Young Warriors by Tamora Pierce Read Free Book Online

this when his parents couldn’t find out. He’d have to rush home afterward and clean the muck off his shoes, for he’d been forbidden to ever go near them. But he told himself that he was practicing for his future, and the soldiers seemed to like him. Eli was positive that as soon as he was old enough, they’d welcome him into their ranks like a long-lost brother.
    It was in this manner, dawdling and daydreaming, that Eli bumped into Leah and knocked her down. He was walking fast to beat the sun, his eyes half-closed to better see the stallions in his future, when he collided with her back.
    â€œOof!” she exclaimed, falling facedown into the dirt.
    Oh, no!
thought Eli.
She’ll think I did it on purpose!
Appalled, he rushed forward to help her rise.
    â€œAre you all right, Leah?” he asked anxiously, peering into her face. Marriage or no marriage, they’d grown up together, and he genuinely cared for her.
    Leah looked down at her wrinkled blouse and made smoothing motions with her hands, then slowly raised her eyes to meet his.
    â€œOf course I am,” she purred, arching her neck coyly. “My, Eli, what a big, strong man you’ve become!”
    Eli stared at her in confusion. The Leah he knew would never speak to him in that manner! Leah was always shy in his presence, even more so these past few years. Though she clapped when he wrestled, she did the same for every other boy in the village. He searched her forehead to see if she’d bumped it badly, but there was no sign of a bruise.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, honey, cat got your tongue?” she purred. “I can get it back for you . . .” She smiled then, running her tongue along the edge of her lips, and moved forward to place her mouth on his.
    Eli was so startled that he took a step back and fell right onto the ground. There he sat, in a most undignified position, stupidly staring at the girl next door who’d somehow become the woman from a bad section of town! Was she playing games with him now? The thought enraged him.
    â€œI don’t know why you’re doing this, Leah, but it’s not going to make any difference! I won’t marry you,” he said with finality.
    Leah put her hands on her waist, tilted her head back, and roared with laughter. It was not the laughter of a young girl, though, but the rich, throaty laughter of a woman of the world.
    â€œMarry! Who said anything about marriage?!” she chortled. “All I’m talking about is a little fun!” And with that, she sat right down in the dirt beside him and began to unbraid her hair.
    Now Eli was truly horrified. Unmarried women did not unbraid their hair! Even married women only did that in the privacy of their homes, where only their husbands could see. Even the
goyishe
women, the non-Jews, kept their hair bound. Leah was behaving like the basest of women—what on earth was going on here? He began to rise, but she made a chopping motion with her hand.
    â€œStop right there,” she said in an imperious tone. He stared at her, wondering what had come over the timid girl he’d thought he knew so well.
    She pinned him with her eyes, and he was suddenly unable to move. He tried to rise, to run for help, but his limbs would not obey. Instead, he sat like a lump of clay, unable to do anything but breathe.
    When her hair was down and hanging loosely over her shoulders, she slowly began to unbutton her blouse. Eli had never been so mortified in all his life. What would her parents think? What would
his
parents think?! It was beyond belief.
    He made a small, strangled sound, and she grinned lasciviously. Abruptly, his limbs and his tongue were freed. Panting with relief, Eli jumped to his feet and backed away from her, but Leah rose and calmly walked toward him, still unbuttoning the blouse.
    â€œLeah, Leah, stop! What is it, what’s going on? You’re not behaving at all like yourself—I’m going