Page 131 of The King of Koraha
“Unless that message proving Shyla’s treachery and exonerating the commander arrives in the next couple of sun jumps,” the King said.
“Along with the mention that Xerxes is back in Qulsary a few sun jumps later,” Rendor said.
“Right. And they’ll expect I’ll want to talk to the commander soon after.” The King shook his head.
“I can delay them long enough for us to devise a counter strategy. At least this way we won’t be caught by surprise. Any progress on the research?”
“No. There are over a hundred scrolls,” Shyla said and explained about their delicate condition. “We’ll let you know as soon as we find anything.”
“Good.”
“Don’t relax, though,” Rendor said. “We’re still guessing Xerxes’ plans. He doesn’t share them with many and he’s very smart. Plus he has Invisible Swords working for him now. This could just be an attempt to make you lower your guard.”
“Good point.” The King yawned. “It’s getting late.”
It was an obvious dismissal. Shyla and Rendor returned to their room. It’d been an emotionally exhausting sun jump. Having a bit of notice—she hoped—meant they might be ready for Xerxes.
Shyla and Rendor searched the scrolls for any mention of the magic words. It wasn’t until the sixth sun jump—and still no message confirming Shyla’s theft of the taxes—that Shyla found one. She must have made a noise because Rendor glanced at her with a hopeful expression.
“Don’t get too excited. I need to translate it.” The ink was almost faded so it took her the rest of the sun jump to decipher the passages about a gifted pendant. Except it turned out to be just a fourteen-carat pink topaz that was given to the queen. She slumped in her seat, resting her throbbing head on the table.
Rendor rubbed her back. “Let’s take a break. It’s almost time for Najib’s visit.”
She had to admit sitting in the semi-darkness with her eyes closed helped ease the pain behind her eyes. When Najib arrived that sun jump, his campaign against them continued, including little “facts” about their deceit that he’d been gathering while waiting for news. It was very effective. If Shyla hadn’t sworn the oath to the King, she wondered if he would start to doubt her and Rendor’s loyalty.
It wasn’t until the tenth sun jump that Rendor found a magic word. When he handed her the delicate scroll, she noticed a couple other magic words nearby. Trying to curb her excitement, she concentrated on the translation.
The top of the scroll explained the magic of Koraha. And while she’d love to learn how and why it worked, she was too impatient. The middle section reported what she already knew about the pendants. Toward the bottom were passages about abusing the power and—finally—how to break the magical bond between the sunfire and blackfire!
Her excitement died as she read the instructions. She carefully retranslated it just in case she’d missed something. And then a third time. The counterstrategy remained the same all three times.
It was complicated, but it boiled down to one act. In order to break the sunfire bond, the person wearing the blackfire must be willing to sacrifice their life for the King’s.
Eighteen
She stared at the passage, but as the shock wore off, she realized this situation wasn’t exactly the same. The wearer of the sunfire pendant currently wasn’t the King. And there was more than one sunfire. And many more blackfires.
“Something wrong?” Rendor asked. He’d waited while she’d puzzled out the translation.
She explained what she’d read. “Plus if we take off the blackfire pendant, then the person is freed.”
Rendor rubbed his neck. “The blackfires are small. Perhaps they’re not as…potent as the single stone.”
True. “I need to reread this entire scroll and see what I missed.”
Shyla read through every sentence, but she couldn’t find anything more. Why couldn’t there be instructions? Something like throw water on the sunfire to shut off its power. Or use a mirror. Huh. Maybe a mirror would work. At this point, she’d try anything.
As far as she could tell, the sunfire and blackfire served a single purpose and there was no way to change it. No way to prevent it from doing its job. She groaned and rested her forehead on the table. Perhaps if she banged it on the stone, the action would dislodge the answer.
Rendor moved behind her and massaged her neck and shoulders. “You need a break.” Then he leaned over and kissed her neck. “I know just the thing to help relax you.”
Shyla spotted the sand clock. “It’ll have to wait. It’s almost time for Najib’s meeting.”
He grumbled but pulled her to her feet. They left the room and the mural’s doors shut behind them. Rendor closed the lantern he carried, but light still filled the hallway. Colored light. They turned.
“We forgot the lanterns inside the room,” he said. “I’ll go.”
Shyla stared at the mural. With the light coming through it instead of reflecting off it, the stained glass glowed with exquisite colors. Some hues she’d never seen before. She moved to get a better look. The map was no longer as obvious. Another picture seemed to be brightening on top of it like an optical illusion.
