Anne McCaffrey

The danger was definitely not within the walls of Hold Ruath. Nor approaching the paved perimeter without the Hold where relentless grass had forced new growth through the ancient mortar, green witness to the deterioration of the once stone-clean Hold.

“Dragons can go between times as well as places. They go as easily to a when as to a where.”

Robinton’s eyes widened as he digested this astonishing news.

“That is how we forestalled the attack on Nerat yesterday morning. We jumped back two hours between times to meet the Threads as they fell.”

“Dragons can go between times as well as places. They go as easily to a when as to a where.”

Robinton’s eyes widened as he digested this astonishing news.

“That is how we forestalled the attack on Nerat yesterday morning. We jumped back two hours between times to meet the Threads as they fell.”

There must be some way to get to the Red Star.

Before Jaxom could remind Ruth that they weren’t supposed to go between time, they had.

But my dear boy, you’ve been taking a dreadful risking timing it. You could meet yourself coming and going—

Desdra also tole me, since she knew me to be discreet and trustworthy, how the dragonriders had managed to make so many deliveries. This had contributed to their total exhaustion, a major factor in the tragedy: Dragons could go as easily between one time and another as one place to another. Moreta and Holth had overtaxed their strength this way. For only by stretching time in this bizarre fashion, or rather doubling back on themselves, could MOreta and Holth manage to deliver serum to all the holds on the Keroon plains.

It was then obvious that the absconding dragons had gone between time to secure their theft.

Jaxom shrugged as he changed pages. “A dragon has to know exactly the time when he is going to, or he can come out of between at the same spot he’s inhabiting at that earlier time. Too close, and it is thought that both dragon and rider will die. Equally, it’s unwise to go any place you haven’t already been, so you shouldn’t go forward, because you wouldn’t know if you were there or not.”

“Does that mean we’re to time it?” Mirrim asked T’gellan in a hushed tone as soon as they were past Tunge, who had not recovered from the multiple shocks.

“What else?” F’lessan asked, right behind her, hauling Tai along beside him.

“How else could we do what is to be done?” T’gellan added as he dragged his weyrmate into a near run. “Yes, Ramoth just confirmed it to Monarth.”

“But what do we do first?” Mirrim demanded in a scared voice.

“Monarth’s bespeaking Talina’s Arwith. I’ve told her to take four wings at once to Monaco Bay, to warn Partmaster Zewe and to start moving people to safety.”

“Watch-whers don’t go between,” Nuella declared.

“Yes, they do, I saw Dask do it,” Kindan corrected.

“Don’t do it!” the first M’hall shouted to the other.

Somber M’hall startled at the sound of his own voice coming to him. “You’re from the future?”

“Where were you all this time?” J’lantir growled. K’nad dropped his head, shaking it slowly. ’lantir pursed his lips sourly and peered along the rest of the line of men that comprised his missing wing. “Where were all of you?”

He scanned the line, looking for someone who might answer.

“We were on an important mission,’ J’trel said finally. The others looked at him and nodded in relief.

“Very important,” K’nad added with a confirming nod.

“So important that I didn’t know about it?” J’lantir asked in scathing tones.

K’nad gave him a confused look and was about to answer when J’trel nudged him, shaking his head.

“He said he wouldn’t believe us, remember?” J’trel whispered to K’nad in a voice not so quiet that J’lantir didn’t hear him.