Sky Dragons: Dragonriders of Pern Page 29

  “You’re going to be getting some help in this,” Fiona said. Above them the sky darkened as a group of dragons burst overhead from between.

  Xhinna glanced up in surprise to see Talenth, Fiona’s queen. Lorana was astride her, and behind her were the six green queens as well as two distinct wings of blues, greens, and browns. The queens landed first, as was their right, and Jirana came bounding over, followed by the five other young girls who had Impressed the green queens. They were all fit and tan, as was to be expected from their days spent lying under the sun guarding the Hatching Grounds against tunnel snakes. The girls were all near Jirana’s age—much younger than normal for a Candidate—but they had all formed the strange connection with their queens before the Hatching. It was their ability to hear the unhatched queens that protected the sands from the depradations of tunnel snakes, aided by the growing population of Meeyus and older Mrreows.

  “But what about the eggs?” Danirry asked as she noticed Jirana.

  “We’ve got that covered,” Jirana assured her.

  Xhinna turned thoughtfully to Fiona. How had the Weyrwoman known how many were needed?

  “You were talking with Terin, weren’t you?” Xhinna asked.

  “Danirry’s not the only one good with sums,” Fiona said, smiling in acknowledgment.

  Lorana was trailed by someone whom Xhinna couldn’t immediately identify and then—“Seban!”

  “I thought having an old hand around to advise you wouldn’t be amiss,” Fiona said as the ex-dragonrider waved in reply.

  “I know we’ve blues and greens to spare, but I’m still surprised that we don’t have more browns or bronzes,” said Avarra, the blue rider sent from X’lerin’s Midriver Weyr, who was leading their twenty-four blues and greens.

  “Well, as you say, we have them to spare,” R’ney, one of the few brown riders in their wing, allowed a little smugly.

  “I try never to argue with Weyrleaders,” Xhinna said.

  Jerilli, the blue leader of the Northern contingent sent by H’nez, nodded vigorously.

  The three wingleaders and their nine wingseconds were all gathered under one of the outside awnings hung off the stone hall, the rest of the dragonriders having gone to the beach to help with the egg guard.

  Jirana and the other young queen riders were seated cross-legged in a ring away from the table, while Lorana and the Sky queen riders were seated behind Xhinna.

  “Anyway,” Xhinna said, “what I think we should do first is set up the watch order. After that, we’ll make a quick visit to the Dawn Sisters so that we can instruct the riders of our wings.”

  “I pity the wing that’s got the night shift,” Avarra said.

  “Oh, let me guess,” R’ney muttered under his breath even as Xhinna said, “That would be mine.”

  Danirry, who’d heard the brown rider’s quiet words, smirked at him and shook her head, looking at her wingleader resignedly. “Like you could bet differently.”

  “That’s all very nice, but what are we to do?” Jepara demanded.

  “No one knows how long a dragon can stay up by the Dawn Sisters,” Lorana said. “I’ve an idea, as Minith and I tried first, but we’re not certain.”

  “I see,” Jepara said, apparently unable to unleash her usually biting tongue on the older, revered ex-dragonrider.

  “We’re going to need you and your queens to keep an eye on us,” Xhinna said.

  “That’s it?” Jepara exclaimed, clearly expecting more.

  “And rescue us, if need be,” Danirry added, looking glum.

  “Rescue—” Jepara began, but she stopped as understanding blossomed on her face. She turned to Xhinna. “So this is dangerous?”

  “Very,” Lorana said. “We need the queens to keep watch, to guard the greens and blues on watch.”

  “It’s like guarding the eggs, only harder,” little Devon piped up. She was just a sevenday younger than Jirana—much to the other’s disgust at losing her position as the youngest queen rider on Pern. Even so, she had been the first to be picked by Jirana when she and Xhinna had gone on Search for riders for the green queens. Now, nearly three Turns later, she and Jirana were nearing adolescence, while Kiminy, the eldest by two Turns, was beginning to giggle at the looks given her by the younger bronze riders.

  Xhinna had had little chance to see any of them since their Impression, but they’d all seemed pleasant, sweet, and just a little different—marked, as it were, by their strange queens with whom they could communicate before they were Hatched.

