“We will fight.” Another man stood next to Wazir. “I might not have magic, but I have a strong back.”
Two young women joined them.
“Us, too,” one of them said. “If we want things to change, we have to stop waiting for someone else to change them.”
Hard to argue with that. “Welcome to the Invisible Sword.”
Shyla spent the rest of the sun jump stalking deacons. While she couldn’t get near the ones in the chapels due to the deacons guarding them—at least one and sometimes two of the four wore a torque—she followed the deacons leaving. None showed any signs that they wielded magic. Most of the citizens parted or stepped out of their way, but that was probably due to fear.
Giving up on them, Shyla slipped inside the dining cavern on level twenty-nine during second meal and observed the kitchen staff. There she noted a few people with scars circling their wrists. Even though they were technically deacons, they wore light green tunics and pants instead of the robes. And most of them wore white aprons.
When one of the deacons who’d been outside guarding the dining cavern came into the kitchen, Shyla experienced a strong desire not to look in certain areas. Brushing the magic aside, she marked the two female workers who had frozen in place. Their fear was evident in their postures and darting glances. The women only relaxed once the deacon left the kitchen.
After the kitchen staff cleaned up, the workers returned to their dorms. They only had about thirty-five angles before they needed to return to set up for third meal. Shyla shadowed the two women. It wasn’t long before they entered one of the rooms along with two others. Most of the priestess’s deacons lived in dormitories near where they worked. The higher-ranking deacons stayed in apartments near the chapels.
When the tunnel emptied, Shyla strode to their room and knocked on the door. The sudden knowledge that the room was empty pressed on her along with the need to leave. Her stomach churned as she realized these women were still being abused. She blocked their magic and projected her own.
Friend.
The door slid open a crack. “I don’t know you,” the woman said so low it was almost a whisper.
“You don’t, but you will. Can I come in?”
Friend.
A hesitation, but then she widened the gap and let Shyla into the small room. She remained by the now closed door as if she planned to dash out if Shyla tried anything untoward. The room contained two druks, four sleeping cushions, four trunks, and four scared women. The two on the right pushed, go away, go away, go away. Shyla deflected the magic as she met each of their gazes, taking their measure.
“What do you want?” the lady on the far left demanded. She had her hands on her cocked hip—the unofficial leader.
“To help.”
A bitter laugh. “Go sign up at the chapel. The deacons are always looking for new recruits.”
“Not that kind of help.” Shyla pulled her wrap down, revealing her hair.
The four women stared at her as if she’d just uncovered the sun.
“You’re…”
“You can’t be here,” the woman by the door said. “They’ll kill you.”
“And us,” the leader added.
Go away.
Go away.
Go away.
Shyla turned to the two using magic. “I’m not going away. You can’t make me, nor can you disappear. Do you want to know why?”
Stunned silence.
“Because I know what you two can do. You’re using magic.”
The women glanced at each other.
“Yes, that’s what you’ve been doing. It’s real. I’ll demonstrate to make this go faster.” Shyla gathered her will and aimed it at all four.
Gone.
Gasps and confused exchanges followed, confirming that they all witnessed her disappear. Shyla stepped to the back of the room and stopped the magical command.
“You have three choices,” Shyla said.
They started and spun around to face her.
“We haven’t had a choice since being rehabilitated,” the leader said.
“Well now you do. The first one is that you can do nothing, keep working in the kitchen, keep cowering in your room. Or you can run to your boss and report that you’ve seen the evil sun-kissed. You might get a pat on the back, but when they can’t find me, you’ll probably be in trouble.”
“No probably about it,” muttered the leader.
“The third choice is to join me. You can help stop the deacons from rehabilitating more people. I’m gathering an army and we’re going to change the leadership of Zirdai.” Might as well be optimistic that she would soon have an army.
“Say we do join you. What would we do?” the leader asked.
“For now you would learn how to fight and shovel lots of sand, and for these two…” She pointed at the women on the right. “They would need to open the rest of their magic and learn how to use it.” She explained what that would entail.
They both paled several shades.
“And the dangers?” the woman by the door asked.
“Deacons and guards. Everyone is after me and my people. If you’re caught, you’ll be tortured for information and killed.” No sense dancing around the truth.
“We need to think about it,” the leader said.
“Of course.” Shyla told them where to meet. “Be there by angle three-fifty-five. If anyone else trustworthy wants to join, they’re welcome. And I’ll know if there’s an ambush of deacons waiting for me.” Although she doubted they would rat her out. “So be prepared for any backlash that will cause.”
“From you?”
“No, from the deacons. I don’t think they’ll be pleased that your information was inaccurate. I won’t cause you any more trouble. I suspect you’ve already had more than your share and that’s what I’m trying to stop.” Shyla left.
During third meal, Shyla observed the kitchen staff in the dining cavern on level thirty-nine. There she spotted a young man using magic. She trailed him to his room and repeated her recruitment spiel to him and his roommates. Except this time one of the men contemplated how to report the sun-kissed to his superiors. So she erased his memories of her visit and sent him to sleep.
“He’ll betray you if you tell him about me. Decide to come or stay, but don’t reveal your plans to him.”
“How do you know he planned to betray us?” one man asked.
“The same way I know you’re thinking of finding your sister, Karrah, hoping to convince her to come with you.”
He straightened in surprise. “Oh.”
“And, by the way, she’s welcome.” Although where Shyla was going to fit all these people she had no idea.
She wished she could visit the other six dining caverns. Because once these people disappeared, she doubted she’d be able to get near the kitchen workers again.
Jayden arrived at Orla’s commune after darkness.
Surprised, she asked, “Where’s Ximen?”
“Good to see you, too,” he snarked. Then he sobered. “Mojag is driving me crazy. The kid is inexhaustible and wants to learn everything about magic. Right away! For the first time in his short life, Mojag is focused and determined.”