“Hold your silly tongue, Morshal,” said Silvina, pushing through the crowd to Menolly’s bed. “Better still, get off to your beds. All of you. You’re no help here.”

“Yes, if you’d please leave,” said in a voice as close to anger as anyone had ever heard in him. “It isn’t the eggs hatching, is it?” Sebell asked anxiously.

Menolly shook her head, struggling to control herself and to stop the spasmodic shudders of fear that were depriving her of voice and wit enough to explain what was so inexplicable.

Silvina was soothing her. “Her hands are ice cold, Robinton,” she said, and Menolly clung to the woman, as Robinton slipped to the other side of the double cot to support her shuddering body. “And these aren’t hysterical tremors…”

Abruptly the spasms eased, then ceased completely. Menolly went limp against Silvina, gasping for breath, forcing herself to breathe as deeply as Robinton again urged her to do.

“Whatever was wrong has stopped,” she said, spent.

Silvina and the Harper eased her against the bed rushes, Silvina drawing the fur up to her neck.

“Did the fire lizards take a fit?’ the headwoman asked, glancing about the now-bright room. “They’re not here…”

“I saw them go between. I don’t know where. They were so afraid. It was incredible. There was nothing I could do.” “Take your time and tell us,” said the Masterharper. “I don’t know all of it. I woke because they were so restless. They usually sleep quietly. And they got more and more frightened. And there wasn’t anything…nothing…I could see that…”

“Yes, yes, but something caused them to react.” Robinton had captured her hand and was stroking it reassuringly. “Tell us the sequence.”

“They were frightened out of their wits. And it got to me, too. Then,” and Menolly swallowed quickly against that flash of vivid impression, “then, in my mind, I was aware of something so dangerous, so terrible. something heaving, and gray and deadly…Masses of it…all gray and…and…terrible! Hot, too. Yes, the heat was part of the terror. Then a longing. I don’t know which was the worst…”

She clutched at the comforting hands and could not keep back the sobs of fright that rose from her guts. “I wasn’t asleep either. It wasn’t just a bad dream!”

“Don’t talk anymore, Menolly. We can hope the terror has passed completely.”

“No, I have to tell you. That’s part of it. I’m supposed to tell. Then…I heard, only I didn’t hear…except that it was as clear as if someone had shouted it right in this room…right inside my head…I heard something scream ‘Don’t leave me alone!’ ”

The muscles in her body relaxed all at once now that she had spoken of the weight of terror.

“ ‘Don’t leave me alone’?” The Harper repeated the words half to himself, puzzling over the significance of the phrase.

“It’s all gone now. Being afraid, I mean…and…”

The fire lizards swooped back into the room, aiming for the bed, but some of them dipped and darted for the window ledges, away from Master Robinton and Silvina, twittering, but only with surprise, not fear. Beauty and the two bronzes landed on the foot of the double cot, chirping at Menolly with little calls that sounded so normally inquisitive that Menolly let out an exasperated exclamation.

“Don’t scold them, Menolly,” said the Masterharper. “See if you can determine where they’ve just been.”

Menolly beckoned to Beauty, who obediently crawled up to her arm and permitted Menolly to stroke her head and body.

“She’s certainly not bothered by anything now.”

“Yes, but where did she go?”

Menolly raised Beauty to her face, looking into the idly whirling eyes, laying the back of her hand against Beauty’s cheek. “Where’d you go, pet? Where have you just been?”

Beauty stroked Menolly’s hand, gave a smug chirrup, cocking her dainty head to one side. But an impression reached Menolly’s mind, of a Weyr Bowl, and many dragons and excited people.

“I think they’ve been back to Benden Weyr. It must be Benden! They don’t know Fort Weyr well enough to be that vivid. And whatever happened involved many dragons and lots of excited people.”

“Ask Beauty what frightened her.”

Menolly stroked the little queen’s head for a moment longer, to reassure her, because the question was sure to upset the little fire lizard. It did. Beauty launched herself from Menolly’s arm so violently that her talons scratched deep enough to draw blood.

“A dragon falling in the sky!” Menolly gasped out the picture. “Dragons don’t fall in the sky.”

“She scratched you, child…”

“Oh, that’s nothing, Master Robinton, but I don’t think we’ll get anything more out of her.” Beauty was clinging to the fireplace, chittering irritably, her eyes wheeling angrily orange.

“If something has happened at Benden Weyr, Master Robinton,” remarked Silvina in a dry tone of voice, “they won’t be overlong in sending for you.” Silvina had to raise her voice to counteract the excited cries of the other fire lizards, who were reacting to Beauty’s scolding. “We’d best not upset the creatures any further now. And I’m getting you a dose, young lady, or you’ll never sleep tonight from the look of your eyes.”

“I didn’t mean to disturb everyone…”

Silvina gave her an exasperated snort, dismissing the need for an apology, although Menolly couldn’t help but see, as Silvina opened the door, that harpers were lingering in the corridor. Menolly heard Silvina berating them and telling them to get off to their beds, what did they think they knew about fire lizards?

“The strangest aspect to this incident, Menolly,” said the Masterharper, his forehead creased with thought lines, “is that the dragon reacted, too. I’ve never seen a dragon—short of a mating flight—go off without his rider. I shouldn’t wonder,” and Robinton smiled wryly, “if we don’t have T’ledon over here demanding an explanation from you for the disappearance of his dragon.”

The notion of a dragonrider compelled to ask her for advice was so absurd that Menolly managed a weak smile.

“How’s that hand? You’ve been playing a lot, I hear,” and the Harper turned her left hand over in his. “That scar’s too red. You have been doing too much. Make haste a little more slowly. Is it painful?”

“Not much. Master Oldive gave me some salve.”

“And your feet?”

“So long as I don’t have to stand too much or walk too far…”

“Too bad your fire lizards can’t combine to give you one little dragonpower.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“I think I ought to tell you…my fire lizards can lift things. They brought me my pipes the other day…to spare me the walk…she added hastily. “They took it from my room at the cot, all in a cluster, and then dropped it into my hands!”

“Now that is very interesting. I didn’t realize they had so much initiative. You know, Brekke, Mirrim, and F’nor have got theirs to carry messages on a collar about their necks…” The Masterharper smiled with amusement, “…though they aren’t always good about arriving promptly.”

“I think you have to make certain they know how urgent the matter is.”

“Like having your pipes for Master Jerint?”

“I didn’t wish to be late, and I can’t walk fast.”

“We’ll let that stand as the reason then, Menolly,” said Robinton gently, and when Menolly glanced up at him startled, she saw the kind understanding in his eyes and flushed. He stroked her hand again. “What I don’t know, I sometimes guess, knowing the way people interact, Menolly. Don’t keep so much bottled inside, girl. And do tell me anything unusual that your fire lizards do. That’s far more important than why they did it. We don’t know much about these tiny cousins of the dragons, and I have a suspicion they’ll be very important creatures to us.”

“Is the little white dragon all right?”

“Reading my mind, too, Menolly? Little Ruth is all right,” but the Harper’s heavy, slightly hesitant tone gave the lie to his reassurance. “Don’t fret yourself about Jaxom and Ruth. Just about everyone else on Pern does.” He placed her hand back on the furs with a final pat.