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was more in danger of wetting his breeches from mirth - not
fright at seeing Thread for the first time. Which reminded him
why he was here. Again that realization became universal.
Laughter faded as every dragon and rider irresistibly turned
north-eastward.
It was there, too, the much-described silvery-grey haze on
the upper levels of the blue sky. Not a dragon wing moved,
not a rider recoiled as the silver stuff began to drop on to the
sea. THREAD! And so aptly called. THREAD!
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The word seemed to rumble from dragon to dragon and
K'vin had to grab hold of the neck ridge as Charanth started
to lurch towards what he had known all his life as his
adversary.
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I have no firestone! How can I flame it? What is wrong?
Why have you brought me here where there is Thread and I
have no fire to char it!
It's all right, Charanth. We're here to watch. To see.
But it is Thread! I must chew to flame. Why may I not flame
when there is THREAD!
Glancing wildly around him, K'vin realized that he was by
no means the only rider having the same difficulty with a
frustratedly zealous dragon, rapidly trying to close the gap to
Threadfall.
l've seen enough, Charanth. Take us back to Telgar.
But THREAD? And the bronze dragon's tone was piteous,
confused and horrified. We leave. Now.t
Leave? But we have not met Thread.
Not here or now or in this place, Charanth.
It took K'vin every bit of will-power and moral strength,
and Charanth's faith in him, to overcome his bronze's im-
passioned protest. Then, all of a sudden, Charanth stopped
flying towards Thread.
Oh, all right! The tone was that of a petulant child forced
by a senior authority to follow orders totally against the grain.
What?
The queens say we must go to the Red Butte.
Then let us go there. K'vin did not question the order, being
far too glad that one was given which the dragon would obey.
The Butte was a training landmark in lower Keroon, a
laccolithic dome so difficult to mistake that it figured in
all weyrling training programmes. And there the would-be
observers managed to get their dragons to land. Even the
queens' eyes were revolving at a stiff red-orange pace, but
some of the bronzes were so distraught with anger that
their eyes pulsed wickedly, revolving at incredible speed.
K'vin was almost relieved to swing down from Charanth's
neck. But he, and the other Weyrleaders, all kept one hand
on their dragons, leg, shoulder or muzzle: some contact was
maintained. In a wide outer circle were the brown and bronze
riders who had also been 'rescued'; they remained mounted,
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soothing their dragons, allowing their leaders the centre for
discussion.
It was M'shall who spoke first. 'Well, that was one good
idea gone awry,' he said in a droll tone. 'Great minds, all of
tlS!'
'Except for forgetting one simple rule,' Irene added, pulling
off her flying cap. Her face was still pale from the fright she
must have had.
K'vin glanced at Zulaya who was wiping sweat from her
face, so he knew none of the queen riders had had an easy
time to get their queens to insist on the disengagement.
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'Dragons know what they're supposed to do when Thread
falls,' M'shall said, nodding. And then he started to laugh.
K'vin grinned and, when he heard G'don's bass chuckle,
saw no reason to hold his laughter in any longer. B'nurrin
was howling so that he had to clutch at K'vin to keep his
balance. Even D'miel looked properly abashed, and Laura's
giggle was infectious enough to increase the volume. Beyond
the inner circle, the rest of the riders caught the joke on
themselves and joined in the laugh. It was a good release from
the fright that they had all just had.
'Did anyone happen to notice a Fort rider disappearing in
guilty retreat?' M'shall asked when the laughter died down.
He'd been checking the identity of those on the rim of this
informal assembly.
'They'd be the last to admit coming,' said Irene.
'I doubt that, Renee,' G'don said. 'S'nan runs a strict Weyr,
it's true, but I'll wager there're a few renegades among his
wingleaders.'
'I know there are,' Mari agreed, blotting her eyes which
were still merry from laughter. 'It's just such a hoot that we
all...' and she ringed them with a swirl of her hand, 'thought
to come and have a peek.'
'It's not going to inhibit any of the dragons, is it?' Laura
asked, turning pale at the sudden thought. 'Turning them off
like that?'
D'miel wasn't the only Weyrleader to dismiss that notion
derisively. 'Hardly! It's increased rider-credibility a hundred-
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fold. They now know without doubt that what we've been
telling them since they were Hatched is true!'
'Oh, yes, it would, wouldn't it?' she said, relieved.
'I myself would like to thank the queen riders for exerting
their powerful influence on our bronzes,' G'don said with a
formal hand over his heart as he bowed to the five queen
riders.
'The advantage of having three very senior queens,' said
Zulaya, 'and two very strong-minded young women.'
Laura blushed while Shanna stood even straighter.
'All right then,' M'shall began, having taken note that most
of the male dragons' eyes were resuming normal colour and
speed. He took a step towards the centre of the sandy circle
and cupped his hands, turning as he spoke. 'All right, then,
every one of you. This is a meeting that never happened and
isn't to be referred to in any Weyr for any reason. Do you
understand me?' The response was loud and clear. He nodded
and stepped back towards Craigath. 'We'll meet...' he said
now to the other leaders, 'where Thread first... officially...
falls North.'
'We've sweep riders out all the time,' G'don reminded
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