Warriors Of Latan

His hands closed on a stone of about the right size. It was heavier than he expected, but the Kaldakan plastic of his harness was strong enough to hurtle it. Blade started tugging one of the straps into shape. Between the heat of his body and the warmth of the morning it was almost too hard to shape. He was sweating by the time he had a useable sling.

Meanwhile the Great Hunter hadn't noticed Blade or attacked the Uchendi. It lurched toward the lizard-horses. When they caught its scent and heard its cry, they went mad. Rearing and hissing, they broke their tethers and headed for the trees at a gallop. The Great Hunter lumbered after them for a few yards until the beast's slow wits discovered that it could never catch such swift prey. It turned back toward the three Uchendi.

By then Blade was ready with his improvised sling and four stones for it. He dropped the first one into place, stepped from behind the tree, then whirled the sling until it was a blur and let fly.

The stone whistled straight into the Great Hunter's chest, hard enough to make it grunt and stagger. A second one made it stop and look wildly around, trying to find this mysterious enemy. Blade picked up the third stone and took a more careful sight on the Great Hunter. He could bounce stones this size off the beast all day without doing damage, unless he hit it in the head.

As Blade whirled the sling for the third time, the injured hunter staggered to his feet. He was using his spear as a sort of crutch, and in his free hand held a short spiked club.

«Run, Eye of Crystal!»

«I will not leave you, River Over Stones!»

«Do you wish my company in the Sky Hunt?»

«If that is our fate-«

They nearly met their fate in the next moment. The Great Hunter charged, and River Over Stones raised his club. The movement drew the Great Hunter's eye. It turned, giving Blade a perfect shot. He released the sling, the stone flew free, and suddenly the Great Hunter was clawing at its throat, gasping, and trying to scream.

Then it was trying to breathe. A moment later it was down on the ground, writhing and coughing blood as shattered bones pierced flesh. The girl snatched the club from her companion's hand, dashed up to the Great Hunter, and brought the club down with both hands on its head. Its body arched in one final convulsion, then slumped limp in death.

Blade quickly reshaped the sling into a harness, then held his hands palms up and away from his body and stepped out into clear sight of the three Uchendi. They shifted their wide-eyed gaze from him to the dead Great Hunter, then back to him. River Over Stones raised his free hand in a vague salute, as if he didn't quite know what Blade was or how to greet him but knew he had to be polite to anybody who'd just saved his life.

Blade gri

«Greetings. I am of the English. The name you may call me is Blade. Are you of the Uchendi?»

Eye of Crystal nodded. «You-the English? Where are they? Beyond the Rutari?» She sounded curious rather than suspicious.

«Yes,» said Blade. «I entered Latan through lands of the Rutari. They asked me to do things unlawful for a warrior of the English, so I did not stay with them.»

«The Rutari ask things unlawful for a mad dog!» snapped River.

That was a promising begi

Four men were coming out of the nearest stretch of forest. They were carrying something like a wild boar covered with green scales on a litter improvised from four lances and a leather cloak. When they saw Blade, they dropped their kill and ran toward the campfire, swinging their lances. Before Blade or the Uchendi could take a step or say a word, the four hunters were upon them. Suddenly Blade found four sharp bronze points aimed at his stomach.

Chapter 13

Blade got into karate stance as fast as he could without making any sudden moves. From their headbands Blade could see that the four newcomers were clearly the rest of the Uchendi hunting party returning with their kill; they should be friendly after they heard what Blade had done.

Crystal spoke sharply. «Put down your weapons. This is the warrior Blade of the English. He slew a shpuga with a magical English weapon and saved us.»

The lance points wavered, but the four men didn't move. Their eyes shifted to River Over Stones. «Is this true?» one said.

River looked from Blade to Crystal, then nodded slowly. «We might not be alive without the magic of the English.» Then his expression changed subtly, into something Blade didn't quite understand but knew he didn't like. The man no longer looked quite so friendly. «But I do not know if there is a price to be paid for being saved by English magic. Is your magic unclean, Blade?»

Blade knew he had to weigh his words as carefully as he'd done before the Wise One. This man might not be telepathic, but he was playing some game. «That is not a word used among the English, River Over Stones. So I can swear no oath about my magic that would mean anything. Not until I know more of the magic of the Uchendi.»

«The Rutari taught you nothing about it?» said Crystal.

Blade laughed harshly. «They told me much. They are also your mortal enemies, so why should I believe anything they told me?»

Everyone except River Over Stones laughed at this. The hunter frowned. «Then-we may have been saved by unclean magic. I would rather have died quickly, by the shpuga.»

«I would rather not have died at all,» said Crystal. «And we did not.»

«Spoken like a woman,» said River Over Stones. Crystal glared at him, and the lance points rose again. Blade knew that if River so much as blinked an eye, he was going to be the first one down. Blade didn't plan to kill anybody, but he had the feeling the conversation would go a lot better with fewer lances pointed at his stomach.

Before the tension could spark a fight, a fifth hunter came out of the trees, took one look at the camp, then broke into a run. As he reached them, the four hunters lowered their lance points. They looked relieved. River Over Stones looked sullenly at the ground.

«Wait until you are healed before you give orders, if you ca

«Only Crystal was here beside me,» said River. «Should I let a woman command, Father?»

«Yes, if she has more sense than you,» said the new hunter. Blade now saw deep lines in his face, gray in his hair, and a long scar down one arm. «Eye of Crystal, this man is angry, is he not?» he said, looking at Blade.

«Yes, and with good reason.» Crystal told the story of Blade's arrival and the battle against the Great Hunter-or shpuga. The other hunters told of what happened after they arrived. By the time everyone was finished, River Over Stones looked as if he would like to sink into the ground or strangle Blade, and didn't know which.

The older hunter, whose name was Winter Owl, listened in silence, then paced up and down for a moment before replying. «The Spirit Voice speaks to Eye of Crystal strongly, so that she knows this man is angry. It does not speak to her as strongly as it does to her father: He Who Guards the Voice. Only he can hear what lies within this warrior, Blade of the English, and know if his magic is clean. Shall we bring Blade before He Who Guards the Voice, or shall we slay him as River over Stones thinks best?»

Crystal closed her eyes suddenly. «Mother's brother Winter Owl, you have made Blade even more angry than he was.»

Blade looked sharply at the girl. Was she reading his mind without the aid of the kerush, or just bluffing to help him? Certainly she was telling the truth. He decided to use that fact.