He meant well, Leftrin reminded himself. Nonetheless. He was an old friend, not part of the crew. Some things weren’t spoken of outside that family, not even to old friends. “We’re using the barge in every possible way, Carson, short of having it sprout wings and fly over the river. What can you expect of a ship?”
“Of course.” Carson bobbed a nod that he understood and would ask no more. His deference bothered Leftrin almost as much as his question had. He knew he was short-tempered; grief tore at his heart even as he clutched at hope and kept desperately searching. Alise. Alise, my darling. Why did we hold back, if only to lose each other this way?
It wasn’t just the woman, though Sa knew that overwhelmed him and ruined his brain for cold logic. All the youngsters, every one of them was missing. Every dragon, gone. And Sedric. If he found Alise but had to tell her he had lost Sedric, what would she think of him? And all the dragons gone, and her dreams gone with them. He knew how she felt about the dragons and the keepers. He had failed her, utterly failed her. There could be no good end to this search. None at all.
“Leftrin!”
He startled at his name and saw by Carson’s face that he’d been trying to talk to him. “Sorry. Too long with no sleep,” he said gruffly.
The hunter nodded sympathetically and rubbed at his own bloodshot eyes. “I know. We’re all tired. We’re damn lucky that tired is all we are. You’re a bit beat up, and Eider may have a few cracked ribs, but by and large, we came through it intact. And we all know that we’ll rest later. For right now, this is what I propose. My boat stayed with the Tarman; luckily I’ve the habit of bringing it aboard and lashing it down each night. I propose I take the spare ship’s horn and set out on my own. I’ll shoot down the river a ways, fast as I can, and then go right along the shore and search under the trees. You follow, but taking your time and searching carefully. Every so often, I’ll blow three long blasts, just like Davvie, to let you know where I am and that I’m still searching. If either of us finds anything, we’ll use three short blasts to call the other.”
Leftrin listened grimly. He knew what Carson was implying. Bodies. He’d be looking for bodies, and for survivors in such poor condition that they could not signal their rescuers. It made sense. Tarman had been proceeding very slowly, first moving up the river to approximately where the wave had first struck them and then back down again, searching both the river’s face and the shoreline. Carson’s little boat could catch the current and shoot swiftly down to where they had begun to search and move downriver from there, searching the shallows.
“Do you need anyone with you?”
Carson shook his head. “I’d rather leave Davvie safe here with you. And I’ll go alone. If I find anyone, the boat’s small, and I’ll want to bring them on board right away.”
“Three short blasts will mean we’ve found something. Even if it’s only a body?”
Carson thought, then shook his head. “Neither of us can do anything for a body. No sense one of us summoning the other and taking a chance on missing a survivor. I’ll want some oil and one of the big cookpots. If we don’t meet up before nightfall, I’ll pull in, make a fire in the pot, and overnight there. The fire will keep me warm and serve as a beacon to anyone who might see it. And if I find someone near nightfall, I can use the horn and the firepot to guide you to us.”
Leftrin nodded. “Take a good supply of rations and water. If you find anyone, they may be in bad shape. You’ll need them.”
“I know.”
“Good luck, then.”
“Sa’s blessing on you.”
Such words coming from the hunter made Leftrin feel even grimmer. “Sa’s blessing,” he replied and watched the man turn and go. “Please, please, find her,” he whispered, and then he went back up on deck to put his own eyes on the river.
As he joined his crew on the deck, he felt their sympathy for him. Swarge, Bellin, Hennesey, and hulking Eider were silent and looked aside from him, as if ashamed they could not give him what he wanted. Skelly came to his side and took his hand. He glanced down at her, seeing his niece for a moment instead of his deckhand when she met his gaze. She gave his rough hand a small squeeze; her pinched mouth and a quick nod of her head let him know that she shared his concern. With no more than that, she left him and went back to her watching post. They are a good crew, he thought with a tight throat. Without a quibble, they had followed him on this jaunt up the river into unknown territory. Part of it was because that was the type of river folk they were: curious, adventurous, and confident of their skills. But a good part of it was that they would go where he and Tarman went. He commanded their lives. Sometimes that knowledge humbled him.