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claim her."
The Elder Brother threw back his head and laughed. It was an unpleasant laugh,
and his stinking breath made it even more unpleasant. "I am Stul, who has
captured this woman. I "
"Have you claimed her?"
"No, but "
"Then it is my right to claim her." Blade stepped forward, one arm reaching
out to the woman. He realized that he was being tactless and abrupt, perhaps
too much so. But Elder Brother Stul seemed to be a man on whom tact would be
wasted. He also seemed to be a man from whom the woman ought to be rescued as
soon as possible.
Stul reacted faster than Blade had expected. As Blade put a hand on the
woman's bare shoulder, Stul lunged forward. As he lunged he snatched his club
from his belt and swung. Blade jerked his arm back just in time. The
descending club grazed his knuckles. Then he pivoted, clenching both hands
into fists as he did. One fist crashed into Stul's jaw. The other plunged into
the man's stomach. Stul sat down in mid-air, then collapsed on the ground,
spitting out blood and loose teeth and holding his stomach. For
the first time since they'd met the woman took her eyes off Blade, and stared
down at Stul. Blade thought he saw her smile faintly. He reached to take her
by the hand.
"Behind you, Blade!" screamed Kordu. Blade whirled, ducking as he turned. A
spear cut through the air where he had been and skittered along the hard
ground. The Hunter who'd thrown it backed away at the expression on Blade's
face.
A second Hunter was either braver or less intelligent. He stood his ground and
raised both spears, one held ready to throw, the other to thrust. It was
Blade's turn to back away, until he could reach out to
Kordu.
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"Your tool, my friend."
Kordu looked bewildered, but handed Blade the long, stone-edged wooden tool.
Blade gripped it in his right hand, raised it, and charged at the other
Hunter.
Blade was on the man in the time between one blink of an eye and the next. The
tool whistled down.
The Hunter's thrusting spear rose to block it. Iron point and iron-hard wood
met with a clanging crash.
Blade let the impact jar the tool out of his hand. He had never needed it for
more than the feint.
The tool was still in the air when Blade shifted to his real attack. He swung
to the left, clamping both hands on the shaft of the Hunter's other spear. He
jerked hard on the spear, dropped into a crouch, and kicked hard upward with
his right foot. The Hunter was pulled forward at precisely the right moment.
Blade's heel smashed up into his jaw. Blade picked up the spear as the man's
hands relaxed their grip, and he rose to his feet as the man sprawled facedown
on the ground. The other Hunters of Stul's party took one good look at Blade,
then dashed away toward the gate of the town.
Blade looked around. Apparently he'd made the right impression. Few of the
onlookers seemed sullen or dubious. A good many warriors and most of the free
workers and women were beating their hands on their thighs and stamping their
feet. Among the Ganthi that was the equivalent of enthusiastic applause.
Blade now stepped up to the woman, took her by one hand, and put his other arm
around her shoulders. Quietly, so that no one else could hear him clearly, he
shifted into English.
"What is your name?"
The woman's lips quivered for a moment. "Ka Catherine."
"How did you come here? Tell me quickly."
"I they " Relief at her rescue seemed to be making it impossible for her to
speak clearly.
"All right, then. You can tell me later. But I must know. I am sure you can
see "
Someone coughed politely behind Blade. He turned to see Kordu standing there.
The man looked as nervous as a fighting man of the Ganthi could let himself do
in public.
"Blade, you must know that you have made trouble for yourself."
Blade grinned. "With Stul? No doubt. But I doubt if that man could ever be my
friend. I have met many like him. I do not think he will be a very dangerous
enemy, though. Nor do I think many will take his side, among the Ganthi."
Kordu laughed. "You see clearly, Blade. No, Stul is not a friend to many. He
is a strong warrior, but he thinks he is three times stronger yet. Stul is not
your problem, though. Your problem will be Geddo,
the High Chief."
"How will that be?"
"Stul was going to present the woman you have claimed to Geddo. He hoped to
gain much favor by this. He was right. Geddo likes strange, strong woman. He
likes even more teaching them how to be weak. He liked teaching them so much
that not all of them survive his lessons."
"I see that Geddo would hardly be a better friend than Stul. What will he do
to me if he thinks I am an enemy?"
"He will fight you, Blade. To the death."
"Whose death?"
"Blade, I ask you be wise. Geddo is a giant, larger even than you. No man no
two men have ever defeated him in a fight. You have shamed him, for you have
tried to take from him the great pleasure of teaching this woman."
"Kordu, do not arrange for my burial rites until I am actually dead.
Otherwise is there anything I
must do or say before the fight with Geddo?"
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Kordu looked toward the gate of Thessu. "No. I think he will be coming out
here to kill you as soon as he hears of what you have done."
"Good." Blade picked up a second spear and drove both spears point-down in the
ground. "I shall wait here for him. If he is a giant, he will be easy to see
coming a long way off. Nor would I insult the
High Chief of all the Ganthi by making him run after me."
He gently pushed Catherine forward, toward Kordu. "I ask that you protect my
woman until the fight it over. If Geddo wins, obey the laws of the Ganthi. If
I win, I shall claim her again, and there will be no more talk."
"It shall be as you wish," said Kordu. He put a surprisingly gentle arm around
Catherine and led her aside. Blade squatted down between his two spears, eyes
on the gate, and waited.
He had told Kordu one small lie. If by some chance he wound up losing to
Geddo, he would not let the laws of the Ganthi take their course with
Catherine. He would use the last of his strength to give her a quick, merciful
death.
Blade waited quietly. As the minutes passed, the crowd around him grew
thicker, as word spread of what was about to happen. His duel with
Geddo might not be formal, but it would certainly be well-attended.
A few minutes more, and Stul groaned, spat out a few more loose teeth, and sat
up. His face was a mask of blazing rage as he stared at Blade.
"Geddo will be coming soon, Blade. Then I shall have the pleasure of watching
him kill you the way he kills those who are his mortal enemies. They die very
slowly, Blade."
"You are more likely to see Geddo die, Stul. I do not promise that will be a
pleasure, though."
Stul managed to sneer. "You talk, and that is all. Geddo may be angry enough
to cut off your manhood and let you live to watch him teach your woman."
"Stul, you also talk. You talk too much and too loudly. Must I knock the rest
of your teeth out of your mouth before you shut it?" He reached for one of his
spears. Stul had a sudden attack of common
sense and fell silent.
Time dragged. The air became thick with heat, dust, insects, and the smells of
the growing crowd.
Someone got a bucket of water and poured it over Stul. Someone else got two
buckets for Blade. He poured one over himself, drank part of the other, and
gave the rest to Catherine.
Catherine was just starting to drink when a bellow like an angry bull's
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