Page 14 (2/2)
Brynn took great care over the next feeeks to avoid the Yatol, for she doubted that she could bring herself to do that, whatever the result
The young ranger also took great care to learn well the rituals of life in the settleh, since she would not go anywhere without her sword and the bracer, at least, she al-ways seeo and see Runtly The pony, who had run free all of his life, was not pleased to be indoors in a stall
"Not er," Brynn promised him every tiain"
The pony seemed to understand, and always calmed dohen Brynn cah, Runtly had continued his ribbing, biting the wood at the front of the stall and tugging it back, even &039;hen Brynn was there, a clear sign that he was not happy
Outwardly, Brynn re to distress the pony any ore Inside, though, the woe situation to the list of cri it to build her ha-tred even er to boil over She was learn-ing much there about the Behrenese and about the present state of the proud To-gai-ru Many were assi; to Brynn&039;s distress she heardthat the neay of life intro-duced by the Behrenese conquerors was preferable to the old ways
Not all of theh Certainly not old Barachuk and Tsolona, who peppered Brynn for tales of Kayleen Kek every night after they had retired to the old couple&039;s hoh she didn&039;t have -past time, Brynn always tried to accommodate - id she always tried to draw out recollections of the past from the old cou-ple And so it happened that these two, Barachuk and Tsolona, beca her in the way things had been, and in the way she intended for things to be again
All ree prepar-ing for the onslaught of winter Just north of the Belt-and-Buckle, winter did not hit hard, but the To-gai steppes were of high enough elevation for the winter wind to bite
One day, the clouds gathering overhead with a threat of the first snow of the season, Brynn was going about her regular duties, bringing water froe, over by the stables Sensing iht be involved, Brynn dropped her two buckets and sprinted over, to finda fair nu Yatol Daek and Chezhou-Lei Dee&039;dahk, bringing out several of the pinto ponies
Brynn winced when she saw Runtly come out of the barn at the end of a lead, handled by a cursed Behrenese
She pushed through the gathered folk, to the front of the To-gai-ru line &039;What are they doing?" she asjseti a young To-gai-ru wo beside hen "Yatol Daek thins the herd," the woman explained ?The chosen horses will be taken to Behren for sale"
Before Chiniruk had even finished, Brynn started across the short ex-panse of open ground, toward-��atol Daek, as directing the handling He saw her co his strea one to Chezhou-Lei Dee&039;dahk to return to his S1de - a clear sign to Brynn that he roup on the left," she said, not waiting for an introduction
"The group on the left is leaving for the ard her
"My horse is a - "
"You have no horse!" the Yatol snapped suddenly, the volu Dee&039;dahk&039;s hand to the hilt of her sheathed sword and bringing many of the nearby Behrenese soldiers to attention ?By the terms of surrender, all horses are the property of Chezru Chieftain Yaki Ru"
Brynn glanced over at Runtly, but only for a second, turning back on the Yatol, her rich brown eyes going narrow ?Runtly is lanced back at her, see rather amused by it all ?Truly?"
"Truly" Not a hint of submission sounded in Brynn&039;s cold tone
"Learn your place, wandering Ru"
"If this is not one froave a snort and a chuckle ?You have no horse"
"You are To-gai-ru," Brynn declared ?You understand theThere can be no mistake here!"
"Do not allow theany o back to the other peasants and be silent, before I lose patience with your ignorance"
Brynn turned to Runtly and gave a shrill whistle, and the horse reared and threw his head, tossing the Behrenese handler to the ground
"Desist, or I will have the horse killed!" Yatol Daek cried, and when he looked again at Brynn, he looked, too, at her unsheathed sword
"Release my horse, Yatol," Brynn replied, but Daek was in full retreat al-ready, issuing a shrill cry
"Kill the girl! Kill the horse!"
