Part 23 (1/2)

”It's all stirred up, sand everywhere. Can't see a thing. And Gaddie's been walking about. He might have buried it.”

”Buried it'?” T'lion's voice broke octaves in his anxiety.

”Easy, T'lion, easy,' Readis said, took three deep breaths and then dove.

T'lion could barely see the holder lad swimming so murky was the water. Why now, of all days, was the water not as clear as usual. He began walking about the area where he thought they had been standing, hoping he might kick it up. But Gaddie couldn't've kicked it. He had been holding up the dolphins, and his hind feet would have been further out.

”Gaddie, call Afo. Tell her we need her.”

Gadareth obligingly bellowed. That his bugle was heard was obvious when two of the seamen working on the Fair Winds waved back at them. But not a single dorsal fin came streaking toward them.

”Try underwater, Gaddie. Afo must hear you. We need her help.”

Afo did not come, though Gadareth called her in air and underwater every time T'lion asked him.

And Readis, who kept diving, going in ever increasing circles out from the spot where they thought the precious book might be, was becoming so hyperventilated and pale under his tan that even T'lion knew he should stop.

”One more dive is all I'll let you take,' the dragonrider told his younger friend. ”You look awful.”

”If only we'd had the mask accusatory.

”I'm trying, I'm trying, - T'lion explained, his voice tense, his mind in a whirl as he thought of how Persellan was going to react to the loss of his invaluable book.

Then Readis took his usual deep inhalation and dove, appearing for that instant more like a dolphin than a boy.

”Lucky last!” Readis shouted as he exploded out of the water.

In the hands held high above his head he had the book.

”Don't get it any wetter than it is!” T'lion cried, reaching out in a thankful gesture at the sight of the lost object.

But when Readis put the soggy book in his hands, dark runnels of water over their hands told them that considerable damage had been done the contents. T'lion groaned as his trembling fingers flipped open the cover. He flipped it closed immediately, rolling his eyes and groaning again.

”It's ruined. Ruined! Persellan will flay me!'

”It came from Aivas' files, didn't it'? Well, then it only needs And Readis' look was to be reprinted,' Readis said in an effort to relieve his friend's dismay.

”Only?” T'lion replied. ”Do you have any idea of how long someone has to wait to get something only reprinted?”

Readis shook his head, determined to supply a remedy.

”I'm up there all the time, T'lion. I can recopy what needs to be done directly from the discs.” Then he added by way of reparation, ”And maybe include some animal treatment stuff at the same time.”

”Oh, I dunno,' T'lion said, appalled at the damage a moment's inattention had caused.

”Good thing you had it so we'd know how to put her guts back in.

”We won't know until she gets better - and works right - if we did,' T'lion replied, shaking his head and staring down at the book which was still shedding inky drops of water.

”Let's get out of the water, and see if we can't dry some of the pages in the sun,' Readis urged and they both headed back to the sh.o.r.e. ”I mean, we have a duty to dolphins, too, you know.

”Do we?”

Readis gave his friend a startled look. ”I think we do. They came with us, didn't they? They didn't have to but they came to help us with the marine explorations. They've done them but our responsibility doesn't end there. Does it'? Huh? No more than our responsibility to dragonkind will end when Thread stops.

He looked a little embarra.s.sed when T'lion turned to him an odd stare, his jaw dropped in surprise at Readis' vehemence.

”That is, when it does,' Readis amended. ”I mean, we - humans - created the dragons. We owe them, too, you know.”

T'lion's slow grin spread across his face. ”I wish more of us humans thought the way you did.”

Readis ducked his face in embarra.s.sment. ”I've known dragons all my life, better than most holder children do. I've scrubbed more.” Then he squinted up at the angle of the sun. ”Here.

Let's prop the book up here so it gets the sun. I'd better dry off, too,' he added, noticing the water marks on his hands. ”Or Dad will sure know where I've spent time when I should have been back helping him and Mother.”

”D'you think the book'll dry out enough'?” T'lion said anxiously as he settled the book on a broad leaf so that sand wouldn't damage it further.

The volume was heavy enough so that it had fallen to the bottom, lying there until Readis had finally found it. The inner pages had been sufficiently pressed down so that only the edges of every leaf showed their immersion. Ink had blurred somewhat, even on the ill.u.s.trations.

T'lion groaned as they surveyed the ravages. ”Persellan's not going to like this.”

”I said I'd make it good.”

”You oughtn't to have to. I borrowed the book without permission. You didn't.”

”You wouldn't have borrowed it if I hadn't insisted we heal the calves.” Readis' chin was at an aggressive angle. ”We're in this together.”

”You most certainly are, said a new voice and the two young men swung around to see Jayge and Temma come striding out of the jungle that bordered the cove. ”What's all this about dolphins needing medical a.s.sistance? Where have you been? Kami's been back hours and she said she came with you.

Readis sprang to his feet, trying to conceal the water-logged book from his father's sight.

”Ah, well, oh!” he floundered.

”1 told T'lion I'd come when I could,' Temma said, c.o.c.king her head and looking from one to the other. Then out to sea.

”No dolphins to mend?”

”We did it,' Readis said. ”I mean, T'lion's watched Persellan and there were bloodsuekers trying to and it was the calves, and they were hurt with awful gashes guts hanging Out ”So you decided that those mammals of yours needed attention sooner than injured humans?” Jayge had crossed his arms over his chest at his most forbidding.

Readis swallowed. He had not often had occasion to suffer his father's disapproval or chastis.e.m.e.nt but he knew the pose from those times Jayge had dealt with recalcitrant hold workers or those whose behaviour had not met his standards. Now he raised his chin.

”Yes, sir. They bleed and hurt the same as we do, and there was no-one else bothering about them and plenty of people, including Aunt Temma, to tend to human hurts. No-one was badly hurt, were they?” Readis asked Temma.

”No, but you should have found that out first, before you even thought of coming here,' Jayge answered, frowning at his son. ”You're my son and will be Holder. What sort of an example are you setting?” and he waved toward the sea and its denizens, ”Coming here first before you knew what help was needed in your Hold!'

”When we overflew the Hold, it looked like you had matters in hand. But no-one was looking after our dolphins ”Our dolphins?” Jayge's expression became even more forbidding. ”Since when do ”we” own dolphins?”

”The pod . . . the ones that use these waters they're ours, in a manner of speaking.

”Sir, the fault was mine,' T'lion interrupted and was waved silent by Jayge.