Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,6
as he came to stand right next to the solidest man this land had to offer.
The Captain glanced at him before looking back out at the surging, moving mass of bodies. “How are the female archers faring?”
“Mela, one of Shanti’s countrymen, has taken over at Shanti’s behest. I would’ve chased her away, but she was as blunt and pushy as Shanti. She cut away the fat in three seconds and she hadn’t even started to work with them.”
“Good. You weren’t making any headway.”
Lucius chuckled. “Does that surprise you? Everyone knows Junice runs the house.”
“That shouldn’t have anything to do with the army,” Sanders growled. “This whole city is in chaos.”
“Roles have been called into question. People are figuring out what they’re good at and changing their destinies. When everything settles, it’ll make us stronger. We need that if another section of the army plans to leave in the coming months.” The Captain’s focus shifted for a moment as Shanti and a team of Shumas and Shadow entered the practice yard on the opposite side. She glanced at Cayan, nodded in hello, and turned toward the Pit.
Without a word, or even a glance in their direction, her people fanned out into the practice area. Only Rohnan went with her. The rest took up stations evenly along the outside, their focus on the army, their orchestration perfect and silent. In opposition, the Shadow looked confused, jerking to a stop in some cases, and then altering their final destination. But no one opened their mouths to ask for directions.
Sanders had to admit, it was a damned effective way to communicate. He half wished he could use it with his own men.
Sanders noticed the stormy-eyed Kallon, one of those slinking off to the side. He rested his forearms on his knees, his gaze rooted to the Captain.
“How you have not answered that challenge yet is beyond me,” Sanders said, crossing his arms and hoping that Shumas would direct his fire-sparked stare in Sanders’ direction. “That warrior is sizing you up.”
The Captain didn’t even shift. “He’s still deferring to me.”
“It doesn’t look like it,” Lucius said in a low tone, watching one of the female Shadow lunge forward in the sword practicing area. Her wooden point struck her training partner in the side. He bent and held up a hand, yielding.
“They are always connected to Shanti, as am I.” The Captain didn’t sound pleased by that. “The Shadow are starting to merge in as well. They are trying to learn Shanti’s elaborate system for silent communication. Within that merge, Kallon is deferring too. Until he doesn’t, I can’t challenge. I would be seen as insecure.”
“You have more patience than me, sir.” Sanders dropped his hands, ready to yell at a cadet who was wandering too close to the archers. Before he could open his mouth, the boy staggered and grabbed his head. He looked around in fear and confusion, connecting eyes with one of the Shumas. She shook her head no before pointing at the line of archers. The boy, his eyes rounded, jogged away in the other direction.
“Effective,” Sanders said. “And she didn’t even have to get up.”
“We’ve gotten word.” The Captain’s stare was still rooted to Kallon’s. Sanders could almost see the electricity and violence crackle between them. “Xandre has moved a large faction of his well-trained men. They are still to the southeast, but are slowly headed in this direction. Burson’s messages are coming daily, and each one is more disconcerting than the last. He says our window of opportunity is closing.”
Sanders stayed silent, as did Lucius. There was no point in beating a dead horse.
“Daniels is working on the map. He spoke with Rohnan about their prophecies.” The Captain’s jaw clenched. He looked away from Kallon. “I want more information before I leave the city again. I need to know that they can protect themselves in our wake.”
“Are there any more strong Shadow on their way?” Lucius asked. “If so, we could leave most of those currently in the city behind to lock it down and meet up with the others.”
“Sonson knows of a few more groups on their way.” The Captain looked out at Shanti. “They are coming from a different direction than the remainder of Shanti’s people.”
“Then we take those here as the others arrive.” Sanders’ gaze skittered across a pair of light blue eyes. He did a double take, seeing that woman Mela staring at him. “They have some serious social issues.”