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M iarr gazed out frohthouse perched on a rock in the middle of the sea, the very top of which resembled the head of a cat, coht that shone froain At his insistence, Miarr did every night Watch and many of the day Watches too He did not trust his co-Watcher any further than he could throw hie discrepancy in size, that would not be very far, unlessa small smile flickered over Miarr&039;s delicateFat Crowe out of one of the Eyes Now that would be a very long throw indeed How far doas it to the rocks below? Miarr knew the ansell enough - three hundred and forty-three feet exactly

Miarr shook his head to clear it of such beguiling thoughts Fat Croould never even ht - there was no way he could squeeze through the tiny opening at the top of the pole that led froht Thin Crowe, on the other hand, would have no trouble Miarr shivered at the thought of Thin Crowe squeezing up to his precious Light like a weasel Given the choice between the Croins - not a choice he ever wanted to make - he would choose the fat one any day The thin one was vicious

Miarr pulled his close-fitting sealskin hat down so that it covered his ears and wrapped his cloak tightly around hihthouse, and the storlass and stared out into the storht piercing the dark The wind screalass of the Watching platforht picked out the undersides of the black storm clouds, which formed a continuous blanket so low that Miarr was sure the Ears of the lighthousepassed through the clouds, and the hairs on the back of Miarr&039;s neck crackled with electricity A burst of hail spattered against the glass, and he jumped in surprise It was the wildest storht

Miarr prowled lightly around the Watching platforht like this it would be all too easy for a ship to be swept too close to the lighthouse and the danger zone And if that happened he would have to get down to the rescue boat and try to guide the ship to safety - no easy task on a night like this Fro cabin far below, loud catarrhal snores frohthouse Miarr sighed heavily He knew he needed a helper, but why the Port Harbor Master had sent him the Croins he had no idea Ever since his fellow Watcher, his cousin, Mirano - the very last member of his faht of the first visit of the new supply boat, Marauder, Miarr had been forced to share his lighthouse hat he had at the time considered to be creatures little better than apes Since the Crowes&039; arrival Miarr had - out of respect to apes - revised that opinion He now thought of thes, to which both Fat and Thin Crowe bore a rehthouse in what had once been his and Mirano&039;s cozy little sleeping cabin, Miarr knew that Fat Croas occupying what had once been his cooose-down bunk Miarr, who had not slept properly since Mirano&039;s disappearance, growled unhappily Like all Watchers he and Mirano had taken turns to sleep in the saether when they sat on the Watching platfore of Watch Now Miarr slept - or tried to - on a pile of sacks in a chahthouse He always barred the door, but the knowledge that a Croas loose in his beautiful lighthouse meant he could never relax

Miarr shook hiood brooding about the good old days when CattRokk Light was one of four Living Lights and Miarr had ers and toes to count theone forever Miarr was not as stupid as the Crowes thought he was; he did not believe their story that Mirano had been sick of his cohts of the Port Miarr knew that his cousin was, as Watchers used to say, swi with the fishes Miarr crouched beside the thick, curved , staring into the dark Far below he saw the waves building, growing too high for their own strength and then breaking with a thunderous crash, sending great showers of spulass Miarr knew that the foot of the lighthouse was now under water - he could tell by the deep shudders and thuds that had begun reverberating up through the granite blocks below, thuds that traveled all the way up through the pads of his felt-booted feet to the tip of his sealskin-clad head But at least they drowned out the snores of Fat Crowe, and the shrieks of the wind carried away all Miarr&039;s thoughts of his lost cousin

Miarr reached into the waterproof sealskin pouch that he wore slung froht out his supper - three san to chew All the while, eyes wide, he Watched the sea, illuht that swept across the heavingto be an interesting night

Miarr had just sed the last of his fish - head, tail, bones and all - when he realized just how interesting the night was going to be Miarr usually Watched the water, for what could there possibly be of interest in the sky? But that night the mountainous waves blurred the boundary betater and sky, and Miarr&039;s wide eyes took in everything He was a little distracted by dislodging a fine bone wedged between his delicate, pointy teeth when one of the bealare Miarr gasped in disbelief He looked again but saw nothing Now Miarr orried It was a bad sign when Watchers began to i days were nuht? But in the next moment all Miarr&039;s fears disappeared As clear as day the dragon was back in the path of the bea toward a flaht Miarr let out a yowl of aon but its riders

A sudden crash of thunder directly overhead shook the lighthouse, a brilliant snake of lightning streaked down, and Miarr saw the lightning bolt hit the dragon&039;s tail with a blinding blue flash The dragon tuon and its riders, outlined in an iridescent ht for the Watching platforht briefly illuon&039;s riders, then instinct took over and Miarr threw hi for the inevitable crash as the dragon hit the glass

But none caot to his feet The two beawaves below The dragon and its riders were gone