"Zasen, the whistles!" I gasped, scrambling to get the gear I'd set down when we'd come out here. "They're lying down because of the - "
And someone yelled in the distance. I had a feeling that was another group on watch because the scream didn't seem scared or injured. It sounded like an alert, though. There was just oneproblem. I couldn't remember what Lansin had picked for the signal.
"Was sit for here or not here?" I asked.
"Don't know," Zasen said as he grabbed his bow. "What order did he say them in?"
I thought back, trying to remember that night. It had been crazy, and Sylis had been wounded. I'd been more worried about not getting the code, but I was pretty sure Lansin had told him about sit first. That was two blasts on the dog whistle. It meant they were coming.
And tingles ran across my skin. "Sit for here."
"Lying down?" he asked.
"Means they aren't coming here, I think." But I wasn't sure. Damn it!
"Holly," Zasen snapped, "find Rymar!"
Immediately, the brindle dog raced away. Pepper jerked like she wanted to follow, but stopped herself and looked up at me.
"Guard," I told her before looking at Zasen. "What do we do? If they aren't coming here, then where? Lansin said the dogs can hear the whistles about an hour away, so they have to be close, right?"
"No." He caught my arm and hurried me forward, back to camp. "Ayla, it's cold and humid. It's night. All of those things help sounds carry easier, right?"
I nodded, because I had noticed that.
"Which means they could be further. They could be on top of us, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be out there. I also know the one man who can translate what these dogs are saying." Then he snarled under his breath. "Fuck! I should've sent Holly to Lansin, not Rymar!"
Well, I knew where Lansin was. Tapping Zasen's arm, I took off at a jog, knowing he'd keep up. Together, we followed the short path back to the edge of camp, and I turned, anglingaround the outside. This was the way he'd brought me that first day.
We didn't make it all the way there before the ruckus of a dozen dogs barking erupted. Even better, Lansin was outside with three dogs already around him.
"The Moles are on the move!" he said, seeing us.
"Where?" I asked. "How far?"
His eyes scanned the area around me. "Where's Holly?"
"Rymar," Zasen answered. "Ayla doesn't know how to figure this out. Where the fuck are they going, Lansin?"
The man didn't answer immediately. First, he looked down at a silvery-grey dog. "Steel, get Eriska." Then over to a brindle-and-white. "Patches, get Sidicia." And finally at Zasen. "Not close. Mine were confused at first - "
All the dogs lay down again, proving that wherever Tobias was, he was still blowing his whistle. Seeing it made my heart beat too fast. I felt helpless, like I had so many times in the compound. I knew a bad thing was coming, but this time I had no clue how to stop it.
Thankfully, Lansin didn't have that problem. "Fuck! They aren't coming here, and I can only think of one other place they might be going."
"No..." I breathed, realizing what he meant.
"Lorsa," Zasen said. "Ayla, go tell Rymar to mobilize everyone. Lansin, I'm going to need your fastest runners."
"Horses," Lansin corrected, dragging Zasen with him. "Ayla, tell them we're going to needallthe carts!"
I didn't know what that meant, but Zasen had said to get Rymar, and I could work with that. "Pepper, find Rymar!" I ordered.
She looked at me for a moment, her ears perked forward with the floppy parts aimed at me. Just when I was sure she didn't remember that command, Pepper took off - and fast. WhereHolly would wait for me to follow, clearly Pepper expected me to be as fast as her.
Her path was straight across the camp. We darted around a cabin with three people scrambling to get their gear on. Then we ducked across a busy path, narrowly avoiding a trio of someone else's dogs. Everywhere, people were up and moving, but most looked like they weren't sure why. Too many paused to watch me chase after my dog as if hoping for a hint.
Pepper found Rymar, though. He was in the middle of the Reaper's camp, talking to the chief. Both of them were waving their hands around intently, clearly arguing. I was almost to them when Pepper lay down again - just like every other dog around us.
