Page 23 of The Eyes of Tamburah
Shaking her head, Shyla said, “The Eyes of Tamburah don’t have magical powers.”
“Why do you believe that?”
“I’ve found no evidence that magic exists or ever existed.”
“And where did you look for this evidence?”
“The First Room of Knowledge.” Even though she knew this was a sensitive subject, Shyla just couldn’t stop talking.
The woman tucked her hands into the sleeves of her robe as the muscles on her neck tightened. “The monks let a sun-cursed whelp like you into the Rooms of Knowledge?”
“Only the first one.” Then a beat later. “Sun-cursed?”
“When you were born, you were marked as a sacrifice to the Sun Goddess.”
This wasn’t new.
“You were kissed by the Sun Goddess while you were in your mother’s womb. Babies born with yellow hair are left on the sand to be returned to her divine arms. It’s an honor. But I’m not surprised the monks failed to explain how much of an honor it is. By saving you, they went against the direct wishes of the Sun Goddess, making you sun-cursed for the rest of your unnatural life.”
An honor? This woman had spent too much time in the sun—it had fried her brain. Anger struggled against the calming effects of the holy water.
The Heliacal Priestess misinterpreted her concern. “You can redeem your soul by sacrificing yourself to the Sun Goddess. Once you find The Eyes, I can perform the ceremony myself. A high accolade.”
Conflicting emotions swirled in Shyla’s chest. Her confidence over Shyla’s ability to locate The Eyes warred with the fear that the woman would force her to commit suicide…or would that be considered murder? Did it matter? No one would dare arrest the Heliacal Priestess.
She pulled in her scattered thoughts. “Why does everyone call me sun-kissed, then?”
“Not many citizens realize the monks are stealing the babies. Most figure you were either hidden by selfish parents or you came from another city that is ruled by a lazy priestess or lax priest who does not enforce the Sun Goddess’s wishes as they should. Calling you sun-kissed is reminding you of your duty to the Sun Goddess.”
That actually made sense to Shyla’s drug-addled brain.
“I’ve prayed to the Sun Goddess about you, asking her if I should allow you to live in Zirdai or cast you out once again. However, you’ve been keeping a low profile, paying your tithe, and attending services since you arrived, and I took that as a sign from the Sun Goddess to leave you in peace.” The Heliacal Priestess touched Shyla’s hair, letting the yellow strands slip through her fingers. “Seems she has a plan for you after all.”
Shyla shuddered.
“Have you told anyone that the monks rescued you?” she asked. “It’s not common knowledge.”
“Only Banqui.”
For the first time since she entered the room, the woman’s expression softened. “You care for him, don’t you?”
“He’s my friend.”
“Then I will free him first when I have woken the power of The Eyes.” She stood in one smooth motion. “Bring me The Eyes, Shyla Sun-kissed. If you fail, you’ll be returned to the Sun Goddess, and I willensurethat no more sun-kissed babies are rescued by the monks.”
Shyla stared at her, dumbfounded.
The priestess turned to her deacons. “Escort her to the exit.” Then she left.
Shyla wished she could be that graceful. When she tried to stand, her aching legs buckled under her and she flopped back on the cushion with a whomp. It didn’t help that the room still swayed.
The deacons hooked their arms under hers and heaved her to her feet. They half-supported and half-carried her back to the stairs they had descended many many angles ago. They dumped her at the base. She crumpled in a heap.
“Start climbing, Sun-kissed,” Pela said. “You don’t want to be here when the Blessed One makes her pilgrimage to the surface at angle zero.”
Their laughter echoed off the stone walls as they returned to their mistress. With her legs, back, and hips on fire, Shyla had no strength to climb one level let alone…eighty-something. Her fuzzy thoughts couldn’t do the math. Plus the spikes of pain in her temple matched tempo with her pulsing blurry vision.
Unable to go up, Shyla decided to go down instead. Well, not all the way to level ninety-seven, but to the first landing. There she wouldn’t be spotted by the deacons and, if the Water Prince’s guards bothered her, she’d flash the sigil and tell them to get lost.
