Page 82 of The City of Zirdai
“Scorching sand demons,” he said.
Aphra shushed him and they remained quiet. Shyla and the others stood frozen in place. Afraid to move, she noted Vashi had drawn her short sword.
“All clear,” Aphra said, rolling off Jayden.
He regained his feet, brushing the sand off his pants. “That happened so fast. How did you know?”
“I heard a click. These traps are old and many times there’s a delay. And sometimes they fail to trigger. Other times…”
“Other times?” Jayden helped Aphra to her feet.
“They skewer you without warning.”
He shuddered and scanned the walls. “When the Invisible Sword had their headquarters below, we hardly came up here, but I was certain there weren’t any traps left.”
Aphra glanced at Shyla. “We must be getting close.”
“A few more turns,” she said.
“Stay behind me,” Aphra ordered.
No one argued.
After a few angles and a half dozen more traps, which Aphra triggered so they weren’t surprised on the way out, they reached an empty hexagonal room. About four meters wide, it was smaller than Tamburah’s judgment chamber and a layer of loose sand covered the floor, but, instead of six doors, it had only one. The room was a dead end. Aphra checked it for traps as Shyla consulted the map, but it appeared they’d arrived at the area of Tamburah’s left eye.
“Now what?” Aphra asked after she declared it safe.
Shyla examined the room. There were no symbols or markings on the walls or floor, no switches or even cracks. Everyone waited for her. But she saw nothing. After another frustrated angle, she remembered. Shyla needed toseewith the power of The Eyes. Gathering her will, she added…heat…to her gaze and scanned the walls.
Yellow symbols glowed—one on each wall, five total.
“Do you see them?” she asked, digging into her pack for a piece of chalk.
“Them?” Jayden asked.
She swept a hand out. “The glyphs?”
“No.”
The rest shook their heads.
“I do.” The others watched her as she traced them with the chalk. When she finished all of them, she relaxed and the glow faded. The white chalk marks stood out clearly against the reddish-brown walls. The curved graphics tugged at her memories. She’d seen these before.
“That was…interesting,” Aphra said. She moved closer to study one. “This is familiar.”
Shyla joined her. “I thought so, too.”
“These crossed and hooked lines remind me of Wequain’s reign. It’s part of his crest. He had everything branded with his crest.”
“Even his family and servants,” Shyla said, then tapped the middle of her forehead. “Right here.”
“That’s horrible.” Jaft rubbed his arms.
“Hence the moniker, Wequain the Horrible.” The king had done a few other notable things as well. “He also started using osmium as currency. And—” She stared at the symbol as its meaning clicked in her head.
“And?” Jaft prompted.
“And it’s the number three!”
