“You can’t go,” Lainey protested.
Fallon bared his teeth. “Try to stop us. We’ve fulfilled our end of the agreement with your man. We’ve listened. Now fulfill your end or we’ll do it for you.”
His threat delivered, Fallon turned on his heel, his Anateri already in motion as they pulled open the door before closing ranks around him and Shea. The protestations of the pathfinders’ council rose behind him, the din of which he was only too happy to ignore.
They thought they could just throw words around and he’d sit back and take it? These people had no idea what sort of monster they were dealing with.
Shea hurried to keep up as Fallon stalked along the hall. Everyone was quiet as they followed him, each keeping their own counsel. Fallon didn’t head to their room, probably a good choice given the state of things.
After the debacle of that meeting, it was almost a guarantee there would be spies placed all around their quarters. Anywhere in the Keep was likely to face similar problems.
Fallon seemed to realize it too, because he changed direction, heading for the stables and the horses that waited there.
Braden watched as they approached, several horses already saddled and waiting. Fallon caught the reins and mounted. Shea wasted no time scrambling onto her own horse, prodding it in its sides to send it tearing after him.
Together, they rode out of the Keep. Shea quickly took the lead, turning right as soon as she was over the bridge then taking one of the winding dirt paths that led down into the valley. The mist was a gray wall along one side and there was open air over a deep chasm on the other.
They were quiet until they stood in the middle of a mountain glen, a field of flowers on all sides and a small stream meandering through it. This high up, big trees were scarce. It left them with an open view of their surroundings. It would be impossible for anyone to overhear them unless a spy was capable of invisibility. As far as Shea knew, there was no pathfinder or beast capable of such a feat.
Shea drew her horse to a slow walk, the clip clop of its hooves carrying in the air. It was a rare sunny day, though not as hot as it would have been had the elevation been lower.
“I take it things didn’t go well,” Braden said, his gaze watchful.
“About as well as we expected,” Fallon said, glancing behind him at the Keep. It was veiled by the path they’d taken, only the highest towers visible from their current position.
“You think they’ll do as they say?” Braden asked.
Fallon tilted his head as his eyes turned thoughtful. “Hard to say. Right now, they’re playing games. I called their bluff—we’ll see how they react.”
Braden looked at Shea. “What do your instincts tell you?”
Shea stared at him, trying to think in the sideways manner her mother was so good at. “They didn’t go through all this trouble to get us here just to let us walk away so easily. She’ll try another tactic. This was just an opening gambit.”
Strange that she’d let them see just how fractured their ranks were. Shea couldn’t figure out the purpose behind it. Always before, the pathfinders had been a unified front. Now factions were forming.
The mother she remembered would never have been so careless as to allow such a thing to show to outsiders.
“That was my feeling as well,” Fallon agreed. “Since confronting us as a unit didn’t work, she’ll try something more intimate next time. Maybe reach out to you alone, my telroi.”
Shea’s mouth pursed as she considered. “I think it more likely she’ll go for you. It’s also possible she’ll approach one of the clan leaders, try to divide you in an effort to get what she wants. If you won’t give it to her, they might be willing.”
“Won’t help her,” Caden said. “The clan leaders are limited in their power. None of them have the numbers to fight off what’s coming. Not even supplied with every boomer in your arsenal.”
“How sure are we that what they told us is true?” Trenton asked. “It seems like a lot of trouble to just send us into the Badlands for a minor problem with beasts.”
“Something has them spooked,” Fallon said pensively. “You can smell the fear on them.”
“Great big gobs of it,” Caden agreed, his face grim.
“The return of the mythologicals concerns me,” Shea said. “They are every bit as intelligent as a human and deadlier than the worst beast. If they are truly back, we will face heavy losses, even in the Lowlands.”
If that was the case, it would begin to affect the supply lines for Fallon’s armies. They would become less mobile, which was one of the main reasons they’d been able to conquer so much land in a short amount of time.
Causalities from beasts were already high. For that number to become worse meant Fallon might have trouble retaining the loyalty of his men.
They’d already suffered one attack on the main army. Shea would hate to see that become a common theme.
“And what, they think us marching into the Badlands will somehow fix that?” Trenton asked, the question echoing one that had been in Shea’s mind for a while now.
