Love And War (28 page)

“Out of the way?” she asked in a sharp voice, determined not to reveal the fear spreading
through her. “Yes. Gone. Dead!” He bit off the words as he drew a sharp dagger from his belt and grabbed her roughly around the waist. The knife's edge
glinted in the pale light as Hollow-sky held it menacingly near her throat.

“So why didn't you kill me in my sleep?” Goldmoon demanded, feeling the world reel about
her. Stubbornly she forced herself to concentrate.

“I told you, I have other plans. I want you for myself, though the gods know why. You
really are an arrogant witch sometimes. We'll marry, and then I'LL be chieftain. Loreman
wants the power for himself, but the knowledge that his son, and later his grandchildren,
will rule should satisfy him. In the meantime, he'll be content with your dowry.” He
smiled slightly, a smile that made Goldmoon shudder. “You should thank me for saving your
life.”

With his free hand, Hollow-sky clenched her hair close to the scalp, forcing her head to
tilt back. As tears came to her eyes, Loreman's son kissed her as no man had ever dared to
kiss her before. His passion was not an expression of affection, but an assault.

Struggling to wrench her face from him, Goldmoon gasped, “You're dreaming! I'll never
marry you.” Desperate, she threatened the first thing that came to her:

“I'll scream! I'll - ”

“There is no one to hear you,” he said, sneering.

His crushing grip bruised her shoulders through the silken cloth of her gown. She forced
her arms down on the hand holding the dagger and almost succeeded in thrusting him away.
He snatched at her and ripped the sleeve from her shoulder. Holding her more firmly than
before, his face just inches from hers, the dagger point resting gently against her chin,
he said, “Of course, you love the peasant!” He gave Riverwind's unconscious body a sharp
kick and smiled cruelly when Goldmoon flinched. “That's why we'll ride down to the
Que-kiri this morning. Any woman a man can drag to their priest, they'll declare married.
Then, if your father ever wants to see you again, he'll have to agree to my worthiness and
accept the vows of the Que-kiri as binding.”

HE IS INSANE! Goldmoon thought to herself. I will humor him, stall him, until the doors to
the hall open. Then surely the ancestors will aid me!

Goldmoon felt the weight of the forever charm against her breast. Her fingers closed
around it. “Please, if this charm truly has a god, then help me now!” she prayed silently.
A slow tingling sensation rose in the fingers that held the charm. It was so slight that
she wasn't certain she'd felt it. She waited expectantly. Nothing happened. She suddenly
felt foolish and angry with herself for even testing the charm.

Forcing herself to relax, she pressed against him, though his hot breath on her face
sickened her.

“That's better,” Hollow-sky whispered, squeezing her tighter. “Oh, Goldmoon, you'll get
used to the idea. You'll discover that I'm more of a man than . . . than that shepherd
there.” He motioned at the still figure behind his back and moved his face close to hers.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured, and then he kissed her again, even more intimately
than before.

As Hollow-sky kissed her, she was astonished to detect movement in Riverwind's
sleeping-bag. His head poked above the edge, two fingers pressed against his lips in a
gesture for silence.

She roughly pushed Hollow-sky back. He scowled and thrust the dagger toward her
threateningly, but it never reached the skin. The forever charm gleamed brilliantly, and a
single arc of lightning leaped from it and flashed down the dagger, causing Hollow-sky to
yelp in pain and drop the weapon. Goldmoon gasped in wonder.

As Hollow-sky stared disbelievingly at his burned hand, Riverwind threw back his
bedclothes and stood.

The man reputedly raised by leopards stalked his prey so silently that Hollow-sky was
totally unaware of him until Riverwind's two fists landed on his neck. Hollow-sky stumbled
forward, stunned, letting go his grip on Goldmoon, who fell back away from him.

The shepherd could have drawn his sword and finished Loreman's son before he ever knew
what hit him, but instead Riverwind slid his sparring pole off his back and waited for the
other man to recover.

Hollow-sky turned about, his eyes widening with astonishment. “How - ?” he started to gasp.

“Draw your pole, carrion crow,” Riverwind snarled. “I didn't eat your drug-tainted
porridge.”

Hollow-sky's hand went for his sword, but Riverwind's pole lashed out. Hollow-sky cradled
his injured hand in his other already stinging hand.

