“Dirt, trees, and gold?” He laughed. “Flowers, too, maybe?” He laughed some more, then sobered, showing a new face, one out of patience. “We are not fools here, woman, no matter you seem to think so,” he growled, and then to his men, “Chain her up-and watch those alien feet of hers!”

“I would not do that were I you, Falder.”

This from a new voice, one Tedra recognized very well. She turned as the others did, to see Challen standing in the doorway to the hall with a neck-lock hold on one of Falder’s warriors, obviously one who’d tried to stop him from joining the party. As they watched, the man was released, to fall unconscious to the floor at the barbarian’s feet. Even before he landed, Challen’s great sword was drawn. And then he was walking forward quite purposefully, heading straight for Falder.

He wasn’t alone. He had a handful of warriors with him. But there were a good deal more than that inside the hall, Falder’s men, and they didn’t just stand around waiting for the enemy shodan to reach their own. Tedra got her first true demonstration of why the barbarians called themselves warriors. If she thought those weighty swords were just decorations, she was wrong. And Challen, Stars, she’d never seen him like this. He barely paused in his determination to reach her-no, to reach Falder, who’d dared to take something of his. Swords that could have cleaved him in half were brushed aside with little effort, men literally thrown out of his path.

Falder got the message, was losing too many men by just standing there doing nothing. His options were two. He could lay hands on Tedra to use her as a leverage, or he could try reasoning with what appeared to be a madman. Naturally he looked toward Tedra. But she’d been keeping half an eye on him, and when he made his move toward her, she back-kicked him clean in the gut, then with a fast dive and a roll got well out of his reach. She even got an unexpected bonus, taking down two of his men whose feet, unfortunately for them, got tangled up in her roll. They happened to be the last two barriers between Challen and his target, except maybe for her. And although they were fast getting to their feet, she was faster to rise. Challen finally paused, with her standing right in front of him. But it was only a brief pause, long enough to look her over to see that she hadn’t been hurt, and then he was going to set her aside… not farden likely.

“Enough, Challen!” she had to shout above the noise still clanging in the rest of the hall. “He thought he wanted your gaali mine, but I think I’ve convinced him he doesn’t need it. If you have some other reason to kill him, though, then go ahead. But don’t make it on my account.”

Falder was close enough to hear that. “You are willing to die for her, Ly-San-Ter?”

“Yes.” Challen finally spoke, his eyes still on Tedra. “I have given her my life.”

“By the stones of gaali, why was that not mentioned at the council?”

Challen glanced at the surprised man in disgust, reminding him, “You were there to doubt everything I had to say, despite the proof I brought with me.”

“I doubted that all could benefit as you claimed, but… the woman has made me rethink the matter. Thus do I relinquish all claims of capture. You may have her back. She is too dangerous to have around, anyway,” the giant added, rubbing his belly.

Of course, they were good buddies after that, much to Tedra’s disgust.

Chapter Forty-one

Tedra sat stiffly before Challen on the ride back to Sha-Ka-Ra, silently brooding and seething in a general all-around bad mood. She was furious at that muddlehead Falder for going to the trouble of capturing her, then just blithely letting her go. And she still wasn’t sure why the fight had ended so suddenly. Certainly not because of anything she’d said. There shouldn’t even have been a fight. Hadn’t she been told warriors didn’t fight over women? Buy back or steal back, but Challen hadn’t come to make an offer.

And then he’d behaved as if he’d merely come for a visit! The two shodani had discussed the council meeting, so she got to hear all about it-secondhand. Falder even offered up a number of his warriors for the contingent of mercenaries already volunteered and ready to leave for Kystran. It would have been nice if she knew what those mercenaries were going to cost her, but that wasn’t mentioned. Challen had taken it upon himself to arrange it, and so it was done. Get her input? Find out if she even needed so many men or if the Rover had room for them? Oh, if she didn ‘t need them, how quickly she’d tell them all where they could stick their high-handedness.

Challen had wisely kept quiet on the three-hour ride, but there had been no privacy for a heated discussion, and Tedra’s mood told him plainly it was going to be heated. He waited only until they reached his chamber, though he’d practically had to drag her that far. There she went straight to the couch where her fembair slept and pulled the cat onto her lap.

“You have every right to be angry with me, Tedra.”

“Damned right.”

“Best you speak of it-”

“Martha isn’t always right, warrior. Best you leave me alone right now.”

He came to sit next to her, only to have her move to the end of the couch, pulling the heavy cat with her. He tried a different tack.

“You are not pleased you have your army?”

“You mean your army, don’t you, in your command?”

“So it must be. Warriors will not fight for a woman.”

“Just like they won’t fight over a woman?”

“You are angered by that, too?”

“I didn’t ask for your life! You think I saved it so you could throw it away fighting a behemoth like that? And I’d already defused the situation. Falder would have accepted a cart of dishes for me!”

“Now you make no sense.”

“I told you to leave me alone, didn’t I?”

“Chemar-”

“Don’t call me that. If you can’t give it the meaning I want, then I don’t want to hear it at all.”

Challen ran a hand roughly through his hair in exasperation. “Remain where you are, woman. I will bring my uncle here to explain, since you will not listen to me.”

“Don’t bother. All he can tell me is where you’ve stashed her. But let me tell you something, warrior. I don’t go in for threesomes. You try bringing that woman near me and I’ll tear her eyes out!”

“Who?”

“Oh, that’s funny. Who else was crawling all over you today, and her naked?”

“Laina?” Challen suddenly smiled, then he laughed. “All this because of Laina?”

He laughed again, so hard he didn’t even see Tedra get up to push him right over the backless couch. But even sprawled on the floor, he still chuckled.

“Keep it up, warrior,” Tedra growled, “and I’ll do to you what I did once before. That will shut you up, won’t it?”

“Tedra, chemar. ” He grinned over the couch at her. “You have no reason for female jealousies. Have I not stopped drinking dhaya wine? Have I not given my life to you?”

“What is it with this life giving? It didn’t stop you from bringing home a new captive, did it?”

“She was taken merely to end the dissension Falder was causing, not because I wanted her. I do not want her. She is to be Tamiron’s.”

“Then what was she doing on your lap?”

“She rode with me only because Tamiron went to arrange for the food supplies for the journey to Kystran. Now you have your army, there is no reason to delay the leaving.”

“The Rover has all the food necessary to feed two armies,” Tedra replied, but with a lot less heat and a good deal of feeling horribly foolish.

Challen came around the couch and drew her unresisting into his arms. “This Martha told us, but you have nothing of real meat, which a warrior must have. Our supplies will be included, else you will not get my warriors on your Rover.”