“Wait!” Jayden caught up to her. “What are you going to do?”
“You know what I’m going to do. It’s time everyone takes the oath.”
Everyone gathered in the common room. Fifty people crammed together. A few had been in the middle of work and full buckets of sand sat by their feet. Gurice and Mojag stood in the front with Ximen. Some had been woken up and they peered at her with tired and grumpy expressions. Too bad.
Jayden helped her to step up onto a low table to address them. “We’ve gained a number of new members and we’ve learned some critical information. Danger is approaching and we must be able to counter it as a unified organization. I’ve heard people talking about being an acolyte, or an original member, or a vagrant. That needs to stop. You’re all Invisible Swords.” She paused and met each of their gazes.
“And you will all take the oath and pledge your loyalty to the organization and to each other. You’ll all stand as witnesses. As part of the ceremony, I will draw our symbol on your upper arms.” There was a rumble of dismay. “You won’t see the symbol unless you can wield magic, nor will blood be shed.” Shyla drew the glyph on the wall with a piece of chalk. “This is what it will look like.”
She let her words sink in before continuing. “As your leader, I will go first.” She handed her stylus to Jayden.
He stared at the writing instrument in alarm. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
Explaining how she’d pushed her magic through the instrument when she’d practiced on Gurice, Shyla rolled up her left sleeve, exposing her shoulder.
“I don’t think—”
“At least she didn’t ask you to cut out her eyeballs,” Ximen said, interrupting Jayden. “Like she did to me.”
He shot Ximen a horrified glare.
“Ready?” she asked.
“No.” Jayden sighed. “I’ll try.”
Shyla addressed everyone. “As a member of the Invisible Sword, I swear that I will embrace the beliefs and tenets of the organization and fully support its efforts to help those in need.”
Jayden traced the crossed blades on her shoulder with the stylus. A tingle pricked her skin.
“As a member of the Invisible Sword, I swear I will not betray the location of our headquarters or the identities of our members to our enemies and would give my life to keep its secrets.”
He guided the flattened tip, following the two curved lines of the symbol.
“As a member of the Invisible Sword, I swear not to harm or kill another unless it is absolutely necessary or in self-defense.”
He drew a big circle in the oval shape.
“As a member of the Invisible Sword, I swear allegiance to my fellow Invisible Swords.”
Coloring in the “pupil,” Jayden completed the symbol. An intense heat burned on her skin as if the killing sun shone directly on that small section. No wonder Gurice had thought Shyla stabbed her. Magic snapped and the pain disappeared.
“It worked.” Surprise laced Jayden’s voice. He then stepped back, allowing the other wielders to see the new glyph.
Shyla thought it was unfair that not everyone could see it. Perhaps she could show them. In order not to upset anyone, she explained what she planned to do. Using her magic, Shyla sent the image of her symbol to the others.
Invisible Sword.
A little over half the room gasped. It seemed that over fifty people was too many for her to influence at once. She repeated it for the remaining members.
Invisible Sword.
Unable to hold it long, she stopped the command. After waiting a few moments to allow them to recover—and her as well—she pulled her sleeve down and took the stylus from Jayden. “You’re next.”
He shook his head sadly. “I can’t.”
Confused, she peered at him. “Why not?”
“Sorry,” he said to everyone, but he was staring at Mojag.
Sand exploded from all the buckets. The columns spread out and formed a curtain that swirled in furious circles. Cries pierced the roar of sand. Everyone scrambled to cover their faces, turning their backs to the assault.
Sixteen
It took a moment for Shyla to grasp the significance of the sand attack. Jayden was the traitor! A mix of emotions boiled—surprise, anger, and pain—but she ignored them. For now. Instead, she fought to calm the storm, but Jayden had years of practice in manipulating sand. And all he needed was a fraction of an angle to make his escape. Once he reached the surface, he’d be able to hide. Son of a sand demon!
Then all the sand grains stopped and dropped to the ground. Mojag held out his arms. He’d been the one to stop the attack. He also blocked the exit, standing in Jayden’s way. Shyla would never forget the look of hurt betrayal on Mojag’s face. Or the fury.
Jayden put his hands up as if placating a wild gamelu. “Moj–”
“No! You don’t get to talk to me,” Mojag said.
Shyla sensed a magical struggle between the two. Although impressed by Mojag’s strength, she knew Jayden had more experience so she helped the boy.
Sleep.
Jayden glanced at her then at Gurice and Ximen who stepped up beside her. That’s right, you’re outnumbered, traitor.
His shoulders sagged in defeat and he stopped fighting.
Sleep.
This time he crumpled to the ground. She stared at his prone form, allowing the emotions to roll through her. Perhaps she shouldn’t be so surprised. He’d been fighting her ever since they rescued him from the Heliacal Priestess, his resentment coloring all their exchanges. But for him to betray the Invisible Sword? And Mojag? That was a concept just too hard to grasp. What had happened to him? She hoped they’d find out.
Time to focus on the rest of the Invisible Swords. Shyla turned to them. “We’ll proceed with the oath.”
“Are you crazy?” Ximen asked. “We need to evacuate right now.”
“And go where?” she asked.
“The city. We can hide with the vagrants.”
Not a bad idea.
“What if they’re in on it?” Gurice asked. “Jayden was our liaison with them. We need to know the extent of his betrayal before we go anywhere.”
“Should we interrogate him now?” Ximen asked.
“Not yet. We will find out everything,” Shyla promised. She was finished with being nice. “But not right now. Between the four of us, we shouldn’t have any trouble keeping him asleep.” Then she addressed the rest of the group. “This betrayal proves that we need to stand united. In order to do that, we need to trust each other completely.” She scanned the faces in the room. “Taking this oath is vital and you cannot lie or it will not work. Is there anyone else who wishes to refuse?”
Silence.
“Good, let’s get started. Ximen, you’re next.” She held her breath. Did she have the strength to learn of another traitor?
He pulled up his sleeve. “Let’s go.”
It took about thirty angles for everyone to pledge their loyalty. They encountered no other nasty surprises and a few good ones—of the people who had come with the ex-deacons, three of them had potential to wield magic. The mood in the room had changed significantly. A sense of purpose and determination filled the air, but also an undercurrent of fear. That was to be expected because they could be attacked at any time except when the sun was in the danger zone.