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This time, Stagon dal Nardo fell and died.
If there was anything Tregare didn't need, it was more confusion. Staggering,
Rissa challenged Blaise Tendal. That treacherous man said he'd do the
challenging. Hawkman shut them both up as Sparline and the medics worked over
Rissa and got her into a robe. And then somehow Hawkman was announcing a
marriage, as of now, between "our victor, Tari Obrigo, "
and, gesturing toward Tregare, "one not to be named publicly at this time. "
Bran heard Rissa mumble, through swollen, bloody lips, something about having
the wrong legal identification;
apparently Hawkman reassured her.
As they all walked forward, Rissa supported by Hawkman, Tregare saw his
battered bride gesture toward himself. "But how can he be here?" Whatever his
father answered, Rissa nodded.
Bran's own questions gave Hawkman no pause, either. He'd asked if the marriage
was to be oldstyle or freestyle. Head-shake. "We don't make the distinction
here. Now let's begin. "
Not one word of that ceremony stuck in Tregares memory. At the end of it Rissa
turned to him; he tasted blood on her abused lips. Then she reached her head
up and lightly touched her tongue to each of his eyelids. "If this is all you
will show " and he realized his face was still hooded.
Hawkman was trying to wind things down. While Bran was trying to find an
answer for his new wife, Blaise Tendal began to shout, challenging her as "the
murderer of Stagon dal Nardo!"
Wrenching away from Bran, she shouted an acceptance, but Hawkman in a cold
voice negated the entire proposition: as a Hulzein connection by marriage,
"Tari" was out of Tendal's status range for dueling. Tendal claimed he was a
dal Nardo the same way she was a Hulzein. A short man, one of Stagon dal
Nardos retinue, calling himself Talig dal Nardo and claiming to be
Stagon's heir to power in the clan, told Tendal that his nominal marriage to
Stagon's prepubescent daughter was annulled. Tendal, red-faced, threw his hat
down and cursed the lot of them. "You all hide behind status, don't you? Well,
dealing with Blaise Tendal, it won't help you! I'll get her anyway!"
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Enough of this shit. I want that one, Tregare stepped forward. "Tendal! If I
headed the dal
Nardo clan, I'd kill you this minute. If the new head doesn't, he should.
Because I'm sure he knows, if you don't, what happens to anyone connected with
the fool who harms the wife of
Bran Tregare!"
For seconds he thought it would work. Insane and raging, the man was, but
Tregare was in position to stop him from getting near Rissa, and moving
forward, too. Hawkman didn't hold him back. Bran stepped ahead, slowly. When
he saw the man's mouth twisting and knew something was wrong, it was too late.
The knife came from nowhere into Tendal's hand
so much for their damned Security here
 and went far afield of Tregares frantic grab. He heard a gasp, a shout; he
couldn't turn fast enough to see where the knife had gone, but in front of him
Blaise Tendal's chest exploded into red steam. The black-clad referee put away
her energy gun and said, "I should have done that when he threw the dirt. "
The shout had been from Ernol Lombuno; now Tregare saw that the hilt of a
knife protruded from the palm of the black man's hand, and the blade out the
back of it. But Lombuno was grinning. "Best catch I ever made!" There was
blood but not a whole lot, and shortly the senior medic worked the blade loose
and opened skin enough to make sure there was no tendon damage, then
administered antibiotics and closed the wound.
Later they went out to the aircars. The others the dal Nardos with the corpse
to carry, the
referees' group and the two medics (after the younger of those two had hugged
Rissa for a time) left earlier. Hawkman assigned passengers to his and Brans
car. A small man, thin-faced and with a crooked nose, was waiting outside the
arena; Hawkman said, "Lebeter, I wish we'd had you inside, there. The dal
Nardos had a knifester who got in, armed. Nearly killed our principal. "
Lebeter shook his head. "Bad. Who was it?"
"Blaise Tendal. So damn'
fast. "
Lebeter spat on the ground. "I
should of been there. " And Hawkman laughed, clapping a hand to the little
knifemans shoulder. They both grinned, and Lebeter said, "Your car's crowded.
I'll fly Splieg with me. Anybody else?" Hawkman shook his head; Lebeter said,
"If you need no more now, I'll leave. "
That car lifted; not long after, the remaining group boarded Tregare's car. He
waved
Hawkman to the pilots seat; after all, the man knew the way to Hulzein Lodge
and dark would be coming soon. Sparline was making Rissa, sedated close to
sleep, comfortable on the car's wide rear seat. That done, she turned to face
Tregare. "It's been a long time, Bran. Are you reconciled to us now, or ?" He
stared at her, and found that all the long hurt was somehow gone. So he hugged
her, this tall beautiful sister he didn't really know. "All of a sudden, seems
so. We'll talk later; okay?"
"I'd like that. Rissa's said you're not so bad as people say. "
He laughed. "I hope to hell not. Go sit down, so's Hawkman can lift us. "
Strapping in, Tregare found himself sitting beside Ernol Lombuno, and said,
"How's the hand?
Hurting much?"
"Some. Not too badly. " A pause, and then, "So you've married her. I hope you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]