boots that cuffed below the knees. Wet from bathing, his hair looked darker than it had last night, and his beard and mus shy;tache had been neatly groomed.

Behind him was a ragtag group of grubby ogres, snorting and scratching their thick green hides. Most wore uncured animal pelts decorated with feathers and small animal skulls and carried large clubs or crude spears. One had a copper cauldron strapped upside down on his melon head in lieu of a helmet. Strangely, Onyx found ogres much more repulsive now that she had spent time among humans.

"Dawn passed quite some time ago," she said stiffly.

Led gave a mock bow and laughed. "Good morning to you, too."

"These are the creatures you were concerned might not accept me?"

"You were expecting Knights of Solamnia?"

"No. I knew, uh-" Onyx stammered "-I expected they were ogres."

He looked at her strangely, then shrugged. "You take what you can get. Ogres are fairly good fighters, and they listen well enough, just so long as Toba clubs them now and then."

Led pointed to a hollow-cheeked man with an exotic slant to his eyes. He wore an overlarge coat with the fur collar turned up. Dwarfed by the ogres, the wiry little man snarled as he kicked one brute aside with a blade-tipped boot.

"That's Toba," Led offered. "My lieutenant. He keeps the ogres in fighting shape, one way or another. He lived in Sala-sia, near Taladas, which is crawling with ogres. That's where he learned how to handle them."

Searching her memory, Onyx vaguely recalled the homely man from the vision in the globe. Led's voice drew her into the present.

"I'm glad you decided to join me." His green eyes were fixed on hers, probing.

The black-haired young woman could not suppress a scowl. "I almost left. I'm not accustomed to waiting for any shy;one."

Led smirked ruefully and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Blame them. They don't move very fast in the morning."

Onyx jumped from the porch to her feet and slammed her dark hands onto her hips. "Then don't tell someone dawn, when you mean midmorning."

It was Led's turn to scowl. "Let me tell you the three rules this party has," he said evenly, employing great effort to con shy;trol his temper. His green eyes narrowed beneath thick, arched brows. "First, you do what I say, when I say it, with no questions. Second, if the cargo I'm paying you to guard is threatened, you will fight like a damned hellhound and won't stop until I say it's over. Third, if there is a battle, nobody searches bodies or gathers loot until the enemy is dead or run off."

Onyx hooked her thumbs under her rope belt noncha shy;lantly. "So whaf s this precious cargo I'll be guarding?"

Led tensed. "You're violating rule number one."

Frowning, Khisanth decided on a new tactic. "What do I get in exchange for following your rules?"

"A share of the loot," Led replied.

"One share? And how many shares do you take?"

Led snorted. "More than one. Don't be obtuse."

Onyx lifted one eyebrow. "Do you really think one share is a fair split for a mage? The same share as one of those mind shy;less ogres?" Onyx cast an artless, wide-eyed look at the throng milling in the slush behind Led.

The brown-haired man fidgeted imperceptibly. "No. More than that."

"How much more?"

"Whatever I decide." Led twirled one end of his red-brown mustache. "I'm the boss."

Onyx shrugged under her purple tunic. Turning on her heel, she took a step toward the inn's front door. "Not my boss. Find yourself another mage-if you can."

Led considered her as she stomped across the porch. She was more like a man than any woman he knew. She knew magic, too, and Led had never met a mage in all his travels, let alone one willing to do mercenary work. He let out his breath, sending tendrils of white fog into the chill air.

'Tell you what, Onyx."

The young woman stopped in her tracks, her back as straight as a pillar. She did not turn around.

"Give me a better demonstration of your, urn, skills," he said softly. He eyed the villagers passing in the icy street. "Then I'll reconsider your pay level."

Onyx hesitated, considering how far she should take this tack. Her goal was to earn Led's trust, become a member of his party. Perhaps she should just agree to whatever he said.

Led took note of her hesitation. "Of course, if you can't cast spells, then you wouldn't be of much use to me…." He spat casually and turned to leave.

Onyx's reptilian-slitted pupils flared inside yellow irises. "Now who's being ridiculous? I was merely scouting out a secluded spot for a demonstration." She looked at him archly. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to throw a fireball down the street?"

"Lower your voice and come with me, then." Leaving the ogres and Toba behind, Led took Onyx by the elbow and pro shy;pelled her toward the mews between the inn and a wattle-and-daub house.

Onyx ducked through the door of the deserted building and jerked her arm away. Flexing the tension from her shoul shy;ders, she concentrated on controlling her breathing. She'd been bluffing about a fireball, which was still beyond her ability. She closed her eyes and focused on a simple spell, basic to the dark nature of a black dragon.

"Hey, whaf s going on?" cried Led, his voice cracking with surprise.

Onyx opened her eyes. She and Led stood in absolute blackness. Her dragon sight allowed her to see Led in the dark. He was groping about wildly, unable to determine up from down. Led wavered like a stalk of overripe corn in a summer wind, then crashed to the ground.

With a wave of her hand, Onyx dissipated the spell. As the darkness slipped away like mist, leaving sunlight, she extended a hand to Led. He slapped it away.

"I was talking about a demonstration of your fighting skills/' he said. "Don't ever use your magic on me again." Flustered, he twisted his clothing back into place under his armor. "You'll get the same shares as Toba until you prove yourself in battle." He crossed his arms over his chest. 'Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," Onyx said, rocking back on her heels.

Led jerked his head to indicate she should lead the way back to Toba and the ogres. It was not just bruised pride that made the human wonder at the wisdom of taking into his party someone more powerful than he. Led was a man to whom power was everything. Still, he reasoned, stealing it was far less taxing than earning it.

A short time later, Onyx stood in flesh-pinching brigan-dine armor, waiting for a stable hand to bring in another horse for Led's approval.

Led had chosen this "lightweight" armor from his per shy;sonal collection because, "It's the best quality suit the jack shy;anapes who calls himself the village armorer can alter to your size without ruining it."

The armor was composed of a layer of small metal plates riveted to an undercoat of soft leather. Over that was a man shy;tle of noise-muffling quilted cotton batting. If the armor had not been so uncomfortable, Onyx would have been amused by the irony of protecting her human flesh with a parody of her dragon form. At least it kept her warmer than her tunic and leather jacket had.

Following a few nips and tucks at the armorer's, Led selected a short sword from his weapons cache and buckled it around Onyx's waist. "Even if you never use it, just wear shy;ing it will make people think twice," he'd said.

Now Onyx stood girded as a warrior, watching as the sta-bleboy led a black mare to her and held out the reins. Onyx took the lengths of leather awkwardly.

Nodding with satisfaction, Led patted the mare's shiny flanks and said to the boy, 'Tell your master we'll take her." Counting coin from his pouch, Led dropped ten into the boy's hand. "Not one piece more." The boy scampered off between piles of dirty yellow hay.