“Then why did you assign Rendor to get us water when I repeatedly offered to take care of it?”
Son of a sand demon, he was jealous. “He had a better idea and he’s a natural leader. I’m taking advantage of his skills, just like I do with Mojag or Ximen. And with you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I need to learn everything I can about my magic.”
“Is that all you need me for?”
“Oh, for sand’s sake, Jayden. No. You’re vital to this organization for your connections with the vagrants, your knowledge of the hidden areas of Zirdai, your magical powers. Do I need to continue?”
“Well…”
She huffed. “I’m not stroking your ego anymore. Let’s stop wasting time arguing and get to work. All right?”
“A truce?”
“I’d like nothing better.”
“All right.” He shook her hand.
She practiced working with the sand. Lots and lots of practice before full darkness. After third meal, she returned to her room. Soon after, Jayden brought her a bucket of sand.
“This is for—”
“Practice,” she finished.
He grinned evilly. “Yup.” At least Jayden had given her a distraction. She doubted she’d get much sleep.
And she was right. Shyla used up her energy to work with the sand. After that, she tried to rest. But despite the fatigue flowing through her body, every time she closed her eyes, Rendor’s angry image rose. The pain in his voice echoed.
She glanced at the sand clock. Again. Angle three-twenty. Again, she swore the grains flowed up instead of down. Staring at the curved glass of the clock, Shyla pushed her will at it.
Stop.
The grains paused. Ha! She’d stopped time. Now the clock matched her mood. Too bad no one was there for her to tell. A pang of loneliness bounced in her chest. Her thoughts immediately went to Rendor. Argh. She couldn’t wait any longer. Grabbing her sun cloak, she strode from her room and headed down to the dorms on level ten. Only a few had been cleared and Jayden shared one of them with Ximen, Mojag, and two others. Druk lanterns hung in the hallway, casting enough light into the rooms.
Not wishing to wake the others, she crept into the small space and whispered his name. Jayden woke with a jerk. He sat up and brandished a knife.
Whoa. Shyla held her hands up, leaning back.
He relaxed. “Don’t do that.”
“Wake you up?”
A grunt. “Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why—”
“I want to practice hiding in the sand.”
“Now?” Incredulity laced his voice. “It’s still dark and cold.”
“I want to hide near the city’s entrances. Is there a way to see through the sand? That would be a great way to spy on who’s coming out without having to influence everyone.”
“You’re worried about Rendor’s team.”
At least he didn’t just say Rendor. Progress. “Yes, but…I thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone follows them from the city.”
Jayden considered. His blanket had slipped down to his waist, revealing his bare chest and defined abdominal muscles. Rendor also slept without a shirt despite it being ten degrees. She shivered. What was wrong with these guys? Did they enjoy showing off their muscles to sleep deprived and lonely sun-kisseds?
“All right,” he said. “Give me an angle to get dressed.”
She retreated to the common room. A few people sat at the tables, talking in low voices. Others hauled buckets up to the surface. While it was too cold to stay out there for long without being bundled up, short excursions were fine. Especially since lugging heavy sand was hot sweaty work.
Rae and Lian sat in the corner. The ex-acolytes waved her over. When she joined them, Rae said, “Worried about the team?”
“A little,” she admitted.
“We’re insulted he didn’t ask us,” Lian said. “We helped you get through all those guards and down to level seventy-three. That should count for something.”
“It does. You have my eternal gratitude for helping rescue Banqui.” Shyla wouldn’t have gotten far without them, Jaft, and Elek. And that reminded her of another worry—where was Banqui? Was he safe?
“You know what I mean,” Lian said.
“I do. And don’t feel left out. Rendor did you a favor. Unless you wanted to climb ninety-nine levels carrying about twenty kilograms of water?”
Rae crinkled her small nose. Everything about the girl—yes, she was about the same age as Shyla, but she looked so young—was petite. Except her ability to fight. Nothing tiny about that.
Jayden arrived. “Ready?”
Shyla put on her sun cloak. The garment also provided warmth.
“Where are you going?” Lian asked.
“To do a little reconnaissance,” Shyla said.
“Need backup?” she asked with a hopeful tone. Lian’s pretty heart-shaped face held a wistful expression.
“I know everyone’s sick of shoveling sand, but it’s a necessary evil. And all too soon you’ll be going on dangerous missions.” Frankly, anytime any of them entered the city was dangerous.
“Promise?” Rae asked. Mischief sparked in her golden eyes that were framed by her long black eyelashes.
“Yes.”
“Goody.”
Shyla and Jayden climbed from the temple and paused, allowing their vision to adjust to the darkness. They weren’t taking a druk. The lantern shone with a white light when it was on the surface. That shine would give them away.
The long fabric of her cloak flapped in the cold breeze. Above her head, the black sky glittered with millions of stars. A cluster of five large stars known as the brothers shone bright enough to illuminate their surroundings. Without the sun blazing overhead, the desert held no color. It rippled with various shades of gray.
Jayden erased their prints as they headed to the city. The sand crunched with a crispness underneath their boots. A quiet emptiness hovered over the landscape unlike during the sun’s reign where the heat took up too much space, pushing and shoving at everything like a bully.
They passed a velbloud flock. The animals huddled together in one large mound. The warm air in their bladders kept them comfortable along with their white hair, which had the unique property of providing warmth during darkness and cooling the creatures during the killing heat. The people of Koraha revered the velbloud. When one died from sickness or old age, every part of it was used for the people’s survival.
When they reached the city’s outer limits, they circled the one-story structures, searching for the perfect vantage point. They chose a tall dune on the northeast edge. From that height, they would have a nice view of many of the entrances.
Jayden helped her float a Shyla-sized amount of sand. She lay on her stomach in the indentation. Holding out the hood of her cloak, she commanded the grains to settle. At first, it seemed like nothing happened, but then a weight pressed on her shoulders, back, legs and head. The starlight disappeared.
“How do I look?” she asked.
“A little too lumpy.” Jayden’s voice was slightly muffled. “Let me…” Sand shushed as it moved over her. “Okay, now lift your hood a bit and clear out two holes so you can see.”