The City of Zirdai by Maria V. Snyder

Seven

Even though they were both hidden under the sand, Jayden managed to grab her arm. “Stay put.” His voice was muffled but the order was clear.

“No.” There was no way she’d let the Heliacal Priestess and her deacons abandon a baby. Another wail tore into her guts.

“We can’t do anything until they’re gone. We’re outnumbered. Besides, we can’t just appear from the sands. There’s still too many people leaving the city.”

She hated that he was right. Hated it with all her heart and soul. “As soon as—”

“Yes, we will.”

How could he be so calm? A third and weaker cry skewered her. A physical need to move, to run, to swoop in and scoop up the baby hummed in her blood and drummed on her muscles.

“Look,” Jayden said. “There’s Nard and Lamar.”

Shyla spotted the two men. No one paid them any attention as they strode away from the city in a different direction than Elek and Jaft. They too carried shovels. Except Nard’s sun cloak appeared…odd. There was a…hump on his back. Not big as if— Idiot! They carried the air bladders full of water on their backs under their sun cloaks. Rendor was a genius!

A bit of pride pushed her other emotions to the side for an angle. He wasn’t the second worst choice. In fact, she would no longer tolerate those comments. And it was time to stop trying to please everyone.

After a few more angles, Balin and Daksh slipped from a little used exit and soon disappeared from sight. Shyla and Jayden continued to wait, but none of the other Invisible Swords left the city. Soon, the flow of people stopped and the sweepers retreated underground. Had the rest of the team been caught? Or were they still collecting water? Instead of jumping to horrible conclusions, she’d ask Elek when she returned to the temple. But first the baby.

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.”

Jayden’s horror matched her own. “That was five sun jumps ago.”

Her next thought was equally ghastly. Did they bring the child back to the city when their trap didn’t work only to take the poor thing back out the next sun jump? This had to stop. Now.

“Even if they’re expecting us, we can’t walk away,” she said.

“Agreed. But unless the monks fight—”

“They won’t.”

“Then it’s two against four and they’ll see us coming.” Jayden rubbed his hands together. “I’m okay with that.”

Was she? They couldn’t influence or manipulate the Arch Deacons, but they could move the sand. Perhaps a cloud to hide them or— “What an idiot!”

“I hope you’re not talking about me.”

“No.” She rushed to explain her plan. “Do you think it’ll work?”

“If it doesn’t we can always fall back on plan B.”

“Fists and feet?”

“And knives.” Jayden pulled his from his belt and brandished it. “Might as well put on a show.”

Shyla added learn-how-to-fight-with-a-knife to her list of things to do. Going up against two Arch Deacons without a weapon was a daunting prospect. She hoped her crazy scheme worked.

As she and Jayden crested the dune, Shyla didn’t need to read the hidden monks’ thoughts. No doubt they were questioning her intelligence.

The Arch Deacons spotted them immediately. The four formed a line between them and the baby on the sand. They drew their weapons—short swords, sharp and slightly curved. Jayden’s knife looked like a child’s toy in comparison.

“Ah, the Blessed One was correct that you wouldn’t be able to resist,” said an Arch Deacon. He stood on the far left and had to be the leader. “Come with us, Sun-kissed, and your companion can take the baby and go.”

“That’s a decent offer. What do you think?” Jayden asked her.

“I think the Arch Deacon is a son of a sand demon and should be left on the surface to die.” She stared at the man but concentrated on his feet.

“Ouch.” Jayden pressed his free hand to his chest. He turned to the Arch Deacon. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Enough of this,” the man said, then to his companions, “Don’t kill the sun-kissed.”

The Arch Deacons stepped forward. Or, rather, they tried. The sand underneath them no longer supported their weight. Shyla increased her will, creating a deeper hole under the leader. Jayden focused on the other three.

Amid cries of disbelief and fear, the quartet sank up to their chests—a comical sight. Their arms remained on the surface and they struggled to break free. Jayden used the sand to yank the swords from their hands. The weapons disappeared into a dune. Then the grains trapped the men’s arms.

Not wasting time, Shyla crouched in front of the leader. She yanked the torque from his throat, then met his terrified gaze.

