Rafe held his gaze for a moment, then untied the rein from his saddle and tossed it to Leo. I thought he might remind Leo not to run off, but he didn't, obviously having taken Leo at his word. How Rafe could continue to regard him as property after that, I couldn't begin to guess. Perhaps he didn't. Calla heaved a sigh of relief, for being tied like an untrustworthy colt had irked him considerably.

"So, forward into the fray, then?" Rafe said amiably.

"Forward into the fray," I agreed.

Leo nodded. "They are not far and cannot know that we are coming this way. If we wait for them, they may ride right to us."

"So, you think we should plan an ambush ourselves?"

I asked. "That sounds good, but I wouldn't like the idea of doing such a thing, only to discover that we had ambushed some innocent people."

"True," Rafe agreed. "We must be certain."

"But how can we be?" I asked.

Rafe rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Too bad we haven't got a scout of some kind," he mused. "It would be very useful to have one who could identify the men."

It occurred to me then that we did have someone who could spy for us; it just so happened that he was a dog.

"What do you think, Max?" I asked . "Could you go on ahead and get a look at them?"

"Oh, you bet I could!" Max replied, dancing with excitement.

"Well, be careful, and try not to let them see you,"

I advised.

"I will!" he said firmly and shot off into the woods, kicking up a spray of snow behind him as he went.

*135 *28*.

136.

Cheryl Brooks Rafe's head swung around suddenly as he watched him go. "What's gotten into him, I wonder?"

"Probably saw a dmisk," I said casually. "You know how dogs are."

"He might give us away," Rafe said ruefully. "We shouldn't have brought him with us."

"Oh, I think he'll be fine," I said.

"Saw that in the fire, did you?" Rafe suggested.

"Really, Rafe!" I said disgustedly. "I've never seen things in the fire! Will you please forget it?"

Rafe looked at me pointedly. "I know full well you have powers which you don't advertise, Tisana, which is one thing that has always irritated me about you. You never trusted me enough to tell me."

I couldn't argue with that, because it happened to be true. I'd told Leo some things, of course, but even he didn't know everything. The truth was, I didn't trust much of anyone, which may have been the result of the tenuous acceptance accorded to witches-as though we were nothing more than a necessary evil. And we weren't evil at all; it's just that we might be perceived that way. After all, my mother and grandmother could read people's minds. How might that talent be subverted and used for evil purposes? No, it was best to keep quiet.

Animals knew too many things that humans would prefer no one else knew-and their loyalty to their owners might not be enough to prevent them from telling tales.

They seldom lied, but still...

"No, Rafe," I said evenly. "I didn't tell you everything. Had you been the one, I might have."

"Touche," he said, acknowledging my hit. "Perhaps neither of us has much cause to trust the other."

*136 *28*.

warrior 137.

"Perhaps not."

No one said anything for a moment or two; we merely sat there on our horses, as though waiting for Max to return with a report. Of course, I knew that was what I was doing and was why I wasn't making any moves, but it did make me wonder about Rafe and Leo.

On the other hand, given Rafe's position of authority, I suppose we might have been waiting for his orders.

Or Rafe might have come to the conclusion that Leo should have been leading us and was waiting for him to say something. Either way, it seemed odd. Then I realized that they were both staring at me as though I'd suddenly grown horns.

A soft peck on my shoulder made me turn around, and I found myself looking right into the dark, round eyes of the purple vulture, who was now perched on the back of my saddle. How he had managed to land there without spooking Morgana, I have no idea, but there he was. Poor Gerald had seen him, however, and after a frozen moment of terror, with a loud squeak, took a dive into my cloak.

"I thank you for the warning," the bird said. "I am called Royillis. I am now in your debt and will help you as well as I am able."

"Don't shoot at it, Rafe," I cautioned him immediately.

"I wasn't planning to," he assured me. "You've bewitched that bird, haven't you?"

I began to protest that I could do no such thing when it occurred to me that it was easier than admitting that I'd talked with him. "I-yes," I said suddenly. "Sure, I bewitched him. I do it all the time. Maybe I can talk him out of a feather or two for Carnita. Just don't kill him."

*137 *28*.

138.

