Chapters (64)
- Other titles by Anne McCaffreyPublished by Ballantine Books:
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- PROLOGUE
- At a Gather—6.15.30
- Part 1
- Turnover at Landing—1.1.31 Present Pass Aivas—Aivas Adjusted Turn 2553
- Benden Weyr—1.1.31
- Southern Hold—1.1.31
- Healer Hall—1.1.31
- Back at Landing—1.2.31
- Fort Hold—late night—1.1.31
- Fort Hold Runner Station—1.2.31
- Keroon Printer Hall—1.3.31
- Benden Weyr—midday—1.3.31
- Monaco Bay Weyr—five days later—1.8.31
- Part 2
- Ruatha Hold—local time 12:04 in the morning—1.9.31
- Telgar Weyr—local time 4:04 in the morning—1.9.31
- Benden Weyr—local time 6:04 in the morning—1.9.31
- Harper Hall—local time 1:00 in the morning—1.9.31
- Landing—local time 10:12 mid-morning—1.9.31
- In the Conference Room at Landing—1.9.31
- Monaco Weyr—10:22 in the morning—Timing it
- In the Conference Room at Landing—local time 1:10–1.9.31
- Sunrise Cliff Seahold—timed-back
- In the Conference Room—local time 2:12 at Landing—1.9.31
- Back at Landing—local time—3:40
- Harper Hall—5:00 in the morning, and Southern Hold—2:00 in the morning–1.9.31
- Landing—late afternoon—1.9.31
- Same time at Keroon Printer Hall—local time 11:15—1.9.31
- Later, on an unusually bright evening at Landing, Sunrise Cliff, and Honshu Hold—1.9.31
- Part 3
- Honshu—1.10.31
- Circle Runner Station—1.18.31
- Harper Hall
- Benden Weyr—
- Benini Hold—east Monaco and Honshu—1.20.31
- Harper Hall—1.28.31
- Honshu Hold—2.1.31
- Fort Hold—2.13.31
- Printer Hall at Wide Bay—same night
- Honshu Hold—2.9.31
- Night at Wide Bay—2.9.31
- Ruatha Hold—late evening—2.9.31
- Core Hold—two days before Council Meeting—2.26.31
- Part 4
- Honshu Weyrhold—2.26–27.31
- Council Meeting at Telgar Hold—3.1.31
- Honshu Weyrhold—3.01.31
- Interim at Benden and elsewhere
- Honshu Weyrhold—time passing slowly
- Landing—3.21.31
- Honshu Weyrhold—3.21.31
- Southern Hold—3.23.31
- Honshu Weyrhold—3.27.31
- Benden Weyr—3.27.31
- Cove Hold—same day, same approximate time
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“Maybe,” F’lar said softly. “Maybe not. D’you remember Aivas trying to understand the abilities of our dragons?”
Lessa scowled, perplexed. “He knew—we told him—that they had always communicated with us mentally.”
“Telepathy he called it. And teleportation is the ability of dragons to go between from one place to another. Or, however briefly, one time to another.” He finger-combed his hair back from his forehead. “Today they practiced the third of those special talents—telekinesis. Aivas could not understand why they could not do that if they telepath and teleport. Now they can. I wonder how he would have used this new ability to physically move other things without contact.”
“They moved felines who would have killed Golanth, F’lessan, Tai, and Zaranth,” Lessa said in a soft pensive voice.
They were both silent in consideration of these startling new concepts.
“As long as they think they can,” she said, tightening her fingers on his.
“That’s the requisite,” he agreed, nodding, a smile twitching at one side of his mouth.
“Then that means there is something dragons can do about things in space.”
He jerked straight up, hand gripping hers tightly. “Let’s take this one slowly, shall we, my love?”
She swung her head back and forth. “Very slowly.”
Someone tapped on the door and called her name.
She took a deep breath, felt F’lar do the same.
“Yes?”
“It’s Manora. I just arrived to help. G’bol brought me on Mirreth.”
“We’ll be right there,” Lessa called. When she turned her shining eyes to F’lar, they were no longer full of tears, but hope. He embraced her, cheek on her head, trying by the language of his body to tell her the words in his heart.
Calm and mutually supportive, they emerged from their brief respite to greet Manora.
Manora, headwoman of Benden’s Lower Cavern, was seated beside the bed when Tai next woke, an honor that had Tai reeling until she felt Zaranth’s mental touch, initially anxious and then relieved. You are better! I am, too.
“Ah, good,” Manora said, examining Tai’s face. “Your eyes are clearer and your fever is gone.”
“F’lessan?” Tai tried to sit and wished she hadn’t: she ached all over. This was much worse than the mauling she’d had from the men at Landing Healer Hall. She made no resistance when Manora pushed her back down.
“His fever has lessened, yes. His injuries were extensive. There was some internal damage, you see,” and Manora’s serious face made no light of that, “but Oldive and that clever-fingered Crivellan stopped the bleeding, repaired the damage the claws did, and he will heal.”
Tai heard a note in her voice. “What else is wrong?”