“You should be scared,” she said. Not bothering to question him, she probed the depths of his mind.

As she’d feared, they’d been setting this trap for the last couple sun jumps. They thought they’d be safe from her magic with the torques.

Shyla gave him a cold smile. “You’re never safe from me. And inform the Heliacal Priestess that if she tries to abandon another baby, everyone will be dragged deep under the sand and left there to die.”

Jayden removed the torques from the other three. Then they put the four Arch Deacons to sleep. Shyla scooped up the baby. Sweat glistened on its dark skin and the poor thing was overheated. Dehydrated, too—no tears leaked from its eyes and its wails were weak gasps. The blanket was twisted around the baby’s body. Shyla pulled it off and paused. The boy wasn’t sun-kissed. Outrage and horror filled her. The Heliacal Priestess had taken someone’s baby to trap Shyla.

The monks approached but then stopped as if afraid to come any closer.

“Are they dead?” Lota asked, nodding at the half-buried forms.

“No, sleeping. Before we leave, we’ll loosen the sand and wake them up so they can get inside before the danger zone.”

“We can take the baby to the monastery,” Lota said.

“He’s not sun-kissed.”

The monks glanced at each other.

Jayden peered over her shoulder. “Do you think they kidnapped the baby?”

“Knowing the Heliacal Priestess, she probably browbeat his parents to offer him to the Sun Goddess,” Shyla said in disgust.

“We can’t take him back to Zirdai until we find his family and determine what happened,” Jayden said.

“Agreed. Can you take him for now?” Shyla asked the monks. “Tell Hanif we are searching for his family.”

“All right.” Lota took the baby and covered him in the blanket.

The other monk opened his water skin and dribbled a white liquid into the baby’s mouth.

Surprised, Shyla asked, “Milk?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, we have experience with saving babies. Fortunately, it happens infrequently,” he said.

The monks headed back to the monastery while Shyla and Jayden worked on releasing the Arch Deacons.

“They deserve to be cooked,” Jayden said.

“That’s a horrible way to die,” she said. “Besides, we don’t kill. And I’m sure they’ll be punished by the priestess for failing to capture me.”

He grunted, then focused on the dune behind her. She turned in time to watch the four short swords emerge from the sand. Jayden picked them up. “These’ll come in handy.” He inclined his head to the Arch Deacons. “They’ll be awake soon. Let’s go, I’m beat.”

No need to tell her twice. Shyla hurried to catch up with Jayden as they retrieved their sun cloaks. She erased their tracks as Jayden’s energy was clearly lagging.

“I must admit,” he said, “that trick of trapping the Arch Deacons was a great idea. I’ve always viewed that skill as a way to hide and travel unseen.” He remained quiet for a while. “Granted, we don’t have many skirmishes on the surface.”

“And now the Heliacal Priestess knows what we can do. Let’s hope that prevents her from trying that again.”

As Jayden’s steps slowed, she glanced at him. “I wish I could have helped you more.”

“You will. You’re a fast learner, and, once you have enough practice, you’ll be able to sink a dozen deacons.”

Not sure she had the power for that many, she kept quiet. When they arrived at headquarters, there was a celebratory buzz in the air. In the common room, the six men from the mission stood amid a group of people all with smiles on their faces. Six previously empty water jugs were now full. Jaft spun around, showing off the air bladder that had been fashioned into a backpack.

Shyla gestured Elek over to update her and Jayden. “Where are the others? Did something happen?”

“No, the mission went off without a hitch. Rendor thought having all of us leave at the same time would be too suspicious. So six left this sun jump and the other four will go during the next.”

“Any problems?” Jayden asked.

“None. We avoided all the patrols. Well, getting the water from the pipe was a bit tricky. The valve had rusted shut and was a devil to get open.” He flexed his biceps. “But it was no match for me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “For you?”

“Well, Rendor may have helped a little.”

“Uh-huh. Where are the others staying while they wait?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. But I’m sure it’s safe. Rendor knows all the places the guards check.”

While she wished they’d all returned, overall it was good news. And she hoped that the other members would start to look at Rendor in a new light.

“Thanks,” she said.

