Page 53 of The City of Zirdai
“Excuse me?”
“Your Water Prince has made it impossible for anyone to work a dig site within thirty kilometers of Zirdai except for his archeologist.”
Seven hells.
“But if you bring me that crown and torque, and it’s authentic, I’d be happy to pay you more coins than you’ve seen in your lifetime.”
Perfect, except Shyla didn’t have a crew to dig. Actually, she did, but they had so much to do already. And they hadn’thelpedanyone yet. Every sun jump people were being tortured, they were dying, and the Invisible Swords were shoveling sand.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Shyla said.
“Don’t wait too long. I’m leaving for home in twenty sun jumps.” Emeline hustled Shyla out the door.
The visit hadn’t gone as she’d expected. Shyla spent most of the trip back to Orla’s commune trying to figure out a fast way to reach Gorgain’s treasures. Before she ducked down the tunnel that would lead her to the back entrance, Shyla paused and checked that no one had followed her or was watching the tunnel.
She reached with her magic and sensed—Rendor! Spinning around, she peered into every shadow, trying to determine his location. A brief moment of alarm flared from him before he moved away, increasing the distance between them until she could no longer sense him.
Son of a sand demon. Shyla wanted to call after him, but the hard stone walls would echo and amplify the sound. People would come to investigate. Plus the heartbreaking fact that he’d seen her and run away…that said a lot.
Disheartened, she returned to Orla’s. The commune was quiet as most of the children were asleep. Mojag and Jayden hadn’t come back yet. Not hungry, but realizing it’d been a while since she’d eaten, Shyla nibbled on a roll of gamelu jerky as she spread the map of Gorgain’s temple on a table. Better to work than to replay Rendor’s rejection.
She used four druks to hold the edges down. The extra light also helped to illuminate the faded ink. Tracing the tunnel the grave diggers used to escape the crypt, she found an entry point into the temple then calculated just how much sand would have built up over thousands of circuits—approximately six or seven meters. The air would be stale, perhaps even toxic or explosive or both. And there was always the danger of a cave-in. And booby traps.
Groaning, she rubbed her face. This was not her area of expertise. She needed Banqui. Not knowing where he was or if he even was alive dragged on her. He could be confined in one of the priestess’s chapels or in one of the prince’s black cells on level ninety-eight, waiting for her to rescue him again. Or he could be hanging upside down in one of the prince’s special rooms that were on the same level as the cells. That possibility gave her nightmares.
Too tired to think anymore, Shyla rolled up the map and crawled under a fur in what she was beginning to consider her room.
She woke before angle zero determined to find Rendor. They would have another conversation. Although she knew he wouldn’t be at his parents’, her curiosity wouldn’t let her not check out where they lived. Using the power of The Eyes, she tricked a guard into pointing out their suite of rooms on level eighty-four.
Once again she waited in a shadow like a creepy stalker. The double-wide stained-glass doors showed an idyllic and ancient scene of water flowing through a garden. Trol lanterns hung to each side. An expensive hand-woven rug beckoned visitors.
At around angle ten, a man exited the suite. Shyla had to clamp her hand over her mouth—his resemblance to Rendor was uncanny. A few centimeters shorter than Rendor, Hastin had equally broad shoulders, but he wasn’t as muscular. Not as dark-skinned either, but with the same color hair and eyes. Hastin’s powerful and confident stride carried him right past her hiding spot. He didn’t pause or acknowledge her. Obviously she was far beneath his notice.
Shyla waited some more, but Rendor’s parents remained inside. When she left the area, she sensed Rendor but was unable to locate him. Again. Then she spent the rest of the sun jump searching for him. Hanif hadn’t called her stubborn for no reason.
But she couldn’t find him. Admitting defeat hurt deep inside her. She returned to the commune near angle one eighty. Jayden and Mojag had also come back. They exchanged information.
“The Heliacal Priestess is buying every bit of platinum she can,” Jayden said. “We’ve estimated that she bought enough for another twenty torques, which means she has about two dozen.”
“Not good,” she said.
“It gets worse,” Mojag said. “There’s a rumor that she sent a couple of her Arch Deacons to Catronia to purchase more.”
Catronia was ten sun jumps away. “Do you know how long ago?”
Mojag shrugged. “The gossip is still warm.”
Warm? She glanced at Jayden.
“Two maybe three sun jumps at most,” Jayden translated. “We have some time to experiment with the ones we have and hopefully figure out a counter strategy before the priestess makes more.”
“All right, we’ll leave at angle zero. What about the baby’s mother? Any news?”
“Not a squeak,” Mojag said. “We’ve the network on the lookout.”
The vagrant network had come in handy a number of times and had found Aphra. “Can you ask the network to keep an eye out for Rendor?”
Mojag shot Jayden a look but then ducked his head. “Sure thing.”
