Time to go, she thought reluctantly. She climbed out and dried off with her tunic. She felt as if her body were humming with a healthy glow. The linen of her shift caressed her skin as she pulled it on, leaving her arms and legs bare. She gathered her other clothes and headed back to Alto, her horse. The mare stood by a cluster of trees, more alert than usual, her ears pricked forward. Allegras pack sat on a nearby rock. She ambled past a line of trees, swinging her clothes

Someone behind Allegra jerked her back, the motion so unexpected that her breath came out in a huff. He held her around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides.

“Hey! Allegra shouted, annoyed. Was some boy she hadnt seen playing a trick on her? She rammed her elbow back and hit a rock-hard torso that didnt feel like a youths thinner frame. Startled, she twisted, turning his weight against him. She managed to roll him over her hip and flip him onto his back, which surprised her, because she had never been good at throws, which she had only learned for fun.

She had one moment to see a man in black and red clothes; then someone else yanked her backward. Frightened now, she kicked back, hitting his shin. Her blow knocked his leg out from under him, and he lost his grip on her.

Allegra ran for her horseand a dark blur appeared to her right. Saints, how many were there? She swerved to the left, but a fourth man came at her from that side. As she spun away, someone grabbed her from behind and threw her forward. They crashed to the ground, and she flailed, trying to free herself. She ended up twisting so she landed on her back, but it didnt help, for her assailant came down on top of her. He was long and lanky, with wiry muscles under his dark clothes.

“Get off, she yelled, and brought her knee up hard. He groaned as he curled into a fetal position on top of her. She wrenched out from under him and tried to scramble away, but he grabbed her ankle and dragged her back along the ground. Two other people hauled her up, and one of them lashed her wrists together behind her back. Her head spun, and she gulped in air.