Page 3 of The Eyes of Tamburah
A thin layer of grit crunched under their boots as they walked. The dry air held a salty scent mixed with the faint gingery anise odor of the desert.
“Where are we going?” she asked him.
“Since you won’t go to the monks, you need a place to stay.”
She waited, but he failed to continue. “And that would be…”
“My upper-level work rooms.”
“They will be the second place the prince’s soldiers will look after checking my room,” she said.
“They already searched them. You can hide—”
“I’m not hiding, Banqui,” she snapped, which wasn’t helping. Shyla considered the problem, viewing it the same way she researched lost artifacts. “After you found The Eyes, what happened next?”
He sighed. “I wrapped the marble container with layers of silk and put it into my satchel. I headed back to the entrance and someone jumped me from behind.” Banqui rubbed the side of his head as anger flared in his eyes. “When I woke, my bag was gone. And before you ask, I didn’t see or hear anyone in the temple before or after the attack.”
She mulled over the information. “What about the guards? Don’t you always station them at a dig site?”
“I do. According to them, no one had entered or left since I’d gone in.” He held his free hand up. “They’re loyal to the Water Prince and they’ve already beenquestioned.”
“Is that code for tortured?”
“Shyla, this isn’t a joke.”
She gave him a flat look. “The Water Prince thinksI’ma thief so I’m well aware of the seriousness of the situation.”
“Er…right…sorry.”
“How long ago did the theft happen?”
“Two sun jumps.”
“Do you still have the map of the temple?”
“There’s no other entrance. I checked.”
She waited.
“Yes, I still have it,” he said with annoyed exasperation.
“Good. I’ll take another look. And when the sun is lower, we’ll visit the temple.”
Banqui swallowed his protest. Instead, he asked why.
“To find clues, of course.”
Various emotions flicked over his face before he settled on a tired acceptance. “All right. And who knows, maybe you’ll find something. Despite your youth, your attention to detail is unparalleled.”
Shyla huffed in amusement. “Really? Normally you’re irritated by that trait.” And she didn’t think twenty circuits and one hundred and five sun jumps that young, but compared to Banqui’s forty-two circuits or so, she conceded his point.
“This isn’t a normal situation. Besides, I’m starting to suspect the Heliacal Priestess does not have The Eyes.”
“Why not?”
“Because she would have taken control of the water supply and proclaimed her right to rule Zirdai by now.”
“Banqui, the rumors that The Eyes have magical power are just that, rumors. I’ve found nothing that provides proof.” This was an old argument between them.
