be catching out here?
Alemi drew his mouth up in a grimace of indifference. Probably nothing. Tides full, currents strong, midday. Fish feed at dawn, unless theres Thread.
Is that why you use the dry worm? Because it resembles Thread? Elgion couldnt suppress the shudder that went down his spine at the thought of loose Thread.
Youre right. The silence that often grips fishermen settled comfortably in the boat.
Yellow-stripe, if anything, Alemi finally said in answer to the question that Elgion had almost forgotten hed asked. Yellow-stripe or a very hungry packtail. Theyll eat anything.
Packtail? Thats good eating.
Linell break. Packtails too heavy for this.
The current was inexorably drawing them closer to the Dragon Stones. But, although he wanted to get Alemi talking about them, Elgion couldnt find the proper opening. At about the point where Elgion felt hed better speak or theyd be pulled by the current into the Stones, Alemi casually glanced around. They were only several dragon lengths from the most seaward of the great crags. The water now lapped peacefully against the base, exposing occasionally the jagged points of submerged rock, eddying around others. Alemi unfurled the sail and hauled on the sheet line.
We need more sea room near those. Dangerous with sunken rock. When the tides making, current can pull you right in. If you sail this way by yourself, and youll soon be able to, make sure you keep your distance.
The lads say you saw fire lizards there once. Elgion found the words out of his mouth before he could censor them.
Alemi shot him a long amused look. Lets say I cant think what else it couldve been. They werent wherries: too fast, too small, and wherries cant maneuver that way. But fire lizards? He laughed and shrugged his shoulders, indicating his own skepticism.
What if I told you that there are such things? That Fnor, Canths rider, Impressed one in Southern and so did five or six other riders? That the Weyrs are looking for more fire lizard clutches, and Ive been asked to search the beaches?
Alemi stared at the Harper. Then the skiff rocked in the subtle cross currents. Mind now, pull the tiller hard aport. No, to your left, man!
They had the looming Dragon Stone comfortably abaft before further conversation.
You can Impress fire lizards? If Alemis voice was incredulous, an eager light sparkled in his eyes, and Elgion knew hed made an ally; he told as much as he, himself, knew.
Well, that would explain why you rarely see grown ones, and why they evade capture so cleverly. They hear you coming. Alemi laughed, shaking his head. When I think of the times
Me, too. Elgion grinned broadly, remembering his boyhood attempts to rig a successful trap.
Were to look on beaches?
Thats what Nton suggested. Sandy beaches, sheltered places, preferably hard for small active boys to find. Theres plenty of places where a fire lizard queen could hide a clutch around here.
Not with the tides so high this season.
There must be some beaches deep enough. Elgion felt impatient with Alemis arguments.
The Sea Man motioned Elgion out of the tiller seat, and deftly tacked about.
I saw fire lizards about the Dragon Stones. And those cragsd be right good weyrs. Not that I think wed have a chance of seeing them today. They feed at dawn: thats when I saw them. Only, and Alemi chuckled, I thought my eyes were deceiving me since it was the end of a long watch and a mans eyes can play tricks with him at dawn.
Alemi sailed the little skiff far closer to the Dragon Stones than Elgion would have dared. In fact the Harper found himself gripping the weatherboard very hard and edging his body away from the towering crags as the skiff breezed lightly by. There was no doubt that the crags were riddled with holes, likely weyrs for fire lizards.
I wouldnt try this tack except when the tide is full, Elgion, said Alemi as they sailed between the innermost crag and the tide-washed land. Theres a right mess of bottom-reaming rocks here even at half-tide.
It was quiet, too, with the waves softly caressing the narrow verge of sand between sea and cliff. Quiet enough for the unmistakable sound of piping to carry across the water to Elgion.
Did you hear that? Elgion grabbed Alemis arm.
Hear what?
The music!
What music? Alemi wondered briefly if the sun were strong enough to give the Harper a stroke. But he sharpened his ears for any unusual sound, following the line of Elgions stare to the cliffs. His heart leaped for a moment, but he said, Music? Nonsense! Those cliffs are riddled with caves and holes. All you hear is the wind
There isnt any wind now
Alemi had to admit that because hed let the boom out and was even beginning to wonder if they had enough wind to come about on a tack that would clear the northern side of the stones.
And look, said Elgion, theres a hole in the cliff face. Big enough for a person to get into, Id wager. Alemi, cant we go inshore?
Not unless we walk home, or wait for high tide again.
