noticed distant fields off to their right and the kind of isolated barns used for sheltering herds and storing hay.
It was almost noon when they crested a rise in the road. Before them a small river had cut a little flat- bottomed valley to the north as it hurried to join the Snow Serpent on their left. A quarter of a mile away and to the north, a walled town stood on the sloping hills that shaped the western side of the valley. Near it were grain fields and herds of the large, shaggy cattle known as yaks.
Where the road and the smaller river met, there stood a guard- and tollhouse. It was built like the local dwellings, two stories tall and curving inward from ground to flat roof. The shutters were open on the narrow windows since it was a sunny day. Ivory plaster covered every chink in the walls. It was bigger than most of the houses and there was a watchtower on the roof. A couple of horses grazed in a fenced-in field at the side of the building. If this place was like others in this area, Briar figured, the stables would be on the ground floor.
One soldier in imperial livery stood by the barrier on the road. Four more lounged on benches on the side of the guardhouse. Briar squinted against the sunlight that shone into his eyes. A flag on the tower snapped in the wind. All he could tell was the color, a bright, imperial yellow. “Border crossing?” he guessed.
Two of the seated warriors rose and took up halberds that leaned against the guardhouse. The other two gathered quivers and crossbows that had been on the ground next to their feet, slinging the quivers onto their backs before they stood to set a quarrel in their crossbows.
“I think so,” Parahan replied.
Rosethorn and Briar double-checked the slings on their chests. Their seed bombs lay ready. Their mage kits were open and strapped tight on the saddles in front of them, in case they were needed. Evvy was leading the pack mules. She had her own cloth sling ready, with disks of quartz and flint ready for use.
“This may be nothing,” Rosethorn cautioned.
They said no more until they were within shouting distance of the guard on the barrier. He was a strongly built older man who kept all of his attention on their small party.
“Hello!” Parahan cried cheerfully. “It must be a dull day for you fellows with no one else on the road!”
“Halt for inspection!” the oldest man shouted back. “In the name of our glorious emperor!”
“Gladly,” Parahan called, not slowing his pace forward. “Only, would you ask your fellows there to lower their crossbows? My wife is in the family way, and they’re making her nervous.”
“Rogue,” muttered Rosethorn.
“Your endearments make me yearn for our nights together, my sweetest,” Parahan whispered.
Briar choked, trying not to laugh aloud, as Rosethorn turned crimson. “How can you joke at a time like this?” she demanded.
“If not at a time like this, when?” Parahan asked.
Briar fingered the cloth balls in his sling, skipping from the killer thorns to the ropey ones. He supposed Rosethorn would want him to use the ropes, though the thorns would ensure that none of these people followed them into Gyongxe. If the emperor was declaring war after all, why should they care if they broke the laws of the border?
But Rosethorn would care if Briar killed anyone he didn’t absolutely have to. He wondered if she’d discussed that issue with Parahan.
“Halt!” shouted the leader again. “Dismount and raise your hands.”
“Is there a problem, sirs? As I have said, my wife is in a delicate condition,” Parahan called. They were crossing the bridge over the lesser river. “Get ready,” he told his companions once they reached the other side. “Stop right here. If we get any closer they’ll win the fight.” He swiftly brought down the top of his staff and removed the cap, sliding the wooden tube into the front of his tunic.
“You answer to the descriptions of criminals wanted by the emperor!” cried the leader. “Put down your weapons, dismount, and kneel!”
The crossbow archers leveled their weapons at their group. Evvy snapped two pieces of quartz into the air. They flew straight at the archers, who threw up their hands to protect their eyes. Their weapons clattered to the ground. Their bolts began to sprout leaves.
The commander shouted an order. The archers grabbed their bows and put fresh bolts from their quivers to the string. The men with halberds ran toward Rosethorn and Evvy, who had moved to the right to deal with anyone who came from the house. Rosethorn whispered something to the cloth ball in her hand and threw it at the spearmen. It burst as it struck the ground, throwing its burden of seeds into the air. Vines that went from thread- like to thick shot from the ground at their feet. They wrapped around the spearmen’s feet and crawled up around their legs.
