Excerpt from PAGE

The year before, the pages had camped in the Royal Forest. This year the training master took them south and east, into the hilly country that lay between Lake Tirragen and the Drell River. Part of Kel's sparrow company, eighteen birds in all, came along while the rest stayed at the palace. No one raised an eyebrow at the small birds' presence: they had followed Kel the previous summer and had proved useful.

In addition to Sergeant Ezeko, the two Shang warriors, Hakuin Seastone and Eda Bell, rode with them. Kel had the idea that Eda, the Shang Wildcat, was her chaperon, just as she had been the year before. When she mentioned it to the older woman, the Wildcat laughed. "Maybe I just want to get out of the palace for two months," she said. "I'm a hill woman, you know. Born and raised just south of Malven, till I ran off to the Shangs." She grinned, showing teeth like small white pearls. "I'm my lord Wyldon's local expert."

On their first morning away, Kel woke at her usual hour, before sunrise. Picking her way among blanketed forms in search of the latrine, she froze. Jump was curled up beside Lord Wyldon. As if he knew she was goggling at him, the dog opened one eye, wagged his tail twice, and closed his eye again. Kel cursed him silently all the way to the latrine. What if Lord Wyldon suspected the dog was a pet, not just a friendly stray? Instead of her glaive exercises she did some of the unarmed combat dances, combinations of punches, kicks and rolls. They helped her burn off some of her fear that somehow Lord Wyldon would know Jump was hers and take the dog away.

At breakfast Neal was the first of her group to notice Lord Wyldon's companion. He choked.

"Queenscove, what is the matter with you?" asked Eda Bell.

Neal managed to point. "Dog."

Lord Wyldon looked at the companion to whom he'd been feeding strips of bacon. "This fellow's been hanging about the yards for months," he said calmly. "Evidently he's taken a liking to us. With Daine in residence, it seems few animals are shy about expressing themselves."

"Horses too," said Sergeant Ezeko. "Only reason I think my Dragonfly doesn't talk to me is because she thinks I'm not smart enough to understand her."

"I can't believe our dog's toadying to the Stump," Neal whispered to Kel and Owen as they washed dishes. "I thought Jump was better than that."

"I don't know," Kel remarked slowly, thinking. "It's hard to hate anyone who likes dogs as much as my lord does."

"Jump's smart. He knows if Lord Wyldon thinks he came to see him, he won't send him back," Owen pointed out. "He would if Jump looked to be following one of us."

Whatever the dog's thoughts, he kept up as easily as the sparrows while the pages and teachers rode south. The trees of the Olorun valley gave way to broad green fields, then to drier country. The riders skirted the edge of the Great Southern Desert, turning east. The Bazhir lived in the desert and made it their own. In the southeastern hill country, people had warred with the Bazhir for generations. Sometimes they chose to get extra income by raiding into Tusaine and Tyra as well.

"Don't get your hopes up," Lord Wyldon said when the subject of hillmen arose over their third night's campfire. "According to the commander of the local army post, the area we're visiting has been scoured of bandits. You'll have to prove your courage against bears, hill lions and the like."

They finally made camp just north of a tributary of the Drell, the River Hasteren. By then they'd been riding for ten days, and were glad to stop for a while. Kel was particularly careful to look after Peachblossom. The heat was hard on the big gelding, though she couldn't say if it affected his mood. Peachblossom was always grumpy.

They camped by a small pond that was cupped between hills and fed by a lively stream. Last year there had been a wooden building for shelter for the pages and a stable for their mounts, though Kel and Eda had slept in the open. This year everyone either put up tents or slept under open sky. Even those who chose to sleep without shelter had to prove to Lord Wyldon they could set up their tents quickly and well. Kel had three tries before the training master was satisfied. Neal had ten.

"I hate tents," he grumbled as they went to gather firewood. "They smell funny and they weigh too much. I'd rather sleep under a tree."

"You may change your mind when dark comes," replied Kel, amused. "That's when the bugs will realize they don't have to go to the inn to dine."

They remained in that spot for a week. Game was scarce there. Lord Wyldon said he wanted to teach them, not spend teaching hours trying to feed them. They rode for a day and built a new camp.

The next morning Lord Wyldon sent groups out in different directions to map terrain and to hunt for supper, each with a senior page in command. Kel was in Faleron's company, along with Neal, Prosper of Tameran, Merric, Owen, and Seaver. Faleron, Merric, Neal, and Owen carried longbows; Kel and the others brought spears. If worse came to worst, they agreed, they could try spear-fishing in the broad creek they followed. Jump came, sniffing along the ground. The sparrows spread out as humans and dog hiked, looking for new and tasty seeds in the brush.