He nodded and joined the others. Shyla then relaxed—a mistake. Her adventures caught up to her and fatigue threatened to topple her. Before going to rest, she filled her water skin. Jayden did the same. He set the swords down.

“Do we have people who can fight with those?” she asked.

“Yes, most of the Invisible Swords can handle one. We prefer knives as they’re easier to conceal and to fight with in a confined space.”

Good to know. “Give me the rest of the torques. I’ll take them to the monastery later. Plus I can check on the baby.”

Jayden pulled them from his pack. “At least we reclaimed four more.” Jayden inspected one in the druk light. The Invisible Sword symbol was etched into the metal along with other glyphs and symbols. Jayden turned it over. He ran a fingernail along the back, then squinted closer. A strangled sound escaped his lips.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“This…” He held up the torque. “Is new!”

Not sure she understood, she said, “New as in—”

“As in somehow the Heliacal Priestess is making more. As in, she might have hundreds instead of the dozen original ones.” Jayden slumped against the wall.

Seven hells. That was bad.

“Let’s not panic.” She guided him over to a table. “Sit.” After fetching a couple rolls of jerky, she handed him one. “Eat.”

As he chewed on his, she dug into her pack and removed the torque she’d taken from the Arch Deacon. She laid the four of them on the table. “Obviously the Arch Deacon I interrogated back at the old headquarters didn’t know about these new torques or they didn’t have them at that time.” She considered. “Platinum is rare and expensive. If a large quantity was recently purchased, one of your contacts in Zirdai will know how much. Right?”

“Yes. It’s hard to keep things like that quiet.”

“Good. Once we know how much the priestess purchased, we can estimate the number of new torques she has.” She gestured to the ones in front of them. “Are all these new?”

Jayden examined each one, turning them over. “Two are, the others are not.”

“All right. Come with me to the monastery later to check the others. Once Mojag is back, you both can go into the city and ask about the platinum and see if anyone knows about a missing baby.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Okay.”

“First, get some rest.”

“You, too.”

After she woke, she collected Jayden and they headed to the monastery. This time she didn’t waste energy trying to sneak up on the monks. The news of their approach reached the monastery well before they did. When they arrived, Hanif waited for them in the surface building.

“How’s the baby doing?” Shyla asked.

“Not well. My healers are not sure what’s wrong with him so I’ve sent for Zhek.” He studied them. “Any news on the babe’s parents?”

“Not yet. We need to take a look at those torques. Can you retrieve them for us?” she asked.

Now she received a shrewd appraisal. “I’m just about to assess three acolytes. If you’re willing to help me out, I can spare some time to fetch them for you.”

A niggling sensation warned her that this wasn’t going to be that straightforward. “All right. What do you need?”

Seeming way too happy about her acceptance, Hanif led her down to the training room on level seven. “These three acolytes are almost ready to take the oath. They all arrived at the monastery over a short period of time four circuits ago. All on different sun jumps, but it’s a bit odd for us to get that many so close together.”

Ah, she sensed where this was going. “And you suspect they might be spies.”

“Yes. We’ve had them in the past. Over the last twenty circuits, the people in power have sent a dozen or so of their loyal supporters to infiltrate us, hoping they’d become monks and steal all our secrets.”

“The vagrants have the same problem. How do you catch them?” Jayden asked.

“We keep a close eye on the acolytes. They tend to reveal themselves by being just a bit more curious than their fellows, a bit more observant, a bit more…standoffish as if they’re better than the rest of us. They also tend to be found in places that are off-limits to acolytes. These three, though, have not shown any of those signs, but the timing of their arrival also coincides with when the current Water Prince came into power.”

“You want me to read them,” Shyla said.

“Yes.”

An uncomfortable twinge gripped her stomach. On the one hand, she wanted to help Hanif and keep the Water Prince from learning about the monks and, by association, her, but on the other hand, what if they were innocent? She’d hate to invade their privacy.

“Do they know she has woken The Eyes?” Jayden asked.

“Unfortunately, everyone in the monastery knows.” Hanif shrugged. “Something that momentous can’t be kept a secret for long.”

“Then as soon as they see her, they’ll know you don’t trust them. You might lose three good people. But if they’re working for the Water Prince, they might try to kill her.”

