Tooth and Claw Read Free Page B

never seen Irieth but we could keep house for you beautifully, just as we did here for Father.”
    Avan couldn’t hide his shudder, it shook his wings. “I’ve no room for you,” he said, truthfully enough, thinking of the comforts of his city establishment. “And Irieth is no place for maidens, unless they are chaperoned and have known names. I couldn’t protect you there any more than I could here. You would be someone’s dinner sooner or later, or worse. You’ll be safe with Penn and Berend.”
    “Safe, but separate,” said Haner, in tones that told her brother that this was tragedy indeed. “You know Selendra is so impulsive and I am so thoughtful that separated there is no knowing what she might do, while I will never do anything at all.”
    “And Berend doesn’t like me,” Selendra said.
    “Well then, Sel, you should go to Penn,” Avan said, as evenly as he could manage.
    “Penn has a wife who is a stranger,” Selendra said.
    “And they have two dragonets already, she’ll probably be very glad to have extra help with them. You’re really much better off than most maidens in your position would be.”
    “How?” Selendra asked.
    Avan knew so much more about this than he would have wanted his sisters ever to learn that he just shook his head slowly and let his gold eyes whirl warningly.
    “I think I could bear anything if we were together,” Haner said, and her voice broke on a sob in the middle of the sentence.
    “You’ll be married soon enough,” Avan said. “I thought Daverak said something about Haner and some friend of his?”
    Haner brightened a little at the thought of Londaver, herbrother-in-law’s friend. But she did not loosen her grip on her sister.
    Just then, as both caves were silent, Penn called up from the undercave that Bon Agornin had gone down into the last darkness.
     
4. SOME UNSEEMLINESS IN THE UNDERCAVE
    Bon Agornin and his son-in-law had not always understood each other perfectly. Illustrious Daverak had been informed, and even consulted, as to his father-in-law’s distribution of his wealth. Nothing had been said to him about the distribution of his body. This was not from any fault either on the part of Daverak or old Bon, for each had thought the matter obvious—Bon that the body would be distributed along the same lines as the wealth, and Daverak that it would be divided equally among the family. It was thus that he had assumed the availability of liver for poor little Lamerak. To Bon, perhaps because he began its serious growth in the manner he had confessed to Penn, his body was a part of his wealth, part of what he passed on to help his children. To the Illustrious, a dragon’s body was a matter altogether distinct from a dragon’s gold, and this was so ingrained a belief with him as to hardly need stating.
    When the cry came and the family gathered to go down, because of the geography of the caves, the group from the Speaking Room were ahead of those from the Dining Room. Illustrious Daverak, having been at the door of the Speaking Room, was to the fore. Immediately behind him was Blessed Frelt, then the dragonets, herded by Illust’ Berend. Then came Avan and his sisters from the Dining Room. The servants, naturally, remained above, where Amer found plenty of work to do and Berend’s attendants sat fanning each other and gossiping about their betters.
    Penn waited in the door of the undercave, his head bowed so low in sorrow that he did not recognize Illustrious Daverak until he was almost upon him. There was no room for more than three in the undercave, so Illustrious Daverak came in, and the others perforce waited, most of them in polite silence, but the dragonets emitted impatient little hisses.
    “Our father Bon is dead,” Penn said. “We must now partake of his remains, that we might grow strong with his strength, remembering him always.”
    Illustrious Daverak bowed his head a little at the words, then with no further ado, snatched off his dead