The creek led them into a small, twisting valley edged on one side by sandstone cliffs. "Oh, Kel, look," piped Owen, "a height my lord hasn't made you climb!"

"From your lips to the gods' ears, silly--hush!" Kel told her friend, cuffing him gently on the shoulder.

"Hush," ordered Faleron. "You want to scare off all the game?"

Being quiet as they headed into the valley saved their lives. Three hundred yards along, as they turned a bend in the cliff wall, the pages found a raider camp. Had they been making noise, the outlaws would have been ready. As it was, Faleron gestured frantically for the pages to back up, but too late. A mangy dog howled the alarm; Jump snarled in answer. The hillmen, who'd been napping, scrambled to their feet.

"Run!" yelled Faleron.

They were a hundred feet down the valley when they heard the pounding of hooves. The bandits rode into view on ugly, rugged horses who looked every bit as mean as their masters. They swept out and around the pages, cutting off their escape route. Jump raced into the fray. He leaped and fastened his jaws on a rider's arm, his weight pulling the man from the saddle. The horse reared, panicked by its master's fall. Two men swerved to avoid them and collided, going down in a tangle of screaming horses. The sparrows arrived, chattering in rage as they flew into the raiders' faces, attacking their eyes.

"Jump, come!" screamed Kel. "Faleron, orders?"

Faleron stared at the riders; his eyes flicked from those on the right to those on the left, uncertain. Kel turned to Neal as the oldest. He was as bewildered as Faleron, clearly not sure what to do. Kel looked at the others. Merric, Seaver and Owen were staring at her.

They had to act--the hillmen were closing in. "Neal, Prosper!" she yelled, naming the two with magical Gifts. "Blind 'em, hide us, confuse 'em, now! Bows! One shot, aim for the horses, then fall behind the spears!"

She got her own spear up and leveled at the enemy as Neal blinked, and shed his paralysis. Green fire streamed from his hands, spreading in streams through the air. It bent and rippled, veiling the pages enough that the enemy couldn't see them to target them. Prosper, their other mage, stared blankly at his spear. Kel grabbed it and yelled, "Now!"

Light flared in front of Prosper, white edged with blue. It would blind anyone looking at him or the people near him, briefly. "Bows," shouted Kel again as Jump scrambled through the dust to reach her.

Faleron, Merric and Owen set arrows to their strings and loosed as Kel glanced behind them. There was the cliff wall, just twenty feet to their rear. "Fall back to the cliff, bows and mages first, then spears!" she cried. "Who's got the horn?"

"Me," said Faleron, coughing from the dust. He took a swig from his water bottle, spat, and blew the alarm call, then set another arrow on his bowstring.

Beyond the shifting haze of green and white lights that veiled them, Kel saw the hillmen draw back a little. Four of their number were down, maybe dead, three in the pileup Jump had caused, one with an arrow in his throat. Others were rubbing their eyes, flailing at the attacking sparrows, or squinting as they tried to see the pages' exact location. Most were still mounted, except for one man who'd jumped clear of his arrow-shot horse. All were wary. pages had.

A pair of bony and scarred dogs crept forward, bellies to the ground. The magic veils affected them less. Jump snarled a challenge.

"Stay with me," Kel ordered him softly. To her unmoving friends she hissed, "Fall back! Bows and mages first. Get against the cliff--archers, be ready to shoot!"

This time they obeyed, Faleron pausing only long enough to blow the alarm call again. Kel whispered, "You'll take command?" when he lowered the horn.

Faleron shook his head. "You've got the cool head, Kel," he replied softly, then fell back with the other archers, Neal, and Prosper. Once they reached the cliff, Kel and Seaver backed up, spears lowered. Spears would keep the bandits at a distance if they chose to ride blindly through the magic; Kel's archers could shoot easily if they were rushed. She doubted the stalemate could last, however. Through fading magic she saw that the hillmen were stringing the bows they had grabbed in the rush. Once they learned the magical barriers couldn't stop arrows, the pages were in trouble.

"Neal and Prosper, magic again. Hold it a while!" she whispered.

Green streamers rolled out of Neal, growing wider, forming scarves which moved in the air. Prosper again released a white blaze; how he kept the pages from being as blinded as the raiders Kel had no idea. From their lessons in the use of visible magic, she knew that he and Neal had obscured the area around them for about sixty feet. She could see that the squinting raiders had shifted to form a half-circle around them at a distance of about seventy feet. For all the enemy knew, the pages could be anywhere behind that curtain of moving light.

