Free Traitors' Gate (Crossroads) by Kate Elliott

you brought clean desire to the act of worship.
    She glanced toward her companion reeves. Kesta led while Pil flew the west flank. Ahead lay the ocean, a seething expanse of water that fell into the sky far to the east.
    Tumna chirped, jerking Nallo’s attention to a discoloration lying athwart land and ocean dead ahead. It was hard to fathom until the eyes began to identify the multitudinous strands of water plaiting the land and the rank upon rank of wood and stone buildings rising on islands within the delta as though they were a crop of stone being raised out of the earth. Was that Nessumara, the jewel of the sea, the city of bridges, the largest city in the Hundred?
    I’m just a hill girl born to goat herders! I’ll never get used to this!
    Following Kesta’s eagle, Arkest, Tumna dropped toward one island among many within the branching arms of the great river. Nallo laughed with the blend of fear and thrill she’d not yet gotten used to. The wind rumbled in her ears. The city flew up to meet her, and Tumna banked to overfly the largest parade ground, where Kesta and Arkest were just setting down. Nallo counted four parade grounds, separated by a maze of walls and lofts, as Tumna veered toward an empty one. Jessed eagles concealed in lofts called out in challenge, but Tumna ignored them. Extending her wings to their greatest extent, she raised her talons to make a perfect landing on a massive wooden log set horizontal to the ground.
    “Whoop!” Nallo shouted. Tumna chuffed, shaking herself as Nallo unhooked from the harness and dropped to the ground. Two fawkners jogged out from the lofts.
    “Heya! I’m Nallo, out of Clan Hall. Greetings of the day.”
    “Yeh, yeh, you’re new, aren’t you? Your eagle did all the work, that’s for sure. What’s your eagle’s name? Anything we should know?”
    The brusque voice brought her up short. “She’s called Tumna, and”—she paused to get their attention—“she ripped off the head of her last reeve.”
    “Deserved, no doubt,” said the stouter one, who did all the talking. The wiry one nodded with a sneering grin.
    They were experienced fawkners and she a novice reeve, not even yet able to steer her eagle properly. Sparring with them was not a battle she could win. “We’re here to pick up rice and nai for the siege.”
    “So we heard. You can’t possibly ferry enough sacks of rice and nai by eagle flight to feed Toskala.”
    “We’re not feeding Toskala, only the defenders up on Law Rock.”
    “Why stay in Clan Hall at all? Why not evacuate? Copper Hall could use reinforcements at our main hall on the Haya shore. And Horn Hall is abandoned.”
    “We can’t abandon Law Rock and Justice Square to those who mean to overthrow the law.”
    The fawkner shook her head. “Maybe not. But we’re overrun with refugees from Istria and Haldia. We’re starting to see hungry and sick refugees out of Toskala, and for sure there are more to come, eh? Our reeves are buried under fights and altercations all along the roads, even with the militia out patrolling.”
    The wiry fellow spoke up for the first time. “Seems selfish of you Clan Hall reeves not to disperse to reinforce the other halls. Work together. Be of some use.”
    “We’re not giving up Law Rock,” snapped Nallo. “Now, can you show me where we’re to pick up the grain? I hope the merchants of Nessumara are more polite than you.”
    “Whoof! Don’t cross this one, eh, Arvi?” said the woman before she hawked and spat on the dirt. Hostility was easy to see in the creases of her mouth. “You’ve got that gods-rotted old Silver to bargain with. He’ll suck you dry.” As one, they took a step back as Sweet pulled up neat as you please to land on the other side of the parade ground. “The hells! We heard rumor an outlander had jessed, but we didn’t believe it. Is he human?”
    “As human as I am,” Nallo retorted. “Although I wonder about you two, not even giving a proper greeting and