Lainey watched her with enigmatic eyes, her face almost amused. “Fair enough.”
They stood in silence for several moments.
“You have a problem, mother,” Shea finally said. “Your people are no longer loyal.”
“What do you mean?” Lainey asked, her voice idle.
Shea leaned against the stone and propped her chin on her hand. “There was someone down there. A man. He seemed to be working with the ballyhoo.”
“Did you see his face?” Lainey’s voice was sharp.
Shea shook her head. “No, it was too dark and he wore a hood.”
“Damn,” Lainey said, sounding vexed.
Shea studied her mother. She’d taken the news a lot better than she’d thought she would. “You knew?” she said in sudden discovery.
Lainey grunted. “I suspected.”
“Does Father?”
Lainey nodded. “Of course, he does. Your father is one of the most observant people I know. He’s known something was going on for a while now.”
“We sent out scouts,” Shea said, coming to a sudden decision. She watched her mother carefully, paying attention to the smallest of expressions that flitted across her face. She’d never been particularly adept at reading her mother, but if she had to guess, she’d say she was worried about something. Made sense, if she was really losing control of the pathfinders.
“What?” Lainey asked, surprise and something else on her face.
“That’s why I was down there,” Shea said. “To get them out in a way that wouldn’t be seen.”
Lainey’s head swung toward her, whatever emotion she’d felt before, wiped clean at Shea’s revelation.
“You sent them out unprepared for what awaits them?” Lainey asked, her voice accusing.
“Not unprepared. Not totally,” Shea said. “The Trateri are not like the people of the Highlands and Lowlands. They’re not going to sit behind stone walls waiting for the beast that will finally kill them. They’re the type to go looking for that beast and kill it before it can get them.”
“You sound admiring,” her mother observed.
Shea shrugged. “Maybe I am. A little. It’s nice to work with people who make their own luck and aren’t afraid of the consequences if they fail. The scout leader is smart. I’ve done missions with him before. He’s perfectly capable of handling anything they encounter,” Shea said, her words weary.
“Not everything, not the mist,” her mother said.
“You’d be surprised. They’re not ruled by fear. I have faith in them. They’ll find a way to survive.”
Her mother’s mouth firmed, but she didn’t argue.
Shea turned to her, leaning her hip against the rail and crossing her arms. “You don’t actually mean to ally with the Trateri, do you?”
Lainey arched an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
Shea narrowed her eyes. Lainey seemed almost amused. Not the reaction of someone who needed all the allies she could get.
“This isn’t a game. Father got Fallon here with certain promises. These are not the type of people you break faith with. The consequences would be deadly.” Whether her mother would heed her warning or not was up to her.
“Relax, little bug. I have every intention of keeping my promises,” Lainey said lightly.
Despite her doubts, Shea believed her.
“But the council does not,” Lainey said, her words having the effect of a rock dropped into a still pond.
