‘Jess is still missing, and I’m going to continue searching rather than hunting. So I suggest that gathering any food you can find would be an excellent idea. You’re going to have to do more towards feeding yourselves for a few days, until we can resume hunting again.’

Greft had come to stand just behind Carson’s shoulder. He looked irritated, Alise thought, and wondered what could annoy him about being rescued. When he spoke, his words sounded like a rebuke.

‘If you’ve finished chatting with Carson, I’ve some important information to share with him, if he’d give me his attention. The wave that struck us deposited most of us in the trees along here. I gathered those I could find, and the dragons called to one another until they found each other. We’ve been able to provide for ourselves here. I’ll organize some of the keepers to collect more food for tonight. Most of it will be fruit or vegetable. Luckily, I kept my wits about me, and we caught three of our boats. No paddles remained; they were tossed about and almost all our gear was lost. It will make it hard for us to help bring in meat or fish for the dragons.’

Carson nodded slowly. ‘Damn shame. We can carve some paddles, but that will take time. And the missing gear will be largely impossible to replace. We can try to make some fish spears, too, even if they’re not much more than sharpened sticks. But at least you’re all alive.’

Greft’s eyes narrowed. Alise realized that was not the response he had expected from the hunter. ‘Saving lives seemed a bit more important to me than saving gear,’ he said tartly. ‘I did the best I could at the time.’

He’d expected the hunter to praise him, she realized. To give him the credit for saving the keepers. ‘And of course you were very helpful to Thymara and me when Sintara brought us here,’ Alise interjected, hoping to soothe his ruffled feathers. He flicked a glance at her that was like a slap. It suddenly reminded her of Hest and how annoyed he would get, even in a social situation, if she spoke during what he deemed ‘a man’s conversation’. Her sympathy for him evaporated. Almost vindictively she added, ‘Thymara has been doing most of our providing. I’ll speak to her now about going out.’

She turned and walked away from them, surprised by the strength of the anger washing through her. He isn’t Hest, she reminded herself fiercely and in doing so, realized the true source of her anger. In a short time, the man she had come to love would be here beside her again.

And her husband still stood between them.

Three short blasts of the horn!

The first time he heard it echoing back to him, he hadn’t dared to hope. Sounds travelled strangely across the wet lands of the Rain Wilds. Leftrin had not seen Carson for some hours. He had vanished around one of the gentle bends in the immense river. Then Tarman had been delayed when Davvie had spotted exactly what Leftrin had most feared to see: a body tangled in the driftwood and debris along the side of the river.

It had been Warken, and he had not drowned but been smashed against the flotsam in the river. Carefully they had taken up the body of the young keeper, wrapped him in a fold of canvas and laid him on the deck of the barge. Every time he passed the body, it seemed an ill omen of things to come. How many more draped bodies would weight Tarman’s deck before this day was out?

So he had been cautious when he first heard the three short blasts clearly. He had Davvie signal back and then had asked Tarman to make haste. Even as the barge picked up speed, he reminded himself that the three short blasts could signify anything; Carson could have discovered more bodies just as easily as survivors. But as the boat rounded the bend and came in sight of the tiny camp and its smouldering signal fire, his heart had leapt. He had squinted at the small figures in the shade of the great trees and tried to make out who might be there.

Sooner than he had a right, he saw her. There was no mistaking the sun glinting off that head of glorious red hair. He’d given a roar of delight and felt an answering surge of speed from his ship. ‘Easy, Tarman! We’ll be there soon enough!’ Swarge had bellowed, and the ship had reluctantly slowed. Not even a liveship was immune to every danger the river offered. Now was not the time to discover a submerged rock or a waterlogged snag.

It was hard to remain on board and wait patiently for Carson to begin the slow process of ferrying the keepers back to the barge. He dared not let Tarman go nosing in among the debris. The push and wake of the bigger ship could easily disrupt the fragile unity of the mat and send the keepers plunging into the cold river water. No. No matter how he longed to somehow fling himself across the distance that separated them, he stood firmly on the deck of his ship and waited. He muttered imprecations when he saw that Carson’s first passengers were Greft and Jerd and Sylve.

Despite his disappointment, he was still able to welcome them warmly aboard. All three looked a bit worse for wear, but the girls both hugged him and thanked him for finding them. He sent them off to the galley for hot fish soup to warm them up. ‘Get some food in your bellies and you’ll be your old selves. But I have to warn you, go easy on the fresh water! Share a bucket and a rag for now. Until we get rain or the river goes down so we can make a sand well, we’re going to have to conserve. Off you go now!’

And the girls had gone, obedient and grateful, while Leftrin watched Carson heading back to the floating mat for more passengers.

‘Captain.’ Greft’s officious voice was an unwelcome distraction.

‘What is it?’ he said and upon hearing the impatience in his own voice, he added, ‘You must be as weary and hungry as the others. Why don’t you get yourself some soup?’

‘Soon enough,’ Greft replied brusquely. ‘First, we have to lay our plans for what will happen next. Three keepers and three dragons are still missing. We have to discuss plans for either continuing or abandoning the search.’

Leftrin shot a look at the younger man. ‘I’ll make it easy for you and tell you my plans, son. First, I’m sorry to tell you that only two keepers are still missing. We found young Warken dead in the river only a few hours ago. And secondly, we’ll continue our search for at least another day and perhaps two. Once we have the rest of the keepers aboard, Carson will set out to see if he can find anyone else. We’ll either hold here with the dragons, or leave a few keepers here with the dragons and follow Carson more slowly. That just may depend on what the river does. The water is going down fast. I think whatever broke loose upriver has just about passed us by now.’

‘Captain, in my opinion, there isn’t much point in our delaying our journey. You’d only be wasting time and precious fresh water. What you’ve told me about Warken saddens me, but it confirms what I’ve feared since we first pulled ourselves out of the water. I think the others are dead. And I feel that -

‘Go feel whatever you’re feeling in the galley, lad. On the Tarman, the only opinion that counts is the captain’s, and oh, looky, that’s me. Go on with you, now. Eat something. Sleep. You’ll more clearly remember who I am and who you are, and that you’re standing on the deck of my ship.’

His words were considerably gentler than how he would have addressed a deckhand who so far forgot himself as to speak to his captain like that. Besides, he could see Alise stepping into Carson’s tippy little boat and he wanted to watch her come aboard without distractions.

He saw the youngster’s jaw snap shut and marked the baleful look in his eye. Well, he’d get over it. And if he didn’t, he’d just get smacked down a bit more firmly the next time. He didn’t watch him leave. His eyes were locked on the boat, which Carson was paddling crosscurrent towards them.