Alemi! Thats music! Not wind over blow holes! Thats someone playing pipes.
An unhappy furtive thought crossed Alemis face so plainly that Elgion jumped to a conclusion. All at once, all the pieces fell into place.
Your sister, the one whos missing. She wrote those songs. She taught the children, not that conveniently dismissed fosterling!
Menollys not playing any pipes, Elgion. She sliced her left hand, gutting packtail, and she cant open or close her fingers.
Elgion sank back to the deck, stunned but still hearing the clear tone of pipes. Pipes? Youd need two whole hands to play multiple pipes. The music ceased and the wind, rising as they tacked past the Dragon Stones, covered his memory of that illusive melody. It could have been the land breeze, sweeping down over the cliffs, sounding into holes.
Menolly did teach the children, didnt she?
Slowly Alemi nodded. Yanus believed the Sea Hold disgraced to have a girl taking the place of a Harper.
Disgraced? Once again Elgion was appalled at the obtuseness of the Sea Holder. When she taught so well? When she can turn a tune like the ones Ive seen?
She can play no more, Elgion. It would be cruel to ask now. She wouldnt even sing in the evenings. Shed leave as soon as you started to play.
So hed been right, thought Elgion, the tall girl had been Menolly.
If shes alive, shes happier away from the Hold! If shes dead Alemi didnt continue.
In silence they sailed on, the Dragon Stones falling away, back into violet indefiniteness as each man avoided the others gaze.
Now Elgion could understand many things about Menollys disappearance and the general reluctance at the Hold to discuss her or find her. There was no doubt in his mind that her disappearance was deliberate. Anyone sensitive enough to compose such melodies must have found life in the Sea Hold intolerable: doubly so with Yanus as Sea Holder and father. And then to be considered a disgrace! Elgion cursed Petiron for not making the matter plain. If only he had told Robinton that the promising musician were a girl, she might have been at the Harperhall before that knife had a chance to slip.
Thered be no clutches on the Dragon Stones cove, Alemi said, breaking into Elgions rueful thoughts. Waters right up to the bluff at high tide. There is one placeIll take you there after the next Threadfall is past. A good long days sail down the coast. You can Impress a fire lizard, you say?
Ill set the signal for Nton to talk to you after Fall. Elgion was happy enough to use any subject to break the restraint that had fallen between them. Evidently you or I can Impress, though lowly Harpers and young Sea Men may be far down on the list for available eggs.
By the dawn star, when I think of the hours I spent as a small fellow
Who hasnt? Elgion grinned back, eager too for the chance.
This time their silence was companionable, and when they exchanged glances, it was for remembered boyish fancies of capturing the elusive and much desired fire lizard.
As they tacked into the Dock Cavern late that afternoon, Alemi had a final word for Elgion. You understand why youre not to know it was Menolly who did the teaching?
The Sea Hold is not disgraced. Elgion felt Alemis hand tighten on his arm so he nodded. But I would never betray that confidence.
If his solemn response reassured the Sea Man, it reinforced Elgions determination to find out who had made that pipe music. Was it possible to play multiple pipes with one hand? He was convinced that hed heard music, not wind over blowholes. Somehow, whether on the pretext of searching for fire lizards or not, he must get close enough to examine that cave in the Dragon Stones cove.
The next day was rainy, a thin soft drizzle that did not deter the fishermen but that made both Elgion and Alemi unwilling to take a long and possibly fruitless journey in an open boat.
That same evening Yanus asked Elgion to excuse the children from lessons the following morning as theyd be needed to gather seaweed for the smoke-cave. Elgion granted considered permission, masterfully suppressing a desire to thank the Sea Holder for a free day, and determined to rise early and be off to seek the answer to the music mystery. He was up as soon as the sun, first in the Great Hall, so that he had to unbar the metal doors, little realizing as he did so that he would be following an unnerving precedent. With fish rolls and dried fruit in his pouch, his own pipe slung across his back, a stout rope about his middle (for he rather thought he might need it climbing down that cliff face), Elgion was away.
Chapter 9
Oh, Tongue, give sound to joy and sing
Of hope and promise on dragonwing.
The hunger of the fire lizards roused Menolly from sleep. There was nothing in the cave to eat because the previous day had been wet enough to keep them all inside. She saw that the tide was well out, and the day was clear.