  “They don’t have the Sight, too, do they?” Xhinna had asked Jirana after the five had all Impressed exactly as the young trader girl had predicted.

  “I don’t think so,” Jirana had said, giving the question her full attention and adding with a shrug, “They might.”

  Xhinna now turned to Jirana, saying, “I want you and the other young queens to be certain that you don’t try to catch us. Leave that to the bigger queens.”

  Jirana nodded. Around her, the others nodded just as solemnly, except the older Kiminy, who winked at Xhinna.

  “But we’ll be able to go up to the Dawn Sisters, right?” dark-haired Elodie asked.

  “Yes,” Lorana said. “You need to be able to see where you’re watching.”

  “Between you and Jepara’s queens, we’ll have to ask you to take two-hour watches—”

  “But even with the green queens, that’s only eleven of us!” Jepara objected. Before anyone could reply, another queen burst into the sky overhead and dropped with appalling speed to the ground below, her wings cupping at the very last moment. Her rider scrambled off and rushed over, crying, “Sorry I’m late, I had a broken arm to mend!”

  “Bekka?” Jepara called in astonishment.

  “Is that a problem?” the sturdy healer demanded, her eyes flashing.

  “You’ll take the dawn shift, then,” Jepara declared, “seeing as you were late.”

  “I was—” Bekka’s hot protest died as she caught a look from Lorana. “That’s fine.” A moment later she added, reflectively, “I’m usually up by then doing my rounds.”

  “You’ll have your second do them,” Jepara ordered. “You’ll need your full attention for this.”

  “When did your queen rise?” Bekka demanded hotly. She and the other queen rider had locked horns on so many occasions that Xhinna had feared they would finally come to blows, but so far, their arguments had always dissipated just short of that. After a while, Xhinna decided that their bickering was just their way of being friendly to each other. She’d seen them stick up for each other’s best interest countless times in the past two Turns, but it still seemed to her a strange way of expressing affection.

  “Before yours, certainly!” Jepara snapped back.

  “Enough,” Xhinna growled, cutting her eyes to the horrified looks of the other blue and queen riders. “Bekka—that would be great. I think Jepara has just volunteered to precede you—”

  “I did not!” Jepara snapped. Xhinna lowered her head toward her with raised brows and the queen rider sighed, saying to Bekka, “Don’t expect any klah.”

  “You’d probably spit in it,” Bekka shot back.

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Jepara said, smiling sweetly.

  “Children,” Xhinna said to the two of them, earning her a pair of dark looks—both of them were as near her age as made no difference.

  “Are you sure you’d like them watching out for you?” Avarra asked in a choked voice.

  “Absolutely,” Xhinna said. “I’d trust them with my life.”

  “I can take the watch before Jepara,” Jirana offered.

  “No, take the watch with Bekka,” Jepara said, turning toward the younger rider with an affectionate look. Her gaze fell on the other young queen riders and she added, “Maybe Devon will watch with me.”

  The youngest queen rider beamed in agreement.

  In short order the watches were set, Lorana noting them down on a slate for K’dan’s later confir
mation.

  “So, when can we go up?” Jepara asked when the last dispositions were made.

  “Food first, then flying,” Bekka said authoritatively.

  “Then, let’s eat!” Jepara said, springing to her feet.

  Bekka coughed significantly and nodded toward Xhinna and Lorana. Jepara gave her a quizzical look and then blushed. “I mean, if that’s all right with you?”

  Xhinna had to force herself to school her expression as she replied, “Of course.”

  As the others filtered away, Lorana waited behind until only she and Xhinna were left. Then the ex-queenrider leaned over and said, “When were you going to tell them that they’ll have to wait until dawn?”

  “After they’ve eaten and are feeling sleepy,” Xhinna told her. Lorana’s eyes widened in surprise and she gave the blue rider a wide smile. “I thought I’d have them practice afterward at altitude, to get their dragons used to holding air, the way you told me.”

  “I see,” Lorana said approvingly.

  “Would you like a ride to the High Kitchen?” Xhinna said, rising as she spied R’ney, Taria, and Danirry waiting patiently by their dragons.

