Traitors' Gate (Crossroads) by Kate Elliott

Author:Kate Elliott [Elliott, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780765349323
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2009-08-18T06:00:00+00:00

29

“COMMANDER. INCOMING WITH passengers.”

Joss stepped away from the stewards—one from Clan Hall and one from Copper Hall—who had almost come to blows over what should have been a cursed simple inventory of the harness rooms at Horn Hall.

“Kesta.” He beckoned her into the dimly lit chamber, which like the marshal’s cote got its best light before noon. “I’ll let you help Tesya and Likard sort this out.”

“Sort what out?” she asked suspiciously, examining their disgruntled faces.

“I didn’t—” objected Tesya.

“She said—!” barked Likard.

“You have my full trust,” said Joss as he hurried out. Kesta hissed a few choice words in the direction of his back. As he slipped out under the arched entrance hewn into the stone, he waggled a hand in an insulting gesture, but she had already turned away to scold the hapless stewards.

“Here we are, in the abandoned shell of a reeve hall whose eagles and reeves were massacred, and all you two can do is argue over tack?”

“If they were massacred,” objected Tesya. “The commander heard the news from some gods-rotted ghost—”

“Neh,” objected Likard, “that lad Badinen saw it all!”

Tesya snorted. “You can understand that fish boy? Anyway, my people need that tack. We lost everything—”

As Joss fled down the corridor, Kesta’s voice rang. “Sit down and shut up!”

He would soothe ruffled feathers later. As a tactic it worked well to allow his most trusted reeves and fawkners to crack down on the ones who complained and bickered, while he could glide in later to coax the difficult temperaments back into good humor, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t good strategy over the long haul.

Hirelings swept the eating hall, which was lit through shafts. He crossed the vast entry hall, flooded with brightness from a big hole gaping above. Hirelings hauled sacks of rice over their shoulders toward the kitchens. Three off-duty Clan Hall reeves were laughing with two Copper Hall reeves over a jest. Young Badinen watched their interaction with the expression of a neglected puppy hoping for attention. He’d been a pet of the Horn Hall reeves, Joss had worked out, but to the Clan and Copper Hall reeves he was just a novice no one had time to train. Something would have to be done about that.

Joss emerged through a high cave mouth onto an oval ledge as long and wide as Clan Hall’s parade ground. All along the cliff wall were dotted perches and shallow eyries. He crossed the ledge to the rock wall that rimmed it. Squinting into the setting sun, he watched four eagles descend. Two landed on the parade ground at the top of the ridge, out of sight, while the other two thumped down not so far from him. Their passengers and reeves unhooked, and Captain Anji and Tohon joined him at the wall.

“I’ve come, as you requested,” said Anji, gesturing toward the magnificent peak of holy Mount Aua some fifteen mey distant. “That’s an impressive view.”

Tohon peered over the wall, a significant drop of at least a hundred baton lengths to a slope slippery with scree that marked the base of the cliff.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.