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"Let us see how long you can hold your breath," the elf said, and he began to squeeze.
Jedra felt his throat constricting, first his windpipe and then even the blood supply to his head being squeezed shut. Bright red streamers began to swirl in his vision. He had only a few seconds left before he would lose consciousness, and he could hardly move a muscle to prevent it. His forearms and legs were the only things he could move, but they could not even reach Sahalik, much less do the elf any damage.
Let me help! Kayan's voice in his mind was overlaid with fear for his life.
Her panic, combined with his own, nearly made him accept her offer. Who cared if they blasted this hulk of an elf into bloody gobbets? But Jedra wasn't quite panicked enough to ignore the consequences of that.
No, Jedra told her, but that moment of contact gave him an idea. Their combined psionic power might be too dangerous to use, and his pushing ability was too weak to do much good by itself, but he did have one other talent he could employ on his own....
He focused his thoughts on Sahalik, forging a link with his adversary's mind, then when he saw the elf's eyes bulge with the same panic Jedra felt, he slapped his broken hand hard against the ground.
The pain that shot through his arm felt like molten lava running down the center of the bone. Jedra cried out in agony-but so did Sahalik. And for just an instant as the elf's muscles spasmed with empathic pain, his grip on Jedra's throat relaxed.
That was all the advantage Jedra needed. He heaved his body upward with all his might, overbalancing the elf and sending him over backward. Scrambling free before his opponent could grab him again, Jedra leaped over the fire to give himself a moment to recover his strength.
He had precious little left to recover. He gasped for air, his vision wavering even more than the flames before him, and his muscles all felt as if they were about to fall from his bones. He staggered to the left, struggling just to stay on his feet, but when Sahalik charged around the fire toward him he managed to run a couple of steps, then dodged sideways and stuck out his leg to trip the elf again.
This time Sahalik was ready for him. The elf warrior grabbed Jedra's outstretched leg, yanking it upward hard enough to pull his other leg completely off the ground too. Instead of letting him fall, Sahalik grabbed the other leg and spun around. Jedra felt his hands pass through the flames-once, twice, and a third time as Sahalik spun him around by his feet. He wondered if the elf warrior would throw him into the fire, but it soon became apparent that he had a more humiliating end in mind. Sahalik put all his effort into one more mighty swing, bringing Jedra's outstretched body down low, then releasing him on the upswing to fly completely over the heads of the astonished crowd.
Kay an was the first to his side. She fought through the cheering crowd and knelt beside him. Are you alive? she asked.
Barely, Jedra answered. He groaned as he tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down.
Lie still. Let me heal your injuries before you try to move.
Jedra felt her make deeper contact with his mind. It was still nothing like the total sharing they were capable of, but her healing power required a link sufficient to control his body's healing processes and to transfer some of her own ability to him. Jedra gladly gave over his control to her and let his mind drift wherever she directed it. The pain in his ribs and in his hand slowly faded, and the ache in his throat as well. However, before Kayan could complete the job, the elves turned to see what had become of the vanquished half-elf, and she had to withdraw.
The chief stepped over to Jedra's side and extended a hand to help him up. Jedra looked to Kayan, and she nodded. I think you'll be all right. So Jedra accepted the hand-with his left, since it would be some time before his right hand healed completely-and rose shakily to his feet, Kayan helping to support him on the other side.
"Well fought," the chief said. "And since the tribe rules only that you must fight, not that you must win, I declare you fit to travel with us as far as you like." He nodded to Sahalik, who had stalked over to listen, and said, "By your own actions, you are honor bound to treat him as one of us. See that you do."
Sahalik frowned, then nodded toward Kayan. "What of this one?"
The chief was taken aback. "You cannot mean to challenge her as well?"
"No," Sahalik said. "She is human, and could never be part of the tribe. She will always be an outsider. Outsiders in the tribe must have a protector, and so I claim protectorship over her by right of conquest."
"But I don't claim you," Kayan said.
"You will learn to," Sahalik said, his voice low and menacing.
Kayan asked the chief, "What's this protectorship nonsense? I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
The chief hesitated, his sense of decency obviously at war with his sense of self-preservation. He didn't look like a chief at all anymore, just a tired old man who stood to lose his tribe over a stupid squabble. "Sahalik is talking about an old custom," he said, "wherein an outsider lives with a member of the tribe in order to learn our ways. It is not always insisted upon, but since your own safety-and the safety of the tribe-often depends upon your knowledge of desert skills, it can be required."
"Especially in times when the outsider may be with us for some time," Sahalik said. "I would be more comfortable if I knew that this one followed our customs."
"I bet you would," Kayan said with a sneer.
Galar had been standing at the edge of the crowd; now he stepped forward and said, after a nervous gulp, "I will be her protector."
"Not unless you want to challenge me," Sahalik said.
"I-"
"Thanks, Galar," Kayan cut him off before he could get himself into trouble, "but there's no need for that." She looked up at Sahalik, towering over her by at least three feet. "You're just not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
He grinned wickedly. "I am not accustomed to it."