Cheryl Brooks Then another thought occurred to me. "Think Carnita would trade some of those purple feathers for Leo?"

"Why do you want my slave?" Rafe asked pointedly.

"Oh, I don't want him," I lied. "I just want him to have his freedom."

"Planning to free all the slaves one at a time, then, are you?" he said dryly.

"Maybe."

"I'll ask Carnita," he said. "In the meantime, what are you planning to do with that bird?"

"Nothing in particular," I said. "Animals just take to me, that's all. Hadn't you ever noticed it before?"

"I suppose so," he said, glancing about me. "You do seem to have accumulated quite a following."

"It is because she is kind to them," Leo said quietly.

"I have seen it."

Rafe shot a surprised and surly look at Leo, the way any slave owner would who did not expect that his slave would speak unless spoken to. But Leo had done just that.

"She is kind to all living things," he went on, "and she does not treat them the way that most humans do.

She treats them as equals."

Leo was looking right at Rafe when he said that, meeting his eye with a steadfast gaze. The "not as slaves," was left unsaid, but was easily understood- even by someone as bullheaded as Rafe.

I waited breathlessly for Rafe's explosion of anger at Leo for forgetting his own, lowly status. But this time, Rafe surprised me.

"She does at that," he said equably. "Now if we could only teach her to treat humans that way."

*138 *28*.

warrior 139.

Of course, I knew which human he was referring to.

"Meaning yourself, I suppose?"

"Myself and others," Rafe replied. "You tend to act as though you were above us, Tisana. All witches do, or so I'm told, which is why we sometimes resent you."

"I don't know that I feel that way precisely," I said, choosing my words with care. "I simply see things differently, is all."

"More enlightened, perhaps?" he ventured, though the slight sneer on his lips made it seem less of a compliment and more of a slur.

"Perhaps," I conceded. "But you're the one who said that, I didn't."

"Still, that may be why you are better able to get along with slaves and animals," he suggested. "We mere humans don't warrant such treatment."

Royillis interrupted our argument by nudging me with his beak. "They are coming."

"Rafe," I said trying to keep my voice steady. "We can argue later, but right now, we're about to be ambushed.

Don't you think we should, you know, hide?"

"And how would you know that?" he scoffed.

"A big purple bird told me!" I shouted in reply, wheeling Morgana around to head for cover. "And if you don't believe that, ask Max!" Max was on his way back, leaping through the snow into the clearing in which we stood.

"There are three of them!" he reported. "And all of them big and mean!"

"Swords or bows?"

"Both," he replied. "And shields, too! We're in big trouble, aren't we?"

*139 *29*.

140.

Cheryl Brooks "Maybe so," I replied. "Keep yourself safe!"

I'd never fought in a skirmish of any kind, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Leo, however, appeared to be delighted at the prospect. Drawing his sword with a flourish, he put a surprised Calla into a spin just as the three horsemen burst through the pines at the edge of the clearing. Calla leaped forward under Leo's spur, surging through the snow to meet our attackers with a clash of steel that sent sparks flying from their blades.

Only one of the men stayed behind to engage Leo, while the other two rode hard for Rafe. Apparently they knew exactly who they were up against, and also which one of us was Rafe. Of course that wouldn't have taken much brainpower to figure out, since Leo was obviously not human and I was just as obviously not male. Royillis launched himself from his perch on my saddle and soared after them, driving his sharp beak into the sword arm of the nearest rider, a big, burly, dark-bearded man on a huge bay, momentarily distracting him from his murderous charge, but, unfortunately, not causing him to drop his weapon.

Sinjar turned and planted his hooves firmly in the snow, awaiting the impact of sword on sword-except Rafe didn't have a sword, since he'd given it to Leo.

He'd drawn his bow, however, and though the first and only arrow he managed to get off was a good shot, his opponent was able to deflect it with his shield. Not having time to draw his bow again, Rafe was now left to challenge two swordsmen with only his knife. Rafe was a good fighter, and he might have done well against them anyway, but I decided to even the odds, staring at the bearded man's blade until it turned red-hot. With a *140 *29*.

warrior 141.

loud oath, he flung it from his hand. It sizzled when it hit the snow, sending up a cloud of steam where it fell.

