Page 91 of The Eyes of Tamburah
“That’s not an answer.”
“Does it matter?” Shyla countered.
Rae considered. “No.”
“Jaft, if you set the next level, I can carry Shyla,” Elek said.
“No,” Shyla said. “I need you to conserve your strength.”
“And you need yours, too,” he shot back.
“I’m fine. Get moving, I don’t want to be on this level any longer than required.” Her imagination once again conjured images of deacons converging on their location with knives in hand. She ran a hand over her short hair.
By the time the four acolytes reached level sixty-two, Shyla had recovered. Knowing what to expect helped her deal with the agony during her slow descent. She still required a few moments to recuperate once she touched firm ground.
“Leave the rope in place,” Elek said. “We might need it to get out.”
The thought of climbing up… Shyla shivered. Jaft looped the extra rope around the last two anchors, hiding it from view. Not that there was much left.
“Now where?” Lian asked.
Shyla consulted her map. The starting point of Jayden’s directions was nearby. She led them through a network of short tunnels. Encountering no one, she hoped to get down to level seventy-three well before angle zero. And for once, all went as planned. They rested in a nook of an abandoned tunnel on seventy-three.
“Twenty-four more levels to go,” Jaft said, chewing on a roll of jerky. “Frankly, I didn’t think we’d make it this far.” He’d removed his veil and exposed a pleasant, friendly brown face with rounded cheeks. He had a wide smile and dimples.
“Ye of little faith,” Elek teased. He stretched out his long legs. He was not only the strongest of the group, but the tallest. Elek guzzled half a water skin.
“Not all of us have those gigantic feet,” Jaft retorted. “I don’t know why you don’t kick more.”
Elek shrugged his wide shoulders. “That seems like cheating.”
“Don’t forget the deeper we go the more skilled the guards,” Lian said. She had taken off her veil and turban to rebraid her long black hair. Twirling the rope of hair around her head, she secured it with slender delicate fingers. Pretty, with a heart-shaped face and pointy chin, she seemed familiar to Shyla.
The youngest and smallest of the quartet, Rae, remained covered and silent, but every time Shyla glanced at her, she caught Rae staring at her. Rae’s long dark eyelashes curled up, almost touching her equally dark eyebrows.
“What is it?” Shyla finally asked her.
“Can I ask you something…personal?” the girl asked.
Silence descended and everyone gazed at Shyla. Caught off guard, she tensed. “You can ask, but I’m not going to promise to answer.”
“Fair enough,” Rae said. “Why didn’t you stay at the monastery?”
Ah. That was easy. Or was it? Shyla rooted for an answer. “I grew up there. I wanted to explore the cities.”
“And how did that work out for you?” Jaft asked.
“That’s not nice,” Lian admonished.
“Obviously not well. But for a while…” Shyla’s memories floated back to when she’d finally broken through and been hired by legitimate clients. Her excitement over being independent. “For a while I proved it is possible for a sun-kissed to live in Zirdai. I made a friend, earned a living.”
“And then the city chewed you up and spat you out,” Elek said.
“Pretty much.”
“I was glad to leave,” Lian said quietly. “Growing up constantly afraid and worried about where we’d get our next meal.” She covered her hair with her turban. “No thank you.”
“The monks saved me,” Rae whispered. “I’d do anything for them.”
