Kavio
The Yellow Bear warriors took Kavio to a kraal. Its walls were high and strong. They were made of hundreds of twisted tree trunks and branches, packed so tightly that he could not see inside.
He had to squeeze through a narrow entrance.
The warriors who brought him did not follow. From outside, they pushed thick wooden posts into the doorway to block it.
Kavio could see why no extra guards were needed.
Inside the kraal, he stood surrounded by elite warriors. There were fifty of them. He knew who they were—the Bear Shields, the best fighters in all of Yellow Bear.
Each one held a stone mace, wooden club, adz, or spear. They wore war paint and bear skin headdresses. They only wore these when they were ready to kill.
The war leader of the Bear Shields carried a shield marked with a Ladder-to-the-Sun. He stood beside War Chief Hertio, who wore many gold bracelets and necklaces.
The leader gave a signal.
All fifty warriors roared and rushed at Kavio.
Since the day he was exiled—when the angry crowd had nearly killed him—Kavio had thought about how one man could fight many. His best idea was to turn the crowd against itself, so their numbers became a problem for them.
Bows or slings would have changed everything. But the Bear Shields all tried to fight up close. Each one wanted to be the one to knock Kavio down. They got in each other's way.
He dropped low under the first wave. A heavy club swung over his head and missed. He kicked out the legs of one man behind him and rolled sideways, just in time to avoid a stone mace.
Dust flew into his mouth. He spat it out as he twisted between two more attackers. A spear jabbed toward him. Kavio slapped it away and used the shaft to flip himself backward.
He spun and ran for the side wall. One warrior grabbed for him, but Kavio grabbed the man's wrist instead and used it to pull himself into a roll.
He hit the base of a wooden post and sprang upward.
Then he moved fast—he climbed a shoulder, jumped to another. Men shouted below him, reaching up. He leapt across the crowd, shoulder to shoulder, slipping and landing hard each time. A club swung at his legs. He stepped on it and kicked off.
He reached out as he flew and grabbed a short spear from one man's back. He caught an ax from another's belt.
Shouts of surprise followed him.
He landed in the dust on the far side of the warriors, the spear in one hand, the ax in the other. He rolled once, then stood.
A second wave of attacks rushed him!
But he had to laugh. They made the same mistake again, crowding each other.
Kavio ducked under the second wave. He rolled on the ground, swung himself around a post, and jumped from shoulder to shoulder across the crowd.
While moving above their heads, he grabbed a short spear and an ax. He landed in the dust on the far side of the warriors.
Now he was close to both Hertio and the war leader of the Bear Shields.
Kavio held out the weapons on both sides. The blades were just a finger's width from their throats.
"Drop your weapons or I'll kill your leaders!" he shouted to the Bear Shields, who were turning to face him again.
Hertio didn't look scared. He gave a dry look to the war leader.
"Happy now, Thrano? Or do you still think the stories of his skill at the Stone Hedge fight were lies?"
"All right, he's good," said Thrano. He gave a shrug to Kavio. It was half sorry, half trying to explain. "How could I know? Maybe they made you a Zavaedi just because your father was one. Rainbow Labyrinth isn't like Yellow Bear. Who knows what rules they follow?"
"We're not that rotten," Kavio said. "I earned my Shining Name, just like every man here. I earned it in battle and in the kiva."
"You saw for yourself, Thrano," said Hertio. "So, will you work with him, even though he is young?"
"I serve only you, War Chief," Thrano said. "But I will work with the Rain Dancer if you say so."
"War Chief Hertio?" Kavio still held his weapons high. "What is going on here?"