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
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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“Well, you heard Toronas. All that nonsense about it is all”—she altered her voice to mimic the Benden Lord Holder’s slightly nasal speech pattern—“because we let Aivas change the orbit of the Red Star and this is the result of meddling with things we don’t know enough about.”
F’lar laughed, because her imitation of the Benden Lord Holder was so accurate. “One of the reasons Aivas delayed the blast was to put the Red Star far beyond affecting any other of the planets in this system. The mathematics was accurate to the tenth decimal point. Or so Wansor assured me at the time. Or ask F’lessan. He’s into astronomy with that old telescope in Honshu.”
“I might indeed ask F’lessan,” she said. “It’s something like this that would agitate the Abominators into doing more harm than they’ve already done.”
“You think they’re behind some of those peculiar incidents of vandalism Sebell reported?”
“Who else would be that vindictive and destroy only new medicines or materials, or waylay traders carrying components from one Smithcrafthall to another?”
“Let’s talk about it in the weyr. It’s far too cold to dawdle out here, woman.”
He tugged her into a jog, throwing an arm about her shoulders to prevent her from slipping on the icy ground, and they quickly reached the stairs up to her quarters.
Are you two coming in? he asked the two dragons, who had not moved from their ledges.
We will watch the Ghosts until they leave, Mnementh said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
As you wish, F’lar said.
“Silly beasts,” Lessa murmured, smiling as she pushed aside the entrance curtain. Sometimes she wished she had a hide as impervious to weather as a dragon’s. Or was it just that this winter was unusually cold?
Between is colder, Ramoth remarked.
Once she was inside, Lessa swiftly made for the nearest heater unit, putting Manora’s basket, still warm, on the table as she passed it and stripping off her long fur. She hung it on the hooks to the left of their sleeping room.
“I didn’t think we’d have to worry about Abominators again,” she said with a weary sigh.
“N’ton checked the island where we exiled those that were convicted of abducting Robinton.” F’lar’s expression was austere, his lips thinned. He kicked the heavy curtain rather more forcefully than was needed to be sure that the hem excluded the cold drafts. “In fact,” he added, his face altering to a less forbidding look, “there were some youngsters, since several spouses went with their men.”
“Oh!” Lessa paused. “And the earlier group, who were caught damaging other Crafthalls? The ones who were sentenced to the Crom mines?”