If we scramble, we can get down coast and pick us up a nice lot of spiderclaws. Theyll be gone soon, she told her friends. Or we can look for rockmites. So come along, Beauty. The little queen hummed from her warm nest in the rushes, and the others began to stir. Menolly reached down and tickled Lazys neck where he lay by her feet. He slapped at her, rousing enough to let out a huge yawn. His eyelids peeled back and his eyes sparkled faintly red.
Now, dont you all start in on me. I got you up so we could be off. You wont be hungry long if we all stir smartly.
As she descended agilely to the beach, her friends swooping gracefully from the cave, some of the other fire lizards were feeding in the shallows. Menolly called out a greeting to them. She wondered, as she often did, if the other fire lizards, with the notable exception of the queen, were at all aware of her. She felt it rude not to acknowledge their presence whether they responded or not. Maybe one day they would have grown so used to her, that theyd answer.
She slipped on the wet rocks at the far end of the cove, wincing as a sharp edge made itself painfully felt through the thinning soles of her boots. That was a matter shed have to attend to soon, new boot soles. With such rough surfaces, she couldnt go barefoot. And she certainly couldnt climb barefooted, not if she had toes like a watchwher. Shed have to get another wherry, tan its leg hide to a proper toughness. But how could she sew the new leather to her old bootsole? She looked down at her feet, placing them carefully, as much to save the leather as her feet.
She took her band to the furthest cove theyd yet explored, far enough down the coast for the Dragon Stones to be knobs on the horizon. But the long walk was worth the effort for spiderclaws scurried wildly up and down the wide, gently curving beach. The bluff had dwindled to a height just above her head in some places, and at the far end of the crescent sands, a stream fed into the sea.
Beauty and the others were soon playing havoc with the spiderclaws, diving down on their intended prey, then darting up to the cliffs to eat. When her net was full, Menolly searched for enough sea wreckage to start a fire. That was how she found the clutch, covered as it was and almost level with the beach surface. But she saw the faint outline of a mound, suspiciously circular. She brushed away enough sand to expose the mottled shell of a hardening fire lizard egg. She glanced around carefully, wondering if the queen was anywhere about; but she saw only her own nine. She put a gentle finger on the exposed egg: it was softish. Quickly she patted the sand back into place and hurried from the clutch. The high-tide mark on this beach was a long way from threatening the eggs. It pleased her to realize that this beach was a long way from any Hold so these fire lizard eggs were safe.
She gathered sufficient wood, made a rude hearth, started her fire, killed the spiderclaws deftly and laid them on a conveniently flat stone and went exploring while they baked.
The stream flowed broad into the sea; sand banks had formed and reformed to judge by the myriad channels. Menolly followed the stream inland, looking for the sweet cresses that often grew where the water freshened. Submarine bodies moved upstream, too, and she wondered if she could catch one of the big specklers. Alemi often boasted that he could tickle them into his grasp as they fought the current. Thinking of the spiderclaws roasting on her fire, Menolly decided to leave that exercise until another day. She did want some greens; succulent cresses with their odd tangy aftertaste would make a good addition to spiderclaws.
She found the greens well above the tidewater, where the stream was fed by tiny trickles from the flat marshy lands through which it looped. She was greedily stuffing a handful of greens into her mouth before she really took in her surroundings. In the distance, low on the horizon, were lightning flashes against a gray sky.
Thread! Fear rooted her to the ground; she nearly choked on the half-chewed mouthful of greens. She tried to talk herself out of terror by counting the flashes of dragon fire that made a pattern across the sky: a wide, long pattern. If the dragonriders were already at work, the Thread wouldnt get as far as here. She was a long way from it.
But how far away was safe? Shed just made it to the cave before that other Fall. She was too far away, run as fast as ever she could, to reach the caves safety now. Shed the sea behind her. Water! Shed the stream beside her. Thread drowned in water. But how deep did it fall before it drowned?
She told herself firmly that now was not the time to panic. She forced herself to swallow the last of the cress juices. Then she had no control over her legs; they took off with her and she was running, towards the sea and towards the rock safety of her cave.
Beauty appeared above her head, swooping and chittering as she caught Menollys fear. Rocky and Diver arrived with Mimic popping in a half-breath later. They experienced her alarm, circling around her head as she ran, calling out with the piercingly sweet tenor bugle of challenge. Then they all disappeared. Which made running easier for Menolly. She could concentrate on where she was putting her feet.
