The checkpoint sat where the barricade split the town in two.
A narrow gate had been built into the wall, manned by four guards who watched both sides with equal suspicion.
Vane studied them from the treeline.
This wasn't a border against an outside enemy.
It was a border against half their own town.
A young woman approached the gate carrying a covered basket balanced against one hip. She said something to the guards.
One shook his head.
She tried again.
The answer remained the same.
Isole narrowed her eyes.
"Medicine."
Ashe looked at her.
"You're sure?"
"Not completely."
The woman lifted the basket slightly as she spoke again.
"She wants to take medicine across."
"Why aren't they letting her?"
Valerica was watching the woman rather than the guards.
"Look at her hands."
Vane did.
She wasn't nervous.
There was no furtive glance toward the basket, no hesitation, no movement that suggested she was hiding anything.
She looked angry.
Not frightened.