Briar trotted his pony forward. The crossbow bolt that came for him dropped to the ground and sprouted roots. The second bolt struck a disk of quartz in midair and fell to the ground. The disk returned to Evvy. Briar didn’t thank her. He had gotten close enough to throw his own ball of seed where he wanted it to go. It landed between the two archers and exploded into thorny growth.
The older soldier, the one in command, had unsheathed his sword and run forward the moment the archers released their second round of bolts. He met Parahan’s spear with his sword, baring his teeth in a growl.
For a moment Briar stared as Parahan blazed into action. The big man reversed his spear. He slammed the butt end up under the commander’s jaw hard enough to break it, then swept it down, jamming it into the side of the soldier’s right knee. The Yanjingyi man’s leg buckled. He slashed sidelong at Parahan, but the bigger man had continued his motion, smacking the staff of his spear hard into the back of the soldier’s head. The Yanjingyi man hit the ground and rolled away from Parahan.
Briar could look no longer. More yells were coming from the direction of the guardhouse. Four soldiers spilled out of it, wiping their mouths on their sleeves or fumbling with weapons. Evvy pitched a ball at the fresh arrivals as if she played at ninepins. It was quartz, the size of both of her fists, and it rolled swiftly across the flat ground toward the new soldiers. They didn’t see it until it reached them and exploded into a number of sharp stone needles.
The four men split apart. Two fell screaming to the ground. They tried blindly to pull the sharp stone slivers from their faces. The third ran toward Parahan and one toward Rosethorn, both drawing their swords. Rosethorn pointed to some of the vines that had completely covered the two spearmen near their bench. The green ropes reached for the swordsman who came at her and grabbed him by the throat.
Briar looked for the mules. Evvy had them on a long rein with one end tied to her waist. Doesn’t she know they could pull her out of the saddle? he thought, panicked. He dismounted and ran back to the animals, who were on the verge of panic. Digging in a pocket, he found the handful of calming herbs he’d put there. Carefully he blew some over each animal’s nose until they had lost that white ring around their eyes. He checked on Evvy again. She was steadfast next to Rosethorn. They waited for the enemy’s next attack, Evvy with a second stone ball in her hand, Rosethorn with another thorny vine ball in hers.
Parahan seized the commander’s sword and dagger and turned to greet a soldier who rushed him, a sword in his fist. The big man was grinning, his teeth bright against his brown skin. The soldier who had come to attack him halted just out of reach, his sword at the ready. Parahan feinted to the side. The soldier was stupid enough to swing that way, bringing his weapon up to guard. He never saw Parahan cut his head off.
Evvy glanced at movement in the windows on the second floor of the guardhouse. Archers hung out of two of them. She reached into her sling and brought out two flint circles, handling them carefully. Briar only had a moment to register their color before she sent first one, then the next, flying through the air just as she had the rounds of quartz. They flew straight at the archers. One circle embedded itself in the archer’s chest. He vanished from view. The other circle struck the second archer as he lowered his crossbow after shooting. His bolt went over Rosethorn’s head and narrowly missed a peacefully grazing mule. The dark circle the girl had thrown hit the archer’s throat. He pitched forward, out of the window, and lay still on the ground.
At last everything was quiet except for the soft roar of the river and a hawk’s distant shriek.
Parahan wiped his mouth on his wrist and groped at his waist for his water flask. It startled him and his companions to see that his belt had fallen off, cut in two by the commander. His flask had gotten trampled at some point. He looked at the women and Briar, confused.
“Wait,” Briar called. He took his own flask over to the big man.
“Thanks,” Parahan said. He set the sword he had taken on the ground, gulped half of the water, and then poured the rest over his head.
“Were they waiting for us?” Rosethorn asked.
