Read Online Dragon's Kin by Anne McCaffrey - Free Book Online Page A

survive the Harper’s harshness and give back as good as he got without ever being branded as “disrespectful.”
    Kindan found, as he approached his eleventh birthday, that he could even work with Kaylek. His elder brother, plagued by Master Zist’s remonstrations about his class work, had actually turned to Kindan for help.
    Kaylek was smart enough to realize that work in the mines was dangerous and required more wits than temper. So he had swallowed his pride—as best he could—and had learned from his littler brother.
    The morning of Kaylek’s first day in the mines with his father and his brothers, Kindan was surprised to be awoken by a warm cup of
klah
thrust into his hands.
    “I thought you might want to see us off,” Kaylek said shyly.
    Recognizing Kaylek’s actions as a peace offering, Kindan quickly pulled himself out of bed. “Sure.”
    It was the dark of night. Kaylek and the rest would be going down in the shift that ran from just after nightfall to just before dawn, rightly called the “watch-wher” shift because that was when watch-whers were awake.
    Careful not to disturb Jakris and Tofir, Kindan pulled on his clothes and followed Kaylek into the kitchen.
    “Dad said nothing about you,” Dakin said when he noticed Kindan.
    “I’m just going to see you off,” Kindan answered.
    Dakin shrugged. “All right,” he said. “You know Sis used to do that.”
    “Where’s Dad?” Kaylek asked, looking around the room.
    “In the shed with Dask, of course,” Jaran, the second eldest, replied matter-of-factly.
    “Let’s go out and see if he needs any help,” Kaylek suggested to Kindan.
    “Only if you want Dask to snap at you, you will,” Kenil said. Kaylek glanced at Jaran and Dakin for confirmation and saw that both older boys were nodding their heads.
    “He’s been a bit proddy recently,” Dakin explained. He frowned. “I don’t like it, nor does Dad.”
    “He’s been like that before, though,” Jaran said, apparently continuing a conversation that Kindan hadn’t heard the start of.
    “Come on, lads, time’s a-wasting,” Danil’s voice called from outside.
    They all put their mugs in the sink and started out the door, Kindan trailing.
    He followed them all the way up to the mine entrance, where a group of miners waited. Kindan recognized one of the smaller ones.
    “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
    “I’m going down to help—my father said I could,” Zenor answered, his voice full of pride. Talmaric, his father, nodded.
    “It’s only for today,” Zenor added when he noticed Kindan’s concerned look. Kindan brightened immediately.
    “Wish me luck,” Kaylek called to Kindan as he started into the mine.
    “Good luck.”
    “What are you talking about luck for?” Kenil asked. “Miners don’t need luck, they need caution.”
    “Sorry,” Kaylek mumbled.
    They swept from view, and Kindan went back to the cottage and his bed.
             
    It started with a silence. The children noticed it and gathered around the windows. Master Zist noticed only that the children were not paying attention to him.
    “Get back here, now!” he shouted. He had just gotten them settled for the first lesson of the morning. One child turned his head toward him but quickly turned back.
    Zist growled and strode over to the window, ready to bodily return his students to their seats. The tension in their small bodies unhinged his plan. He followed their gaze—they were all looking at the northern mine shaft.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “Dunno,” a girl replied, “something’s wrong.”
    “How do you know?” Zist demanded.
    One of the children shook his head and made a shushing motion. “Can’t you hear? It’s too quiet.”
    The sky outside darkened. Master Zist looked up and saw a thin raft of dark powder drifting down toward the lake from the direction of the mine shaft. Not smoke—coal dust.
    “My father’s down there!” one child wailed.
    “And my