Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,39
each other at the opposite end of the modest room. “We should bring the cats.”
Shanti hesitated. “The cats will stay by our sides and either keep the enemy away, or get a blade in the gut if the enemy comes close. The enemy will have noticed them last night. They will expect them, and be ready.”
Cayan’s frustration sullied the air. “Daniels was dead set against this plan.”
“It is a wonder you are going along with it.” Rohnan headed toward the door. Shanti followed, thinking exactly the same thing. Cayan usually dug in his heels against a plan as admittedly harebrained as this. That he was going along with it made her nervous.
Because Daniels was right. This wasn’t the best of ideas. The problem was that there was no other way. She said as much as they made their way to the Honor Guard where Sanders waited, as rigid as she’d ever seen him.
“Are we ready?” Shanti asked quietly, feeling the press of the unknown from beyond that wall. She knew they were out there, waiting. Watching.
“Where is everyone else, S’am?” Gracas asked.
“They are spread around the wall of the city,” Marc replied, hunched over with a knife in hand. “Didn’t you see them when you were on your way here?”
“So it’s just us going?” Leilius’ eyes were large in his narrow face.
“A few from each group will head out as we do,” Shanti replied.
“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” Cayan said in his deep and confident voice. He was trying to sell this to the others as a good idea.
Judging by the doubt plain on his face, Sanders wasn’t buying it.
“There are at least two Graygual out there,” Shanti said, itching to feel the weight of her sword in her hand. “We don’t care about the Graygual. We care about the Gifted with the Graygual. He’s the one we need to capture or kill.” Shanti eyed everyone, masking the holes in her plan with Cayan’s level of confidence. “These Graygual have never been beaten before. Without our Gifts, the challenge of Cayan and I must be alluring to them. I wager they’ll want to pit their strength against us. They will want to prove their dominance.”
“But will they? That’s the question,” Sanders said.
“My feeling is, they will.” Anticipation filled Shanti. She had that same desire, but for bigger results. She wanted to send a message to Xandre: she was still the best. And she was still alive.
Not only that, but she was going for him.
“And when they do engage, they’ll bring their Gifted closer,” Cayan said. “That’s when you guys make the grab.”
“Unless this Burson-like character can also track and fight, sir,” Sanders growled.
“Inkna are not trained to fight. They are too valuable to lose, and most aren’t coordinated anyway. This one won’t be any different,” Shanti said.
“This plan is ludicrous.” Sanders yanked out a knife. “But if we’re doing it, there’s no time like the present. I want to get some sleep sometime tonight. We’ll have a long road ahead of us tomorrow.”
“That is what I love about this army,” Rohnan said in a whimsical voice. “They never think about failure. Their confidence is infallible.”
“Or stupid.” Shanti motioned them forward. To Sanders she said, “You will wait for the signal from Kallon before you leave the city. Once it’s given, get across the open landscape and into deep cover as fast as you can. From there…let your intuition guide you and keep your eyes open.”
Sanders looked at the Captain for a beat. Not getting any kind of response, he shook his head. “How will we know when to come back?”
“Someone will find you and tell you.” Shanti waited by the gate, knowing that there was enough light for the enemy to kill them with arrows as they ran out into the night. She only hoped the range of their Gifted wasn’t strong enough to pick up their movements inside the city.
Failing that, she hoped they were still adopting a “wait and see” kind of mentality.
Steeling her courage, she let her mind meld with the darkness, feeling the cool night on the inside of her eyelids and the small hairs around her head disturbed in the breeze.
The soft sounds of distant crickets drifted on the breeze, no gap in their music. The stillness relaxed her and let her use her senses in a way impossible when relying totally on the Gift. The training in the Shadow Lands came back to her.