In The Beginning, Gail Daley [red white royal blue .TXT] 📗

three men and two women approaching looked in bad shape. One woman was holding a man up in the saddle and another had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head. The lead rider trotted forward. "Can you help us? Please?" she asked.

Katherine made a sharp gesture, stopping the two healing women who had started forward.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"We were attacked by a large group of Wilders. My husband has been wounded."

"I am Katherine O’Teague. These are my lands and I don’t know you. What is your Clan name and how do you come to be here?" Katherine asked.

"We were sailing along the coast and our boat started leaking. We barely made it to shore before in went down. We started inland to get help. We are DeMedici. By clan treaty you must give aid to shipwrecks."

"You are at least twenty miles inland from the shore and mounted. Where did you get the horses?"

"There was a deserted farm. The horses were running loose. Our need gave us the right to borrow them."

Remembering Zack's warning, Katherine regarded them dispassionately. The story might be true. It also might be the opening gun in the ambush he had expected.

"You said you were attacked by Wilders, when did this happen?"

As she spoke with the leader, Katherine was also sending out her third eye, seeking for hostile emanations from those who might creep up on them while the leader held her attention. She couldn’t pinpoint any one area where danger would come from. Whoever was out there was excellent at shielding their intent. Unfortunately, if they really were shipwrecked, she was duty bound to offer aid.

"Very well," she said. "Dismount and disarm yourselves. We will tend your wounded."

"Disarm?" the leader appeared insulted. "I was not aware a state of war existed between our clans."

"It doesn’t," she retorted coolly. "However, we are expecting an assault from those same Wilders you say you encountered. I have no way of knowing you are who you say you are. If you want our help, you will do as I tell you."

With some muttering and grumbling, the five dismounted, leaving their weapons by the horses. Two women from the Clan went forward and helped with the wounded man. Katherine did not dismount. She signaled her fighters to keep watching outside the wagons for the ambush as the supposed DeMedicis limped into the circle.

Unfortunately, Jelli took that moment to cause a ruckus with the same bird she had fought with the night before. The pair carried their dispute into the forefront of Katherine’s retainers, and Violet came running up to intercede, passing close to the interlopers who had remained in a tight group.

"Jelli, stop that!" Violet shouted at her pet, intent on reaching her before the much larger bird could cause more damage.

Suddenly, the wounded man sitting on the ground sprang up and grabbed Violet, pulling a hidden knife and holding it against her neck. He acted too fast for anyone to have stopped him.

"Well, now, here’s the little Dragon Talker," the leader purred. "I think it is you who will now put down your weapons, Lady. I would hate for so valuable a commodity to be damaged."

"Beware, woman. If you are DeMedici, La Dona won’t appreciate you starting a clan feud by harming my child," Katherine’s voice was cold. While she was speaking, she pushed against Jelli’s emotions, sparking fear for Violet and anger at the man holding her.

Jelli let out a low feral growl, forgetting her dispute with the squawking bird, began stalking toward Violet and her captor with her ears laid back. The Sand Dragon was still small, but she had sharp teeth and talons and with her hardened skin plates covering most of her body she was practically invulnerable.

Her captor shook Violet, turning to face the dragon. "Stop her! Stop her or I’ll kill her!"

With everyone watching the drama, no one saw Katherine draw her pistol. Violet’s captor had turned his back on Katherine to watch Jelli. Katherine fired without hesitation, taking off the top of his head. He slumped to the ground, taking Violet with him.

The camp exploded into a free-for-all of yelling, fighting men and women, excited birds slashing at anything that came too close to them, barking dogs, frightened goats and sheep jumping everywhere to escape, and the final insult, the horses and cattle stampeding through the fighters toward the canyon mouth, knocking aside friend and foe alike.

The rest of the Wilders waiting outside the circle took advantage of the melee to fire into the convoy’s protective ring. Seeing the stampede careening toward Violet’s prone body, Katherine pushed at the oncoming animals, creating a wedge to detour the stampede around Violet and Jelli. She kicked her horse forward. When she reached Violet she leaped off as the mare was still moving. The well-trained horse stood like a rock as the frightened animals raced around her. Shoving the body of the dead Wilder off Violet, Katherine turned her over, checking for wounds. Jelli snuffled in their faces.

"Ugh!" Violet pushed her pet’s wet nose aside. "I’m all right, Jelli." She smiled when she looked up into her mother’s face. "Wasn’t Jelli great? I thought she was going to eat that guy."

"He thought so too," Katherine said grimly. "Come on; let’s get you two under a wagon so we can take care of the rest of them."

Katherine hastily shoved Violet and Jelli under the closest wagon and turned back to the fight with her gun drawn and her back to it, but the precaution proved unnecessary.

Although the Wilders were hampered by fire from Zacks fighters, many of them got inside the circle of wagons. However, the panicking animals impeded their attack as much as it did the defense. The fight was already winding down. Thanks to Zacks skill at strategy and superior fighting experience, the Clan soon got the upper hand over the Wilders. The surviving Wilders were shackled and herded into the only secure dome inside the canyon to await Katherine’s judgement

Katherine kept them waiting until