The Gauntlet Thrown

by Cheryl Dyson

  ******

  Toryn reflected that at least the journey so far had not been boring. There had been slavers, dungeons, men with strange powers, venomous Akarskans—he glanced at Alyn—well, it was better than herding cattle in Redol, at any rate. They had been riding for three days, trying to figure out which way the caravan headed. There was no way to trail it. To the local peasants, all caravans looked the same. Finally, they reached the place where the road forked. Redwing pulled out the map Shevyn had drawn, studied it, and looked at her.

  "The Black City is closer than Teel, right?"

  She nodded.

  "We will go to the Black City in Darkynhold, then. We are supposed to meet Jace there, anyway. Maybe we will get lucky."

  Two days later they crossed the border into Darkynhold. They camped that night in a tree-filled valley. The weather was warm with an occasional cool breeze. They had run across a nesting flock of geese that afternoon and it had only taken a few of Redwing’s arrows to provide them with dinner. Toryn had flaunted his skill and roasted them to perfection; there were no leftovers.

  The girls fell asleep quickly and Toryn clung to wakefulness by the thin thread of mischievousness. Redwing was too preoccupied to notice and Toryn decided that he had been far too nice to the Falaran of late.

  "Brydon?" he asked.

  "Hmmm?" Redwing looked at the stars, his mind obviously far away. He was probably dreaming about that annoying witch, Sellaris. Or Shevyn, who constantly made doe eyes at him. It had to be the aura of untouchable goodness about Redwing that drew women to him like bees to honey.

  "Have you ever seen a green insect about the size of a gold coin, with hairy white legs and antennae?"

  Redwing’s brow creased absently. "Mmmm. Sounds like a Voran leaf bug."

  "Are they poisonous?" Toryn asked casually, as if half-asleep.

  "Very. They are deadly. Why?" Redwing’s eyes closed.

  "No reason, except you have one on your shoulder. It’s eyeing your neck quite hungrily."

  "Oh." Redwing’s tone was noncommittal and then his eyes snapped open. He flew into motion, swatting his shoulder with his left hand and leaping into the air while pulling out his dagger. He stood like cornered prey for a moment, eyes wild and searching for the poisonous creature before Toryn’s guffaws caused him to swing around with an icy glare.

  "There was no Voran leaf bug, was there, Toryn?"

  Toryn shook his head. His chuckles were nearly silent, but threatened to explode his lungs.

  "There was nothing at all, was there?" Redwing’s voice was soft, but Toryn was not deceived. He climbed to his feet with a laugh.

  "I suppose not!" He ran. Redwing raced after him with a growl. Toryn kept laughing as he raced through the tall deciduous trees. Dead leaves from the previous fall crunched under his feet. Just as Redwing was about to seize him, Toryn spun around, catching him by surprise. Toryn tugged out his jade-hilted sword and Redwing dove aside, barely avoiding the blade as it flashed in the darkness. Toryn laughed again.

  Redwing turned and parried quickly, then attacked. Toryn beat the blows back easily and carried out a lightning swift attack that ended with Redwing whacked on the behind by the flat of Toryn’s blade. Redwing roared and countered with a maneuver that surprised Toryn for a moment, but not long enough for Redwing to slip past his guard. Toryn backed up slowly, keeping Redwing’s sword away with skillful parries. Their blades clashed noisily in the air.

  "I hope you’re ready for the real attack," Redwing said, although he panted through his smile.

  "Bring it on!" Toryn crowed. The steel turned into two silver blurs, ringing together so quickly that the sound nearly melted into one tune. It continued until both combatants were drenched with sweat. Toryn’s arms ached, but he was not quite sure how to stop. Toryn was still debating when Redwing suddenly leaped backward; his sword flew from his grip with the force of Toryn’s final strike. The blade careened off a tree with a metallic ring and Toryn lowered his sword, looking at Redwing in surprise.

  "Did you plan that?" he asked, breathing hard.

  Redwing shook his head, panting. "No, but we had to stop somehow. Someone is coming."

  "How do you know?" Toryn asked. "I thought you had to be concentrating."

  "I was, partly," Redwing said.

  "You can fight like that when you’re only partly concentrating?" Toryn asked in amazement. If so, Redwing was far better with a blade than Toryn had thought.

  "No, you could easily have had me. I’ve never seen anyone with your skill."

  Toryn looked at him suspiciously. "You’re joking, right? I’ve always assumed you to be as good with a sword as you are with a bow. All that knight-priest training and everything."

  "Not even close. I might be good with a bow, but with a sword you’re the best I’ve ever seen. Not that your ego needs any fodder, but Reed nearly bested me and you drove him away without half trying." He paused. "They are nearly here. We should get back to camp."

  Toryn nodded and they trotted back to the sleeping women.