Page 48 of The City of Zirdai
You don’t share the same feelings, he’d said.
How could he believe that when everyone else apparently thought she was in love with him? Had something happened on the mission? She needed to talk to Gurice. Of all the people in the Invisible Sword, she’d already accepted Rendor. Or so it seemed.
Shyla found Gurice dumping buckets of sand on the surface.
“You just came back from a mission. You don’t have to work,” she said to Gurice. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Nah. We slept while we waited.”
“Tell me how the mission went.”
Gurice swiped a stray lock of brown hair from her light green eyes. “Ximen reported it all to Jayden.”
Who was the last person Shyla wished to speak to. “Humor me.”
She shrugged. “We entered the city the same as we left it, in pairs. Mojag and I were first in and we got to the black market before it closed for darkness. I bought the air bladders and then we met up with the others on level thirty-two. Then Rendor led us down to this creepy tunnel that had big pipes crossing through it. The noise of the water rushing inside them was deafening and we had to use hand gestures to communicate. We found a rusted valve and Rendor, Elek, and Ximen had to all grab it.” Gurice grinned. “Lots of bulging muscles on display.” She fanned herself with a hand.
“Focus.”
Gurice laughed. “That valve opened with such a screech I thought it would bring every guard down on us. But nothing happened. We filled the bladders without a hitch and climbed back to the surface. That was the hardest part. Water is heavy!” She shook the empty bucket. “Not as heavy as sand, but I don’t have to lug sand up ninety-nine levels.”
“Did you see the prince’s…special cells?” Shyla swallowed the bile that immediately rose when she thought of those rooms. The image of the naked dead woman hanging upside down had been seared into her mind.
“No. And we didn’t see any guards. Rendor seemed to know exactly where they’d be. Even during the sun jump we had to wait before leaving, we encountered no one as we stayed in various forgotten spots and took turns sleeping.”
Good news and another reason they needed Rendor. See, she wasn’t being selfish. “Did one of the guys say anything…nasty to Rendor?”
Gurice’s expression softened. “Before the mission there was lots of unkind and spiteful grumbling, but no one said anything tohim—nobody’sthatstupid. And during the mission, everyone was quite impressed. I’m sorry, Shyla. I know you two were…”
Were. As in the past. “Did he say anything about…that?”
“Just what he told Ximen. He seemed pretty grim at the time, but he’s not exactly the happiest person.”
True. But she treasured those moments she’d made him laugh. “Do you know how to find those pipes again?”
“Both Ximen and Elek know how to get back to the pipes, but truthfully, I’d feel better if Rendor was with us.”
“Did he mention what he was going to do? Where he might go?” Shyla remembered he’d planned to become a monk before she invited him to join the Invisible Sword. If she couldn’t find him in the city, she’d check with Hanif.
“No. He said he’d keep out of our way and not to worry about him.”
That wasn’t going to happen. “Thanks, Gurice.”
At the end of the sun jump, Jayden and Mojag headed to the city. Shyla joined them, ignoring Jayden’s protests, which turned him sullen. He refused to discuss the mission with her.
Instead, she filled Mojag in on the new mission. “I need you to find out how much platinum has been sold recently, and if the deacons bullied a family to give up their baby.”
“What are you going to do?” Mojag asked.
“I’m going to see if the vagrant network knows where Aphra or Banqui are.” And Rendor.
Glancing at Jayden, Mojag said, “We could do that for you.”
“I know, but if they know where they are, then I need to talk to them both.” And talk tohim…well, after she slugged the big brute.
The rest of the trip was quiet—unusual for Mojag, but the boy must have sensed Jayden’s foul mood and had enough self-preservation instincts to tone down his normally chatty personality. They joined the flow of people heading back into the city after tending to the velbloud flocks and gamelu herds.
Jayden led them to Orla’s commune on level thirty-nine. She had planned to scan all the people they passed, searching for Rendor, but, due to Jayden’s knowledge of the city’s twists and turns, they only encountered a few citizens. Frustrating and impressive. It was obvious the Invisible Sword needed Jayden. Was she risking alienating him by chasing after Rendor? No. She needed them both.
