Challen Ly-San-Ter did not often find time to hunt with his warriors anymore. Since he becameshodanof Sha-Ka-Ra, his duty was to remain in the city to be available to the needs of his people, not to enjoy himself with his warriors, which had been his pleasure before he wasshodan.
Thetaraanwould be his third kill since sunrising, but the two smallkisraknow tied to hishataarwould merely provide food for this rising. Challen was, in fact, feeling hunger pangs as he thought of roastedkisrak,and willed thetaraanto approach at a more swift pace, but of course it did not. He was severalreyzifrom camp, so it would be a while yet before his belly could be satisfied, even if thetaraancould be brought down in the next few moments.
It was perhaps his wandering thoughts of food that caused Challen to miss seeing the woman enter the clearing, for suddenly she was just there, standing in the path between him and thetaraan.How it was possible for himnotto have noticed her coming, when thebracsandcomtocshe wore glowed like gaali stones, he could not say. But she was there now. There was no doubting what he was seeing—just that he was seeing it, for women did not cover themselves in the clothes of warriors, nor did they venture out without a warrior at their side, yet this woman was alone.
He would wager hishataarshe was not of the servant class. No servant would possess such unusual, but obviously fine, clothes, or own jewels of the like around her neck. But she was not from any city in Kan-is-Tra, of that he was certain. The black hair was foreign to Kan-is-Tra. The clothes seemed foreign, too. Perhaps she was of Ba-Tar-ah in the far north. That country was known to have strange customs, and perhaps allowing their women to wear warrior’s clothing was one of them. But what was she doing here?
He was still pondering it when thetaraanalso noticed the woman and started to leap away in fright. She turned then, hearing the movement, and pointed with her arm in the direction of the noise. Thetaraansimply fell to the ground—and a low growl came out of Challen’s throat. Her unusual presence was one thing. Stealing his kill was another, though he could not begin to guess how she had brought the animal down.
He was about to make his own presence known in a very aggressive way when she spoke, nothing that he understood, and not to him surely, for she still faced thetaraan.That she did not approach the animal gave him pause, and when she turned away from it, he was pacified. So she did not want thetaraan.But then why kill it? Andhowhad she killed it?
She was facing him again, looking at the trees surrounding the area, perhaps for more animals, and still talking to herself. This time Challen noticed the small white box she held in her hand. Thin and rectangular, could this be what had killed thetaraan?No, such was not possible. Boxes could not kill, and even if they could, the laws forbade women to carry weapons. It was time he found out just who this woman was.
Tedra was jumpy now after being startled by the deerlike animal. Her instinct tor self-preservation had canceled her common sense, stunning the poor thing before she even saw what it was. It would be a long while before it revived, and might become food for something else before it did.
“I don’t know why you’re blaming yourself, kiddo,” Martha remarked, having seen the incident happen from the tiny viewer on the front of the phazor,andhearing Tedra’s choice swearing over what she’d done. “It couldn’t have been helped.”
“I shouldn’t have had the stun set so high,” Tedra said to the larger two-way viewer on the flat side of the unit as she lowered the setting. “I’m in the middle of nowhere, for Stars’ sake, and can see anything coming at me with plenty of time to raise the stun if necessary. If that creature had been any smaller than it is, it would have been demolished.”
“Look, it’s your first time setting foot on another world. You’re bound to be nervous, which is perfectly natural, but unfortunately, they aren’t likely to have any Stress Clinics down there to help you out.”
“Get serious, will you?”
“Just keep your finger off the stun button, and try taking a few deep breaths before your next reaction.”
“I’ll do … oh, my.”
“What?”
“Talk about getting knocked off your feet,” Tedra said with a good deal of awe.
“Did you fall down, doll?”
“It sure feels like it. Take a look.” She pointed the unit at what had dropped down from a tree in front of her not ten feet away.
“’Oh, my’ was kind of an understatement, I’d say.” The voice in the box was duly impressed. “Is he as big as he looks from here?”
“Bigger. Stars, he’s got to be nearly seven feet! What is he, do you suppose, besides a giant?”
“An accurate guess would be a barbarian, what the Sha-Ka’ari would still be if they hadn’t been touched by the advanced worlds in our Star System.”
“A barbarian … farden hell,” Tedra said in disappointment. An arrogant warrior was one thing. A barbarian warrior was another matter entirely. “Maybe I better return to the Rover.”
“Aren’t you giving up a bit soon?”
“That’s a damn big sword he’s holding in his hand, Martha.”
“That’s a damn powerful phazor you’re holding in yours, kiddo.”
Tedra grinned then. “That’s right, isn’t it? What do I have to be wary about? And he is magnificent, isn’t he?”
That was another understatement. He put the handsome Kowan to shame, in height, brawn, and looks. Even Corth, whose features were artificially perfect, paled next to the barbarian. This was dominant maleness personified, arms, legs, chest, everything larger than anything she’d ever seen before. Dark golden brows sat low over his eyes, with barely an arch to be seen. The chin was square and aggressive, with the slightest shadow of a cleft; the lips a slashing line with no hint of humor. Skin deep gold, only a little lighter than wavy long hair, which fell just short of massive shoulders—bare shoulders. He wore only a pair of buttery soft black leather pants for clothing, skintight and molded to those thick-muscled legs. Calf-high boots were in the same soft leather, and from wrist to elbow was strapped an intricately carved arm shield. His only other accessories were the wide sword belt about his hips and a large gold disc the size of her fist hanging-down to the center of his massive chest.
She hadn’t realized she had been looking him over so thoroughly, or for so long, until her eyes happened to meet his. “Why is he looking at me like that, Martha?” she asked uneasily. The barbarian wasn’t exactly frowning, but the whole look of him had turned to one of high displeasure.
“Maybe because he doesn’t understand a word you’ve been saying. Or maybe because he’s never heard a box speak. You can bet your krystals he’s never encountered anything likemebefore, and you don’t come under the heading of normal either. You’d better introduce yourself, kiddo, before he decides you’re an evil vision he should try to banish. After all, we don’t know how primitive their beliefs are.”
His dark eyes had indeed gone to her phazor unit while Martha spoke. His sword came up a little, and Tedra took a step back.
