Page 135 of The King of Koraha
“No. Shyla only.” He scrunched his nose in confusion. “It’s an easy fix. Just tell me where Shyla is and I’ll ask her.”
“Shyla is dead,” Najib roared. “You will tell me or I will kill your sister.”
Both Gurice and Mojag stared at Najib in shock. Shyla gathered her magic and aimed it at the chests. The lids flew open as the sand erupted skyward. She created a whirlwind of sand around Gurice and Mojag. Thank the Sun Goddess Mojag had filled them to the top.
Then she used the power of The Eyes on the siblings.
Run and hide.
Trust no one.
Except me.
Rae and Lamar’s magic tried to calm the swirling sand. Shyla increased her effort to counter them as she manipulated the sand, creating a space between two guards. Then she sent the siblings one more command.
Run now!
They raced through the gap and Shyla kept a wall of sand between them and the others. Once Mojag and Gurice disappeared into one of Qulsary’s entrances, she stopped. The sand dropped to the ground.
Najib shouted orders, sending the Invisible Swords to track down Mojag and Gurice.
“Will they find them?” Rendor asked.
“Now who’s worried?”
He growled at her.
“No, they won’t. Mojag excels at staying out of sight.”
“Should we find them? They’ll be safer with us.”
She considered. “Not yet. They’re too hot.”
“The hunt for them isn’t going to cool. Xerxes won’t stop until he finds them.” Rendor glanced around. “I’m surprised he wasn’t here.”
So was she. Unless he was hiding in one of the deepening shadows. The sun had slipped below the mountains.
“We need to return to the King, but we can search for them when the sun begins its jump,” she said.
Using thenot herecommand, she led Rendor back to the King’s hidden suite. Once the King returned, they reported what had happened.
“Why didn’t you tell me the second caravan was also a decoy?” he asked.
“Technically it wasn’t. If I’d been there to greet Mojag, he’d have shown us where to find the coins.”
The King rubbed his face. “So if this boy dies, we’ll never recover the taxes?”
“Yes,” Rendor said before she could say no.
Shyla knew where Mojag had planned to hide them, but she kept quiet. Rendor was right. If the King believed Mojag’s life was that important, he’d protect it.
Once Shyla and Rendor entered Qulsary the next sun jump, she stopped wielding her magic. There were far too many people and she needed to save her energy just in case Xerxes or the Invisible Swords found Mojag and Gurice first. They both wore nondescript clothing and Shyla covered her hair with her scarf.
“Where do you want to start?” Rendor asked.
“At the market.”
“Are you sure? It’ll be packed with people and guards and Xerxes’ soldiers.”
