The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Read Free Book Online

going on, and he had acquired a thing or two of use from the Catherine Caves when those were being shared out.
    For this appearance at Landing, he dressed in his new formal tunic, embroidered with his Master’s emblem, and in the Paradise River Hold colors, and newly braided Master’s shoulder knots. Kitrin had a deft needle and did much of the special handwork for the entire Hold.
    He had asked the dragonrider to collect him on the sea side of his holding, where Readis would not be likely to see him leave. Alemi was somewhat surprised by the youth of the bronze rider, who appeared exactly on the time set.
    “I’m T’lion, Masterfishman, to collect you,” the boy said from his high perch on the bronze’s neck.
    “This is Gadareth, my dragon.” His voice was vibrant with deep affection and pride. “Do you need help mounting, Master Alemi?”
    “I think not,” Alemi said, keeping his features composed even as he wondered if this was the first time the lad had been sent to convey a passenger “If Gadareth will oblige me by a knee up,” he added. The bronze had not achieved his full growth yet, so mounting was not the problem it would soon become.
    “Oh, yes, sorry about that, Master.” The boy’s features set as he “spoke” to his dragon.
    Gadareth had his head turned toward Alemi, his eyes whirling a trifle faster than the speed Alemi thought of as normal to these huge beasts. Then he raised his left foreleg slightly.
    “If you’d lean your hand down?” Alemi suggested.
    “Oh, that’s right,” young T’lion said, flushing.
    He leaned so far over that he had to clutch at the neck ridge to keep from tipping himself out of his perch. So Alemi sprang to the offered knee, touched the hand only enough to give him an upward surge, and swung himself in the slot between the two neck ridges aft of the rider.
    “Nothing to it, really,” Alemi said, settling himself.
    “No, Master, there isn’t, is there?”
    When they had sat there a few moments longer, Alemi cleared his throat.
“I’m
all set. Whenever you’re ready?” he asked in a gentle prompt.
    “Oh, yes, well, fine. We’re just going. Gadareth!” Now he spoke with more conviction and no hesitation.
    As Gadareth sprang from the ground, Alemi had a moment’s doubt about the boy’s expertise and devoutlyhoped they wouldn’t end up somewhere unknown, far from familiar coordinates. He had heard tales …
    Abruptly they were in the cold of
between
, and Alemi caught his breath … one … two … three … fo…. They were high above water—at least that was right—and then Gadareth veered, pivoting on his right wing tip, and the magnificent crescent strand of Monaco Bay appeared in front of them. The young bronze swooped down, gliding straight for the ground in a maneuver that made Alemi hold his breath and sit as hard into the neck ridge as he could, jamming his feet down and his knees against the neck of the dragon as hard as he could.
    The landing was achieved with great ease, however, and Alemi wasn’t even bumped about as the dragon backwinged and settled to the firm surface in front of the Admin Building, which housed Aivas.
    Alemi knew the story of its discovery—it had been a harper’s tale at many a gather. It had been one of the last of the Ancients’ buildings to be excavated, a task undertaken by Mastersmith Jancis, Journeyman Harper Piemur, and Lord Jaxom—on a whim, it was said. And Ruth had helped. Then they had found the curiously reinforced end of the building, which had suggested that something special had been carefully protected … and discovered the Artificial Intelligence Voice-Address System left by the first settlers on Pern: an intelligence that could tell them much of the first years of human habitation on this planet, and much about Thread. Aivas, as the intelligence preferred to be called, had also promised to help destroy the menace of Thread forever.
    Of course, the building had been extended, since Aivas was