“Well, there is Malta and Reyn. And Selden.”
“But none of them is here,” Alise pointed out. She started to step into the water and halted. “Do you see that speckled place? Is that a shadow on the river bottom or a fish?” She tilted her head the other way. “So the dragons now depend on their keepers for what Elderlings did for them, once upon a time.” She cocked her head. “Hmm. I wonder if that was why they insisted on having keepers accompanying them, as well as the hunters? I’ve wondered about that. Why did they want so many keepers but were content with only three hunters? What could all of you do for them that the hunters didn’t do?”
“Well, we groom them. And we pay a lot of attention to them. You know how much they love to be flattered.” Thymara paused, thinking. Why had the dragons demanded keepers? She saw Alise’s intent stare. “If you think it might be a fish, jab it! If it’s only a shadow, no harm done. If it’s a fish, you’ll kill it.”
“Very well.” Alise took a deep breath.
“Don’t scream this time. Or jump in the water. You don’t want to scare other nearby game or fish.”
Alise froze. “Did I scream last time?”
Thymara tried to laugh quietly. “Yes. And you jumped in the water. Just use the spear this time. Farther back. Pull your arm farther back. There. Now look at where you want to hit it and jab for it.” I sound like my father, she realized abruptly. And just as suddenly discovered that she was enjoying teaching Alise.
Alise was a good student. She listened. She took her breath, focused on whatever she was seeing, and plunged the spear in. Thymara had not believed there was a fish there, but the spear went into something alive, for a very large patch of water suddenly erupted into furious thrashing. “Hold the spear firm, hold the spear firm!” she shouted at Alise and then leaped forward to add her weight to the Bingtown woman’s. Whatever she had jabbed was large, and possibly not a fish at all. The thrust had pinned something to the river bottom. It was large and flat bodied and had a lashlike tail that suddenly began snapping about below the water. “It might have barbs or a sting! Watch out!” Thymara warned her. She thought Alise would let go her grip on the spear; instead she hung on doggedly.
“Get…another spear…or something!” Alise gasped.
For a moment, Thymara froze. Then she dashed off back to the boats. Tats’s was closest and his gear was inside it. He was sitting on the ground next to it, just waking up. “Borrowing your spear!” she barked at him, and as he began to stir, she snatched it up and ran back with it.
“It’s getting away!” Alise was shouting as Thymara dashed back. Someone followed her. She glanced back and saw Rapskal and Sylve coming at a run, with Captain Leftrin behind them. The camp had awakened while she and Alise were fishing. Heedless of the animal’s lashing tail, Alise had waded out into the water to lean more heavily on the spear. Thymara gritted her teeth and plunged in. She jabbed her spear into the murky water where she judged the main part of the fish’s body to be. It went deep into something muscular; the spear pole was all but snatched out of her hands by the creature’s furious reaction. It moved, dragging her and Alise into deeper water in its efforts to escape.
“We’ll have to let it go!” she gasped, but behind her Rapskal shouted, “No!” and waded in with a will. Heedless of the tail that wildly lashed through the water, he proceeded to jab the thing half a dozen times with his own fish spear. Dark blood tendriled through the murky water and the fish only redoubled its efforts.
“Pull out my spear! Don’t let it carry it off!” Thymara shouted at Alise. She was soaked to the waist and grimly clinging to the spear.
“Nor mine!” Tats shouted. “Thymara, that’s my last one!”
“Out of the way!” Sintara trumpeted, but gave no one time to obey her. The dragon lumbered into the water as Rapskal frantically tried to avoid her.
“Thymara!” Tats shouted, and then Sintara’s unfolding wing hit her. The water seemed to leap up and seize her; the spear was jerked from her hands. Then something large, flat, and alive struck her, rasping fabric and skin from her left arm before propelling her into deeper water. She opened her mouth to shout a protest and silty water filled it. She blew it out, but had no air to replace it. She held her breath desperately. She had never learned to swim; she was a climber, made for the canopy, and she floundered in this foreign element that had seized her and was hurrying her along to somewhere.
Light broke over her face suddenly, but before she could take a breath, she sank again. Someone, she thought, had shouted something. Her eyes stung and her arm burned. Something seized her, engulfing her torso and squeezing. She beat at the scaly thing with her fists, and her mouth burst open in an airless scream. It dragged her through the water and then out of it. A thought penetrated her mind. I have her! I have her!