that the woman's feel-ings of duty, that her role within Ashwarawu's band at that time was what-ever Ashwarawu determined her role to be, and she did not immediately refuse.
Ashwarawu pulled her down to the furs and his hands started roaming about her body, sliding under the furs she wore. He kept kissing her, and started to undress her.
Brynn could not deny some of the tingles his touch excited in her, in ways that the innocent young woman had never known. But neither could she deny her instincts that this was not right. Not for her.
Not then and there.
She pushed Ashwarawu away, or tried to, for the powerful young man Just grabbed on tighter and pressed his lips against hers more forcefully.
Brynn slipped her hand under his and gave a subtle twist, freeing her enough to pull back.
"No," she said.
It she had picked up a knife and stabbed it into his chest, Ashwarawu's expression would have been no less incredulous.
"You deny Ashwarawu?"
He lessened his grasp as he spoke, and Brynn wriggled free and went back to sitting against the side of the tent.
1 do not even know you," the woman replied. She hated the wounded look on his face, the expression that she had put there. For a moment, she felt very foolish and very ashamed that she was not more of a woman.
"I am Ashwarawu!" he said. ?I am the bringer of hope to the To-gai-ru I am he whom the Behrenese fear!"
"In all those things, you speak truly," Brynn admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
"You should feel proud that I have chosen you to lie with me!"
Brynn looked at him hard, her expression sufficient to keep him at bay for indeed he had started to advance again. She tried desperately to sort through the myriad feelings and thoughts that were swirling about her mind, but all that she could ask at that moment was, ?Is gratitude a reason to make love? ?
Ashwarawu sat back, looking very much as if he did not understand.
"I do not know!" Brynn spouted. ?I am not sure."
"Pleasure me," the man demanded. ?Let me pleasure you, for tomorrow we might die upon the field!"
On one level, his words made perfect sense to Brynn. Did she wish to die a virgin, after all? In truth, to that moment, she had hardly thought about it, for her life had been full of so many other joys and responsibilities.
On another level, though, Brynn could not dismiss her feeling that this was not right for her. Not at that time.
So many things about Ashwarawu seemed appealing - his appearance not the least of them. But so many other questions remained in the back of the woman's mind.
"No," she said with conviction. ?I do not know you. I serve you with my blade, and with my body in battle."
"You would serve me well tonight," the man complained.
"That is not a role I choose," Brynn said, and though the conflicts re-mained within her, she was on solid emotional ground, had made up her mind and would not be persuaded otherwise.
"Ashwarawu!" came a voice from outside, some distance away.
The To-gai-ru leader glanced at the tent flap, then back at Brynn, coldly, but then moved and pushed the flap aside.
"Barou is very sick," the distant voice explained. ?And others are feeling ill."
Ashwarawu grabbed his furs and crawled for the tent entrance. He glanced back at Brynn once, his expression clearly conveying his demand that the events of that night be kept secret between them. ?We will finish this another time," he said.
Brynn didn't know if he was referring to the discussion or the lovemak-ing, and she even got an uneasy feeling that there was a veiled threat in his statement.
She collected herself then and started to follow, but paused once, consid-ering the irony of it all.
On the field the day before, Ashwarawu had been able to make her put A he questions of her conscience and take the lives of the two wounded here he had essentially tried to do the same thing, to use her as an ion of his wishes, whatever her own desires might have been, nuch of what Ashwarawu did offended Brynn at a very instinctive level* and yet, he was proving to be effective. Undeniably. Was this the definition of a leader?
Brynn did not know.
That night, Barou, a young warrior still in his teens, died, and many oth-ers grew sick. It didn't take the To-gai-ru long to realize that the men had been poisoned.