Scrabbling with hands hard as diamonds, the flinty beast dug at crumbled rock.
Chapter 4
'That's it! Put up your fists!' bawled Delmar.
'If that suits you!' Sunbright shot back.
Both men swung while everyone else hollered.
Delmar was Sunbright's height but broad as an ox across the shoulders. He had dark skin, dark, curly hair and a beard to his chest, a tight blue shirt hacked off at the shoulders, and woolen breeches above rawhide boots. His arms and fists were hard as oak stumps from a lifetime of hauling baggage and wrangling horses, and he knew how to brawl, which was more than Sunbright could boast.
But the barbarian was furious, having fumed for weeks at the jeers Delmar pitched his way. It was inevitable that tempers would explode into flame.
Dark Delmar stamped his heavy boots down near Sunbright's toes to distract him, or else cripple him given the chance. The barbarian danced nimbly backward, but Delmar added a savage right hook at Sunbright's ribs. Sunbright was rocked half off his feet by the tremendous blow.
Merchants, bodyguards, cooks, and others-including Knucklebones-circled to watch and cheer and slap down bets. The caravan came to an abrupt halt on the woodland road, a good fight livening up an overcast summer afternoon. The only one not thrilled was Knucklebones, who held one hand over her mouth and tried not to scream. At Sunbright.
Crooked to one side by aching ribs, Sunbright guarded his left and whirled to present his right. He learned fast, and as Delmar repeated his trick of stamping before punching, Sunbright beat him to it. A fast right smashed into Delmar's brow and glanced off, dinging a swatch off the barbarian's knuckle.
Delmar had flipped his head aside, missing most of the blow, but his bruised eyebrow and eyelid began to swell immediately, cutting off vision in that eye. 'Lucky!' he sneered, and made to stamp again.
He changed tactics, so his off hand strove for his foe's brisket. The wooden fist slammed into Sunbright's belly, but that was hard as iron plate itself and did little damage. Rather, the barbarian hammered both fists onto Delmar's neck and knocked the man into the dust.
Delmar crashed, but he didn't stay down, vulnerable to kicks, for long. Flailing his hands blindly, he caught one of Sunbright's moosehide boots, hooked his fingers into the iron rings, and yanked.
Upset, the warrior crashed on his rump. His long red shirttail flew up, entangling his fists. Humping on his belly, Delmar tried to punch Sunbright between the legs. The barbarian barely flicked his knee sideways, kicked and flopped like a fish ashore, and rolled over his shoulder backward to get away. By the time he was upright and shaking dust from his face, Delmar had risen and charged.
The wrangler's shoulder slammed Sunbright across the hips, cannoning him backward. Hoisted in the air, Sunbright rammed a horse's ribs with his spine. The frightened beast whinnied and hopped, almost stamped Sunbright's toes with iron-shod hooves. Delmar dug his toes in the road to slam his shoulder tighter into Sunbright's breastbone, crowding and mashing his foe while he pounded hammy fists into the shaman's guts again and again. Sunbright could barely keep his feet as the horse danced sideways, unpropping him. If he fell, Delmar would land on top and pound his face to jelly.
Tightening his gut, Sunbright felt berserker rage flooding his mind, and, for once, let it come. He was glad to be clobbering someone after weeks of ragging and teasing from Delmar and his friends, was thrilled to get in some abuse of his own. Aiming with savage glee, he bashed Delmar's ears, jaw, and temples, almost popping his own knuckles on both hands.
Then someone grabbed the horse's reins and tugged the beast to safety. Sunbright reeled backward with Delmar still punishing his breadbasket. Both men tripped and tumbled. Sunbright managed to shove Delmar to one side while he fell to the other. He landed hard on one cheek, rattling his teeth and jolting his spine, but curled and spun and whirled to face his attacker immediately.
Just in time. Sunbright almost snapped his own neck ducking his head, and felt a thunderous fist scrape his cheek. Since Delmar was leaning right, Sunbright threw out his right arm to bowl the man further. Yet Delmar hooked his hand around Sunbright's neck, latched onto his long horsetail, and yanked viciously. Neck creaking, Sunbright's nose was mashed against Delmar's hairy forearm. Not wasting the chance, Sunbright bit on ropy muscle with keen, white teeth.
