The last of the sunset gone for an hour. But something at the tree line was wrong. A shape that wasn't a tree catching the thin moonlight for a second and then not. Three, maybe four. Her voice was barely above a breath.
Coming in from the north trail. I saw them 30 minutes ago. He looked at her. I was counting and marking their positions. Waking you before I knew what we had would have been less useful.
They are splitting. Two to the front. At least one working toward the back. He got the rifle from above the door and checked it. Then he got the revolver from the drawer, gripped it and held it out to her.
She looked at it for a moment then took it with the matter-of-factness of a person accepting a tool. My uncle taught me when I was 15. A healer who cannot defend herself is a burden to her people, his exact words. He almost smiled despite everything. He moved the lamp to the far side of the room and then extinguished it dropping them into fire cold darkness.
Better for eyes that were already adjusted. He moved to the corner where the shadow was deepest and crouched there facing the door. Sadie went to the window without being told. She positioned herself below the shutter line and was still. They waited.
The first sound from outside was deliberate. A boot heel on the porch step not bothering with quiet anymore. Then Hector Quillens' voice came through the door. Flat and reasonable in the way of a man who considers himself the most practical person in any situation he enters. He wanted to talk.
He had nothing against Mathus personally. This was just about the woman. She had information she shouldn't have and he wanted to discuss it with her privately. No need for anyone to get hurt over a misunderstanding. Across the dark room, Sadie's face was composed.