“And the keepers and the other dragons?”

“In this wind and rain? They’ll notice nothing until we’re gone, and then they’ll discover that we’ve disabled their boats. I doubt that anyone will ever hear of them again.”

“And what do we tell the folks in Trehaug?”

“We don’t even stop there. Downriver, fleet as an arrow, and then up the coast to Chalced. You’ll live like a king there, with your lady. I’ve seen how you look at her. This way, at least, you end up with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that the other way, the path I take if you refuse, you lose everything. I tell the dragons and the keepers that you used a dragon cocoon to give your precious Tarman a bigger supply of wizardwood. Your crew is in on it, obviously. They know how little they actually work to push that barge along. I don’t think the dragons will think well of you, knowing that you’ve already butchered one of their kind for your own ends. I believe they’re annoyed by such things. And your pretty red-haired lady may see you as not quite so honorable as she thought. False, even. Treacherous, if I do my work well.

“So, you see, you can help me harvest one mindless, unclaimed, stunted dragon and take your lady, crew, and yourself off to an indolent and indulgent life in Chalced. Or you can be stubborn and I’ll unravel you and destroy everything you have or ever hope to have.” He smiled, squinting into the rain as he added, “After they turn on you, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up with both your ship and your lady. I’ve put in quite a few evenings cultivating trust and friendship among the keepers, while you wasted time courting your giddy little woman. And I suspect I’ll have an ally in that Bingtown dandy. Or are you going to continue to pretend that all of you are innocent of any schemes?”

The dragon bent his head and picked up the animal’s rib cage in his mouth. His jaws closed on it, crushing it. He began a slow mastication, crushing and folding the rest of the animal in on itself. Leftrin stepped toward the silver, intending to intervene. The dragon blasted a snarl at him past the meat in his mouth. The stench of his breath made Leftrin blanch and step back as much as the threat.

“Oh, he doesn’t trust you,” Jess snidely commiserated. “I don’t think he’ll let you rescue him. Stupid damn lizard. Looks like we’re committed, Cap. Once he goes down, it’s time to butcher. I’ll just go take care of those boats right now.”

The man’s cockiness would have been enough to provoke Leftrin at any time without the threat to his dreams. As he passed Leftrin in the driving rain, Leftrin turned and launched himself at him. He’d beat him senseless and feed him to the dragon. Poor Jess. Must have somehow provoked the dumb beast. Can scarcely blame a dragon for being a dragon, Alise.

But Jess spun to meet him, teeth white in a merry snarl and a shining blade in his hand.

SINTARA WATCHED THE two human females in consternation. Now, what did this mean, this clutching and sharing of tears? It wasn’t hunting, nor fighting, nor mating, nor any sensible activity that she could name. She wanted them to stop. “Did either of you bring me food?” she demanded.

Thymara stepped away from Alise and wiped her sleeve across her wet face. “I didn’t have a chance to hunt today. I think the hunters got some fish.”

“I already ate what Carson said was ‘my share.’ It was pitiful.”

“I suppose I could go and—”

“Quiet!” Sintara barked at her. There was something, a distant noise like the roaring of a huge wind. She sensed distress and anger from the silver dragon. As always, his thoughts were poorly formed, but something was alarming him.

“What is it?” she roared at him and to the other dragons in general. The sound was growing louder now; even the humans could hear it. She saw Thymara turn her head and shout. Alise clutched at her and her head swiveled back and forth, seeking the source of the noise. The roar was coming closer, but she felt no increase in the wind or driving rain. The sound grew louder, with a grinding base to it mixed with sudden cracks and snaps.

“It’s the river! It’s a flood!” Mercor’s bellow slammed into her mind, and with his warning, ancient memories leaped into Sintara’s awareness.

“Fly! Get above the water!” she trumpeted, for in that moment she forgot what she was, half a dragon, bound to the earth. The darkness could not completely mask the danger. She stared upriver and saw white lace on a gray cliff face and tumbling tree trunks in the cliff’s liquid face.