“How about you try?”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll follow at a discreet distance.”
“And when I get out?”
Interesting that he used when and not if. “Just come back here.”
“All right.” Mojag scrambled off the cushion and paused by her door.
A faint yellow light shone from him right before he peeked through the curtain. It wasn’t nearly as bright as Gurice’s. Almost as if the druk inside him was only cracked open a hair. Shyla trailed him. Whenever he was in danger of being seen, that thin ribbon of light flared. Completely unaware he was using magic, Mojag left the temple without anyone the wiser.
He returned with a cocky smirk on his face. “That was too easy. Next time give me a real challenge.”
“Are you going to explain what you’re doing now?” Gurice asked.
“Not yet.” She worked with them both until she was able to identify their inner…druk…without having to witness them using magic. Its heavy presence really reminded her of the lantern—it seemed a vital and solid part of them. And then she had to decide what to tell Mojag. Could she open that druk all the way? Shyla wondered what had happened to him to crack it. Perhaps it was the death of his parents.
When Mojag yawned for the third time, Shyla ordered him to bed. Gurice moved to follow, but she asked her friend to remain. She explained what she’d been doing.
“If it’s foolproof, we just added another weapon to our arsenal.” Gurice grinned. “That was worth making a million sand blobs.” Then her smile faded. “Does that mean Mojag doesn’t have the potential?”
“Actually…” Shyla told her about the crack.
“He’ll be thrilled.” Gurice cocked her head. “Though I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m happy for him but also sad because it’s a burden as well as a gift.”
“And we need to decide what to do about it, and if I should try to open the rest of his magic so he can wield it with intent versus tapping into it unconsciously. I’ve no idea if it will work or what would happen.”
“We should discuss this with Jayden and Ximen,” Gurice said. “I don’t want to hurt my brother, but I don’t want to hold him back either.”
When they arrived in the common room, Aphra and Ximen had already returned from the dig. They sat around a table, talking intently with Jayden. Shyla and Gurice joined them.
“What’s the bad news?” Shyla asked.
“How did you know the news is bad?” Aphra asked. “Magic?”
“No, your body language.”
“Oh. Well, we uncovered the entrance to the grave diggers’ tunnel. About three meters in we hit a wall.”
“A real wall or something not marked on the map?”
“The tunnel collapsed,” Ximen said.
“Can you open it up?” Shyla asked Aphra.
“It’s soft so we can clear it. But, because it’s soft, we need to install extra supports as we go deeper or risk being buried alive. But there’s no way we can reach the crypt in eighteen sun jumps.
Ten
Just when Shyla thought something was finally going their way, they hit a wall. Literally.
“How about if we remove the sand with magic?” Gurice asked Aphra. “Would that make it go faster?”
“It’s not the sand that’s the problem, it’s the time needed to ensure our safety,” Aphra said.
Which was important. Shyla slumped over the table and rested her head in her hands.
“What do you want me to do?” Aphra asked.
There really was only one option left and Shyla hated to do it. “We can sell the map to the Water Prince’s new archeologist.”
“You want to sell the map to Rohana?” Aphra whistled. “Bold.”
“Too dangerous,” Jayden said. “She’ll alert the guards.”
“She won’t,” Shyla said. “The archeologist is under a great deal of pressure to procure artifacts for the prince.” And the thought of the prince owning more of Koraha’s priceless treasures made her sick to her stomach. But she had to feed her people.
“Still too risky,” Jayden said. “Is there anyone else we can sell the map to?”
“Not in Zirdai,” Aphra said. “Since we can’t get to the treasures before Professor Emeline leaves, perhaps we could take them to Catronia.”
Not a bad idea. “How long before you reach the crypt?” Shyla asked.
Aphra drummed her fingers on her thigh. “Twenty-five…maybe twenty-eight sun jumps. It’ll depend on how many booby traps we’ll need to disable.”
If she added in twenty sun jumps of travel round trip and a couple more to find the professor and negotiate a price, it meant a total of fifty sun jumps. After they paid the travel fees, could they last on the coins they had until then? No.
“Any other ideas on how to earn coins while we wait to sell Gorgain’s crown and torque?” Shyla asked the group.
“What about selling water to Orla’s commune?” Gurice asked.
“That pipe is in a remote location,” Ximen said. “Rendor warned us not to make too many trips down there or we’d eventually be noticed by the guards.” He rubbed his hand on the stubble on his chin. “We could divert a few bladders to Orla, but that’s not going to bring in enough coins.”
“Is there another temple or site that has treasures that are easier to get to?” Jayden asked.
“Wouldn’t you know?” Shyla asked. “You said the Invisible Sword members also worked as treasure hunters. Where did they get their information?”
“I don’t know. Kantu, one of our commanders, used to handle that. Did you ever work with him?” Jayden asked Aphra.
“No, I didn’t work with him. I didn’t know Kantu was an Invisible Sword. There were two…factions selling and procuring artifacts. Fadey’s and Kantu’s. I heard he disappeared soon after the Water Prince cracked down on the illegal treasure hunting.”
Another dead end. Shyla gripped the edge of the table as a wave of fatigue hit her. Experimenting with Gurice and Mojag must have sapped more of her strength than she’d thought. Jayden glanced at her in concern.
“Did Kantu have a storeroom or a place to hold the artifacts until he sold them?” Aphra asked.
“We had a bunch of places to store things in our old headquarters.” Ximen looked at Jayden. “Do you think one of them could have something valuable?”
“No. They were for food, water, and supplies. Kantu was very careful. All of the commanders were.”
Which was why they could hide in the forgotten deep levels of Tamburah’s temple for so long without being discovered. That thought triggered another. When Banqui uncovered the building, only The Eyes remained. But they’d been fakes. What happened to Tamburah’s legendary riches? Had the Invisible Swords sold them all? She asked Ximen.
“Yes, our predecessors confiscated all his wealth when they usurped him and spent it on helping the people recover,” he said. “The only thing they couldn’t locate was his vault.”