The tension increased as Shyla waited. Perhaps she shouldn’t have sent Aphra down there. What if only someone with the power of The Eyes—
“All clear,” Aphra called.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. With Shyla in the lead, they stepped down the series of ramps, each one smaller than the last, until they reached the end which rested on the floor a level below the hexagonal room.
Aphra waited for them. She jerked her thumb behind her. “The maze awaits.”
“What happened to your arm?” Jayden asked.
Her sleeve was ripped and blood welled. “There are nasty traps in there.”
“What a surprise,” Jaft said dryly.
To Aphra’s evident amusement, Jayden inspected the wound and declared it shallow. He removed a bandage from his pack and wrapped it around her bicep.
The action reminded Shyla of Rendor, who would have done the same thing if she’d gotten hurt. Or perhaps not. He might be glad not having to worry about her anymore. Silencing those depressing thoughts, Shyla strode over to the maze’s entrance. “Bring that druk, Jaft.”
He stopped right behind her. She took the lantern from him and held it up. The walls were identical to all the others in the temple. There were two ways to go, left or right.
“Don’t go left,” Aphra said.
Wondering if Tamburah had memorized the correct route or marked it as he had with the symbols, Shyla used her magic. Sure enough, an arrow pointed right. It seemed too easy.
“Would the correct path have booby traps?” she asked Aphra.
“No. Otherwise, Tamburah would have to disable them every time.”
“He was paranoid about thieves finding his valuables,” Shyla said.
“In that case, we should proceed with care.”
“Wait,” Jayden said. “Do we need to solve the maze? We don’t have enough time to figure it out.”
“No. Tamburah marked the route,” she said.
“Right then?” Aphra asked.
“Yes.”
Aphra once again took the lead. Shyla directed her and they moved slowly. When Aphra held up a hand, they halted. When the hunter crouched, Shyla spotted another symbol on the wall. And there were four more on the floor. It took her a few moments to decipher it.
“There’s a safe path through the trap,” Shyla said.
“How do you know?” Aphra asked.
“I can see it.”
She moved aside. “You first.”
“Are you sure?” Jayden asked.
“I’m pretty sure.”
“Such confidence,” Jaft muttered.
Shyla stepped on the first graphic on the floor. When nothing happened, she released her breath, bent down to trace her boot with the chalk, and moved to the subsequent one. After she finished, she spotted the next arrow.
“Follow my footprints exactly,” she instructed.
Without hesitating, Aphra went, then Jayden and Vashi.
“And to think,” Jaft said, stepping onto the first print. “My parents encouraged me to join the monastery because I had dangerous friends. If only they could see me now.”
After Jaft joined them, Shyla led. With the booby traps marked, she was able to increase their pace. As she navigated the twists and turns, she wondered how Tamburah had been able to create symbols only the power of The Eyes could detect. Had he used a special ink or chalk? Whatever it was, it had lasted for over thirteen hundred circuits.
So intent on searching for more symbols, Shyla barreled into another hexagonal room without noticing the skeletons at first. They sat on the floor with their backs resting on the walls and their legs splayed out in front. There were ten of them.
“Friends of yours?” Jaft asked.
“Maybe it’s a warning.” Aphra knelt next to one.
“I think they were Tamburah’s servants who helped hide his treasure.” Shyla pointed to a rusted knife lodged between one of the skeleton’s ribs.
“Speaking of treasure, where is it?” Jayden asked.
Increasing her magic, she scanned the walls. Nothing.
“Don’t tell me someone already took it?” Aphra’s voice held disappointment. She straightened. “Unfortunately, it happens more often than not.”
No. Shyla refused to believe that they’d come all this way to find nothing. She paced around the room, almost tripping over the skeletons’ feet. That gave her an idea. Sweeping the sand away from the center of the floor, Shyla revealed a symbol. This one was a simple swirl.
Shyla set her druk down, crouched and pressed both her palms to the swirl. She pushed with her magic and the ground collapsed underneath her.
With a cry, she tumbled forward. Jayden shouted her name as she fell into a hole that expanded into steps. Rolling down the hard stone staircase, she kept her chin tucked close to her chest so she wouldn’t break her neck. She landed hard, sprawling at the bottom with a thump. Pain radiated up her back and ringed her ribs. Her lungs refused to work.
Jayden rushed down the steps then bent over her. “Are you all right?”
Unable to speak, she nodded. Aphra, Jaft and Vashi soon clustered around her in concern. The added light illuminated the room. Shyla caught a glimmer from the corner of her eye. She sucked in a breath and labored to sit up.
Jayden helped her. “What’s wrong?”
Pointing over his shoulder, she gasped, “Tamburah.”
Everyone spun to look. A life-sized, golden statue of Tamburah sparkled in the druk light. Behind him were shelves filled with treasure.
Whoops of joy echoed in the small room. Finally something that went right! Shyla was abandoned as everyone raced over to inspect the items on the shelves. Even though pain still pulsed, she struggled to her feet and joined the others. Everyone grinned and hugged as they celebrated. While thrilled they’d solved one of their biggest problems, there was a part of Shyla that longed to share the good news with Rendor.
Aphra donned a crown of gold, platinum, and silver all twisted together with emeralds decorating it. It was one of many crowns and scepters. Chalices, bowls, jewelry, hairpins, an army of smaller Tamburah statues—Shyla added narcissistic to his long list of faults—all sparkled in the yellow druk light. The collection filled five deep shelves. Too many items to count, but that didn’t stop Jaft from trying.
Jayden shook his head in amazement. “I’d no idea this was here.”
“I think that was the point,” Jaft said. Then he hefted one of the Tamburah statues. It was a nude. “Nice of the king to exaggerate his…er…male attributes. Extra gold for us! We should melt this one down first because of the ewww factor.”
His comment reminded everyone that finding the treasure was just the start. They filled their packs with a variety of items, leaving the bigger treasures for later. What they grabbed would feed them for circuits. Aphra offered to sell the ones that held less value to avoid drawing attention, and Shyla planned to visit Professor Emeline before the woman left Zirdai. The crown would be a perfect replacement for Gorgain’s.
They climbed the steps to the skeleton room. Shyla puzzled over how to close the hole in the floor. She pressed a number of locations but nothing moved. The swirl was on the last step, so she touched it and then bolted up as the staircase retracted, making it to the top before it closed. At least the ramp outside the maze was easier. Shyla pressed the numbers in ascending order and the floor returned to its original position. She and Jayden used their magic to smooth the remaining sand, covering the pattern of thin swirling lines.