  “No, I think I’ll stay here and have a word with Fiona,” Lorana said, waving a hand at her. “You go on.”

  Xhinna and Taria sat at the large table in what they’d come to call the High Kitchen. “Here they come,” Taria murmured.

  In the Turns since they’d come to Sky Weyr, they’d learned that while spring and summer were often mild and pleasant, fall and winter were not the nicest seasons for tree dwellers. Fortunately, they had learned the lesson early and had discovered that some broom trees were more accommodating than others. So the original kitchen area had been superceded by a much larger, fully enclosed area in X’lerin’s broom tree—the one that the Weyrleader and his bronze Kivith had occupied. Softer pinus wood had been used to lay a floor and erect walls and ceilings for the large room. After that, several more rooms had been constructed in other broom trees, providing winter quarters that were later expanded to house most of the Weyr.

  The High Kitchen provided sufficient seating for no more than a full wing at best, so Xhinna had arranged for the various wings to eat in shifts. Tonight she had invited the wingleaders, queen riders, and wingseconds to eat first, as they would immediately after be going up to the Dawn Sisters.

  Taria had managed to insinuate herself into the group with accepting nods from both R’ney and Danirry, and then had insisted that Xhinna eat quickly, predicting that the other two female blue riders would seek her out.

  Sure enough, both Jerilli and Avarra were already making their way toward Xhinna.

  “May we sit with you?” Avarra asked.

  “Of course,” R’ney said, moving closer to Taria and elbowing her to make more room. “Danirry, move away from the wingleader—you get to see her every day.”

  Danirry favored him with a look that was a cross between a glare and a grin, but dutifully moved away.

  Xhinna was just as unsurprised as Taria at their desire to sit with her—slightly more than half of all the new green riders and just a bit more than one in three blue riders were women, a tremendous break with Weyr tradition brought about mostly because of the dearth of able-bodied males of suitable Searching age.

  Xhinna susupected that Nerra might have slightly “stacked the deck,” as R’ney had once described it, assiduously succoring girls by getting them into her orphanage, but whether or not that was true, she doubted that the Lady Holder’s discrimination would matter much in the long term. Able-bodied men and lads had been drafted first into the recovery after the Plague, and all too often women had been left to shift for themselves, with the tragic result that many young girls had been left homeless and starving.

  Soon, rigid, inflexible old-timers like D’gan were going to be confronted with the new reality. Given both Fiona’s and Nerra’s harsh words, Xhinna was rather hoping she’d have the chance to see his reaction firsthand, although she was the first to bet against his “dying of apoplexy at the mere sight,” as Fiona had so cheerfully predicted.

  There was an equally vigorous discussion of the possible reaction of Weyrwoman Tullea to the new organizations. There, Xhinna was in agreement with Fiona’s prediction that the tetchy Benden Weyrwoman would be at least secretly and maybe even openly ecstatic.

  The betting was spread more evenly upon the reactions of various Lord Holders, Fiona covering all wagers against her father having a negative reaction. She seemed surprised to have no takers, but having played several games of chance with Fiona, Xhinna was reasonably sure that the blond Weyrwoman was bluffing.

  Avarra pursed her lips in a thin line, glanced toward R’ney, and then said to Xhinna, “We were hoping to talk with you alone.”

  “No,” Xhinna said, surprised to hear the word echoed by R’ney and Danirry. “I trust my wing.”

  Avarra’s look grew darker and she cut her eyes toward Jerilli.

  “We were hoping that you would talk with T’mar,” Jerilli said finally, filling in the other’s silence.

  “About what?”

  “About this assignment!” Avarra said angrily, tamping down her volume so only the first word carried throughout the room. She leaned closer toward Xhinna, continuing at just above a whisper. “Aren’t you as mad about it as we are?”

  “Mad?” Xhinna repeated in a normal tone of voice. “Why should I be?”

  “It’s beneath you, that’s why!” Avarra said. “We should be part of a fighting wing, not sent off on some silly ‘errand’ like we were mere weyrlings.”

  Xhinna looked in surprise at the other woman and then glanced to Jerilli to see the same expression on her face.