Oh, she hadn’t thought of that. And she needed to make eye contact to read a soul. Perhaps she could wear a turban and veil to hide her identity.

“She could assess their fighting abilities. The acolytes have a final match with a veiled monk before taking the oath.” Hanif seemed to follow her train of thought.

Except she hadn’t been practicing the Ways of the Yarin lately. “I don’t know if I’ll be a worthy opponent.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know they’re good fighters, but I don’t know if they’re trustworthy.”

In that case… “All right. But this is worth more than you getting the torques for me. You owe me another favor.” A pause. “How about admittance into the Third Room of Knowledge?”

Hanif laughed. “Nice try. I agree to another favor, but not that. Pick something else.”

“How about when the time comes, you allow Kaveri to help us with starting our own garden?”

He shot her a probing look, but she kept her expression neutral. Did Hanif really believe she hadn’t figured out Kaveri was her mother?

“Okay, but that doesn’t include providing plants,” he said. “For that I’d need you to do another task.”

Still a victory. She’d expected to have to do more for the plants. “Do you have a task in mind?”

“No, but I’m sure something will come up.”

Jayden just shook his head over their negotiations. “Can you get the torques before the fights?”

While Hanif fetched the necklaces, Shyla changed into a monk’s uniform. The stiff tan fabric was more tailored than what the acolytes wore—the tunic was shorter and it had a matching fabric belt that she tied around her waist. Shyla studied her reflection in the mirror.

She’d spent her entire childhood insisting she’d never become a monk. Not that she was one, but wearing the uniform and being a part of an assessment came close. At least the idea of being a monk no longer caused her to panic. She’d learned being a part of an organization was really just being part of a family.

She wound the turban around her short hair, keeping it small and tucked in close. Then she secured the veil so the material would not come loose while she fought.

Jayden waited for her in the training room. He met her gaze when she entered—the only part of her exposed. “I’m still having trouble getting used to your new eye color. Do any of the monks have blue eyes?”

“A couple.” It was a good thing that blue eyes weren’t that uncommon among the people in Zirdai.

Hanif returned with the torques. He gave them to Jayden and then shooed him from the room. “Only monks are allowed.” After Jayden left, Hanif turned to Shyla. “You’re going to need to be on the offensive. Can you do that?”

Before her adventures with the Invisible Sword, she’d had a hard time being an aggressor since the Ways of the Yarin focused on defense—block and then punch versus punch and then block. However, she’d learned how to attack first and ask questions later. “Yes.”

“Good.” He left but soon came back with an acolyte and two other monks.

The two monks sat on stools along the far wall. The acolyte faced her. Shyla didn’t recognize the monks, but she knew the acolyte—her name was Durva. It made sense once she thought about it. Durva and the other acolytes would have come to the monastery when Shyla was still living here.

Hanif served as the referee. “To me.”

They bowed to him.

“To each other.”

They bowed, but not as deeply. Shyla kept her gaze on Durva, making eye contact while removing her mental shield. The woman was nervous and excited and confident. Durva was five centimeters taller than Shyla, with longer limbs that she planned to use to her benefit.

Hanif held his hand between them and they shifted into fighting stances.

“Go!” Hanif jerked his arm up and backed away.

Shyla executed a front shuffle kick followed by a roundhouse kick. Durva sidestepped and snapped a side kick at Shyla’s leg—the one that held all her weight. A good strategy for any other opponent, except Shyla hopped out of the way before Durva’s foot touched her. Shyla attacked with two quick punches to Durva’s ribs. Durva blocked both with her forearms and stepped close to launch an upper cut to Shyla’s jaw. Shyla leaned back just in time for Durva’s fist to sail pass. They disengaged and the two women circled each other.

Durva was quick and skilled. Shyla was out of practice and still fatigued from using her magic. However, being able to read Durva’s intentions gave Shyla a big advantage. It was fun and Shyla almost forgot why they were sparring. With a renewed effort, she concentrated on Durva’s deeper thoughts—ones not connected to the fight. That wasn’t fun. Shyla’s unease grew as she learned things about Durva that she was sure the woman would never have shared. Was she crossing a line? Abusing her power just so Hanif could uncover a spy?

