Page 132 of The Eyes of Tamburah
“Are you sure he’s still alive?” Mojag asked. “It’s been fourteen sun jumps since the attack.”
The boy hunched in his chair, and even with her mental shield around her, Shyla knew he was miserable.
Ximen’s expression softened. “As of three sun jumps ago he was, but I’m not too worried. The priestess needs him.”
“For what? Torture?” Mojag shot back.
“No,” Shyla said. “To exchange for The Eyes.”
“Right,” Ximen said. “Her deacons have been searching Zirdai for the rest of us and they’ve put out the word that she’s willing to negotiate.”
“What about the other Invisible Swords that were captured?” Shyla asked.
Ximen frowned. “Once she extracted all the information from them, she gave them to the Water Prince.”
“Why?”
“She doesn’t have enough accommodations to keep them long term,” Rendor said. “They’re criminals and the Water Prince has plenty of cells.”
Everyone glared at him. He kept his expression neutral.
“What do the Heliacal Priestess and Water Prince know?” Shyla asked Ximen.
“The priestess knows the location of our headquarters and the Water Prince knows where a number of our other squats are. They know that we only had fake Eyes, but the real Eyes do exist. And they will soon figure out that the survivors are not in the city and correctly assume we’ve sought asylum with the monks.”
Not good for the monks. They needed to find a new headquarters as fast as possible.
“What about Banqui? Has anyone seen him?” she asked.
“No sign of him,” Ximen said.
She considered the problems. “Can the Invisible Swords in the cells escape using their magic?”
“No.” He gestured to others gathered around. “Except for Jayden, those that can use magic are here. The people who were caught act in a different capacity in our organization.”
“Freeing them will be difficult,” Rendor said.
An understatement. “All right, we’ll focus on Jayden first, then the others.”
Mojag perked up. “How?”
“Ximen, can you arrange a meeting with the priestess?”
“Uh…I think so. What—”
“Tell her you will exchange The Eyes for Jayden. See if she’s willing to do it on the surface—can you teach me how to hide and move through the sands?”
“Not in time. It’s a difficult skill that takes much practice.”
“All right. If she doesn’t agree to the surface, counter with a public place.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Then one of her chapels. One high up.”
“Wouldn’t that be suicide?” Gurice asked.
“She’ll have her Arch Deacons there regardless of the place,” Shyla said.