“I didn't hurt you badly. Draw your pole before I do,” Riverwind warned.

Hollow-sky drew out his sparring pole. The two warriors circled each other warily.
Goldmoon crouched on the grass in the pearl-gray of the predawn sky as the echoing crack
of wood shattered the silence.

The men thrust and blocked, using jabbing maneuvers that she hadn't seen at the games.
With a sharp intake of breath, she realized they weren't sparring but using moves meant
only for real combat. Riverwind took a fierce jab under the kneecap, and she heard his
gasp of pain. But pain seemed to spur the Plainsman on, for he suddenly whirled his pole
aggressively, trying to disarm his opponent. Hollow-sky twisted his pole vertically and
stopped the twirling of Riverwind's stick, nearly disarming the princess's champion.

The men were more evenly matched than Goldmoon had thought. Hollow-sky was good. Why he
had bothered to sabotage his opponent's poles for the contest, Goldmoon could not
understand. Is it possible he did not believe in his own skill, or is he simply so inured
to his father's treacheries that he just automatically cheated? she wondered.

Goldmoon bit her lip anxiously.

The sky had taken on a faint reddish light, indicating that the red moon, which would open
the doors to the hall, was about to rise. The dawn of the sun was brightening the sky all
about her. She could see the combatants' faces clearly now. Riverwind's features were grim
and determined. Hollow-sky's eyes were filled with bloodlust and hatred. Goldmoon shivered, but not with cold. Sweat trickled off the men's bodies
despite the cool mountain air. They circled each other again, waiting for an opening in the other's
defenses. Goldmoon's fingers dug into the flesh of her arms as the tension rose like the
mist in the meadow.

Suddenly, Riverwind snarled like a wild cat. The sound mocked a real wild cat's so
accurately that it flushed a small flock of birds from the trees. The noise of their wings
diverted Hollow-sky's attention for just an instant, but that was all it took. Riverwind
knocked his adversary down, and Hollow-sky lost his grip on his pole. Riverwind closed in
to deliver a blow that would knock the traitor senseless - or worse.

But Riverwind's injured knee slowed his attack, and Hollow-sky rolled away, scrambling to
his feet. He slipped beneath Riverwind's blocking swing and ran up the stairs that led to
the doors of the Hall of the Sleeping Spirits, dragging his pole behind him. Riverwind
pursued him, just two steps behind. Goldmoon sprang to her feet and ran across the grass,
following the warriors up the stairs.

As she reached the top step, Lunitari, the red moon, made its appearance above the
horizon, shedding its light directly across the great stone doors. Very slowly the massive
portals began to swing outward, showering gold sparks down on the two men locked in their
deadly struggle. The footing on the rock platform out side the doors was slippery with
sand, and the sides adjacent to the staircase edge and the door fell off sharply over
sheer cliffs.

Goldmoon forgot her desire to gain entrance to the hall as she watched Riverwind, by jabs
and blows, push Hollow- sky toward the cliff. Both men teetered dangerously near the edge.

The opening doors nudged Riverwind slightly, breaking his concentration and forcing him to
struggle to keep his balance. In that moment, Hollow-sky managed to land a blow across the
side of the shepherd's head and face. Dazed, Riverwind raised his staff to block the next
attack, but his reactions were slowed. Hollow-sky jabbed wickedly at the shepherd's
already injured knee, bringing him crashing down on both knees. Seeing Hollow-sky close in
on Riverwind, Goldmoon, consumed by fear for Riverwind's life, drew her crystal dagger.

She lunged forward, holding the dagger high over her head. Hollow-sky, intent on the kill,
failed to look up. Goldmoon slammed the dagger down hard, gashing his right arm deeply. Hollow-sky's blood splashed over her dagger and wrist and onto the rock
platform.

Startled, Hollow-sky staggered backward - and lost his footing on the sandy precipice. He
tumbled over the edge, and his scream echoed up the cliff face, seemingly forever . . .
until his body hit the ground below. Bathed in red moonlight, Goldmoon stood staring over
the rock's edge, her hair stirred by a gentle thermal rising from below.

“Goldmoon! Come away from there,” Riverwind cried, shaken.

As if in a dream, the priestess of the Que-shu turned from the cliff face and moved to the
shepherd's side, helping him to his feet. Hollow-sky's scream echoing through her head,
she sheathed her dagger without cleaning it.

