“Then she’s grossly unprofessional.” Asan’s brow furrowed. “All right, we will assume the worst. From the Mud House to Tivaria is about five hours’ ride by Cat, and the Berai province is an hour to the west. If the messenger left the House immediately after receiving intelligence of the Haunt sighting, then let’s say the creature had an hour’s head start. The Haunt probably moves at two-thirds the speed of the messenger’s Cat. Given the addition of the time between Berai and the Mud House, it should place the Haunt at least an hour and a half behind the messenger. Herald Hayder, are my approximations unreasonable?”

Rhyanon jumped.

“Uh, no, not unreasonable,” she said. “If you factor in a few assumptions, that is.”

“Those being?”

“Well, the relative speed of the Cat, for a start. But also that Reverend Morwin met the messenger in close proximity to Tivaria, that neither the Cat nor the Haunt fatigued, and that neither party made substantial detours along the way.”

“Thank you, Hayder,” said Asan. “So, let’s imagine the absolute worst and say that we have less than an hour.”

“What good can this do?” Morwin burst out. “The Haunt is coming, and we cannot reach the safety of the city in an hour.”

“We think the Haunt is coming.” Asan fixed her with a piercing stare. “You seem curiously convinced of that fact, Reverend Morwin, especially given that one would have expected the creature to head toward the Mud House rather than Tivaria. There is plenty to distract it along the route, far more accessible Sisters to prey on. Why should it fixate on this symposium in particular?”

Morwin’s cheeks grew blotchy, and her mouth shrank like she had tasted something terribly sour.

“But you’re right, we can’t return to Ceyrun in that time,” continued Asan. “As far as I can see, that leaves us with three options. The first is staying here and waiting for the Haunt to arrive.”

“The hall can be defended,” Morwin insisted angrily. “If we don’t waste time with—”

“The next”—Asan spoke right over her—“is dividing into smaller groups and immediately dispersing across the countryside. The Haunt might not be drawn to the scent of individual Sisters with Ceyrun so nearby; it might ignore us altogether. But if that gambit fails, then whichever lone cohort the creature targets will be practically defenceless.”

“You would sacrifice Sisters?” said Morwin.

Asan’s expression turned very cold. “I would sacrifice no one, although I suspect that splitting up would still result in fewer deaths than remaining here.”

“You have no way of knowing that.”

“Our third option is to make for Geise’s Crown.” Asan folded her arms. “If we push the horses, it should take no more than forty minutes. From the higher vantage point, we’ll be able to see the Haunt coming. Instead of binding an entire building, we bind the creature directly. Less lace, more time for reserves to reach us. We light the flares, we wait. No one gets hurt.”