As she started to pursue, Brynn saw Dee&039;dahk co a vertical circle on her right, then working its way impressively over to the left, then behind her back and back out to the right again Her charge ca effortlessly, and Brynn knew that in a fair fight, this warrior would be a worthy oppo-nent indeed
But this was not a fair fight, Brynn knew, for Dee&039;dahk thought little of Brynn&039;s fighting prowess To the hty Chezhou-Lei, Brynn was just an-other Ru, and unmounted That did not amount to much in the Behrenese warrior&039;s esti to the right, sword spinning to the left, sword always out too wide to deflect
Brynn kept her apparent focus on Yatol Daek, pursuing the round
She waited until the last possible second, until Dee&039;- A hk was upon her Then, with muscles honed and balance perfected froer pivoted on her back and thrust out, one, two, three, herhard into Dee&039;dahk&039;s chest
The Chezhou-Lei stopped in her tracks All about gasped in astonish-ai had ever before wit-nessed the precision and straightforward attack that was bi&039;nelle dasada Dee&039;dahk&039;s wide-eyed look was as much in surprise as in pain, Brynn knew In truth, Brynn wasn&039;t sure that the warrior woistered the fact that she was already erous, Brynn realized
Brynn&039;s fourth strike was perfectly ai her in the heart
She stood there at the end of Brynn&039;s bloody blade for a long while, star-ing into the rich brown eyes of her killer
Then she slid back off the blade, falling to the ground
The reality of the moment, of the kill, hit Brynn hard indeed, but she pushed it away, having no tied hard at Yatol Daek
Theher for mercy ?Take your horse, wanderer!" he said, and he quickly called out to his soldiers trying to cor-ner Runtly, telling theone from here - I have no quarrel with you!"
Brynn stared at him curiously, contemptuously He was an appointed leader, but he was obviously a coward
So great a coward! Not lowering her sword, and not letting hilanced to the side and called to the pony, who ca over
"There, you see?" said Yatol Daek ?I aai-ru"
"No!" Brynn screamed at him before he had ever finished the clai hands before him ?You cannot kill et on your horse and be gone"
"No, fool," Brynn said, in more controlled tones, and she lowered her blade somewhat, and Yatol Daek&039;s hands siion of Yatol - "
"This is not about the robes you wear!" Brynn shouted ?No, this goes deeper" Runtly reached her then, and she pulled-the brown-and-white head in close and rubbed her cheek againstxthirsoft hair
No," she said to Daek ?No To-gai-ru would steal a horse" The horses are the property - " he started to protest, but Brynn wasn&039;t listening
No To-gai-ru would ever order a horse-slaughtered" When she fin-ished, she was still nuzzling Runtly, still see quite at ease
But then came that explosive thrust of bi&039;nelle dasada, so suddenly that Yatol Daek never registered the enuine astonishnificent sword buried deep in his belly
"Dahts went into the sword, then, calling forth the fire!
Yatol Daek screaain, the finehim
She tore it free then, and turned to see theat her with disbelief
It didn&039;t hold, and the Behrenese soldiers howled and started to charge
Brynn went up to Runtly&039;s back, guiding hi forth the pulsing white shield of her en-chanted powrie bracer
She didn&039;t run off, though, but turned and galloped into the heart of the charging Behrenese line Behrenese soldiers scattered before her; she ran one down, finishing hi chop, and let Runtly traed back the other way, toward the home of Barachuk and Tsolona To her relief, the couple aiting for her, throwing her the bow and quiver
The pursuit was halfhearted at that point, and Brynn could have taken Runtly out of the village easily enough
But the young ranger was far fro and took up her bow, charging back toward the Behrenese pursuit
A couple of enemy soldiers were up on horseback by then
Brynn se Lady Dasslerond had thrown at her She saw her eneht in Andur&039;Blough Inninness on the torchlit field, and her aim was no less true
By the tie, her quiver was e Yatol Daek and Chezhou-Lei Dee&039;dahk, lay mortally wounded
A few arrows arched out of the town in her general direction, none co theto