Drik's face split in a horrid smile. "Aye, Stag!" His voice rose. "Dip's stagger!" he shouted out.
His call got more attention than Feena's scream. All around the tavern, people shouted back eagerly as they turned to face the bandits and their captive. Stag and Drik hauled roughly on Feena's arms.
"One!" they cried, swinging her back toward the crowd. Feena fought to stay on her feet.
"Two!" chanted the crowd in response.
The bandits pulled her forward.
"Three!"
Stag and Drik swung Feena back again and let go. Feena reeled free, arms flailing as she struggled for balance. She slammed straight into the big woman who had been arm-wrestling the dwarfand gasped as the woman shoved her away again.
"Dip!" the woman roared merrily.
Feena spun a few feet and hit someone else, a gap-toothed merchant.
"Stagger!" he yelled and pushed her as well.
"Dip!"
"Stagger!"
The crowd shifted and flowed around Feena, never allowing her more than a few steps before she hit or was caught by someone and sent staggering on her way. Beer splashed, drenching her. She didn't have a chance to catch her breath or recapture her balance. There was certainly no chance for a prayer. Even the wolf within her was whining in fearshe couldn't have changed form if she wanted to. Wild-eyed, she tried to drop, tried to dart between the legs of the crowd and make for the door. Stag's hands caught her.
"No, no, red bird!" he laughed and gave her a hard shove back into the chanting crowd. Other hands twirled her around and around, tossing her across the bar.
The dwarf whirled into her field of vision. Feena heard him guffaw over the tavern's din.
"Dip!" he bellowed and swung a shoulder against her hips.
Her torso kept going forward. Arms outstretched, she rolled helplessly over the dwarfs shoulder, bounced off a table, and landed hard in someone's lap. A goblet spun away with a ring and clash of cheap metal. Spilled wine pattered around her like rain.
She looked up at a man with light brown hair and a soft goatee. He was well dressed, though wine soaked his clothes. His face was younghe was easily ten years Feena's juniorbut there was a hardness to his eyes that aged him. His mouth was set in a thin line. He looked down at his stained clothes, then at herand up.
The crowd went silent. Feena blinked her eyes back into focus in time to see the tavern's patrons part to leave a clear space between the man who held her and Stag. The bandit's eyes were narrow.
"Give her here, Keph," he growled.
"Why should I?" The young manKephcurled an arm around Feena's shoulders. "I might just keep her."
Drik snickered. The young man's gaze darted to him and the bandit fell silent. He moved to Stag's side, both men watching Keph.
"I hear you think you're a bad man now," Stag said. "You still look like a spoiled brat to me. Maybe you want to just step back before you get hurt."
"And maybe when the two of you are finished taking on a farmer's wife, Stag," Keph replied, "you'll be ready to face a real opponent."
Stag's face flushed. "I'll take on both of you by myself!"
The crowd pulled back even farther, making a wide ring in the middle of the tavern. Keph glanced down at Feena.
"Do you mind a little help?" he drawled with mock courtesy.
"Not at all," Feena replied. She pushed herself to her feet and bared her teeth. "Watch out for Drik. He's not going to stay out of this."
Keph's eyes betrayed surprise, as if he hadn't expected such rage to pour out of her, but he rose and stepped to her side. He wore a rapier on his hip, though he didn't draw it. Stag was already moving, strutting forward confidently but watching them both closely while Drik moved around to the side. The crowd began calling out to all four of them, taking sides and cheering. Feena took a step toward Stag, and so did Keph.
"Take care of Drik!" Feena hissed at him.
"You take care of Drik. Stag's mine."
Keph circled around the bandit, hard eyes locked on him. Stag froze, not sure which opponent to focus on. Growling, Feena took the choice away from him. She dived past Keph to throw a punch at Stag.
He got an arm up and blocked her blow, then swung his other in a backhand that forced her to leap away.
"Hey!" snapped Keph. "I said he's mine!"
He started to move in. Out of the corner of her eye, Feena caught movement and tried to shout a warning as Drik jumped into the fray, but she was too slow. The second bandit wrapped his arms around Keph's chest and heaved him off his feet. The crowd cheered wildly.
The moment of distraction cost her as well. Stag's fist seemed to snake out of nowhere and snap into her jaw. The punch spun her halfway around and knocked her to the floor.
"You're a lot of trouble, red bird!" Stag growled as he drew a foot back to kick her.
Feena threw herself away and came up beside Drik and Keph. The young man was struggling ferociously against Drik's embrace, but the bandit just kept squeezing tighter. Feena rolled up to her knees and drove a punch hard into Drik's kidneys. He gasped and stumbled. As soon as Keph's feet touched the ground, he hunched forward sharply, tumbling Drik over his shoulders. Drik didn't loosen his embrace, however. For a heartbeat, the two men stood twined, then Drik went over, pulling Keph after him. They sprawled across the floor, both stunned, as the crowd jeered. Feena scrambled to her feet and swung around to face Stag once more. The bandit was circling her, fists ready. She took a slow step away from where Drik and Keph lay.
"Trouble?" she asked. "You don't know the half of it." She gestured for him with both hands. "Come and get me."
Stag took a cautious pace forward. Feena glanced down.
"Keph! Yours!"
On the floor at Stag's feet, Keph looked up. He grinned viciously and his hands snapped out to grab at the bandit's leg. Stag stumbled, surprised. Feena darted forward, grasped the fabric of his shirt, and slammed her knee into his groin. Stag let out a horrible rattling gasp and stiffened.
"Bitch!"
Still holding Stag upright, Feena spun around. Drik was up in a crouch, one leg stretched out, the other bent in front of him. Sharp metal glinted in his hand. A throwing knife. His arm drew back…
Keph twisted over onto his side, pulled a leg in, then kicked out hard. His booted foot hammered straight into Drik's bent knee with a bone-splintering crunch. Drik shrieked and the knife tumbled from his fingers as he toppled over, clutching his leg.
For a moment, the crowd held its breath, then erupted in a roar of appreciation for the brawl.
Keph pushed himself up and rose to his feet. Feena glanced at Stag. The bandit's eyes had rolled back and he was making rasping, choking noises that flecked his lips with foamy saliva. She shoved him into Keph's arms.
"I'm done," she said over the noise of the crowd. "Your turn."
The young man pushed Stag to the floor, grabbing her instead and pulling her close.
Keph felt the red-haired wildcat's body stiffen in alarm as he drew her in.
"Easy!" he hissed before she got the wrong ideahe didn't want to try fighting her on his own. "We're not out of danger yet."
He spun her around toward the door of the Cutter's Dip. Between them and it were big Kor, wily old Noyle, half-mad Lahumbra, and a few other thugs. None of them looked happy.
"Those are Stag and Drik's friends," he whispered in the woman's ear. "They'll cool down later, but if we want to get out of here now, we'd best go together."
The woman's eyes narrowed and she nodded. Keph led the way toward the door. The woman didn't try to challenge him. Hands reaching out to touch and congratulate them, the crowd parted easily. The woman flinched backafter a round of Dip's Stagger, Keph thought, who could blame her? but he accepted the congratulations and shook hands easily. As they drifted past the bar, the thugs were forced back away from them by the press of people, but he heard Noyle hiss out a warning.