Her brain raced: When would help come? Were they even within hearing distance of the camp? They had lost track of how far they had gone.

"Kel, we're at the cliff!" hissed Owen.

She looked back. Now they had protection at their backs, but it was not much. Peering through the fiery shields again, Kel counted twenty-three raiders and gnawed her lip. The odds were bad. What she wouldn't give for mages other than a healer and a light-bringer! But they were what she had. She didn't like to think how much of Neal's and Prosper's strength was going into those screens.

Luckily for the pages, the raiders had no leader to coordinate their attacks and make them more dangerous. Just as good, they seemed to have no mages.

"Archers, get ready," she said calmly. Now she and Seaver were at the cliff. Beyond the magics she heard the bandits arguing their next move. Somewhere nearby she heard the low growl of the raider dogs and the sparrows' furious chatter. She sent a quick prayer up that her small friends wouldn't get hurt.

Her people needed cover for more than just their backs, now, while they had a moment to look for it. She scanned the ground to her left. All that lay between them and the bend in the valley where this had started were tumbles of small rocks lower than her waist.

No help there, she thought grimly. She looked right, beyond Faleron, and blinked. Was that a trail?

Her eyes followed a narrow track as it rose along the cliff face. It looked to be a goat trail, too narrow for horses. About forty-five feet up, she saw a dark opening in the stone--a cave, perhaps, a hollow at least. Something more than they had here. The trail went past the cave, but that wasn't a problem. They could hold both ends of the track from there, even if the raiders came down it from above.

She swallowed hard. To defend it, they would have to get to it. They would have to climb.

Kel was thinking at lightning speed. How to do this? If help didn't come soon, someone would get hurt--the odds were too great. They would need a healer then. Neal had to stop wasting magic to hide them from view.

All her thought came in a moment. "Faleron," she whispered, and pointed to the trail. Everyone looked; Faleron nodded. "Just to that cave. You first, then Neal. Neal, soon as you're there, switch to archery. You're going to need your Gift." He opened his mouth to argue; Kel looked at Merric. "You next, then Seaver, Prosper, then Owen. Archers, cover us. Prosper, ease off the continuous light. When a lot of them move in, give 'em a light-burst, but only then." She glanced at the enemy through the veils of light; she saw three of them venture forward. "Now go! I'll bring up the rear!"

They could see the horsemen who had found the courage to advance through Neal's fading light-veils. Owen coolly shot at one. The arrow lodged in his mount's shoulder and the pain-stricken animal reared, trying to shake off its rider. As the man fought for control, colliding with his neighbors, the pages raced for the trail and began to climb. Prosper held onto his magic as Kel had bid him, waiting for the bandits to approach. Halfway up the slope, first Merric, then Owen, got off fresh shots.

Kel looked at the trail, gulped, then ordered, "Jump, come." She backed up, keeping both spears lowered and ready.

The two raider dogs were closing in, hackles up. Jump snarled, then attacked the bigger dog. "Jump!" Kel cried, running to save him. She felt rather than saw the second dog leap for her. Lashing out with the spear's butt, she caught the animal lengthwise, knocking it ten feet into a tumble of stones.

She heard yelling and looked up. Three raiders galloped straight at her, swords raised. Two arrows took the one farthest to the right. Sparrows swirled around the middle bandit, darting at his eyes. He screamed, clapping his hands to his face; without direction, his horse spun, panicked.

Kel focused on the man bearing down on her. She barely registered a fresh light-burst or the arrows shot by the archers on the narrow path, which forced the other bandits to keep back. The enemy coming at her raised a short, curved sword. She saw instantly he would be unable to touch her until he was directly alongside. Kel dropped her extra spear out of her way, making sure she wouldn't trip on it. She brought her other spear point-down by her right calf, holding it in the glaive position broom-sweeps-clean. The hillman was almost on her, just five yards, now two--

She stepped forward, to the right of the charging raider, and brought the spear up in a firm, sweeping movement. The leaf-shaped blade, razor sharp, cut deep into the man's leg before Kel had to dodge the downward sweep of his sword. The man turned his horse and came back at Kel. This time she drove her spear through his belly, where it lodged. Kel scooped up her other spear just as an arrow streaked over her head. Then she felt a track of numbness, then of sharp pain, as a second arrow grazed her outer thigh.

"Drat," she said, wincing. She yelled, "Jump, come, now!"

Jump, his foe dead, raced up the narrow path. Kel followed, spear out as more bandits galloped forward. She was ten feet up when they reached the cliff and saw they could not ride after her. One raised his bow, sighting on Kel with a rotted-tooth grin.