  “I’m sure if you really feel that way, you’ve only to tell X’lerin and he’ll have you back in an instant,” Danirry said. “In fact, why don’t I have Kiarith tell him …”

  “Danirry!” Xhinna snapped at the blue rider. She turned to Avarra and Jerilli. “Didn’t H’nez send you here?”

  “Yes,” Jerilli said, the hurt in her voice obvious. “I’d hoped—”

  “Excuse me, may I join you?” an older man’s voice interjected.

  “Seban!” Xhinna cried in delight as she identified him. “Certainly! You can sit opposite me.” She motioned for Taria to make room.

  Seban sat and nodded to Avarra and Jerilli before saying in a pleasant tone, “I’m afraid I couldn’t help hearing some of what was said.”

  Both of the blue riders looked slightly green at this because they’d had several prior encounters with the ex-dragonrider, either as Weyrlingmaster or general troubleshooter and occasional rider of various dragons, most particularly Xhinna’s own Tazith.

  Seban had accepted Xhinna’s request with mixed emotions, and she was certain that he’d never completely conquered them, but still he rode when she asked—and he did the same favor for many others, especially those who, like Xhinna, were too great with child to safely fly for a while. He’d even taken Tazith on a few mating flights that Xhinna had been unable to attend for one reason or another. He was admired, respected, and revered throughout the Western Isle.

  “Seban,” Avarra said in protest, “it’s just not fair—”

  “Fair doesn’t enter into it,” R’ney interrupted. Seban raised a calming hand, and with the added weight of a glare from Xhinna, the brown rider subsided, nodding an apology to the ex-dragonrider.

  “It’s not a question of fair, dragonrider,” Seban said, “but it is a question of honor.”

  “Honor?” Jerilli repeated hopefully. “So you see—”

  “The three wings chosen to protect Pern are all led by women,” Seban continued.

  “Protect?” Avarra protested, her eyebrows rising high, “how can you—”

  “How many dragons are there here on the Western Isle, do you know?” Seban asked.

  “Nearly two thousand,” Jerilli said, glancing to Avarra for confirmation.

  “And what would they eat if Thr
ead destroys the island?” Seban asked.

  Jerilli’s brow puckered.

  “This is very lush land,” Xhinna said. “We don’t know how quickly a burrow would spread, but we do know that, once established, there are no natural boundaries from one shore to the next.”

  “We had to fire several valleys at Southern Boll because of burrows,” Seban reminded them.

  “And they lost a valley at Bitra,” Xhinna said, recalling Fiona’s account of the Threadfall that was still in their future.

  “That was after our time,” Jerilli confessed. She, like all the other new riders on the Western Isle, had been rescued from the time between the last of the Plague and the start of the Third Pass. She glanced at Xhinna. “None of us have seen Threadfall, though—”

  “I have,” Xhinna interrupted. She glanced over to R’ney, her eyes burning with a sense of urgency, as she continued, “Back at Eastern—”

  “When you brought us back in time to here,” R’ney recalled, turning to Taria.

  “That was near to this time,” Taria said, eyes wide. She looked at Xhinna. “We should tell Fiona—”

  “I already have,” Xhinna said. She turned back to Avarra and Jerilli. “So, do you understand the need?”

  “But up at the Dawn Sisters?” Avarra asked, still protesting.

  “It’s a good place to start,” Xhinna said. She smiled at the other two blue riders. “Do you understand now that your Weyrleaders entrusted you—and your riders—with a great burden?”

  Jerilli slowly nodded. “Sorry we were such fools.”

  “I know X’lerin pretty well,” Xhinna reminded her. “After all, he was the first to make me wingleader.”

  Jerilli’s mouth fell into an “O” of recollection. Xhinna turned to Avarra, adding, “And I know H’nez reasonably well. Certainly well enough to know that he’d never appoint a fool to lead a wing.” She raised an eyebrow. “Do you still want to protest?”

  “No,” Jerilli said, going quite red. “I think I want to hide.”

  “Don’t do that!” R’ney told her. She looked over at him. “Wingleaders are supposed to make mistakes,” he continued, glancing toward Danirry as his face expanded into a grin, and the two continued in unison: “That’s why they have wingseconds—”