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‘That’s done,’ his mother agreed softly.

Jani glanced down at the rough little hand she held.

It had already begun to scale around the nail beds.

He would change swiftly. It was truly for the best that he go to the Rain Wilds where such things were accepted.

For an instant, she wondered what her young daughter Kys would think of him.

He was only a few years older than she was.

Such a match would not be unthinkable. Then she set aside the selfish thought.

She lifted her eyes to meet Keffria’s bleak stare.

‘You can come also, if you wish. And you, Ronica. That is my offer to you. Come up the river to Trehaug. I do not promise you that times are easier there, but you would be welcome in my home. I know you wait for news of Malta. I, too, await the dragon’s return. We could wait together.’

Keffria shook her head slowly. ‘I have spent too much of my life waiting, Jani. I won’t do that any more.

The Bingtown Council must be pushed into action, and I am one of those who must push.

I can’t wait for “them” to settle Bingtown’s unrest. I have to insist, daily, that all complaints be considered.

’ She looked at her son. ‘I’m sorry, Selden. ’

He gave her a puzzled look. ‘Sorry that you will do what you must do? Mother, it is your own example I follow. I go to Trehaug for the same reason.’ He managed a smile for her. ‘You let me go. And I let you go. Because we are Traders.’

There was a sudden loosening in Keffria’s face, as if an unforgivable sin had been expunged from her soul. She heaved a great sigh. ‘Thank you, Selden.’

‘I, too, must stay,’ Ronica said into the quiet.

‘For while Keffria is being the Trader for the Vestrit family, I must look after the rest of our interests. It is not just our home that was raided and vandalized. We have other holdings as well, similarly troubled. If we are not to lose them all, then I must act now, to hire workers who will labour for a share of next year’s crop.

Spring will come again. Vineyards and orchards will put forth new leaves.

Despite all our other troubles, those things must be anticipated. ’

Jani shook her head with a small smile. ‘So I expected you to answer. Indeed, so the Rain Wild Council told me you would, when I told them of my plans.’

Keffria frowned. ‘Why would the Rain Wild Council have an interest in how we answered?’

Jani would keep it to herself that the Council had been as anxious as she to lay claim to Selden Vestrit. Instead, she told the rest of the truth. ‘They were anxious to avail themselves of your services, Keffria Vestrit. But for you to be effective, you would have to remain here in Bingtown.’

‘My services?’ Keffria was obviously astounded. ‘What services can I perform for them?’

‘You may have forgotten or dismissed the last time you spoke to the Rain Wild Council. They have not. You were quite inspiring, in your offer to risk yourself in the service of the Traders. As it was, the situation changed so swiftly that your sacrifice was not necessary. But the fact that you were willing to offer, as well as your clear grasp of the situation, left a deep impression on the Council. With all the changes now in the wind, the Rain Wild Council needs an official voice in Bingtown. When Traders such as Pols, Kewin and Lorek can all agree that you are the best choice to represent us, you must realize that you left a very favourable impression.’

A faint pink rose in Keffria’s cheeks. ‘But the Rain Wild Traders have always been free to speak in the Bingtown Council, just as any Bingtown Trader can claim the right to speak in the Rain Wilds. You do not need me as a representative.’

‘We disagree. Changes are raining down swiftly; our communities will need to cooperate even more closely than we have in the past. Message-birds can only fly so swiftly. Liveship traffic on the Rain Wild River has been reduced in these dangerous times, as all our ships patrol against Chalcedean vessels. Yet more than ever, we need a voice sympathetic to Rain Wild concerns here in Bingtown. We see you as the ideal choice. Your family is already strongly linked to the Rain Wilds. While we would ask you to seek our advice when you could, we would also trust you to speak out when an immediate voice was needed.’

‘But why not one of your own, here in Bingtown?’ Keffria hesitated.

‘Because, just as you and your mother have told me, they need to remain close to their homes in this troubled time. Besides, in many ways, you are now one of our own.’

‘It would be perfect, Mother,’ Selden suddenly interjected. ‘For the dragon will need your voice here as well. You could help to make Bingtown see the necessity of aiding her, beyond any “agreement” we have signed.’

Jani looked at him in surprise. Even in the well-lit room, she could see Selden’s eyes literally glowing with his enthusiasm. ‘But Selden, there may be times when the dragon’s interests are different from the Rain Wilds’ or Bingtown’s,’ she cautioned him gently.

‘Oh, no,’ he assured her. ‘I know it is hard for you to believe that I know these things. But what I know goes beyond who I am, and back to another time. I have dreamed the city that Tintaglia spoke of, and it is grand beyond imagination. Compared to Cassarick, Frengong was humble.’

‘Cassarick? Frengong?’ Jani asked in confusion.

‘Frengong is the Elderling name for the city buried beneath Trehaug. Cassarick is the city you will excavate for Tintaglia. There, you will find halls built to a dragon’s scale of grandeur.

In the Star Chamber, you will discover a floor set with what you call flame-jewels, in a mirror of the night sky on Springeve.

There is a labyrinth with crystal walls, tuned to mirror the dreams of the ones who dare it; to walk its maze is to confront your own soul.

Time’s Rainbow, they called it amongst themselves, for each person who completed it seemed to do so by a different route.

Wonders are buried there and may be brought back to light…

’ Selden’s voice trailed away in rapture.

He stood breathing deeply in silence, his eyes looking afar.

The adults exchanged looks over his head.

Then he spoke again, suddenly. ‘The wealth the dragons will bring to us all will surpass mere coin. It will be a reawakening of the world. Humanity has become a lonely race, and dangerously arrogant in our solitude. The return of the dragons will restore balance to our intellect and to our ambitions.’ He laughed aloud suddenly.

‘Not that they are perfect beings, oh, no. That is our value to one another. Each race presents to the other a mirror of presumption and vanity. In seeing another creature’s rash posturing of control and superiority in the world, we will realize how ridiculous our own claims are. ’

Silence followed his words. The thoughts he had thrown out so casually echoed through Jani’s mind. His voice, his words were not the cadence or vocabulary of a child. Was this the dragon’s doing? What had they released back into the world?

‘You have doubts now,’ Selden spoke to her silent qualms. ‘But you will see. The welfare of the dragon is in the best interests of the Rain Wilds, as well.’

‘Well,’ Jani replied at last. ‘In that, perhaps, we shall have to trust to your mother’s judgement, as she represents us.’

‘This is a weighty responsibility,’ Keffria wavered.

‘We are well aware of that,’ Jani replied smoothly.

‘And such a task should not be undertaken without recompense.’ She hesitated.

‘At the beginning, we would be hard pressed to pay you in coin. Until trade with the outside world is restored, I fear we must go back to bartering.’ She glanced about the room.

‘Household goods we have in plenty. Do you think we could work out a suitable exchange?’

A spark of hope kindled in Ronica’s eyes. ‘I am sure we could,’ Keffria replied almost immediately. With a rueful laugh she added, ‘I can think of no household goods that we could not find a use for.’

Jani smiled, well pleased with herself. She had feared it would seem too much as if she were buying Selden from his family.

In truth, she felt she had struck that best of all bargains, the one in which each Trader felt she had won the best of the trade.

‘Let us make a list of what you need most,’ she suggested.

She set a hand on Selden’s shoulder, taking care that it did not seem too possessive.

‘When we reach Trehaug, Selden can help me select what he thinks will suit you best.’