White light blazed around her: Prosper's work. The men at the foot of the trail threw up their hands to shield their eyes. Kel backed up, sweating and trembling over the height, not the graze on her thigh. She couldn't watch her feet, as she did when she had to climb stairs. She had to focus on the men at the bottom of the trail, which meant seeing how narrow the path was, and how far she would fall before she hit the ground. That distance only got larger as she carefully sidled upward.

Two raiders dismounted. They meant to follow: their swords were out, their eyes locked on her. She halted and turned to block the trail. Hands steady, she lowered her spear. Her Yamani training helped her to barely contain her fear of the drop just inches from her right foot. Jump walked between her spread legs to stand before her, growling. His muzzle was crimson with blood, a sight guaranteed to make the men think twice.

Then Kel's sparrows arrived, attacking the foe. The bandits yelled and backed off, trying to protect their faces.

"Jump, go now," Kel ordered. The dog ran between her legs and on up the trail. Kel pulled her right foot back from the drop, sweat running down her face. If I don't move, they'll shoot me full of arrows right here, and then I'll really fall, she told herself. She turned to sidle up the trail, her back against the rock, her eyes on her feet. Two more bursts of light kept the bandits milling and half blind.

Kel didn't even know she'd reached their refuge until the boys pulled her inside. The sparrows followed, chattering as they found perches on the pages. Off the path, Kel's head cleared. She looked at her friends. Merric was down, an arrow in his left shoulder. Neal crouched beside him, stopping the flow of blood from the wound with his magic.

"What happened?" she asked Faleron.

"They got him when he shot at the ones that were coming after you," he replied, white-faced.

Neal looked up. "It's missed anything vital--Kel, you're hurt!"

"Stay with Merric," she snapped. "It's just a graze." She went to the front of the cave. Seaver was lookout; he lay flat to peer over the ledge. Prosper was beside him, also staying low. He looked exhausted.

"Let up for a bit, Prosper," Kel told him. "Eat something. And thanks." Prosper nodded and crawled away from the opening. He dug in his belt-purse for the dried meat and fruit Lord Wyldon made them carry when they left the palace.

Keeping under cover, Kel had a look outside. The raiders were working up their courage, arguing as they approached the trail that led to the pages' sanctuary. Kel retreated into the cave, using her dagger to hack strips from the hem of her shirt. When she had enough to make a bandage, she tied it firmly around the graze in her leg. "How many arrows have we got?" she demanded.

The archers counted. The answer was not bad, but not good either. "From now on, pick your shots," she told them. "Think twice before you do shoot. Faleron, did you blow the horn while I was out there?"

He gave her a shaky grin. "Of course. I take it you were thinking of other things."

Kel smiled ruefully. "I believe I was. Crown?"

While Faleron went to the opening and sounded the distress call yet again, the single-spot female sparrow flew over to perch on Kel's hand. There was red on her beak and tiny claws, and a war-like gleam in her round black eyes. "Crown, it may be they can't hear the horn, back at camp," Kel explained. "Will you fetch help?"

Crown peeped. Away she flew, two other males and a female with her.

"Next time maybe we should bring paper and ink," suggested Owen. "They could carry messages."

Kel went over to crouch beside Merric and Neal. "All this noise you're making, I can't think," she teased the redheaded boy gently.

Merric smiled tightly at her. Normally pale-skinned, now he was so white that his freckles looked like paint on wax. Sweat rolled down his face. "We're in enough of a spot without me yelling," he said tightly. "Besides, it's not so bad. Neal stopped most of the ouch."

"Can you do more than stop the ouch?" Kel whispered to Neal.

He shook his head, shame-faced. "I don't have the training," he replied.

"But you can heal," she began.

"Within limits. I was to start learning about arrow, knife and sword wounds this year, if I'd stayed."

Kel shook her head. "You should get proper training!" she said indignantly.

Neal made a face. "When?" he wanted to know. "Most people either go for knight or for healer, not both."

Kel began to argue, then closed her mouth. The hurt that showed in his eyes for just a moment made her feel like a brute. "Sorry, Neal," she said ruefully.

"That's all right." He smiled crookedly. "Gods know I keep thinking I was crack-brained to leave the university."

"But if you hadn't, I'd be a lot worse off now," Merric reminded him. "I like you where you are, thanks."

Kel gripped Neal's shoulder in another, silent, apology, and went back to the entrance. "Why don't you rest in back?" she suggested to Seaver. "I'll spell you for a time." He nodded, and passed his bow to her. Kel took his position, lying flat so only the top of her head showed when she peered out. Looking gave her the sweats, but she made herself do it. She had to know if the outlaws would give up, or keep coming. Right now they seemed to be arguing, but a couple looked at the trail as if they were of a mind to climb it.

