“I don’t understand you, K’van. I thought you were our friend, and now when we really need your help…”
“I’ve already done more than I should,” K’van said, a trace of impatience in his tone as he bent to cut Temma loose.
Jayge had no chance to argue with him, for at that moment Aramina came running down the steps and into his arms. The skinful of spirits banged against his sore ribs. His embrace was perfunctory as he was still seething at K’van’s unwillingness to help more. Then he saw Jancis, carrying Janara on one arm while Readis clutched her skirt, and he had to reassure the children, as well.
“Jancis, that was quick thinking, to free the canines then,” he said fervently.
“Seemed the logical thing to do,” she said, shrugging off his praise. Placing Janara on the ground, she knelt by Piemur, who was pallid under his deep tan.” Awful woman! Isn’t she the one Telgar and Lemos were hunting so earnestly? Well, drink up and then hand the wineskin to me, will you, Jayge? I don’t like Piemur’s color.”
Jayge obeyed and found that a long swig of the strong spirits proved to be a powerful restorative.
“Temma could use some as well,” K’van said, helping the groggy woman to a sitting position. Aramina gently began to rub the older woman’s red and swollen wrists and ankles. The two children, still subdued by their experiences, stood close together, wide-eyed, watching the adults.
“Free Swacky, Jayge,” K’van suggested, ignoring the furious look Jayge shot him as he cut Nazer’s bonds.
“If you’d only send for a wing, K’van, or even a few more riders…”
“Much as I would like to, I can’t compromise the Weyr, Jayge, not without Benden’s permission,” K’van said impassively. “It could be constituted as direct interference in hold management. You have to rescue yourself from Thella.”
“He’s right, Jayge,” Jancis said, briskly massaging Piemur’s bruised arms and wrists.
“But you…”
“Heth heard Aramina, and he rousted me out of the Weyrhold in only my pants.” K’van shuddered involuntarily. “We came out of between right over her head. There wasn’t much else I could do except pick her out of that tree.” He gave an exasperated snort. “I’ll take knocks enough for that later, but Heth didn’t ask. Maybe F’lar will permit the lapse on those grounds: a rider rarely wins an argument with his dragon.”
“But you had to save Aramina and my children!”
“And so I did!” Kevin’s patience was wearing a little thin, and he frowned at the irate holder. “I would again, even if I knew the circumstances beforehand. The rest, my friend, is now up to you. There’s another couple of hours before I can contact the Benden Weyrleaders, and I don’t think Thella’s going to be barging around in your orchard that long. Pass me that wineskin. Swacky looks like he needs a long pull.”
“There are five of us,” Jayge began, forcing his anger with the bronze rider out of his mind and trying to organize a strategy.
“Seven,” Jancis said firmly.
“I don’t know how many Thella has with her.”
“Well, she’s lost a few,” Jancis said helpfully, pointing to five bodies laid out to one side of the porch.
“Six came at us,” Temma said hoarsely, shaking her hands to increase the blood flow. “I managed a couple of good blows, and I know Nazer knifed one in the chest.”
“Three attacked me, and I got one, but I don’t think I killed him,” Swacky said.
“Are all the canines dead, Ara?” Jayge asked. They would attack anything on command.
“Only one. The rest are up the tree,” Aramina said with a brief grin. “Jancis heaved and I pulled. They’re perched out of sight—I hope—and on a stay command. I was going to organize the fire-lizards, but then Heth appeared and they all departed.”
From the woods the shouts of the frustrated searchers could be plainly heard, with a louder female voice exhorting them to climb up into the trees if they could not check from the ground.
“Was Farli among the fire-lizards?” Piemur asked weakly, a healthier color gradually reducing his pallor.
“I didn’t see her,” Jancis replied.
“She probably went for help once I was knocked out.”
“To the Master Harper?” K’van asked.
“I suppose!”
“Alemi and the fishermen would be nearer to hand,” Aramina said, shielding her eyes to peer out at the sea-reach. “Would she have the wit to go to them?”
“‘Finding them and getting them back here in time are two separate matters,” said Swacky, who did not think that much of fire-lizard abilities. “And where are Alemi’s womenfolk?”
“Tied up in their holds,” Jayge said, gesturing toward the cots farther up the river bank. “Ara, you and Jancis take the children and go free them. If, by any miracle, Thella left the skiffs intact, I want everyone to pile into them and sail out into the bay until Alemi returns.”
Aramina bristled. “I’m not running away again, Jayge Lilcamp!”
“I think you’d make it a lot easier for Jayge if you were out of Thella’s range,” K’van said firmly. “You and the children. Let him deal with her. It’s going to come to that one way or another, you know.” And with that the bronze dragonrider looked Jayge squarely in the eyes.
“And long overdue!” Jayge said savagely. “Go on, Aramina. She won’t find me such an easy mark this time.”
“Or any of us!” Swacky said fiercely, his eyes bright with anger. He had been searching among the weapons piled on the porch: he found his own sword and passed Piemur his broad jungle blade. “You, me, Temma, Nazer, and Piemur, if he’s got his wits back…” He grinned when Piemur cursed him roundly. “We can cause a lot of damage against such an undisciplined bag of scum with no need to compromise the dragon rider. Dragonriders,” he corrected himself, pointing one of the hunting spears downriver, where a second dragon was lazily gliding in to land.
The newcomer settled on the beach not far from Heth. Then his eyes whirled from placid green to agitated orange, and he emitted a startled bleat.
“Heth just brought Clarinath up to date,” K’van said with a wry grin.
V’line was scrambling down his dragon’s side and came racing toward them, his expression anxious. “Is it true? You’ve been attacked, Jayge? By whom? It’s outrageous. This sort of thing can’t be permitted.”
“Permission is never the issue,” K’van said grimly. “And our hands are tied in such matters.”
“Oh, yes, that’s true, you’re right,” V’line said, belatedly recalling Weyr strictures.
A frantic fire-lizard erupted into the air above Piemur’s head and then wrapped herself around his neck, threatening to strangle him with relief.
“Hold it, Farli, hold it! I can’t understand you,” Piemur exclaimed, protecting his face from her lickings and unwinding her tail from his neck. “Once again, more slowly. Ah, really? Weren’t you a clever one!” Piemur managed a grin as he explained. “She found Alemi, and he’s just beyond the point. He sent her to see what’s happened. Jancis, you got anything to write on? And what do I tell him, Jayge?”
“Alemi had six crew—that gives us twelve.” Swacky looked pleased.
“We can’t wait,” Jayge said. “We’ll have to rely on surprise—and luck.”
“They won’t expect canines to come out of a tree,” Aramina suggested.
Jayge pawed through the weapons, searching for a dagger. Solemnly K’van handed him his own blade.
“They’re heading into the grove now,” Swacky said, cocking his head at the sounds of men crashing through the undergrowth. “We can sneak after ‘em, pick ‘em off one by one.” He flexed his sword arm, grinning in anticipation.
Jayge caught Aramina’s hands as she hefted a fishing spear. “Oh, no, my love. You will take yourself and our children as far away from here as possible. Do you understand me? There’s no time to argue the point. You’re going.”
“And Heth and I will make sure she does,” K’van said unexpectedly, taking Aramina by the arm. “That much I can do.”