Page 79 of The King of Koraha
“Yes, sir.”
“Explain how The Eyes work and what they can do.”
“The Eyes make my ability to wield magic stronger. They also allow me to read souls.” She described how that worked, about being able to erase memories, and why it’d been easy for her to convert the Lyons monks.
“How did you make them work for you?”
She hesitated. The compulsion to obey was as strong as ever, but her tongue stayed locked behind her clamped teeth. Deep inside, a voice woke, yelling that if she told him, he’d kill her and take The Eyes for himself.
“Little One, your silence upsets me.”
“I’m sorry, Xerxes.” Yet she could not produce the words. They remained trapped inside her.
“Explainto me how you woke the power of The Eyes.”
His magic wrapped around her chest and squeezed tight. “I can’t.” The words exploded from her mouth.
He stopped walking and studied her. “You believe divulging the information will lead to your death?”
She nodded, feeling terrible. “I’ve upset you.”
“No, you haven’t. If you believe obeying an order is suicidal, then the goddess will prevent you from carrying it out. She doesn’t wish for you to become a martyr.”
That was a relief. “But what about if we need to fight? There’s always a chance of getting killed.”
“That works differently. If you go into a fight thinking you’ll lose, then you shouldn’t be fighting. It’s my job to make sure you’re well prepared and confident of your success. You’ve studied the Ways of the Yarin, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, then I won’t need to teach you. Come on, the sun is almost down.” Xerxes strode toward the city.
Shyla jogged to keep up with him, but it didn’t take them long to reach the entrances to Apanji. Without the bright sunlight, the sky pillars shone like a beacon. It would take them a few more angles to lose all their luminosity.
Xerxes led her down through the city. He strode through it as if born here, barely glancing at the marks on the walls. That struck her as odd for some reason.
“Have you been here long?” she asked.
“Twenty sun jumps.” He scowled at her. “When you didn’t show up in Nintri, I figured you’d shaken off my orders. So I headed here.”
“But…” There was something about beating him here, but she couldn’t grasp the rest of the memory.
“My men and I can cross the desert twice as fast as a caravan.”
“Double time?”
He laughed. “Right.” Then he glanced at her. “There are…levels of obedience with the pendant. If you keep pleasing me with your intelligence, then I won’t have to push your thoughts toward a simpler state where all you think about is listening to my will. Do you understand?”
That if her inner voice managed to make her disobey him, he’d erase it. An alarming thought, even though she’d be completely happy without it screaming at her. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. I think this is going to work out quite well.”
A thrum of contentment pulsed through Shyla. She followed in his wake. The extra-large man created his own path even in the most crowded areas. Either everyone moved out of his way or the force of his presence nudged them aside. It reminded her of…someone.
They cut through the shaft, passed the market stalls, and walked by the rooms rented by the merchants. Beyond that was another grouping of rooms and apartments. Xerxes unlocked the door to one on level thirty-six. And she wasn’t surprised. She already knew where they’d be staying, yet how could she? A name tried to form in her mind. Someone important. The inner voice shouted letters, but…they were diverted by the goddess’s love inside the black jewel, which meant it wasn’t important enough.
Xerxes gestured her inside. The entrance opened up into a suite of rooms. They were well furnished with plenty of cushions, tables, and chests. Stained-glass murals decorated the walls. This apartment was probably one of those long-term leases. Already inside the large common area were the five soldiers who had accompanied Xerxes to the monastery and two others she didn’t recognize.
“This is Little One.” Xerxes introduced her to the others—four men and three women. He pointed to one of the women. She was tall with an athletic build and long black hair that had been twisted into one long braid that reached down to her hips. “This is Vilma, my second-in-command. You are to obey her orders as well unless they are counter to mine.”
