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darted around the front of
the cart. Tira had an arrow nocked and ready, waiting for him to
show himself.
    Tam's pony,
frightened by the violence and the smell of blood, was making
pathetic attempts to buck him off. Tira could hear him cursing the
animal as he fought for control. The big man, meanwhile, was edging
along the side of the wagon. Tira didn't want to kill him if she
could help it, and she watched, wishing he would just run away.
    Just as the
pony stopped bucking, the man stepped forward and pulled the back
of the cart open in one quick motion. A little girl came leaping
out, and he caught her in mid-air. His arm went around her throat,
and he knelt in the dirt, holding her in front of him as a
shield.
    A small boy
stuck his head out of the cart, looked both ways, then sprang to
the ground and took off running for the trees. Tira could see a
third child inside, hugging the floor of the cart, peering out
without moving.
    The big man
held his sword across the little girl's body. He was panting and
wild-eyed, and he shouted, "Stay back! Get back, or I'll kill
her."
    Tam was out of
the saddle, axe in hand, and he froze, looking at Tira for
guidance. She froze as well.
    "Walk away,"
the man shouted. "Walk away, or this brat is dead."
    Tira looked at
the girl, wishing she would sink her teeth into the man's arm. Not
that he would feel much through that red leather sleeve. The girl,
though, was rigid with terror, staring at Tira with eyes the size
of saucers. She was a pretty child in a dress of homespun cloth,
her hair lank and greasy and sticking up in clumps.
    Leaving her
with the man in red was clearly out of the question. Tira weighed
her options, and thought about aiming for the little girl's heart.
If she got the shot just right, she would bury the arrow in the
man's arm where it crossed the girl's chest. But the arrow might
punch right through and kill her, and if her aim was a couple of
inches high or low, the girl was dead for sure.
    The man had one
knee exposed, but the last thing Tira wanted to do was make him
angry while preventing him from running away. She switched her gaze
to his face. She could put an arrow between his eyes, but it would
mean missing the girl's head by a hair's breadth. She decided to
aim for his right eye instead. It gave her more margin for
error.
    "Last chance!"
the man yelled, pressing the sword tighter against the girl's body.
"Get out of here, or…"
    Tira took a
deep breath, drew the arrow back, and let fly. She saw his eyes
widen as the arrow flashed toward him. His head snapped to the
side, he let out a bellow of pain, the girl screamed, and Tam
exploded into motion.
    In the instant
it took for Tira to draw and nock another arrow, everything
changed. The axe landed in the dirt as Tam flung himself onto the
man's sword arm. Tam pulled the sword back with one hand and
dragged the child to safety with the other hand. The big man
lurched to his feet, clapping one hand to a bleeding gash along the
side of his face, and took off at a stumbling run for the trees.
Tira released the tension on her bowstring, letting him go.
    The children
were dirty, hungry, and frightened, but unhurt. Sari was the one
who had been used for a shield. Lina only came out of the cart when
she saw Tam with Sari in his arms. Mikail came out of the trees and
rejoined them ten or fifteen minutes later.
    The children
were unhurt. The two men had been no rougher than necessary, and
the children had been in the back of the cart almost constantly
since they were captured. They had no idea why they had been
kidnapped.
    There was only
one injury in the group. Tam had grabbed the man's sword blade with
his bare hand, and he had a shallow cut across his palm. Tira
bandaged it with a strip from the dead man's shirttail.
    They left the
dead man lying in the ditch. Tira stripped off his sword belt and
went through his pockets, taking a few coins. There was a letter,
folded and unfolded so many times that it was almost