Most of the hunters worked as freelancers for Fadey. He arranged jobs and hooked up hunters with buyers. For a fee, of course. When she’d first arrived in Zirdai, she had worked for Fadey, finding the location of hidden treasure for his hunters. It had been a temporary arrangement until she’d set up her legitimate business.
Shyla headed to Fadey’s rooms. He lived on level seventeen despite having enough coins to afford a deeper place. Hunters stayed close to the surface for easier access to the buried ancient ruins, temples, and palaces full of artifacts.
As she walked through the tunnel leading to his door, Shyla slowed. The…bumps of hidden watchers reached her. She sensed two people lurking in the shadows. Guards or hunters or maybe a rival’s men? Perhaps a couple of Fadey’s minions, protecting their boss’s home. When she neared his door, she had to make a decision—keep walking or stop and knock.
She needed to find Aphra. Deciding to stick to her original plan, she knocked on his thick colored-glass door. The last time she visited, one of his minions wouldn’t let her in without a bribe. Shyla dug into her pack, finding her pouch of coins.
The door slid open without anyone demanding that she state her business. Fadey stood on the other side. His mouth hung open as he stared at her in shock. She was equally surprised as his clothes were rumpled and stained. His curly black beard was straggly and unkempt. She’d never seen him so disheveled.
“Fadey, what—”
“Come inside, quick.” He grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the room, shutting the door right behind him.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
“You’ve returned from the dead. I can ask you the same thing.”
“I asked first.”
“And it would take me angles to tell you everything. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time. You need to leave before the guards arrest you.”
Three
That explained the two shadows outside his door. “Do you have another exit?” she asked.
“Of course,” Fadey said, gesturing to his back rooms. “But they’re being watched by the prince’s dogs as well.”
She thought quickly. “All right. I’ll be back.”
“No. Run away and don’t come back!”
“Don’t worry, Fadey. I’ve a plan. They won’t know I returned.”
He pulled on his beard. The long strands of curly hair straightened. “I can’t help you if you’re arrested.” Fadey released his hold and the beard bounced back into place.
“I know. Keep your door unlocked so I can slip inside.” She left his rooms and glanced to each side as if nervous, clutching her wrap tighter.
The guards stepped from the shadows to her left, but she pretended that she didn’t notice them. Instead, she turned and hurried down the tunnel. They followed her. Shyla led them further away from Fadey’s rooms and snagged a druk lantern before going into the abandoned tunnels. Unlike Jayden, she wasn’t as knowledgeable about all the back ways, shortcuts, and hidden areas of Zirdai, but she’d explored many of the upper levels, including level seventeen.
She looped around a few times, hoping to get the guards lost. They didn’t grab a druk. No doubt to stay hidden in the darkness beyond the reach of her orange-tinted light. When she entered the next intersection, she turned right and closed the druk, plunging them all in complete blackness.
A muffled cry of dismay sounded. The men hustled around the corner. She didn’t linger. With a hand on the wall, she raced ahead of them. When she reached the next intersection, she turned left and then right at the following one. Once satisfied she’d lost them, she opened the druk and returned to Fadey’s.
This time no one lurked nearby and she entered his rooms without any problems. Fadey stuck his curly head out the door to check that no one waited to arrest her.
“Scorching hells, Shyla. What did you do?” he asked, closing and locking the door.
“I led them on a merry chase and lost them. By the time they figure out how to return, I’ll be long gone. Now, let’s sit down and catch up.”
He grumbled but led her to his sitting room. The opulent touches—lava stones, a hand-woven rug, and oversized cushions—were all gone. A few battered thin cushions remained and Fadey plopped onto one while Shyla sat on another, facing him.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The Water Prince sent his dogs to round up all the treasure hunters,” he said in a defeated tone.
“Round up? Are they—”
“They’ve been arrested. They’re either rotting in one of his black cells or have been tortured to death.”
Horrified, she pressed her hands to her chest. “Do you know what happened to Banqui?”
“Dekel spotted him creeping around the city, looking skeletal. It was about twenty to twenty-five sun jumps ago. Then one of my hunters reported seeing him about two or three sun jumps after that with a deacon escort. And I’ve heard nothing since.”
Captured or collaborating? Either way it wasn’t good news.
“Sorry, I know you are friends. I’d look into his whereabouts, but I’ve my own problems to deal with.”
She focused on Fadey. “Why is the prince arresting the hunters now?” The prince had mostly ignored them and the black market merchants.
“Those blasted Eyes. You stole them from him and he’s determined that no more artifacts shall be taken. Rohana, his new archeologist, is the only person authorized to dig.” Fadey leaned forward. “If you still have them, you need to give them back!”
It was a good thing Fadey’s powers of observation tended toward ancient artifacts or else he would have noticed the change in her eye color by now. “The Eyes don’t belong to him.”
“But we’re all suffering.”
“Do you really think if he had The Eyes he would release the hunters?” Guilt and sadness twisted around her heart. At least Fadey wasn’t locked in a cell. A beat later—why not? “Why didn’t he arrest you?”
“He did. I was…questioned and forced to give him the names of treasure hunters.” He hung his head in shame.
“Did he interrogate you in one of his special rooms?”
A nod, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Fadey, no one is going to blame you for cracking. You survived a terrible experience.”
“No one else thinks that way. They all say I’m a coward. Then to rub it in, the prince assigned me to be Rohana’s assistant and if I don’t locate artifacts for her, she threatens to send me back to the prince.” He shuddered then hooked a thumb behind him. “Those dogs outside my door are looking for the hunters who got away.”
A spark of hope. “Some escaped?”
“A few. Fortunately, I don’t know all the hunters in Zirdai so couldn’t name them, and they’re smart enough to stay far away from me. No one has visited me except you, and now he’ll know you’re alive.”
“No, he’ll learn someone came to visit you. They didn’t recognize me.”
Looking miserable, he put his head in his hands. “They’ll ask me, Shyla. And I’m not strong enough to keep it secret.”