The Dragon Keeper

“ ’Course I did.” Rapskal timed his words to his efforts. “After I ate, I went and groomed Heeby. Then we did our flying exercises. Then I watched Heeby eat. It made me mad. The big dragons take the best food. She doesn’t get as much to eat as they do. When we stop tonight, I got to catch her a fish or something. But I think that’s going to be a problem. If the dragons go this fast, so we have to paddle all the time to keep up, when are we going to have time to hunt or fish for food for them?”



“There’s supposed to be some food on the barge, for us, and some dried meat for the dragons. We don’t know how long they’ll keep up this pace. Maybe they’ll stop in a few hours and we’ll have time to hunt.” She shook her head. “There’s a lot we don’t know yet. I guess we’ll learn as we go along.”



“I saw the hunters get on board the barge back there. They’re supposed to help us get meat for the dragons each day.”



“I didn’t see them. I’m glad they got here before the dragons decided to leave. But if the hunters are on the barge back there, how are they going to hunt anything?”



“That’s a very good question. What’s that ahead of us?”



She squinted against the sunlight bouncing off the river. “Looks like a big snag sticking out into the water, with a lot of driftwood piled up against it.”



Rapskal grinned. “We’ll have to go out in the current to get around it.”



“No. Let’s hug the shore. If we have to, we’ll portage around it. I don’t want to get out in the current.”



“Are you scared?” Rapskal sounded delighted at the prospect. When she glanced over her shoulder at him, he turned his wide grin on her. When he smiled, all his strangeness seemed to melt away and he became simply a very handsome Rain Wild youth. She still shook her head at his challenge.



“Yes. I am scared,” she replied firmly. “And we are not going out into the current. Not until I’m better at managing this boat.”



But suddenly, partnering with Rapskal instead of Tats did not seem such a poor trade.



LEFTRIN WAITED UNTIL Alise was aboard the barge before he started up the ladder. He knew he needed to focus his mind on the final loading of the barge and shoving the Tarman back out into the current. No one had expected the dragons to stampede off like that. The plan had been that the barge would lead the way, followed by the keepers in their canoes guiding and encouraging the dragons. Now the dragons were completely out of sight, and the last of the canoes would soon vanish around a bend in the wandering river. And here he sat, on shore still, with cargo of dried meat, hardtack, salt pork, and pickled breadleaf still being loaded. If any of the young keepers overturned their canoes, there would be nothing he could do to help them. And from what he’d seen of the youngsters, mishaps seemed more likely than not.



Well, all he could do right now was worry about them until he had all the stores safely stowed. Then he’d have to get his barge back out into the water and headed upriver. He tried to push Alise out of his thoughts. Now was no time to be wishing that he could sit her down in the galley and offer her a quiet cup of tea and some talk. He’d been so proud of her for standing up to Sedric when he tried to bully her into backing out of her adventure. She’d kept a stone face and a stern resolve all the way back to the barge. He followed her up the ladder, wondering if he’d have time to let her know how impressed he was.



But as he stepped onto his deck, he encountered not only a heap of unstowed cargo but three strangers lounging against it. Alise had frozen where she was, just off the ladder, her back to the barge’s rail. Instinctively he moved between her and the men. He sized up their scattered goods in one glance. Spears and bows, one a heavy bow for distance shooting. A carefully folded net. Several quivers of arrows. Hunters’ gear. These would be the fellows they’d been waiting for, the hunters hired by the Council. One turned toward him, grinning, and only then did he recognize Carson. He’d grown a beard. The big man put out a calloused hand to him, saying, “I’ll bet you’re surprised to see me here! Or maybe I was exactly what you were expecting. This is just the sort of misadventure that always finds us, so it’s no coincidence we’ve both signed on for it.”



Simple words spoken between old friends, yet they suddenly made Leftrin’s heart sink. He desperately hoped there was no meaning layered beneath that greeting, that his use of the words was a true coincidence. He didn’t want Carson to be the one whom the note had warned him to expect. Not Carson. He forced an answering grin to his face and asked him, “Now why would I be expecting a drunken sot like you on my clean deck?”