Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,40

other gate with Boas, the two best Shadow at hunting in the dark. They would excel in this. She hoped that would also keep them alive.

“Okay.” Deep breath. Everyone had to make it back from this, and this had to work, or the Graygual would just pick them off one by one in the days ahead. Shanti knew it. They all did. “Let’s go.”

Shanti ran from the gate, feeling and listening for anything that might announce an attack. Leaves rustled, making her flinch, but no arrows came.

Their feet pounded across the hard ground, loud despite their light feet. A bush wiggled on their right. Shanti’s heart leapt.

Nothing came.

Breath coming quickly, they slipped into the cover of trees, each pausing beside a large trunk. Listening.

The night’s soft sounds greeted them again, competing with the beating of her heart. Crickets sang, uninterrupted by them or anyone else.

Sighing, Shanti led the way until they found a thick grouping of trees and bushes. She crouched down and felt Cayan’s hand rest on her shoulder for a moment. The peace and tranquility in his touch, and radiating through his mind, stilled her. They had made it, safely. So far so good.

Their Gift roamed and searched, finding nothing but animals and friends.

Quietly, utterly still, they waited. Patient.

Across the city, Kallon and Tanna ran out, finding the trees as easily as Shanti’s group had. They walked for a while, and then stopped as well. Their minds settled. Finally Sonson slipped out of the side gate. Shanti touched the minds around the wall, spaced according to Cayan’s instructions, checking in. This would be the optimum time for the Graygual to sneak into the city if they could avoid the bait.

A stray thought passed through Shanti’s mind: That was easy.

Too easy?

The sound of crickets deadened to their right. Like a large black patch in the blanket of glittering stars above, the absence rang out louder than a shout. Louder still was the lack of living things in that area. Minds of animals and humans were silent.

The Gifted was there.

Slowly, consistently, a path of deadened sound headed their way.

A moment later, without warning, her Gift was stripped away.

The Graygual were taking the bait.

12

“Kallon just mind-gouged me. That’s the signal. You boys know what to do?”

Marc stared at Sanders with the familiar feeling of acid burning his throat. A fleeting thought of the doctor, left at home, no doubt warm in his bed, came to him. As soon as that man retired, Marc had a viable out of the army business.

A hard finger prodded his chest, jolting him out of his reverie.

“Well?” Sanders leaned toward him just enough to convey the impatience in his crazy eyes. “Do you know what to do, Dorothy?”

Dorothy?

“Yes, sir.” Marc tapped his knives, and then touched his sword, making sure. Alena’s swallow was audible. Leilius shifted from one foot to the other.

Sanders nodded, scowled at Leilius, and then stared at Xavier for a beat. “Keep the doctor alive. You have the second most important job of this outfit. You got that?”

“What’s the most important job?” Leilius asked in a quivering voice. He didn’t seem any better at dealing with this sort of thing than Marc, despite having had plenty of practice.

“Killing those Graygual,” Gracas answered.

“Keeping the Shoo-lan alive, you nincompoop. Without her, we’re all dead. Which is why this harebrained plan is a bad idea.” Sanders cocked his head. The pop and cracks of the Commander’s neck made Marc’s teeth clench. “Why we are letting Shanti call the shots on this is beyond me.” Sanders turned and stared out at the night before his gaze swung left suddenly. His whole body bristled.

He turned around and started pushing everyone back into the city. “Get away from that gate. They’re out there.”

“Who? The Graygual?” Rachie asked in a hush, backing up quickly. Marc was right behind him.

“They are going after the Shoo-lan. I’ll be damned.” Sanders started hustling everyone to the left, shoving and pushing them through the streets. “We need to get behind them.”

“How do you know?” Xavier asked, helping to get everyone moving.

“The crickets went quiet.” Sanders started jogging, yanking Leilius along with him. “On the trade route, you know there is a predator in the midst if crickets go quiet or birds scream. Same thing applies here.”

“How do we know they are both there?” Marc asked, hustling along with everyone else as sweat dripped down his back. It was a clear sign he was headed into danger.

“We know they are close, or whoever wasn’t protected