Shyla won the match three points to two. They bowed again and Durva left. Hanif brought in the next acolyte—an over-muscled bruiser named Tobbar. He didn’t waste energy blocking. Instead he absorbed the hits without slowing down. Tobbar only let her attack once, and then he went on the offensive for the rest of the match, winning it three points to two.

Chago was the third and last acolyte. He was a lanky young man who was freakishly fast even with his thoughts. Shyla just managed to stay ahead of him. And she had to sacrifice a couple points to probe his mind. By the end of the match, her energy lagged and Chago won four points to one. At least she’d held him off longer than he’d expected when he’d sized her up in the beginning.

Hanif consulted with the two other monks before they left. She ripped off the veil as soon as they were out of sight. The material had clung to her damp face while she fought. Then she pulled off the sweat-soaked turban. Ugh. She reeked.

“You need practice,” Hanif said.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You did better than I thought you would.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Did you…?” He tapped his forehead.

“Is that code for ‘read their souls’?”

“Shyla.”

She enjoyed annoying Hanif much more now that she was an adult. “Yes. Durva and Tobbar are legit. Chago isn’t. He’s the Water Prince’s cousin.”

“Seven hells.”

“He’s very good. And you’re going to have to decide what to do with him.”

Hanif’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”

“If you kick him out, then he’s going to suspect I was somehow involved. Which will no doubt bring Captain Yates back.”

Another string of curses burst from Hanif.

“How long can you delay them from taking the oath?” she asked.

“Not long—five or six sun jumps. They’ve met all the requirements.”

Too soon. “How about allowing him to become a monk and just keeping him from sensitive information?”

“That would be difficult.”

“If you prevent him from passing along information, I can erase his memories later.”

Hanif considered her offer. “How much later?”

“When we unseat the Water Prince.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Figured he wouldn’t accept a vague answer. “I don’t know. We’re still rebuilding. We have limited resources and people. It might be impossible.” She plopped onto a stool and rested her head in her hands. That was the first time she’d admitted out loud that the task of overthrowing the Water Prince and Heliacal Priestess may very well be unattainable for her and the Invisible Swords.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder. “You have a history of doing the impossible.”

She lifted her head. “I do?”

“Yes. You survived on the surface during the killing heat. You woke The Eyes of Tamburah. You convinced Captain Rendor to turn his life around. You rescued Banqui. All things I would have sworn no one could possibly do.”

“But this is different.”

He raised an eyebrow—a familiar and exasperating gesture. “Is it?”

Yes. It was. Maybe. Scorching hells, at this point she’d no idea. And Banqui was missing. Again. She sighed.

He patted her shoulder. “You’ll figure it out.”

Easy for him to say.

“And I’ll deal with Chago,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll feed him some misinformation for fun.” An evil little grin spread across his face.

Shyla almost felt sorry for Chago. Almost.

After she cleaned up, she joined Jayden in Hanif’s office. He’d spread the nine torques out on the desk. “Only the two are new, the rest are old.”

Which didn’t tell them much.

“I’d like to take these back to our headquarters. Maybe we can learn how they work and figure out a way to bypass it,” Jayden said.

“What if we’re raided?” She’d hate for the torques to be used against them.

“I can hide them in the sand. So can you.”

True.

“And when I’m done I’ll melt them down.”

“Too bad we can’t sell the platinum.” Then she wouldn’t have to worry about getting coins.

“It would be nice, but the priestess would just buy it and make more.” Jayden gathered the torques and tucked them into his pack. “When the priestess is no longer in power, we’ll sell it for a bundle of osees.”

Shyla paused. This was the first time Jayden sounded confident that they would overthrow the priestess. She wondered what changed.

Unaware of her regard, Jayden said, “If we hurry we can get back before darkness.”

They left the monastery at angle one-seventy. The sun squatted on the horizon. It had swelled into a giant red sphere that warped the pink sky into bands of purple, orange, and yellow. As they walked through the cooling sand, Shyla mulled over what had happened at the monastery.

