Page 35 of The Eyes of Tamburah
And hope wilted. She slumped. This gave new meaning to the term dead end.
“Ask again,” he said with a glint of…if she didn’t know better, she’d say mischief.
Mulling it over, she suspected getting access wouldn’t be that easy. Perhaps she needed to ask in a different way. “Other than becoming a monk, what do I need to do to earn access to the Second Room of Knowledge?”
A slight smile curved his lips. It disappeared when he removed a small glass vial from his pocket. “You need to fill this with water from the black river and bring it back to me.”
CHAPTER
7
Confused, Shyla stared at Hanif as he handed her the vial. “Where do I find the black river?” She’d seen grey cloudy water and gritty brown water—both unfortunately in her glass.
“Deep in the bowels of Zirdai,” Hanif said.
That didn’t help. The city was comprised of ninety- seven…no, ninety-eight levels. “How deep?”
“All the way down.”
“The prison level?”
“Deeper.”
“But there’s nothing there.”
Hanif didn’t respond.
She sighed. “How do I reach it?”
“You’ll have to figure that out on your own. I suggest you leave your watchdog behind. His presence would hinder your search.” Hanif turned on his heel and left.
Pondering his words, Shyla rolled the vial between her thumb and fingers. He’d given her a hint. This river wouldn’t be known to the majority of people in Zirdai. Or rather, to the law-abiding citizens. But those on the fringes…might have heard of it. And they definitely wouldn’t be willing to help one of the prince’s guards.
She returned the items she’d collected to their various shelves and bins. Glancing around, she wondered if a map to the black river existed. Probably not here. That would be too easy, and Shyla suspected gaining access to the Second Room of Knowledge was going to be very difficult. She curled her hands into fists. A man’s life was at stake, but that wasn’t enough for Hanif. He’d rather have her go off on some wild sand devil chase. Yet another delay. Shyla shoved her things into her pack along with the vial. Swinging it over her shoulder, she headed for the exit, hoping this visit wouldn’t end up being a huge waste of time.
* * *
Rendor paced the length of the receiving room with long graceful strides as if he were a predator stalking his prey. A monk stood at the mouth of each tunnel, blocking the way. Shyla wondered if Rendor had tried to leave. He didn’t appear to be injured and his sword remained sheathed.
When she stepped past the monk, Rendor skidded to a stop and scowled at her. Funny, she’d actually missed it.
“We’re leaving,” he said, sweeping his small pile off the floor.
The sand clock indicated it was angle twenty—plenty of time to return. Something else must be troubling him. She pulled on her sun cloak. “All right.”
He shot her a suspicious look before leading the way up the stairs, past the greeter and out into the desert for a few meters. Then he slowed enough for her to catch up and guide their path.
After a few moments, he asked, “Did you learn anything?”
Shyla decided to stick as close to the truth as possible. “I’ve a lead.”
“What is it?”
Ah, hell. “I need to talk to a professor at the university to confirm it.”
“And how does this help us find The Eyes?”
Us? “It will narrow the suspects down.”
