As Nortel rose, Greft spoke. ‘Nortel, we could use you here, to help put the fire raft together.’

Nortel froze. He said flatly, ‘I intend to go foraging for food.’

‘See that food is all you forage for. We are a small group, Nortel. We cannot quarrel among ourselves.’

‘Tell that to Tats,’ he said and then walked away. He chose a different tree trunk for his ascent, but Alise suddenly feared for Thymara, and wished she could go after them. Something had changed in the group and she wasn’t sure what it was. She glanced at Greft, but he did not meet her eyes. Instead he said, ‘Today is clear and tonight probably will be as well. But there is no telling what weather tomorrow may bring. We’re uncomfortable enough without being wet. Let’s see if we can make a shelter.’

Alise felt as if she had been plunged into the intimate affairs of an extended family she didn’t know well. There were currents here she hadn’t suspected and she abruptly wondered what her status was as an intruder. Thymara was the only one she felt she knew at all. She glanced at Sylve; the girl had at least smiled at her. As if she felt the older woman’s eyes, Sylve turned to her and said quietly, ‘Let’s go build our fire platform.’

‘Tell her to extend her head towards me!’ Jess barked at him. He was perched at the end of the log, holding his makeshift noose open. ‘I can’t get this around her neck if she doesn’t reach her head towards me.’

The log Sedric was standing on shifted slightly under him and he felt a moment of vertigo. He looked up at the noose and tried to make a firm decision. Abruptly, he gave his head a shake, snapping himself out of that peculiar drifting state the dragon could put him in. Just end it. She’d be dead, he’d have his mind to himself and a fortune in his pocket. He could have Hest. If he still wanted him after all this.

That last thought shocked him. Of course he wanted Hest. He’d always wanted Hest, hadn’t he? Wasn’t Hest and the love he felt for him what all this was about? He cleared his throat. The love he’d felt…

‘Relpda.’

She swung her swirling gaze to him.

Jess shook the noose out larger. Sedric could see his intent now. Noose her, snub the line off, and kill her. It wasn’t going to be pretty or easy. Before she died, she would know he had betrayed her. He’d feel the pain of that, her anger and reproach, right alongside the pain of her death. She’d saved his life. And his thanks to her was that he was going to profit from her death.

The price was too high. Hest wasn’t worth it. The shock of that realization jolted him; no time to dwell on it.

He reached towards the dragon, mind and heart. Relpda, get away from Jess. Don’t let him get near you. He wants to kill you! He dared not speak aloud to her.

Kill? Alarm. And confusion. She hadn’t understood. The exhausted dragon clung to the log and stared up at her executioner. Her eyes spun faster suddenly, but she made no move to get away. It was too much for her, he’d tried to put too much information in the thoughts he sent her. Keep it simple. And have some courage!

‘Relpda, get away! Flee! Don’t let him near you. Danger. Danger from him!’

Danger? Hunter bring food. Run away? Too tired.

He’d tipped his hand to the hunter and it still wasn’t going to be enough to save her. Jess’ teeth showed in a snarl as he turned towards Sedric. ‘You damn little fop! I was going to make it quick for her. Well, you’ve spoiled that and now you’ll both pay.’

The hunter was quick. He dropped the noose and shifted his grip to the fish spear. It was a small weapon; it couldn’t possibly hurt her. Please, Sa! ‘Relpda, get away! Go now!’

Sedric was already in motion, but he knew he’d never get there in time. He grabbed a stick floating in the water and flung it at Jess. Not even close. The hunter laughed aloud, then drew back the spear and plunged it into the dragon.

A blast of pain shot through Sedric. It stabbed him in the top of his shoulder, and his left arm suddenly went numb. He stumbled and went down, one of his legs slipping between the floating pieces of wood. His frantic snatch at a log kept him from going under completely. He bit his tongue and strangely the one pain drove the other away. The log bucked, but he got a leg over it and struggled up from the water, looking around wildly. Everything was happening too fast.

Relpda trumpeted shrilly. The fish spear stuck out of her, and brilliant scarlet blood was sheeting over her scaled shoulder. Her wings were half open and she flapped them, splashing feebly as she struggled to keep her sliding grip on the log. The hunter was in the water. One of her flailing wings must have hit him and knocked him in. Good. But he had already caught hold of a log and was starting to drag himself up. In another moment he’d be on the raft with them. Sedric knew he couldn’t fight him. The man was too big, too strong, too experienced. Weapon, weapon! The hatchet! The hatchet by the boat.

Sedric danced across the wildly rocking wood in a frantic race for the boat. If he had not been terrified, he would have crossed the debris raft on his hands and knees. But faced with imminent death, he leapt and dashed like a scalded cat, traversing logs that bobbed and tried to roll, leaping wildly from one to the next. Jess seemed instantly to divine Sedric’s intention. He hauled himself up, cursing and spitting and hurled himself in furious leaps across the packed driftwood. Twice the hunter went down between logs and hauled himself up again, and still he managed to stand suddenly between Sedric and the small boat, a knife held blade out and low in his dripping right hand. Water streamed from his hair and down the sides of his scaled face as he promised Sedric, ‘I’m going to cut you and string your guts across this driftwood pack and leave you to die here.’

I’m sorry. Please don’t kill me. I just want to live. I couldn’t let you kill her. His mind flipped through a hundred things to say and discarded them all as useless.

‘Flee! Flee!’ the copper trumpeted at him. It seemed an excellent idea and perfectly aligned with Sedric’s own impulse, but he dared not turn his back on the man. If he was going to die, it wasn’t going to be with a knife in his back. He heard an immense splash as Relpda lost her precarious perch on the log and went under. Cold, wet, dark, no air. For that instant, Sedric froze.

Jess dived at him, knife leading the way, and it was the man’s spring forward on the floating log that propelled Sedric’s sudden sideways lurch. The knife, hand and man went past him, not meeting the expected resistance. It was the impulse of a moment to put his hand on Jess’ back and shove as the hunter plunged past him. The hunter stepped off the log, onto the floating mat of driftwood. For a moment the tangled morass of weeds and wood held him up and then he dropped down through it with a furious shout. He flung his arms wide and splayed them out on the floating branches, twigs and moss clumps. Somehow he stayed above water, cursing at Sedric, unable to clamber out.

In two steps, Sedric was in the boat. He’d thought it would feel solid under him. Instead, as he jumped into it, it lurched and bucked. He fell, knees down, onto the thwarts, catching his ribs painfully. Safe. Safe in the boat. Where was the hatchet? And where was Relpda? ‘Dragon, where are you?’ he shouted. He knelt up, looking all around. To his horror, he could not feel her. And Jess had vanished, too. Was he drowning under the mat? It was hard to feel sorry for him.

Suddenly, like a vengeful water spirit, Jess shot up and out of the water right next to the small boat. He caught hold of the side. As he dragged himself up, the boat heeled over and Sedric cried out in terror that he’d be spilled into the stinging water again. Instead, the big wet man levered himself into the boat. Sedric immediately tried to abandon the craft, but Jess tackled him around the legs. He fell hard, slamming his ribs and belly against the edge of the boat and the driftwood log it was tied to. The hunter grabbed him by the back of his shirt and his hair, jerked him back into the vessel and hit him, hard, in the face.