10
Cashel awakened. It was past dawn and the Serian crew was taking in sail with a great deal of enthusiastic chattering. Cashel raised his head and saw that the Golden Dragon was well up the channel of a broad river; they floated in brown water, and marshes spread to the horizon on either side.
He jumped to his feet. "Mellie?" he called, suddenly afraid that the sprite was all part of a dream.
Mellie swung down on a lock of Cashel's hair, deliberately swishing past his eyes before releasing. She did an aerial somersault, then landed on his shoulder and stood on her hands.
"Did you sleep well, Cashel?" she asked him, upside down.
Cashel let out his breath at shuddering length. His tunic was dry on the underside and only slightly damp over his shoulders where spray had settled while he slept. He hadn't been swimming, that was certain.
"I don't know how I slept through all this," he said, looking around at the crew bustling over the ship's crowded deck. Men must have been almost stepping on him to spread the sail when light allowed and now to take it in as traffic on the river required a more cautious pace. Two grinning sailors began turning the horizontal capstan they'd been unable to use to adjust the yard while Cashel slept against it.
"They should have got me up," he said. The Serians were either too polite or too frightened of him to give him the kick in the ribs he'd deserved. He was ashamed of himself.
Jen and Frasa stood together on one wing of the quarterdeck. When they saw Cashel looking toward the stern they tented their hands and bowed to him. He blushed and nodded back.
It'd be time to get out the sweeps shortly. He'd be useful then.
"I've never seen Erdin," Mellie said, "though I suppose it's just a city. I haven't been on Sandrakkan in a thousand years. It rains a lot, and there's a kind of spotted cat that's way quicker than a fox."
She giggled and dropped into a normal seated posture, looking up at Cashel. "Of course maybe you humans caught all of them to make clothes out of. You're always doing something."
"I had a dream last night, Mellie," Cashel said slowly.
"No, no, Cashel," the sprite said in a laughing tone. "You didn't dream. Don't you remember? You were too busy helping your friend Garric."