Page 39 of The City of Zirdai
Jayden squeezed her arm. “Not yet.”
She suppressed a growl. What were they delaying for? The baby shouldn’t be out—
The Heliacal Priestess and her posse strode into sight. Oh, right. So anxious to rescue the infant, she’d forgotten about the seventeen people. Except only thirteen returned from the place of worship. The four Arch Deacons were noticeably absent. Seven hells. They’d remained behind to ensure the baby wasn’t rescued. And with the torques protecting them from Shyla and Jayden’s magic, they’d be hard to beat. Not impossible, but not a guarantee either.
Once the deacons and the priestess disappeared underground, Jayden said, “I’m not sure where the Arch Deacons are, so move the sand to the side instead of up into the air.” He released his grip. “Try not to draw attention.”
Shyla concentrated and envisioned the grains being swept aside as if she was slowly opening a set of curtains. The weight lifted from her back as the sunlight brightened. Interesting how the sand had also insulated her from the heat. The sand devils dug into the dunes to escape the killing heat, but they also had tough hides and special respiratory systems to aid in their survival.
Her stiff muscles protested when she pushed to her feet. Jayden stood next to her, brushing sand from his cloak.
Scanning the desert, she found the deacons’ tracks. However, the baby hadn’t made any more noise. Had the infant died already?
“We need a plan,” Jayden said. “We can’t just rush in there. Let’s take a look first.” He shrugged off his cloak.
Like Shyla, he wore the red tunic and pants that the monks donned when they were on the surface. Hanif had given them a number of used and worn sets. She copied Jayden. They folded the sun cloaks and then buried them under the sand. Without the protective material, the heat grew uncomfortable despite the early angle. Sweat collected along her brow.
Instead of following the tracks, Jayden led them to the southeast, looping around so they would approach the worship site from another direction. When they neared it, they crouched low, keeping a larger dune between them and the Arch Deacons.
Shyla spotted two monks lying in the sand nearby. And they no doubt noticed her as well. The monks or acolytes—hard to tell since their clothing, veils, and turbans blended in with the colors of the desert—appeared to be within direct sight of the worship site and probably the Arch Deacons. Either the Arch Deacons had chosen to ignore them or they hadn’t seen them.
She tugged on Jayden’s arm and pointed the monks out to him.
“Why are they here?” he asked, whispering in her ear.
Good question. Normally the parents of sun-kissed babies abandoned them in the desert well away from the public paths. In rare cases, some were given to the deacons to leave on the surface. “I think they’re waiting for the Arch Deacons to return to the city so they can rescue the baby.”
Jayden huffed. “So it’s a waiting game? See who’ll stay out here the longest without getting cooked?”
If the baby was unprotected from the sun, it would die well before the killing heat. “The monks are technically not allowed to interfere.”
“So it’s up to us?”
“Yes.”
“We need to take a peek,” Jayden said.
“How?” She gestured to their surroundings. “They’ll see us and we can’t influence them.” Shyla stared at the monks. An idea formed.
“I’ll go through the dune,” Jayden said. “I’ll just push the sand this way so they don’t notice.”
That would take him a fair amount of energy and time. “No. I’ve another plan.”
“And…?”
“If it doesn’t work, we’ll go with yours.” She crept to the edge of the dune, closing the distance between her and the hidden monks. Waving her hands, she hoped to catch their full attention and not just a glance. Lowering her mental shield, she prepared to act. The monk closest to her shifted his gaze and she made eye contact. Perfect! She picked up on his emotions and thoughts.
What did Shyla and her companion think they were doing? If they tried to get the child, they’d have to fight four Arch Deacons without his and Lota’s help. Hanif would kill them both if they were seen aiding an abandoned child. At least Hanif’s information that a sun-kissed had been born recently proved accurate. Appalled and disgusted, he hoped the Arch Deacons would leave soon, but the scorching sand demons seemed determined to wait until the poor child died. He also worried they’d been warned about the monks attempting to rescue the sun-kissed since the four deacons faced four different directions. And they each kept a hand on the hilt of their swords as if expecting an attack.
A scary thought hit Shyla. What if the baby was bait? What if this was a hideous attempt to get the Invisible Swords to come out of hiding? She returned to Jayden and told him what she’d learned and her fears.
“How would they know you were watching on this particular sun jump?” Jayden asked, questioning her theory.
“I don’t know. Maybe they thought we had spies in the city. Hanif had known this might happen and sent the monks. Unless…” No, that was too terrible.
“Unless what?”
“Unless they’ve been doing this every sun jump since we attacked them at the old headquarters.”
