Despite their earlier chatter, the four ex-acolytes settled into a quiet, highly focused team, scanning the desert for potential problems. Jaft and Elek carried shovels. A sense of readiness and competence oozed from all of them, their smooth gaits and graceful movements reminding Shyla of predators.
As predicted, the hatch covering the safety tunnel was difficult to locate. It’d been thirty-nine sun jumps since it was last used and the constant blowing sand had reburied it. They used the handles of the shovels to puncture the loose sand, listening for a hollow thunk that would mean they’d hit the hatch.
“Found it,” Jaft shouted.
They removed the sand and opened the hatch. Stale air rushed out. Shyla dropped into the hole first, ensuring the tunnel hadn’t collapsed since it wasn’t part of the temple. Strong emotions welled as she shone the druk on the sand walls. The last time she was here, she’d run from the deacons and embraced the sun, knowing full well the heat would kill her.
“It’s clear,” she called.
Soon the others followed her deeper into the temple. They reached the faces of the dead. Carved into the sandstone were the eyeless visages of Tamburah’s victims. Their mouths were open in silent wails of anguish, desperation, and fear. The carvings covered the walls from floor to ceiling.
“Is anyone else creeped out by all these people?” Jaft asked.
“Even though they don’t have eyes, it seems like they’re staring at you,” Rae said with a shudder. “Are they just decoration?”
“No,” Shyla said. “They were real people who King Tamburah judged as not trustworthy. He removed their eyes as punishment. Proud of his handiwork, he had an artist carve their faces into the walls so he could admire them. Banqui called this one of the hallways of the dead.”
“You mean there are more?” Jaft asked.
“Lots more. The temple is filled with them.”
“He makes the Water Prince seem like…well, a prince,” Lian said.
“The Water Prince tortures people by hanging them upside down and cutting into their flesh, including eyeballs, and male genitalia.” Revulsion coated her mouth with bile as the vivid memory of the naked vagrant flashed.
“If given the choice, I’d choose my eyes over my—”
“That’s enough,” Elek said, interrupting Jaft. “I just ate.”
Tamburah’s judgment chamber was located on level five. They covered the druks and slowed as they neared the entrance, their footsteps almost silent. Shyla stretched out her senses, seeking that bump of others. Was an ambush waiting for them? Not one comprised of guards. Deacons were another matter. If they wore torques, Shyla and her friends would have to fight their way free.
Taking a chance, she said, “Uncover the druks.”
Light illuminated the threshold and, beyond that, the chamber. No sound pierced the quiet. No deacons attacked from the shadows. Not yet. She’d been surprised twice before in this very location and didn’t wish to add a third. The five of them entered and spread out. Stone benches and a large stone altar decorated the hexagonal room. Behind the altar, King Tamburah’s smug face filled the wall. Blue and purple sand lined his skin, and red grains of crystal filled his empty eye sockets and dripped down his cheek, indicating blood—it was all very dramatic.
“Let’s check the other hallways of the dead,” Shyla said. Six doorways led to other areas of the temple, but she wanted to ensure they were empty of attackers. Satisfied they were alone, for now, she took a druk and examined Tamburah’s giant face while the others guarded her back.
Like she’d suspected, the lines formed a pattern that resembled a…maze…or it could be a complex map. Either way there wasn’t a big X marking the location of another vault or anything else. Studying it with the power of The Eyes also failed to reveal any secrets—because that would have just been too easy. Still…the design seemed clearer than before.
Shyla dug into her pack and removed a blank scroll, a stylus, and a vial of ink. She copied the pattern. As the lines filled the velbloud skin, a nagging sense that she’d seen this before grew. It was a map to a maze, and at the center of the maze should be the prize, whatever that was. Yet the problem still remained of where in Zirdai or the surrounding desert the map detailed. It could be anywhere. Also there wasn’t a key or a compass rose. The area might be kilometers wide, or all contained within a single level. Except…
Tamburah considered the temple his seat of power. Following the logic that he wouldn’t want anything important to be too far away from him, the map would start in the temple. But where?
When she finished the copy, she let the ink dry. She stepped back from the carving. Once again she studied the pattern. Tamburah’s obsession with eyes meant they would be a focus point—an important part of the map. Perhaps the location of the maze. So where was the starting point? The judgment room! She glanced around. Six possible directions. She would have to explore each one, following the map. Too bad she no longer had the map to Tamburah’s temple. The last time she examined it the map had been in Banqui’s work rooms on level thirteen. No doubt Rohana and her diggers now occupied the three large caverns.
“Are you done?” Lian asked. “It’s getting late.”
Shyla debated. They could retreat deeper in the temple and Shyla could explore. Or she could return at another time with Jayden. He had to be well acquainted with the temple’s layout. Plus Banqui had disabled a few booby traps. Perhaps the Invisible Sword had kept some traps active to keep the curious or the treasure hunters away. The smart thing would be to come back with Jayden, even though it would probably start a fight between them.
“All right. Let’s go,” Shyla said.
They returned to headquarters well before the danger zone. And, as if he’d read her mind, Jayden waited for her in the common room. He and Mojag had earned a small pile of coins, but that wasn’t why they’d returned.
“I’ve news,” Jayden said.
And by the wary way he gazed at her, Shyla knew it wasn’t good. “Just tell me.”
“Captain Yates arrested Hanif and another monk. They’re in the black cells.”
Twelve
Shyla stared at Jayden in stunned silence. Hanif arrested? Locked in the black cells? Grief cracked through the surprise and the full implications of his news hit her. She rocked back on her heels. “Another monk? Do you know who?”
“The rumors said she’s a sun-kissed. I thought it was you. That’s why I came back here as soon as I could.” He shot her an annoyed glare. “To find you missing.”
She ignored him. The other monk had to be Kaveri. All of her energy drained and she sank onto a cushion. It was her fault they’d been arrested. Memories from when she’d visited Banqui rose—the foul odor of excrement and piss, the cold dampness, the wails of the other prisoners, and not a single beam of light.
“We have to rescue them,” she said.
“We don’t have the resources,” Jayden said. “Besides, they’re under the protection of the King. They won’t be there long.”
She jumped to her feet. “Being in there one single angle is too long! And the King gave the Water Prince permission to search the monastery, including the Rooms of Knowledge. That must mean they’ve a good relationship. The monks have helped us so much. We have to do something.”