Free Moth by Daniel Arenson

I'm no urchin. I'm the daughter of a great warrior."
    The guard laughed, voice echoing behind his visor. "You're dressed like a fisherman's daughter and you smell like one too. Your sword's a pretty thing, though; what dead man did you steal it off?"
    The words drove into her, themselves a blade. She bared her teeth at the guard. She raised her coin, holding it tight between her fingers.
    "I have a coin," she said. "It's copper. Is this enough to enter?"
    "Toss it into the pot with the rest. And be careful, girl. Many fishermen's daughters come to Pahmey seeking their fortunes. We fish many out of the river." He snorted. "If I were you, I'd turn back toward whatever village you're from. This city crushes dreams."
    She snorted too. "Did you come here dreaming of glory, then ended up a humble guard? Don't take out your bitterness on me."
    The man growled and raised his hand, ready to strike her. Koyee scampered back, tossed her coin into the pot, and stuck her tongue out at the guard. He cursed and stepped toward her, reaching for his sword. She turned and raced into the city, leaving him behind at his post.

    * * * * *

    Koyee had promised herself she wouldn't gape, but as she walked down the city street she couldn't help it. Her head tilted back, her eyes widened, and her jaw hung open.
    Buildings lined the street, rising several stories tall. Their bricks were made of opaque glass; Koyee could see the moonlight, the stars, and even her own form reflected within them. Some bricks were deep blue, others gray, and some silver, and some seemed molded of many colors mixed together. Atop these buildings rested roofs of green ceramic tiles, their corners slanting out and upward. Bronze statues topped some roofs, shaped as dancing maidens or animals. More statues—these of dragons—stood on the roadsides, their claws holding tallow lanterns.
    "This sure beats the mud huts at home, doesn't it, Eelani?" she whispered.
    She had thought the docks busy, but even thicker crowds bustled along this street. The wealthy traveled on palanquins. Soldiers patrolled afoot, armor clattering and spears thumping against the cobblestones. Children scampered underfoot. All along the roadsides, sellers stood hawking their wares; thousands of tin and pewter dishes displayed every sort of treasure Koyee could imagine. Some peddlers sold mushrooms: piles of yellow chanterelles, aromatic milkcaps, purple blewits, and fuzzy maitakes that reminded Koyee of brains. Other peddlers hawked fresh fish, urchins, and clams caught in the river. Some merchants sold gemstones, clay dolls, and even glass amulets that trapped the glowing lights of fish.
    Koyee's stomach gave a growl, and she longingly eyed a dish full of truffles.
    "I wish we still had that coin," she said. "I'm famished. I know you are too, Eelani." She patted her empty belly. "We'll have to do without for a while. We have to think of Eloria's safety before we think of our belly."
    She looked up past the bustling market. The towers rose ahead, green and silver and blue, all built of the same glass and crystal. Minlao Palace loomed above the rest, its moon-shaped dome watching the city like a great eye.
    "That's where we must go. That's where we must seek aid."
    She nodded, ignored the scents of food, and trudged onward.
    She walked through the market, coiling along its busy streets, before finally emerging into boulevards lined with pagodas. These homes seemed large as mansions to Koyee, their sloping roofs upturned at the edges like curling parchment. Statues guarded gardens of mushrooms and curtains swung from windows. Even the bat houses here, ornate structures of brass and bronze, seemed finer than the huts back in Oshy.
    Women with painted faces walked these streets in flowing robes, seeming to Koyee, with her simple tunic and bare feet, like ghosts from a story. Golden sashes encircled their waists, and glass beads hung around their necks, trapping the glow of anglerfish lures. Their hands