Shyla shot him a quelling glare. “This is a priority. We’re running out of osees.”
“What about the Water Prince’s decree that no one can dig within thirty klicks of Zirdai?” Aphra asked Shyla.
“One or two of those twenty people will be able to hide your activities from any nosy neighbors.”
She crossed her arms. “Yeah? How?”
Too tired to demonstrate, she cocked her head at Jayden.
“We’ll make you invisible,” he said and then disappeared.
Aphra jumped and gave Shyla a wild-eyed stare. “Where did he go?”
“He’s still sitting there.”
Jayden reappeared. “You’re no fun.”
“That’s one of the reasons we’re called the Invisible Sword,” she said to Aphra, ignoring him.
“Can I do that?”
“No,” Jayden said.
“Why not?”
Good question. Shyla waited.
“You don’t have the potential.” Jayden explained how magic worked.
Aphra studied him. “I’m confident, intelligent, and resourceful. And I’ve been in plenty of terrifying circumstances.”
“You forgot modest,” Jayden quipped. Then he sobered. “I just don’t…feel the potential within you. It’s hard to describe.”
Curious, Shyla pushed him to put the feeling into words.
He shot her a sour look. “It’s a gut instinct.”
She recalled that not everyone who had been tested taps into the power. And Jayden had dismissed the possibility of Mojag having magic rather quickly. Perhaps his gut instinct wasn’t that accurate. “What do you feel when you encounter another Invisible Sword who can wield magic?”
“Probably the same as you,” he hedged.
“Humor me.”
“There’s an instant connection. Like we’re family. But you have to remember, I know everyone who can wield magic.” He paused and glanced at Aphra. “She doesn’t have that essence that makes me think she could be family. That’s what I mean by gut feeling.”
Shyla had experienced a similar bond with the other wielders. But she never picked up on an essence of potential. Then again, she was new to magic. Perhaps she needed to experiment. She scrutinized Aphra. Did she have potential? Was her magic like a locked door inside her, just waiting for a traumatic event to crack it open?
“Are you doing that soul reading thing?” Aphra asked in alarm. “I like you, but I don’t want you to read my innermost thoughts and feelings.”
“No, I’m not. Sorry, just trying to pick up on Jayden’s gut instinct.”
“You know that sounds weird, right?”
“I do. Okay, back to Gorgain. Do you think you can get his treasures?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Aphra said.
“Can you do it in eighteen sun jumps?”
“Now we have a problem.”
Shyla tapped the map. “What do you need to get it done in time?”
“More people.”
“There’s thirty—no, twenty-nine of us. Will that be enough?”
“It’ll depend on the condition of the site. Will your people follow my orders?”
“Regarding the dig, yes. If we need to hide from any patrols, then we’re in charge.”
“Fair enough.” Aphra examined the edges of the scroll where a series of ancient symbols marked the geospatial location of the temple on Koraha.
“Do you need me to translate those grid lines for you?” Shyla asked.
“I wouldn’t have been a very good treasure hunter if I couldn’t do it myself.” She winked then glanced at the sand clock. “There should be enough time for me to scout out the temple and mark the entrance to the grave diggers’ escape route.”
“Good. Jayden, go with her.”
“Now?” he asked.
Aphra rolled up the scroll and stood. “Yes, now.”
He wasn’t happy, but he went to retrieve his sun cloak.
Aphra gestured to the table. “They saved some fresh fruit for you.”
That was kind. Too bad she didn’t have an appetite.
“I take it things like fresh food are rare here?” Aphra asked.
“For now. I’ve plans once we earn more coins.” She waited for the familiar frustration to well up inside her, but, with their recent success in freeing those people from the confession rooms, it didn’t push quite as hard. And perhaps doing small rescues or acts of kindness would balance the more mundane tasks like shoveling sand for the rest of the Invisible Swords.
After grabbing a few slices of melon, Shyla headed to her room, needing more time to recover her strength. She lay on her thin mat, intending to sleep, but thoughts of Rendor invaded.
He’d been willing to prove himself to the Invisible Swords before she’d made that stupid speech. She should have kept her mouth shut and let him figure out how to get people for his team. Still, she expected he wouldn’t give up on proving himself so easily. Did he want her to chase after him? Had she given up too soon? Time was a luxury she didn’t have and her first priority should be helping the people in Zirdai—not her love life or the lack of one. So she allowed the hurt and pain and unanswerable questions to fill her until she could no longer hold it in. Sobbing, she curled into a ball, purging all her emotions until nothing was left but grim determination. She’d focus on work and stop wasting time and energy on Rendor.
She woke at angle one-seventy and found Jayden in the common room. “Did Aphra locate the temple?”
“Yes. She already took a crew out to uncover the entrance to the grave diggers’ tunnel. Ximen is with them.”
“Good.”
Jayden scrubbed a hand over his face. “We can’t give her all our people, Shyla. We need to dig a tunnel to Zirdai. Going in and out through the surface buildings is becoming too dangerous.”
“I know. We need to recruit more members.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“I’ve a few ideas, but let’s wait until Ximen returns. They shouldn’t be too much longer.”
Jayden grunted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they worked well into the darkness.” Then he leaned back. “If we do get more members, where will we house them? We don’t even have enough room for us.”
A good point. She considered the problem. “Are there any abandoned vagrant communes?” she asked.
“Yeah, but there’s a reason no one lives there—the guards know where they are.”
“Perhaps Orla will rent us some space in her commune. Or she might know a good spot. It’ll only be for a short time.” She ignored his lack of enthusiasm. Instead, she searched for Gurice.
She found her playing a game of dice with Mojag in the room he shared with Jayden and Ximen on level ten.
“That’s two peepers in a row. You’re cheating,” Mojag accused his sister.
“Hardly. It’s all in the wrist.” She demonstrated by rolling another set of peepers. “See?”
He crossed his arms and glared at her. “How do I know you’re not using magic?”
“She isn’t,” Shyla said, coming into the small room.