Young Warriors by Tamora Pierce Page B

course!”
    â€œOf course . . . ,” she said dryly, and closed her eyes to ponder the question.
    They sat that way for a long time as the shadows lengthened and Shabbes drew closer. For a moment, Eli worried about being out after dark; then he silently laughed at himself. Here he was, facing down a dybbuk, and all he could think of was that?!
    Finally he saw her eyes flicker open, and she smiled, a bitter, malevolent, victorious smile.
    â€œOh, you silly boy! You thought that because I was a woman, I wouldn’t be able to guess it, didn’t you? Now, confess!”
    Eli honestly said no, because he had never thought of the dybbuk as female, only as evil.
    â€œWell, now I’ve guessed it, and you shall be my guide and protector for all your life!” she said smugly.
    Eli was beginning to get annoyed. It was almost sunset. The candles would be on the table soon, and he was getting very hungry. “Then, if you’re so smart, what’s the answer?”
    She laughed, clapped her hands, rose to her feet, and said, “Why, it’s a soul, of course!”
    And Eli, too, slowly rose to his feet, clapped his hands, gave a little bow, and then said, “No, it’s not. That’s the wrong answer.”
    The laughter died on her lips and she glared at him, her face turning red. “It is
so
the right answer!” she shouted.
    â€œIt is not!” Eli shouted back. “I said, ‘What is it that
everything
has?’ A rock has no soul. A grain of sand has no soul. That is
not
the correct answer.”
    And then he smiled, a terrible smile of righteous joy, as she slowly sank back onto the ground.
    He looked down at her, no longer afraid. “And now I will have your end of the bargain, dybbuk,” Eli said.
    She looked at him warily. “What is it you want? I can make you as rich as a Rothschild. I can make you as handsome as the handsomest prince. What do you want?” she asked.
    He paused, arms at his sides, then simply said, “I want Leah back.”
    The dybbuk scrambled to her feet, grimaced at him, and angrily said “No!” Then she began running, running away from him as fast as she could, screaming “No! No! No!” And Eli, desperate to make her fulfill her end of the bargain, raced after her, but he could not catch her. She ran and ran, and he stumbled after her, but the dybbuk was running with the speed of a demon, while Eli was only human. He was panting and winded, about to give up, when there was an enormous clap of thunder, as though heaven itself had parted. Eli smacked his hands against his ears in pain, then froze as the dybbuk fell to the ground, where she lay as if dead.
    He looked up at the sky; there was not a cloud in sight. Then he looked at the dybbuk, lying like a corpse. Slowly he approached the body, and standing as far away as possible, he turned it over.
    Leah gave a small moan, and her eyelids fluttered open. Eli cautiously moved forward. He saw with joy that there was no sneer on her lips, no cunning in her face now. He helped her sit up, then held her as she wept against his shoulder, smelling her clean hair and marveling at the softness of her tears as they fell upon his skin. When the tears had run dry, he stood and helped her up. He looked into her eyes, and each began to speak at once.
    â€œI’ll never be a soldier or want a sword again—” Eli began.
    â€œI never saw anything so brave in all my life as when you—” Leah said.
    They looked at one another, startled, then tried again.
    â€œLeah, I am so sorry for—” he said.
    â€œEli, I can’t tell you how sorry I—” she said.
    They stopped again, then both began to laugh. Leah put her arm through his and shyly whispered, “I saw everything, Eli. Everything! You were so brave, braver than any soldier could be! Weren’t you afraid?”
    Eli was about to say he hadn’t been afraid, not for an instant, but he