Page 36 of The Eyes of Tamburah
Rendor grabbed her elbow and spun her to face him. “Damn it, Shyla. I’ve done enough interrogations to know when someone is dodging the truth. What are you hiding?”
“Nothing. That’s what I’m hiding. I found nothing. There was nothing in the First Room of Knowledge.” All true.
“Then why did you lie?”
“I didn’t want to upset you further.”
That made him pause. “Further? What do you mean?”
Gesturing back toward the monastery, she asked, “What happened in there?”
“Nothing.”
She cocked an eyebrow.
He huffed. “I don’t do well with waiting.”
“And the guards?”
“They just showed up and blocked the tunnels as if they thought I’d try to go deeper, which made me worry that something happened to you. I asked them, but they just stood there and stared. Creepy.”
“And your guards that just stand around in Zirdai aren’t?”
“They don’t just stand. They’re there for your protection and will answer questions,” he grumped.
“They’re still creepy,” she said.
“And you’re trying to change the subject.”
Instead of answering, she continued trudging through the cool sand. The early angles were her favorite time of the sun jump. A slightly moist air caressed her cheeks as it warmed in the sunshine to a comfortable temperature. She savored the fresh anise aroma. It wouldn’t last long before the heat scorched it into the stronger ginger odor.
A line of sand demon tracks crossed their path. Shyla crouched to inspect them, counting. Large paw prints with equally large claws marked the surface. No insect trails over the top of them.
“Only a couple angles old,” she said, straightening. “There’s twelve in the pack.” She scanned the horizon, searching for the creatures in the distant scrub vegetation.
Rendor clasped the hilt of his sword, but she didn’t chide him over how futile the weapon would be. Even though the animal was compact, there was nothing small about the top predator in the desert. It had long curved teeth as sharp as blades, thick muscles capable of great speed in a frighteningly short amount of time, and powerful jaws that chomped through bone. Their spotted auburn fur did a fair job of hiding them among the sand.
“Let’s not linger then,” he said.
She picked up the pace. While most sand demon packs avoided the entrances to the cities and the velbloud pastures, they weren’t averse to an easy meal. Rendor didn’t relax until they reached the worn paths. They didn’t slow until the surface buildings of Zirdai came into view.
“What’s our next move?” Rendor asked, breaking the silence.
“It appears the diggers might be our only recourse.”
“Not good enough.”
She considered. “I’ll visit the university’s library again. There’s an entire section on symbols that I didn’t check.” That was somewhat true.
“If it wasn’t in the First Room of Knowledge, what’s the likelihood of it being there?”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Shyla.” He practically growled.
“What? Do you want me to say we’re done? It’s the end of the tunnel and we might as well give the Water Prince the bad news?”
Now he growled outright. “Not helping.” Then a beat later, “How is that symbol supposed to help anyway?”