Go ahead, she thought coldly. You won't get far.

Two did try. Kel shot one man in the collarbone--it was hard to sight from this awkward angle. Owen, who had come to watch beside her, rose on his knees and shot the second man through the eye. An arrow soared over his head just as he lay flat again. As Kel scolded him for making a target of himself, she heard the sound of horses at the gallop. It was the entire company of pages and teachers, armed for battle, with Lord Wyldon in the lead. The raiders fled.

Kel sent the unwounded pages down to Lord Wyldon, then helped the two Shangs improvise a stretcher and lower Merric to the ground. "We can do the same for you," Hakuin offered. "You are hurt."

Kel shook her head: she had her pride. "I'll climb down." She let them and Neal go first, however, and sent Jump after them. Only when she stepped onto the path did she realize that by waiting until last she had created an audience for her descent.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think herself stone, then faced the cliff. At least this time she didn't have to negotiate the path while keeping anyone below in view. The worst this audience could do was laugh. She did hear some chuckles as she sidled along, one eye on the ground just ahead of her right foot, her nose as close to the cliff face as she could put it.

At last she was down. Peachblossom and Jump both nuzzled her; the sparrows swirled around her, but did not land. They know what's coming, Kel thought weakly. She waved her dog and horse off, then threw up.

When she stood, wiping her mouth on her sleeve, she turned to face a dark dun horse's inquiring eye. "Well, Page Keladry," the dun's rider, Lord Wyldon said drily, "now you realize combat isn't woman's work. I hope you've thought better of this experiment of yours, now that you've seen blood."

"Sir, that isn't fair," protested Owen.

Kel closed her eyes, thinking, not for the first time, Why don't I have friends who know when to be silent?

"What is not fair, Owen of Jesslaw?" demanded Lord Wyldon.

Kel tried to signal Owen to hush, but the plump boy's eyes were fixed on the training master. "Sir, you talk like Kel couldn't handle the fighting, and she's the one who saved our bacon. Sir," he added, in case he wasn't being sufficiently polite. "She's just sick from the climbing. The fight didn't bother her, even when she killed that man." He pointed to the raider who lay nearby, Kel's spear in his belly.

I wish he hadn't reminded me, Kel thought. She unhooked her canteen from her belt with trembling fingers, unstoppered it, and poured water over her head. She also took a gulp and swilled it around to clean her mouth, then spat it out.

Faleron spoke up. "We might be dead but for Kel, my lord. I froze when they came at us. Kel's the one with the cool head. She found that cave when we all thought we were trapped."

The other members of their hunting party chorused agreement.

Lord Wyldon's mare shifted on her feet, as if she reflected her master's uncertainty. Finally Wyldon said, "We'll take Merric to the army post for treatment and shift our camp there. I want a word with the district commander"--Kel had the feeling that word would not be "blessings"--"and then I expect a report from each of you. Page Keladry?"

"Sir?" she asked, looking up at him. It was impossible to tell what he thought; his clean-carved face was emotionless.

"Mount up," Lord Wyldon ordered.

Kel looked at Peachblossom, who wore only a halter. There hadn't been time to saddle him before they left camp, she realized. Wyldon had simply taken the horses of the missing pages to keep them from being stolen while they were away.

She led the gelding to a stone, and climbed onto his broad back. "Try not to spill me," she whispered. "You're slippery."

His ears flicked back and forward in acknowledgement. He did seem careful not to dump her as Lord Wyldon gave the command to ride out. He also didn't object as those sparrows who couldn't fit on Kel or Neal settled onto his mane.

Looking at them, Kel recalled how valiantly the birds had fought. Were any hurt or dead? She did a count and sighed with relief. Eighteen sparrows had come south with her. Eighteen rode with them now.

As they rode out of the little valley, Kel realized it was her twelfth birthday. She couldn't help it--she began to laugh. Remembering the man she had killed, she got hold of herself before she started to cry. Hysterics--that's all I need for them to think I've gone completely female, she thought, biting the inside of her cheek until it bled. And what's wrong with being hysterical, if no one is hurt by it and it makes you feel better? I'll just wait, and have my hysterics where no one will see or hear me.

Owen rode up beside her, keeping a watchful eye on Peachblossom. "Are you all right?" he asked, his gray eyes worried. "It was a jolly fight, except for you and Merric getting hurt and us not knowing if we would die and all."

Kel looked at him for a moment, startled, than shook her head in admiration. "It won't bother you that we left dead men back there."