“The ice is indeed marvelous but we can’t trade it,” Azeez said first thing the next morning after T’mar had proudly displayed it.
K’rall and T’mar both opened their mouths in what would certainly have been an indignant outburst but Fiona cut across them, directing her comments to Mother Karina, “Where does this ice need to be for a good trade?”
Karina smiled and nodded toward Azeez.
The byplay wasn’t lost on Fiona who smiled in response. “You thought I wouldn’t foresee this?”
Azeez stiffened as Karina laughed and shook her finger at him. “I told you she was trader!”
“That’s as may be,” Azeez replied tetchily, “but it doesn’t alter the situation.”
“Of course it does!” Karina replied, biting off more laughter. She pointed a finger toward Fiona, saying, “Go on girl, tell us what you’ve devised.”
“Some of this ice we’ll trade, to be delivered when and where you say,” Fiona said, putting extra emphasis on the
“Ah!” Karina exclaimed.
Fiona eyed Azeez. “You know where it is.”
“Yes,” Azeez agreed. His eyes shifted away from her.
“What is it you don’t want to say?”
Azeez sighed. “They have little reason to like dragonriders.”
“And what do you recommend?” T’mar asked, bristling with ill-suppressed anger.
Azeez said nothing, glancing first to Karina, then to Fiona.
“Send a girl,” Karina said finally.
“No,” Fiona corrected her firmly, “you want to send me — a Weyrwoman.”
K’rall and T’mar gasped.
“Kindan mentioned some of the problems that Aleesa had when he knew her — not too long ago in this time,” Fiona explained quickly.
Karina frowned at her thoughtfully.
“He said that the Telgar Weyrleader felt that the watch-whers were unnecessary and a burden detracting from his rightful tithe,” Fiona recalled. “And so Aleesa hates dragonriders, fearing that they want to destroy the watch-whers forever.”
“She’s touched in the head,” Azeez declared. He started in surprise when Fiona nodded in agreement.
Again, Karina laughed. “Come, Azeez! And how many times do I have to remind you that little pitchers have big ears?” she teased, jerking her head at Fiona. “This one grew up dandled on a Lord Holder’s knee, listening to every conversation of importance for a whole Hold while being groomed to take over.” She laughed as she caught Fiona’s look.
“Oh, lady, do you think I didn’t guess?” Her eyes twinkled as she continued. “Anyone who heard Lord Bemin’s staunch support for Lady Nerra over her older — and completely useless — brother would have to be witless not to divine his reasoning.”
Fiona thought of mentioning Kelsa and her future half-sib but decided that Karina knew far too many secrets already. Let Tenniz tell her, if it came to him.
“You are holding something back,” Karina said with a cackle. “You look just like Tenniz when he doesn’t want to tell one of his Sightings.”
“I am,” Fiona admitted. “See if he can see it himself.” She glanced curiously at Mother Karina. “And where is he, by the way?”
“He is busy with trader matters in another location,” Karina replied with a negligent wave of her hand. She smiled challengingly at Fiona. “Perhaps you can see where yourself?”
Fiona snorted in response to Mother Karina’s jest.
Beside her, T’mar cleared his throat. “If you are saying that we should send Fiona — ”
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Fiona said, cutting him off. “When do we go?”
“The sooner the better,” Azeez replied. “Our information is that Aleesa is dying.”
Fiona nodded; from what little she’d heard of the events that had unfolded — would unfold — the news was not unexpected to her. She caught Karina eyeing her carefully and shook her head slyly.
“Her gold has clutched and there’s a queen egg,” she said.
Azeez gasped while Karina merely smiled, saying, “We were only told that Aleesk had clutched. Nothing was mentioned about what or how many eggs.”
“I don’t know how many eggs, only the queen,” Fiona confessed.
“You know how this all happens, don’t you?” Azeez asked accusingly.
With a shake of her head, Fiona replied, “No, I only know how it ends, not what events transpired along the way.”
“Just like Tenniz,” Karina murmured quietly.
“Except that, unlike Tenniz,” T’mar interjected, “we know because this is our past.”
“But we only know those things that were important to us or brought to our attention,” Fiona added. She glanced at T’mar, then K’rall, reading their glum expressions.
“We must find another way,” K’rall urged, glancing down at her. “We cannot risk — ”
Fiona silenced him with an upraised hand. “Karina already knows enough to trade for Turns to come,” she told him. “No sense in giving her more for free.”
She turned her attention to the traders.
“Do you know where the wherhold is now?” she asked. “Well enough that we can fly to it?”
“We know a place where you can land,” Azeez admitted. “But we have no traders that we’d trust with this secret nearby, else we’d have them introduce you and bring you into the camp.”
“From what we’ve heard, you must hurry,” Karina added.
“But we’ve got all the time we need,” K’rall said airily.
“No,” Fiona said. “We’ve seen the effects of too much
“Even now, I can feel the effects of just being in this time twice,” T’mar said, rubbing the back of his neck wearily. His eyes narrowed as he added, “I didn’t feel this drained until recently.”
“When?” Fiona asked urgently. She made a conciliatory gesture to the traders who looked unnerved.
“Since Hatching Day,” T’mar said with growing certainty.
“That makes sense,” K’rall said. “Until you’d Impressed you wouldn’t feel time the way a dragonrider does.”
“Terin isn’t affected at all,” Fiona observed in confirmation. Then she shook her head. “We should have this conversation later.”
“Agreed,” T’mar said. K’rall nodded emphatically.
“For now, the question is how long will I need to be gone and who will handle my duties while I’m away?” Fiona stated.
“I hadn’t realized we had decided that you would leave,” K’rall protested.
Fiona sensed T’mar stiffening beside her, ready to add his weight to K’rall’s argument. She spoke before he could. “As Weyrwoman, I am responsible for the well-being of this Weyr.” She paused and let out a deep breath. “If we do not do this, I do not see how we can feed the Weyr, heal the dragons, and return to help.”
“We could find something,” K’rall suggested.
“We know what happened,” Fiona said. “The only thing we don’t know is
“But that ‘how’ could mean your life!” T’mar exclaimed, shaking his head. “I don’t see that it’s worth the risk.”
“It’s my choice to make, though, isn’t it?” Fiona stepped away from the two wingleaders, standing beside Karina and looking back at them.
“As I recall, Kindan said that one of those wherholders actually shot an arrow at M’tal’s Gaminth,” K’rall replied grimly.
“Which is why it’s well that Talenth is too young to fly, isn’t it?” Fiona interposed sweetly. “It will just be me: one unarmed, harmless young girl.”
“There’s still time to back out,” T’mar told her the next day as he lowered her down Zirenth’s side at their