Meanwhile, Leo was engaged in battle with his own opponent, and I'll admit that the temptation to simply sit back and watch him was strong, for in battle he was breathtaking. He had no shield but didn't seem to need one; his sword was a flashing blur as it moved with a speed that I wouldn't have believed possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I'd never seen a more skillfully wielded blade, and Calla was in his element, leaning into the other horse and pushing him back toward the trees.

Unfortunately, our opponents must have been wearing some sort of armor under their tunics, for I noted that several of Leo's thrusts were being deflected. Royillis followed up his attack on the dark-haired man, but the other rider, a longhaired blond on a rangy chestnut, drove in on Rafe with a killing thrust.

I thought Rafe was done for, but I had reckoned without Sinjar-who was proving once again that he was so much more than an amusing companion. Rearing up to his full height, he struck at the chestnut horse, driving him back, cancelling the blond's advantage. When Sinjar landed, however, the blond's sword engaged Rafe's knife hand once more, leaving it red with blood, and, again, the situation appeared to be pretty grim. In desperation, Rafe began fighting more with his shield than the knife, though he couldn't possibly hope to defeat his opponent in that manner. I tried to heat up the sword, but it was moving so fast, I couldn't seem to focus on it well enough to do it. Rafe needed a sword, and badly.

Royillis was keeping the other rider well occupied for the moment, so I decided it was safe to make a run for *141 *29*.

142.

Cheryl Brooks the fallen sword. Remembering where it had landed, and knowing that the snow would have cooled it enough to handle by then, I urged Morgana in that direction. She was reluctant at first, but went on anyway, kicking up clouds of snow as she ran. Gerald took one look out of the front of my cloak and bailed out with another loud squeak, scampering off through the snow to the relative safety of the trees.

Pulling Morgana to a sliding stop as we reached the place where the sword lay, I leaped from her back and began frantically digging through the snow to find it.

Rafe and Leo were both pretty busy at the time and probably didn't see what I was doing, but Sinjar did.

"No!" Sinjar screamed at me. "We can do this, Tisana! Stay back!"

Ignoring his warning, I kept on digging and, suddenly, the blade was in my hand. It felt warm through my gloves, but I knew I could handle it without any danger-at least not from the heat. Unfortunately, despite Royillis's best efforts at distraction, the blade's rightful owner saw me with his sword and spurred his horse in my direction, obviously intending to ride me down to retrieve it. Max was between the oncoming foe and me, and I screamed at him to move out of the way.

But Max was a tough, courageous little hound and, standing his ground, he made a leap for the big bay's throat at the last second. It might not have been enough to cause any damage, but it was enough to turn the horse and rider away from me slightly, and when they passed by, Morgana went after them with teeth bared. She caught them, too, biting the bay horse hard by the tail as *142 *29*.

warrior 143.

I made a run for it, my legs churning through the snow as I headed for Rafe.

Sinjar apparently saw me coming, for he backed away from the other horse and rider so quickly that Rafe was nearly unseated. Rafe's opponent lost his balance and nearly fell as well, having been carried along by the momentum of a violent swing at a target that was no longer within his reach. Leaping through the snow, Sinjar ran to me, and I held up the sword by the blade without fear, knowing that he would not miss. Rafe reached out to grasp the hilt as they swept past me and then rounded on the two riders. Sinjar's blow hadn't done much more than make the chestnut angry, and I could hear him cursing as he ran, threatening Sinjar with every dire fate known to horsedom-not the least of which was having his balls ripped off. The big bay had shaken off Max, who had kept the horse occupied, but had by no means incapacitated him. Royillis was still harassing the rider, and Morgana was snapping at the bay's hindquarters, but then, suddenly, with a fist clenched tightly around the hilt of his knife, the man struck the bird with a stunning blow, sending purple feathers flying through the air to land scattered about on the snow. That done, he came after me.

Standing there as he rode down on me again, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Morgana was behind them with no hope of catching up before they reached me. I was no longer in possession of a conventional weapon of any kind and couldn't even seem to remember how to shoot fire from my eyes. Instead, I merely gazed past them and watched as Leo's sword at last found the *143 *29*.

144.