She made diagonally for the beaches, wondering briefly if it wouldnt be smarter to go along the shore line. Shed be that much nearer the dubious safety of the water. She hurdled a ditch; managed to keep her balance as her left foot twisted on landing; staggered a few paces before she found her stride again. No, thered be more rocks on the shore, cutting down her speed and increasing the danger of a badly twisted ankle.
Two queens gleamed golden in the air above her, and Rocky and Diver were back, with Lazybones, Mimic and Brownie. The two queens chittered angrily, and the males, to Menollys surprise, flew ahead of her now, and high enough not to be a nuisance. She ran on.
She came to a height, and the incline robbed her of breath so that she staggered to the summit and had to drop to a walk, clutching her right side against the nagging stitch, but somehow moving forward. Ahead of her the Dragon Stones were more than knobs but too distant to reassure. One look over her shoulder at the sky bursts of dragon fire told her that the Thread was gaining on her.
She broke into a run again, the two queens gliding right over her head, and she felt oddly protected. She had her second wind now, and her stride, and felt as if she could run forever. If she could only run fast enough to stay beyond the reach of ThreadShe kept her eyes on the Dragon Stones, refusing to look over her shoulder: that unnerving sight caught the breath she needed for running.
She ran as close to the bluff edge as she dared. Shed slithered down one cliff without desperate damage to herself: shed risk it again to get into the water if she had to. She ran, one eye on the Dragon Stones, one for the ground ahead of her feet.
She heard the whoosh, heard the fire lizards startled chirrups, saw the shadow and fell to the ground covering her head instinctively with her hands, her body taut for the first feel of flesh-scoring Thread. She smelt firestone, and felt the air heavy against her body.
Get on your feet, you silly fool! And hurry. Leading edge is nearly on us!
Incredulous, Menolly looked up, right into the whirling eyes of a brown dragon. He cocked his head and hummed urgently.
Get up! said his rider.
Menolly wasted no time after a frantic look at the fire blossoms and the sight of a line of dragons swooping and disappearing. She scrambled to her feet, dove for the brown riders extended hand and one of the fighting strap ends, and got herself firmly astride the browns neck behind his rider.
Hang on to me tightly. And dont be afraid. Im to take you between to Benden. Itll be cold and dark, but Ill be with you.
The relief of being rescued when she was fearing injury or death was too overwhelming for speech. The brown dragon half-ran to the bluff edge, dropped down briefly to get wing room, and then surged up. Menolly felt herself pressed against the soft warm flesh and burrowed into the hide-clad back of her rescuer, struggling for a lungful of air to ease her tight chest. She had one brief glimpse of her little fire lizards trying vainly to follow when the dragon winked into between.
Sweat froze on her forehead and cheeks, down her back, on her calves, her wet and ragged boots and her sore feet. There was no air to breathe and she felt she would suffocate. She tightened her hands convulsively on the dragonrider, but she couldnt feel him or the dragon she knew she was riding.
Now, she thought with that part of her mind that wasnt frozen in panic, she fully understood that Teaching Song. In terror, she fully understood it.
Abruptly, sight, sound, feeling, and breath returned. They were spiralling down at a dizzying height above Benden Weyr. As big as Half-Circle was, this place of dragons and dragonmen was bigger by half again as much. Why, the immense harbor of Half-Circle would have fitted with dragon lengths to spare in the Bowl of the Weyr.
As the dragon circled, she saw the giant Star Stones, and the Eye Rock, which told when the Red Star would make its fateful Passes. She saw the watch dragon beside the Stones, heard him trumpet a greeting to the brown she rode. Between her legs she felt the rumble of response in the browns throat. As they glided down, she saw several dragons on the Bowl floor, with people gathered about them; saw the steps leading to the queens weyr, and the yawning maw of the Hatching Ground. Benden was vaster than shed imagined.
The brown landed near the other dragons, and Menolly now realized that the dragons had been Threadscored and were being treated. The brown dragon half-folded his wings, craning his neck around to the two on his back.
You can relax your death hold, lad, said the brown rider with tolerant amusement as he unfastened the fighting straps from his belt.
Menolly jerked her hands free with a muttered apology. I cant thank you enough for finding me. I thought Thread would get me.
Whoever let you out of your Hold so near to Threadfall?
I was catching spiderclaws. Went out early.
He accepted that hurried explanation, but now Menolly wondered how she could make it plausible. She couldnt remember the name of the nearest Hold on the Nerat side of Half-Circle.
Down you go, lad, Ive got to rejoin my wing to mop up.