“C’rion, I’m sorry-”
C’rion shook his head. “He was old,” he said. “I’m sure he wanted the rest.”
J’lantir pursed his lips, still shaken. “If I’d kept a better eye on him-”
“You did the right thing,” C’rion said. “J’trel made his choice.”
J’lantir shook his head sadly. “I’m surprised, though,” the Wingleader said after a moment. “He was quite enamored of his current project.”
C’rion looked puzzled and made a “go on” gesture.
“Apparently he’d met some young lady-rescued her, in fact-and had taken a great interest in her drawing abilities.”
C’rion raised an eyebrow.
“J’trel always appreciated women,” J’lantir explained, “even if he didn’t appreciate women.”
“Just as Talith was the best on Search,” C’rion agreed.
“Just so,” J’lantir said, nodding. “Apparently he took this one under his wing and set her aboard that new ship, Wind Rider.”
“Why?”
“From what I’ve gathered at the sea hold, the girl was planning on drawing all the plant and animal life she could find from Nerat Tip to Tillek Head,” J’lantir replied.
The Istan Weyrleader pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “That would be quite something,” he said appreciatively.
“And she’s good, too,” J’lantir continued. “One of her drawings is on display at Ista Hold.”
“Someone should find her and give her the news,” C’rion said.
J’lantir nodded. “I’ll take care of that.”
“Good,” C’rion replied. “And-I’m sorry. He was a good man.”
J’lantir sighed. “He was old,” he responded. “I don’t think he’d want to be old when Thread falls again.”
“Some of us have no choice,” C’rion said softly.
Colfet’s cry of pain startled Lorana from her half-rest. She pulled away from him, the cold fog digging deeper into her bones, and realized ruefully that she had been the cause of his discomfort. In her sleepy desire to get warmer, she’d wrapped her arm over his chest and had disturbed his broken limb.
The cold dug deeper into her, but Lorana forced herself to search out the fire-lizards before she settled, carefully, once more against Colfet. Garth and Grenn huddled miserably on the floorboards beneath them.
They looked only a little less wet and bedraggled than they had been in the worst of the storm. Lorana had pleaded, scolded, cursed, and shoved at them in a vain effort to get them to seek safety, but they had remained steadfast. They made her aware of their fear that if they left, they would not be able to find her again in the storm-and they would not abandon her.
Colfet’s eyes fluttered open and he bent his head toward her, looking for a question.
“I nudged your arm,” Lorana said softly. “Sorry.”
He made a wordless sound through his shivers. He tried again: “C-c-cold.”
Lorana snuggled against him, placing as much of her body as she dared on top of him, careful of the roll of the little launch and of his broken arm.
His cast had disintegrated before the first hour of the storm had passed. He had banged the break painfully as he’d wrestled a storm anchor over the stern. When the storm anchor had torn loose hours later, he had insisted upon bailing with both arms, as he and Lorana had fought to keep the launch from foundering.
He had so injured and worn himself out that by the time they had bailed out the worst of the water, he was incapable of setting another storm anchor and had to shout instructions to Lorana until he lost his voice.
Lorana had made two mistakes in setting the new storm anchor: She’d used their oars; and she’d tied them to the tiller. When a particularly violent gust had nearly scuppered the launch, the resulting drag had torn not only the oars but also the tiller off of the stern.
When the storm broke and the fog had replaced it, Lorana had made a new storm anchor out of the launch’s boom.
“Storm coming,” Colfet said drowsily. “Two, maybe three hours away.”
Lorana glanced about. Yes, there was a wisp of wind-and it was cold.
The storm engulfed the launch without warning. Lorana found herself grabbing the fire-lizards and shoving them down behind Colfet in a hectic instant, blinded by the sea spray and drenching rain. She barely had time to brace herself in the bottom of the launch before the little boat was whipped violently around by the fierce winds of the new storm.
After that, time ceased to exist. Lorana was tossed about, frozen, inundated with freezing rain and roiling sea.
When the water level got too high in the boat, she started bailing, desperately fighting the incoming rain and sea, all the while terrified that one more wave would sink them. When Garth and Grenn tried to help her, she cursed them.
“Go! Go!” She wailed at them. Garth’s mouth opened in response but her voice was lost on the wind. Lorana didn’t need to hear the fire-lizard to recognize her stubborn resolve. Grenn hadn’t even bothered to slow down in his efforts.
Nor did Lorana. Still bailing, she grieved at the thought of her fire-lizards needlessly sacrificing themselves for her. Numbly she tried to organize new arguments to convince them to leave her.
“Lorana!” Colfet’s hoarse voice barely rose above the howl of the storm, and the warning came too late for her to do anything. The launch heeled horribly, nearly capsizing as it was tossed by a sudden swell.
Lorana knew instantly that the sea anchor had torn loose. She dropped the bailer. The only thing left to use was the launch’s mast. She bent down and started untying the stays that had kept it secure, all the while tossed horribly as the launch lurched on the sea.
Finally, she got the mast secured to the stern of the launch and was ready to place it overboard.
As she kneeled to push the mast out over the stern, another wave hit the bow of the launch and Lorana tumbled overboard.
In an instant the launch was lost from her sight. A wave crashed over her, submerging her. She returned to the surface gasping for breath, frozen to the core.
“Lorana!” Colfet shouted from the distance.
“No!” Lorana shouted back, but the wind whipped her words away.
Flitters of brown and gold appeared above her, battling the wind to avoid being slammed into the sea.
“Go away!” Lorana shouted at them. “Save yourselves!”
Garth and Grenn ignored her, diving to grab at her hair and yanking painfully on it. The pain was nothing compared to Lorana’s outraged grieving that her two fire-lizards would waste themselves for her.
“Go!” she shouted again, trying to bat away their hold on her hair. Something bumped into her and she grabbed at it. It was the mast. Lorana closed her eyes against tears. Colfet must have cut the mast free, hoping it would get to her as a float. Her wail was inarticulate. He had thrown away his life for hers.
I’m not worth it, she told herself. He’ll die, Garth and Grenn will die-all for nothing. Me.
Arms wrapped around the mast for support, Lorana caught her breath. The sea rose all around her. Lightning flashed in the distance. She was doomed.
“Garth,” she said, her words a whisper echoing her thoughts as she tried to find the gold fire-lizard in the air above her. “Grenn. You must go. Leave me. Find someone else. I can’t survive this and I can’t bear the thought of you dying with me.”
She felt a wash of steadfast warmth from the two fire-lizards in response. They would not leave her. They would not abandon her.
Anger shook her. They would die if they stayed with her. And it would be such a waste.
“You must go!” Lorana’s voice carried above the roar of the storm. Feeling her heart stiffen, she hardened her will and thrust it at the two fire-lizards. Go!