“I had no choice. He was going to kill you!” she said and suddenly burst into shuddering
sobs.

“I know,” he answered. “I wanted to protect you this morning, but felt helpless while he
held the dagger to your throat. Then the charm . . .” His voice trailed off as Goldmoon
softly answered, “Yes, it protected me.” Pulling her close to his chest, he stroked her
hair in a gentle, calming motion.

Suddenly Goldmoon was very much aware of the man's arms around her. Then, remembering why
she was here and how urgent it was that she convince Riverwind of the reality of her gods,
she sprang away from him.

“The hall!” she cried. “We must get inside and hold the ceremony quickly before the doors
close!”

As though mocking her attempts, the first ray of sunlight shot over the horizon, striking
the doorway. The huge stone doors began closing on their own, scraping and rumbling
against the stone platform beneath them.

“Hurry!” Goldmoon insisted, tugging Riverwind. With his injured knee, Riverwind had to
lean on her to make it through the rapidly narrowing portal.

As they slipped through the opening, it closed with a thunderclap. Beneath the deafening
echo, Goldmoon heard Riverwind gasp in pain. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“My injuries are minor,” he answered curtly. “How do we open the doors again?”

Goldmoon hesitated. “I'm not sure we can. The ceremony is supposed to be held quickly
between the red moon rising and the sunrise, while the doors stand open.”

“You mean you risked being trapped in here?” Riverwind hissed angrily. “It's not enough
you almost get yourself killed attacking Hollow-sky, you have to also bury yourself alive!“ ”I stabbed him to save your life,” Goldmoon reminded him with equal curtness. Riverwind drew away from her. “You should have run,”

he said coldly, “not tried to save me. After all, I'm supposed to protect you, not the
other way around.”

“You are no use as a bodyguard if you are dead!” Goldmoon retorted, not understanding her
own anger. Remembering those terrible moments when she thought Riverwind was going to die,
she began to tremble.

“I suppose not,” Riverwind said, chagrined. She could hear him withdraw even further.

Reaching out, Goldmoon found his hands in the darkness and took them in her own. “And, if
you had died, I would have died out there, too,” she whispered.

Riverwind drew several deep breaths without speaking. Goldmoon could feel his hands
quivering in her own. Releasing his hands and moving forward, she wrapped her arms about
him and rested her head against his chest. This time she noticed that his leather armor
smelled of the spiced oil used to clean it. Riverwind pressed her near, holding her
gently. In the cold, damp cavern, he radiated heat like a fire.

“When you first approached womanhood,” he whispered, “and I saw then your beauty, I asked
my family what age you would have to be before Arrowthorn would allow men to court you.”
He stroked her hair as he spoke.

Not interrupting him, Goldmoon luxuriated in the feel of his broad back beneath her hands,
of his arm about her shoulders.

“My adopted parents tried to make me see that my poverty and faith would always keep us
apart,” Riverwind continued, “but I would not believe them. You never noticed me when I
watched you, but others did, and Loreman himself came to our hut to warn my parents to
keep me away from you.”

Goldmoon guessed that that must have been the time she'd first heard her father discussing
Riverwind with Loreman in hushed tones.

Riverwind continued his story. “My father sent me out to watch sheep in the fields
farthest from the village. My mother's skill at weaving is great, so many send their
daughters to apprentice under her, even though Loreman has forbidden it. My mother would
invite the loveliest of these girls to eat with our family, but the memory of your face
stayed with me. Then one night, Wanderer's spirit came to me and told me of the games held
to choose escorts for the priestess's pilgrimage to this place. He said that some day you would give your heart
to one of those escorts.”

“And so I have,” Goldmoon whispered. She raised her lips, so that she could kiss him, but
Riverwind pulled away from her and held her at arms length.

“I must admit,” the warrior said, “I felt certain of myself, seated next to you at the
banquet. I could not imagine you with Hollow-sky, though my mother often warned me that
the two of you were a likely match. When I saw you watching the dancers and realized you
wanted to dance, I thought, 'She is just a woman, like other women.' But I was wrong. You
will never be just a woman. You are and always will be Chieftain's Daughter. Now I doubt
my worthiness. I am still poor, and our gods remain different.”