She’d been ready to explain until he reached the last point. Thinking quickly, she said, “We’re unhappy with the situation, which is why we’re working so hard to change things.”
“Nah, that’s not it. You haven’t been happy since Rendor left.”
“That has nothing to do with magic, Mojag. And you already have serious responsibilities which you are handling so well. When I was your age, my biggest worry was handing in my assignments on time.”
“Sounds boring.”
“It was.”
“Okay, I’ll do it. And if the magic lessons don’t work, I wanna be first.”
“First what?”
He tapped a finger on his chest. “The first person you open.”
Mojag left before she could respond, which was a good thing as she didn’t want to upset him by refusing.
Jayden didn’t comment when Aphra joined their group at angle three-forty-five. Elek and Jaft scowled at Vashi, who ignored them both. The tall woman’s long brown hair had been braided and twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck. Her tawny-colored eyes sparked with disdain as she scanned the others. Except for Jayden. A softness eased the strong lines of her face when she gazed at him.
They climbed to the surface. The sharp cold of the air chased away the last tendrils of sleep, and Shyla drew in a deep cleansing breath. It energized her. But she knew the bite in the air would eventually cause shivers and numb fingers.
When her eyes adjusted to the starlight, Shyla turned to the group. Mojag was right, everyone was so serious all the time. They had good reasons, but if there was too much pressure they’d all break. They needed to warm up. Might as well make it fun.
She pulled in a deep breath and said, “Last one there is a rotten velbloud egg!” She took off running. Suddenly feeling six circuits old, she laughed. The sound was carried by the wind.
For a few meters she worried that no one had followed her. That they all stood there staring after her as if she’d gone insane. Then a whoop sounded behind her along with the crunch and thrum of boots on the sand.
Jaft soon caught up to her. He flashed her a big grin. “You run like a gamelu with a sore hoof.”
“Better than smelling like one,” she countered.
“Yeah, well, enjoy the aroma, because you’ll be downwind of me from now on.” With a burst of speed, he pulled ahead.
Lian came up beside her and slowed to Shyla’s pace. “We’ll let that idiot burn up all his energy and then we’ll pass him while he’s bent over sucking in air.”
“Sounds like this isn’t the first time you’ve raced him,” Shyla said.
“Let’s just say he has issues with pacing himself.”
“Oh?”
Lian winked at her.
“Oooh.”
Vashi drew up on Shyla’s right side. “This is fun. I really needed to stretch my legs.”
“With those long legs, you have an unfair advantage,” Lian mock groused.
“And they’re handy in a fight.”
“Modest, too. I’m beginning to hate her,” Lian said, but without any malice.
Soon, they were too winded to talk. Shyla glanced behind her. Elek was a few meters back, while Aphra and Jayden jogged side by side. She wondered if they were biding their time. Or was Jayden keeping a slower pace for Aphra? The treasure hunter probably didn’t have the training the rest of them did.
As predicted, they passed Jaft about a kilometer from Tamburah’s temple. While far from bent over, he puffed and complained with each step. “Stupid…sand…sucks…all the…energy…from my…legs.”
When the temple was within sight, Lian and Vashi increased their speed. Shyla kept her slower pace to avoid expending too much energy. Elek passed her a few meters from the escape hatch. Vashi reached it first, then Lian, Elek, Shyla, Jaft, and Aphra. Jayden was the rotten velbloud egg. They all collapsed in the sand. And even while huffing for breath, they were still able to give Jayden a hard time over being last.
“Someone had to erase our tracks while running at the same time,” he said in his defense, but otherwise didn’t seem to mind the good-natured ribbing.
It didn’t take long for them to recover. After removingclosed druks from their packs, they opened them and entered through the escape tunnel.
Aphra stopped to admire the faces. Exploring the carvings with her fingertips, she said, “These might be worth a few osees if you could remove them without damaging them.”
“Really?” Jaft asked. “Who would buy them? They’re hideous.”
“You’d be surprised what people will buy if they think it’s old and rare,” Aphra said.
“There are thousands of them,” he countered.
“Except the buyers don’t know that, do they?” Aphra smirked.
“Ah, tricky.”
They continued on to the judgment room. Shyla removed her copy of the map and spread it out on the altar. Jayden stood next to her.
She pointed to Tamburah’s chin. “This is the starting point and I think that’s here in his judgment room. His eyes are where the maze is located. We just need to figure out which of these hallways is this line that leads from the starting point. We could try all six, but that would take too long. Do you remember the layout beyond each one?”
Jayden picked up the map, holding it out in front of him. He glanced at each hallway, then back at the map.
Aphra moved closer to Tamburah’s face. She poked the tip of her knife into one of the red tears on his cheek. “These are ruby chips. Also worth a couple osees.”
“Can you sell them in Zirdai or would you need to go to Catriona?” Shyla asked.
Aphra considered. “The prince stopped all the hunters here, but he didn’t arrest any of the buyers. I’m sure they’d be interested. As long as it’s not something big or significant. Why?”
“Just in case we’re desperate.”
Jayden finished his assessment. “That hallway matches the best. I don’t remember anything interesting beyond.” He shrugged. “I guess it could be hidden.”
“Elek and Lian stay here,” Shyla said. “If anyone arrives, you can either fight or hide.”
“Or come warn us,” Jayden said.
“Use your judgment,” Shyla said.
Aphra said, “Jayden and I will go first. There might be traps. Shyla, you read the map and tell me which way to go. Then the muscles can follow to watch our backs.”
“Why am I with you?” Jayden asked. “Are you going to use me to trigger the booby traps?”
“Aren’t you the one who knows this place the best?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You can point out anything that doesn’t look right.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“And you can trigger the traps,” she teased.
“Not funny.”
Shyla directed the group through a number of hallways of the dead. Their boots scraped on the rough stone floor. The air smelled of dust and abandonment. And that was another potential hazard—bad air. Gases might have built up in various pockets.
Aphra held the druk out in front of her, shining the light on every crack in the floor and walls. She paused often, holding up her free hand, stopping them. Once she crouched down and tapped the hilt of her knife on the floor. When nothing happened she straightened and continued.