Lucy laughed and Challie rolled her eyes.
Ulin felt his annoyance toward the man fade a little. It was difficult to dislike someone who saw such humor in his situation-as long as the man kept his distance from Lucy. He moved beside her and took her hand, making it clear where his loyalties lay. Lucy cast a twinkling glance at him.
“Please excuse my manners,” Ulin said. “It has been a busy afternoon.”
“I noticed. And who are you?” asked the Silver Fox, his eyes on Lucy.
“I am Lucy, late of Solace. This is Challie of Flotsam, and my betrothed, Ulin, also of Solace. It is a pleasure to meet you, the, uh … sir … Silver Fox.”
Her emphasis on “betrothed” did not escape the man’s notice. The half-elf dipped his head once in acknowledgment and winked at her. “Call me Lysandros. That’s my own name.” He turned to the dwarf and gave her a brief nod. “Chalcedony, it’s good to see you back.”
Akkar-bin chose that moment to approach. He looked grimmer than ever. “Get back to the cook wagon, you three. We will pull out as soon as the wagons can be readied.”
The resistance leader turned slowly on the caravan master. All affability vanished behind a cold, angry mask. “You were a fool to take your caravan on this short-cut. You know this is a favorite ambush site.”
In unison Lucy, Challie, and Ulin turned accusing eyes on Akkar-bin.
The Khur drew himself up. “We hadn’t seen sign of the draconians since yesterday,” he said defensively. “I was trying to save time.”
“Lucky for you, we’ve been watching for your caravan,” Lysandros said, his pale eyes unblinking. “Lucky for you, you had this sorceress.”
Akkar-bin’s mouth worked over words he wanted to say. His face hardened, then he turned on his heel and went back to his men.
“Captain!” a pair of shrill voices shouted. “Captain, you’ve got to come see this!” The two kender dashed up to the half-elf, their topknots bouncing with excitement.
One kender, slightly taller than the other one, spoke first. “There’s four dead men over there and another pool of acid.”
“And a dead horse!” the second kender added rapidly. “Someone slashed its throat!”
“And body parts,” the first finished. “There’s blood everywhere, and the stench is awful!”
Lysandros held up a hand. “Slow down, boys. You talk so fast. I didn’t catch all that.”
Instead of a reply, the kender grabbed the Silver Fox’s belt and hauled him toward the rear of the caravan.
Ulin, Lucy, and Challie followed.
“Four dead men and another draconian?” Ulin said so only Challie and Lucy could hear. “What in the name of Paladine did you use?”
“Well,” Lucy hesitated. She was reluctant to admit she was as confused as he was. “I think one of the men they saw is the dead driver. The bandits killed the rearguard.”
“Yes, but another draconian?”
“And three brigands,” Challie put in.
Ulin blanched. “But what did you use?”
Lucy threw out her hands. “Potatoes! I was trying to create that old hot potato spell. It was the only thing I could think of. I just wanted to drive them away.”
“Potatoes?” Ulin repeated. “What happened to them?”
“I don’t know. I worked the spell as I always did, but something changed it.”
They reached their cook wagon and saw a large group crowded around the back. The stink of the dead draconian’s puddle already ripened in the hot air, and flies gathered on the slashed throat of the dead horse.
Lucy was relieved to see someone had cut the bay horse loose from his dead teammate and had tied the lathered animal to the back of the next wagon. She was not willing to view the carnage again behind the cook wagon, so while Ulin went to see, she untied the horse and walked him to relax his muscles.
Ulin came back after just a few minutes and fell into step beside her. “I don’t know how you did it, but I am so proud of you.” He chuckled. “And there I was trying to keep one Kapak away from you.”
“For which I love you beyond words.” She slipped her free arm through his.
He felt the nearness of her body so close to his, and an urge filled his mind to wrap his arms around her and hold her so that nothing could ever take her away from him. Not plagues, nor magic, nor draconians, nor even the gods. His fear for her, and his fear of more loss and grief, fed the urge until it took all his strength to keep his arms at his sides and his stride steady. “I could not bear to lose you, you know. Not now.”
“I know,” she said simply. She had met him when he was still mourning for his wife and two children dead from the plague. She had stood by him when the Academy he loved was destroyed, and she had watched him suffer through the disappearance of his father. She knew what she meant to him, and although the depth of his need for her scared her sometimes, it gave her the strength to wait for him to heal.
Together they walked the horse in companionable silence until he was cool and could be reharnessed alone to the cook wagon. That accomplished, Ulin reluctantly left her to help the Khurs bury their dead.
Meanwhile the Silver Fox and his troop helped Akkar-bin put the caravan in order. Word spread fast about Lucy’s battle, and everyone came at some point to see the bodies and the pools of dead draconians. A great deal of whispering and hushed talk went on, and more than one warrior came to stare at her in speculative interest until Lucy threatened to get her skillet and bash the next person who eyed her. Of course, the kender thought that would be fun to see and fetched the skillet for her. After that the men kept a respectful distance.
As soon as the bodies were removed, Lucy and Challie put the cook wagon back in order with the enthusiastic help of the two kender. Lucy made sure Challie’s axe and their personal belongings were kept out of sight of the inquisitive young duo.
The kender took an immediate liking to Lucy and introduced themselves. The tallest was Cosmo Thistleknot, a cousin, he claimed proudly, of the renegade kender leader, Kronn Thistleknot. The other was a year or two younger and went by the name of Pease Stubbletoes. Both kender had hair the color of honey oak. Their eyes, like bright brown acorns, glinted at her behind rosy cheeks and fields of freckles. Both wore tan-colored tunics and breeches without a kender’s usual clutter of pouches and overfilled pockets. Both were personable and insatiably curious, and yet Lucy noticed the two seemed not so frivolous. There was a serious, harder side that ran through these two like a vein of iron. They had grown up in the shadow of the red dragon overlord and had heard the horrific tales of the destruction of their homeland, Kendermore. They knew what few kender ever learn: fear and the will to fight. They were also very proud to be riding with the Silver Fox.
“He likes to be called Captain Fox when we’re out trooping,” Cosmo told the women.
“So what is this troop?” Lucy asked, hanging the skillets back on their hooks.
Pease tapped the silver fox emblem on his tunic. “We’re the Vigilance Committee.”
Cosmo swatted his arm. “We’re the Vigilance Force,” he corrected his friend. “The Committee meets in town.”
“Which town?” asked Lucy.
“Why Flotsam, of course. We have a very active underground organization,” Pease told her. “We fight ogres, defend caravans, raid the Dark Knights’ patrols …”
Cosmo’s foot flew out and kicked his companion’s shin. “Shhh!” he whispered loudly. “You’re not supposed to tell anyone!”
Pease rubbed his arm and glared at the other kender. “We can tell them. They’re not Khurs or Knights of Neraka. That one’s Chalcedony-obviously, she already knows. And she’s a sorceress.” He didn’t add “so there!” but it rang as clear as a bell in his voice.