Delmar howled, tried to yank the horsetail again, but had to let go for pain. Losing his temper further, the wrangler drove the heel of his free hand at Sunbright's face to break his nose.
But the barbarian ducked, relying on nimbleness to save himself against the heavier man. Lashing out with both hands pointed, he struck Delmar's throat with fingertips like blunt spears. The big man's howl was cut off as he gagged. Yet he resisted doubling over into more blows; instead he snapped his head back. That suited Sunbright, who rammed the heel of his own hand upward from near the ground. Catching Delmar's chin, he banged the man's mouth shut with a frightful clack of bruised teeth. Stunned, the wrangler took three awkward steps backward, and crashed on his back.
Still raging, Sunbright hopped after him, and landed with both moosehide-booted feet on Delmar's belly. Shouting a war whoop, he jumped viciously on his fallen foe's belly, and nearly ruptured the wrangler's guts. Despite being stunned, Delmar folded in half around Sunbright's big foot, but the barbarian kicked free, hopped back, and aimed to kick the man's head off. Dimly he heard his lover cry, 'Sunbright, no!', but he never paused.
Nor did he complete the kick. A noose sailed from overhead, dropped around his shoulders, snuggled around his elbows, and snapped tight. Someone strong tugged hard, and he crashed on his rump for the third time, and found it sore. He was dragged backward as if hitched to a horse, then someone grabbed his horsetail and slammed his head to the ground. A painful jolt shot through his skull as gravel bit his scalp.
Struggling to get loose, Sunbright found a large boot pinning his chest. Aselli, caravan mistress, was silhouetted against the gray sky. In her hand bobbed an axe handle, inches from Sunbright's forehead.
'Lie still and settle down, northman,' Aselli growled, 'or I'll crease your skull, and leave you for the wolves.'
Helpless, Sunbright laid still. Knucklebones crouched beside his head, searched for permanent damage, but she wouldn't look him in the eye for shame.
Actually, now that battle-rage had left him, he was ashamed of himself. He shouldn't have been prodded into a brawl. Fighting for pride was stupid, and for the moment, so was he.
Aselli stamped off, ordering Jun to plant his boot on Sunbright's chest. A moment later, the caravan mistress returned, lugging Sunbright's satchels, sword, and tackle. She dropped them in the dust, fished in a purse, counted out seven silver crowns, and sprinkled them over the pile. Her white-framed face was grim. 'We'll go on, but you lie quiet. If we see you follow, we'll play at target practice. I've stomached your stiff-necked pride and bristly hide too long. We're close enough to Quagmire that I don't need a pigheaded bodyguard who picks fights.'
'It wasn't I who sneered-'
'Save it! If I want an argument, I'll visit my daughters-in-law. Give me back my rope, and don't act cute, or I'll coldcock you.'
Relieved of boot and rope, Sunbright remained lying in the road with elbows propped. He and Knucklebones watched the dazed Delmar muscled up and across a mule. Aselli called, 'Get 'em goin'!', and the caravan plodded down the road. No one looked back at the barbarian and thief.
When the wagons rounded a bend under green, leafy oak trees, Sunbright picked himself up, and dusted himself off. Limping from hammered and sprained muscles, he trudged to a roadside stream, washed his face and hands, and slaked his thirst. Then he strapped on his tackle.
'I hope you're happy.' They were Knucklebones's first words in a long while. 'We don't get pitched out of enough taverns and marketplaces and towns, and now you've been chucked off a caravan. What's your object? To aggravate every human being in the empire so you can become a hermit in some mountain cave?'
A slight exaggeration, but only just. Since leaving the Iron Mountains last winter, the pair had wandered north, and worked as needed. Sunbright had gathered game, split wood, hammered rock in a quarry. Nimble- fingered Knucklebones had gambled, assisted a jeweller, told fortunes with knucklebones at fairs, and cut purses
