The stranger turned to me and Fairbird. “Down, Bear,” he said, and his dog immediately dropped to the ground, its eyes alert, watching its master. The young man, however, stepped over to me, and much to my astonishment, offered me a hand.
“This seems a fine beginning to my duty in Redclay,” he said. “A good brawl, a good service. A lucky omen, I wonder?”
I stared at his hand. The men of the village never put themselves out to help a woman unless their own woman is threatened in some way. Yet this stranger offered me aid! Embarrassed, I didn’t know which way to look.
Fairbird, however, felt no reserve. With a brilliant smile, she pushed away from me and took the stranger’s hand. He, with a shrug, helped her to her feet instead. Fairbird clung to him, swinging his arm back and forth, and beamed up at him, her brown, tear-stained face transformed from its terror. He grinned back at her, then turned and watched me as I picked myself up, brushed off my skirts, and quickly untied my sister’s lead.
The stranger looked me up and down. “Of course,” he said, his grin widening a little, “I should not be surprised. Boys that age are louts. They think tormenting a beautiful girl is the easiest way to catch her eye.”
I stared at him. For one thing, it was odd for him to refer to my attackers as “that age” when he could scarcely be much older. That superior tone did not suit my liking, or so I told myself. But his other words touched something inside me I had not known existed.
Beautiful?
I realized I was blushing and quickly looked away. I saw Killdeer’s lurcher lying on its side.
With a gasp, I hastened to the dog, my fluster forgotten for the moment. The poor thing was panting, its eyes rolling and its tongue lolling. I realized then that Frostbite was female. And she had flung herself at the great male in defense of a master she hated. My heart surged, and I put my hands on her with as much tenderness as I could, checking her hurts. A wound in her shoulder gaped and would need stitches, and one ear was almost completely torn off. I found myself angry that such harm had been done to this brave animal. As my anger had no other focus, I cast a dark glare up at the stranger.
But he, gently setting Fairbird aside, knelt down beside me. “Poor thing. She should have stayed away from Bear. He wouldn’t have hurt her owner, merely scared him as he deserved. Maybe a little more than he deserved. Bear is not one to turn from a fight.”
So it was her fault? I wanted to ask, my eyes flashing. It was just as well that I had no voice.
“Can you help her?” the stranger asked me next. “I am trained for battle and have no knowledge of healing. But if you know what to do, I’ll carry her to your home and assist you.”
The notion of walking back to the village with this stranger following me was somehow frightening. But I knew I would never get Frostbite home by myself. Biting my lip, I nodded. Then I got to my feet and swung Fairbird up onto my hip, keeping her well back while the stranger knelt and gathered the poor dog into his arms. Frostbite snarled and snapped, but he was no more afraid of her than I had been. She must have sensed something in him to trust. . . . That, or her wounds were too great. Either way, she relaxed in his arms. He spoke a sharp word to his dog, which rose to follow but remained a good many paces behind.
Then the stranger turned to me. “Lead on.”
Leaving the waterskins behind, I did as I was told. We were an odd procession, I with Fairbird in my arms, he bearing Frostbite, and the huge red dog pacing just behind. I was thankful that the Eldest’s House stood on the near side of the village and I would not have to lead the stranger through the center of town. As it was, I could not meet the eyes of those we passed, and they, rather than ducking away to be certain their shadows did not cross mine, stood and stared.
The stranger took no notice of this. His face was fixed, and he looked neither to the left nor the right. He spoke not a word until we began the climb to the Eldest’s House.
“Stop a moment,” he said then.
I obeyed and turned to look at him. His face had an amused expression, one eyebrow raised curiously. “This place cannot belong to any but the Eldest Panther Master,” he said, looking up at the house on the hill. There was no mistaking it. It was bigger by far than any other to be seen, set up high to oversee Redclay. Wherever the stranger came from, I was certain, no elders from his tribe lived in a house so grand . . . though this one housed only me, my sister, and the Eldest.
I nodded, though there was no need. He already knew he was right. “Are you a slave of the Panther Master?” he asked.
My father kept many slaves taken from the wars to work his fields. But they lived in small huts on the fringes of the village. None of them ever came near the Eldest’s House. I shook my head, raising my chin. Though a woman and a cursed woman at that, I was no slave.
“Are you then . . .” And here the stranger laughed shortly and shook his head. “You aren’t the Eldest’s daughter Starflower.”