“What is it?” Fallon asked.
Shea joined them, noting several pathfinders standing along the wall below, their focus turned in the same direction as the Trateri standing at her side.
“A firebug went up about fifteen minutes ago,” Gawain said.
Fallon frowned. “Where?”
Gawain pointed.
“That’s where we left the rear party,” Shea said.
Reece padded up the stairs, his hair sticking out on all sides and his eyes lazy with sleep as he yawned. “What’s going on?” he asked her.
“The rear party just sent up a signal,” she told him in a low voice, conscious of the men beside her deep in discussion.
Reece’s face became more alert some of the sleepiness fading. “You know why?”
She shook her head.
“We should send someone out there to find out what’s going on,” Gawain said.
Braden was silent, studying the night with a pensive expression.
“We don’t know why they signaled,” someone else said.
“That’s why we need to go and find out,” Gawain said, impatience in his voice.
“They could be telling us to stay inside the Keep’s walls,” Reece replied.
Shea noted Zeph and a few of his people had joined at some point. They watched the rest with interested gazes but didn’t contribute to the conversation.
Fallon listened, his head tilted as he considered.
“Maybe they need help,” Bax said.
“Could it be the scouting party?” Fallon asked Shea, his voice quiet.
Shea leaned against the stone and frowned. “They’re not due back for several days.”
If it was them, it meant they’d run into trouble. What concerned her was the fact they used the firebug. Eamon wasn’t stupid. He’d know using the firebug would alert anyone nearby to his exact position. Launching the alert meant the danger, while not great, might be urgent. Or, he judged the situation so dire he was willing to put his safety and that of his squad on the line to warn the rest of them.
She couldn’t be sure which scenario was most likely.
Before she could voice an opinion one way or another, a second firebug shot up. This one was aimed across the valley in a low arc. It was followed by another.
“It’s a warning,” Shea said. “We need to shore up our defenses. Now.”
Fallon turned to his men. “Wake the rest. I want the number on the wall doubled.”
Gawain looked hesitant to comply. It was obvious he wasn’t sure how far he wanted to trust Shea’s word. As long as he acted, Shea didn’t care if he thought her a nervous ninny prone to over reacting.
The two firebugs were a signal she and Eamon had agreed on when they’d worked together on the same scouting team. The way he’d shot, low to the ground, almost as if he was aiming at something, reminded her of when they’d rescued Fallon from the spinner webs. It meant danger was close.
“How sure are you of this?” Reece asked in a quiet voice.
“Very.”
He studied her in the dark for a moment. He nodded as if coming to a decision, then leaned over the wall and shouted at someone below. “Rick, get men into the towers and call back anyone you have outside the Keep.”