She’d never considered that the Water Prince and the Heliacal Priestess would send people to infiltrate the monks. Growing up with the acolytes, she hadn’t noticed anyone being too curious or too observant, which was more of an indication of her observational skills than theirs. The most alarming realization was that of the fifteen acolytes that had volunteered to be Invisible Swords, one or more of them could be spies.

After she’d woken The Eyes, they had rushed to rescue Jayden, then they’d hurried to move into the temple and had been scrambling to secure basic needs since. She’d never formally accepted them, nor had she asked them to pledge an oath—not that swearing to be loyal meant they would be. If Hanif allowed Chago to become a monk, the man would lie.

Shyla hadn’t wanted to scare or upset anyone by abusing her power. But now that she thought about it, she needed to formalize the membership. At least for the acolytes since they weren’t Invisible Swords before.

“Jayden, did the Invisible Sword require all members to pledge their loyalty to the organization? Does everyone have the mark on their shoulder?” It was an invisible mark that only other members could see.

“I was thinking the same thing. Yes, everyone who helped us pledged their loyalty. Only those in the upper levels bear the mark.”

“We need to do that for the new recruits.”

“I agree. Are you going to read their souls, too?” he asked casually.

“If I do, then I should do it for all the Invisible Swords as well. It’s only fair.”

He stopped. “No it isn’t. They all swore their loyalty. If you do that, they’ll be insulted.”

Just like Jayden was at the very idea. Except they’d made their vow before Shyla woke The Eyes. “Yet someone betrayed us.”

He rounded on her. “Not someone. Banqui. You just refuse to see it. Which is why no one believes you about Rendor.”

This was an old argument, but she couldn’t help saying, “There’s no evidence Banqui did it. And why would he? He has no reason.” Plus he’d promised her he’d say goodbye. And perhaps she was being naive, but she trusted Banqui to keep his promises.

“Coins are enough of a reason.”

Tired of arguing, she headed toward the temple. No matter what Jayden thought, she was going to figure out a way to test all the Invisible Swords.

Before they reached the common room, Shyla said to him, “I want to hide in the sand again.”

“You think the priestess will try to abandon another baby?”

“No, but I’d like to ensure no one is following our people.”

“All right. I’ll meet you here at angle three-fifty.”

Shyla squirmed into a comfortable position before commanding the sand to cover her.

“Better,” Jayden said of her efforts as he settled next to her.

It didn’t take long before Shyla spotted Gurice and Mojag. The siblings slipped from the south exit. The tight pressure around her chest eased a fraction.

“There’s Ximen,” Jayden whispered a few angles later.

While happy that he was free of the city and that no one had followed any of the Invisible Swords, Shyla worried about Rendor. Why hadn’t he left with Ximen?

They remained in place for another ten angles. Still no Rendor. The sweepers returned inside. Still no Rendor. The priestess finished her service. Still no Rendor.

When the area was completely deserted, Jayden said, “We better go back.”

“You can go,” she said.

“Shyla, he’s not coming out. Not if he doesn’t want to draw unwanted attention. I’m sure Ximen knows where he is and why he stayed behind.”

He was right. Yet Shyla was almost afraid to find out why. The citizens of Zirdai hated him, the Water Prince had ordered his guards to kill him on sight—if they could—and the deacons would happily end his life for no reason at all.

Shyla and Jayden returned to headquarters. Gurice, Mojag, and Ximen were regaling the others in the common room with stories of how they spent the sun jump hiding from the various factions.

Unable to wait another moment, Shyla sent Ximen a silent command.

Come here!

He turned to her in surprise, but once he saw her expression, he hurried over to her and Jayden.

“What happened?” she demanded.

“The mission was a complete success. And, as long as we’re careful, we can tap into that water source whenever we need it.”

“A complete success?” she asked doubtfully. “Then where’s Rendor?”

Ximen glanced at Jayden then away. “He…” Ximen fidgeted with the sleeves of his tunic.

She wanted to strangle him. “Spit it out, Ximen.”

Ximen drew in a breath, then released it slowly. “He decided to remain behind. He said he’s not welcome in the Invisible Sword and it would be better for everyone if he just disappeared.” Ximen touched her arm. “Rendor did the right thing. It’s best for all of us.”