'Exasperating,' Thymara supplied quietly, with a small smile.

'Exactly!' Alise replied. And to her surprise, found herself smiling back at the girl.

'Well, at least I know that it isn't only me.' Thymara cocked her head at Alise and asked shyly, 'Does this mean you're giving up and going back to Bingtown?'

Alise could not miss the mixed emotions that flickered across Sedric's face. Hope seemed to be a strong one, but anxiety was there as well. He spoke before she could. 'It's perfectly understandable if you've decided not to make the journey, Alise. I can have us packed and unloaded from Leftrin's barge in a very short time. But before we do that, I promised Thymara that I'd assist her with one of the other dragons. An injured one.'

'The silver,' Thymara said quietly.

Alise looked from him to Thymara and back again, trying to make sense of his words. She had never known him to have any fondness for or interest in animals. Oh, he shared some of her scholastic interest in dragons, but she had never seen him pet a dog or talk to his horse. And now he was going to assist this girl in doctoring a dragon? There was something here, and she felt she stood at the edge of a strange and perhaps dark current. Could he possibly be interested in the girl? She was so young and so peculiar looking. It would be very inappropriate. She spoke without thinking.

'I'll come along. Perhaps it is only Skymaw that is so difficult. You are right, Sedric. I should not give up so easily, especially after I gave my word to the Council. Shall we go right now?'

He looked uncomfortable. 'Perhaps later. I don't think we should bother him while he's eating.'

'Actually, that might be a good opportunity,' the Rain Wilds girl suggested. 'It may be that while he is distracted with eating, we can look at his injuries.'

'But I've heard one should never bother an animal while it is eating!' Sedric protested.

'Ordinary animals, perhaps,' Thymara agreed. 'But the silver is a dragon. And while he looks very stupid, perhaps there is a kernel of intelligence there. If I'm going to help care for him on the upriver journey, the sooner I get to know something of him, the better.'

'Let's go then,' Alise agreed.

'Of course,' Sedric replied weakly.

Day the 6th of the Grain Moon

Year the 6th of the Independent Alliance of Traders

From Detozi, Keeper of the Birds, Trehaug to Erek, Keeper of the Birds, Bingtown

A copy of the contract between the Rain Wild Council of Cassarick, Captain Leftrin of the Liveship Tarman, including a binder concerning Alise Kincarron Finbok, Dragon Scholar of  Bingtown, with the suggestion that a copy of this document he retained in the Council Records for Alise Kincarron Finbok. A detailed accounting of the expenses involved will follow.

Srek,

In my official capacity of  Bird Keeper for Trehaug I am relieved to tell you that the exceptionally ugly bird that was vomiting on itself after eating its own droppings has apparently cured itself. There is no danger of the contagion spreading to either of our flocks. Sa's Mercy on us all! Detozi.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Scales

Sintara shouldered her way past Veras and seized the swamp-deer carcass the green had been eyeing. The smaller female hissed around the meat that she gripped and made a halfhearted swipe at her. Sintara ignored her. She would not waste time fighting while there was food to be had. The meat that was being dumped from the relay of barrows was the most she had seen in months. All the dragons had converged on it, forming a half-circle of large, hungry creatures. She didn't intend to stop eating until every last bit of it was gone. Then she would nap in the sun and digest. Let the humans flutter and squawk that it was time to leave; she'd leave when she was ready and not before.

She was surrounded by the sounds of feeding dragons. Bones crunched, meat tore, and dragons grunted as they raced to consume the most food. The larger dragons had pushed into the central area and claimed the largest pieces. The smaller dragons, shouldered to one side, had to be contented with birds, fish, and even rabbits.

It was when she tossed her head back to gulp down the front quarter of the swampdeer that she noticed the cluster of humans around one of the dragons. The dragon, a malformed silver, was trying to eat. He was ignoring the humans who had seized his tail and drawn it out to its unimpressive length. Apparently he was so hungry that nothing could distract him from his meal. Sintara would have dismissed the sight for a very similar reason if she had not noticed that two of the humans fussing over him belonged to her.

She swallowed and then gave a low rumble of displeasure. She considered interfering, but decided to continue feeding while she thought aboutit.

To her surprise, she had begun to enjoy the humans' attention. It was flattering to have attendants, even if they were merely humans. They were so ignorant. They did not know how to praise her properly and had not brought her any gifts, but the younger one was acquiring some grooming skills. Last night Sintara had slept deeply, not waking even once to claw blood-sucking parasites from her nostrils and ears. The girl had brought her a fish, too, a large fish and fresh. And the Bingtown woman was at least attempting to address her with proper respect and flattery. Dragons, she reflected, were not so foolish as to be swayed by flattery, but it was pleasant to listen to compliments and endearments, and they did indicate that the human was adopting the proper deference.

It had pleased her, too, to be the only dragon with two attendants hovering round her. Now it seemed that both of them had defected to the mindless silver dragon, a prospect that was very distasteful to her. It had been pleasant to feel the vibrations of jealousy between the two women as they vied for her attention. Thymara had taken great pleasure in bringing her that fish, a pleasure that was rooted not only in serving the dragon but in serving her better than Alise could. Sintara had been looking forward to nudging them into sharper competition.   She   noted   their   current   cooperation   with displeasure, and felt insulted that they now seemed as solicitous of the silver dragon as they had been of her. Alise's useless male companion had joined them as well.

Kalo had taken advantage of her distraction to sink his teeth into a goat carcass that had been closer to her than to him. Sintara hissed her displeasure and seized the other end of it. It was no great prize. It was nearly rotten and tore in half before she had even tugged at it. Kalo swallowed the piece he had stolen and observed, 'You should teach your tender more respect or you'll lose her.'

It was humiliating that he had noticed the girl's defection. Sintara had been on the point of going after her and the other woman. Now her pride prevented her from doing that. 'I don't need a keeper,' she informed him.

'Of course not. None of us do. Nonetheless, I wouldn't allow anyone to take mine from me. He's very satisfactory. You have noticed, of course, that the leader of the humans has chosen me to tend. He says it is because they have recognized me as the leader of the dragons.'

'Have they? How nice for you. What a pity that none of the dragons have!' Quicker than a lizard's blink, she shot her head out, seized a young riverpig carcass that had been right in front of him and dragged it over to her spot. He bristled at her, the half-formed spines of his mane trying to rise. 'Pitiful,' she commented quietly, as if she hadn't intended him to hear it. She clamped her jaws on the pig, crushed it to a pulp and swallowed it whole. When it was down, she added, 'One of the females who tends me is quite knowledgeable about both dragons and Elderlings, and highly respected in her city. She chose to come with us out of admiration for me. And she knows that when the dragons of the past did acknowledge one as a leader, it was always a queen. Like me.'