immediately rewarded with another two. “The cats will wait for Cayan and I, I have no doubt.”
She was lying. She had a lot of doubt.
“Leave the beasts for now. There are only three. We aim to capture, not kill.”
More Shadow, and now the army started to file in. Shanti felt others running outside of the city, getting into position to surround the intruders.
“This is not an attack,” Rohnan said for Sonson’s benefit as he climbed on his horse. “This is Xandre’s way of collecting information. He has no problem sending men in, even though, toward the end, he rarely received any back.”
“He’s talking about before the battle that ended our way of life,” Shanti said, clutching her horse’s mane. He pranced impatiently. “We waited for them to come with force. We cannot make that mistake again. We need to leave before it’s too late. Hopefully these men can give us information about Xandre’s plans.”
“They never have before,” Rohnan said quietly.
“Yaw!” Shanti dug her heels into the horse’s flank. The animal lurched into motion, his power and speed jolting Shanti backward.
“Bloody…hell.” She gripped with her knees and adjusted her balance, feeling the horse’s speed pick up to almost alarming levels. “No, no!” She clutched the coarse hair in her fists as she tried to steer around a corner. The horse’s hooves clattered and skidded, the animal stumbling before it righted again. “Too fast for— Look out!”
A woman screeched as she hustled out of the way. Others in the busy street ran to the sides, shock or disgruntlement on their faces. The Women’s Circle would no doubt put this on their agenda.
The open gate loomed in sight. Men stood around the chain, ready to close the doors and secure it if they received the command. “Now run, you bloody horse!” Shanti dug her heels into its flanks and leaned forward.
With a burst of speed, the horse rushed through the gates, stretching its legs and putting distance between it and those behind her. She held on for dear life, her jaw clenched tight, fighting for control.
Another mind came within her range. Like a vivid dream, Shanti clearly remembered the type of mind she felt. Cunning and analytical, he was a quick thinker but slow mover, plotting his way forward with careful steps. It was Xandre’s ideal type for recovering information—he was making plans. They were a lot closer to battle than she’d realized.
A wash of fear had her leaning to the right, directing the horse as much as it would let her. Trees streamed by. Sentries looked down at her, she felt many within her Gift, waiting for the emotional cues they knew would come. They’d had so little time, but they’d made great progress so far.
Yet another mind came into her map. The same type of man—she could feel his watchfulness as he neared one of the first sentries. A blast of fear colored his mind. He’d recognized the sentry as a Shadow, she had no doubt. He’d know the Shadow could feel him with the Gift.
For a moment everything seemed to freeze. A decision was left in the balance. And then the man was in action. He moved away quickly in the direction he’d come.
“No! We have to get him!” Shanti urged her horse faster, before her heart jumped into her throat. Warning sirens pinged through her consciousness like pops in a fire. All round the city, one after the other, the sentries scrambled out of their trees and ran, aiming back for the gates.
In another few moments, she knew why.
A wall of enemy, surrounding the city, was advancing. This was the first wave of attack, and there had been no warning.
4
Shanti yanked on the Bloody Bastard’s mane as hard as she could, preparing to jump off if the accursed animal didn’t slow. Thankfully, the horse complied, almost throwing her as it jolted and bounced to a stop. She schooled her emotions to send a message to her people, making them run back toward the city.
The thunder of hooves behind her started to slow. “What is it?” Sonson’s eyes went wide and the color drained from Rohnan’s face. They could feel what she did.
“This isn’t like him,” Rohnan protested, turning his horse.
“Which is exactly why he’s doing it. He is way ahead of me.” Shanti ripped the mane around and dug in her heels. “Hurry!”
A black shape flashed by, followed by two more. The cats had found her and anticipated their direction. Good. They could be of use in the city.