Shyla searched through his memories and while she learned he was a successful and expensive mercenary, he had limited knowledge about Shyla and the reason for this particular job. Vilma was smart to keep the information from him. Shyla wondered if Vilma knew she wielded the power of The Eyes or if the client failed to divulge that information.
The searing heat from the sun increased its pressure on her head and shoulders. Time to go.
“You fought and lost,” Shyla told the leader, using her magic. “The sun-kissed got away and you ran out of time.” She gestured to the men. “Better hurry and get them to the shelter on the way to Nintri.” Then she leaned closer. “Don’t try again. You won’t succeed.”
She erased his memory of his men stuck in the sand, then did the same to the others who remained awake as she loosened the sand around them. She used the look away command. Suddenly everyone seemed fascinated by a section of desert in the opposite direction to where she stood. By the time the mercenaries fully freed themselves, she and Rendor would be out of sight. Shyla motioned for Rendor to join her. He was inspecting one of the holes in the sand where one of the dozen mercenaries had been hiding. Rendor sheathed his sword and they followed the caravan’s tracks in the sand.
As he jogged next to her, he asked, “Will they get to a shelter in time?”
“They should. It’s closer than ours,” she puffed. Not from the exertion but because the air burned her throat. Her sweat dried instantly—a bad sign. Rendor should be more worried about them reaching shelter.
Running through the burning hot sand, Shyla wondered when her boots would melt. The dillo leather was tough, but not tough enough to withstand the heat at apex. Then it would be her feet on the searing sand. And Zhek’s healing goo was fifty-two sun jumps away.
“How did…” Rendor gasped. “You…survive…out here?”
There were no velbloud flocks nearby. No surprise as they were kept near the cities. “Just…keep…moving,” she urged.
Waves of heat emanated off the sands, blurring the landscape, creating shimmering illusions. The air thickened and pressed. Her energy faded with each step and every centimeter of her body burned both inside and out.
So hot. So very hot. She could probably swallow a lump of dough and it would bake into bread by the time it reached her stomach.
Shyla fought the desire to rip off her sun cloak. The fabric was the only thing keeping her skin from blistering. If they only had some shade— Scorching sand rats, she was an idiot.
Using her magic, she scooped up a two-meter-square layer of sand and floated it above their heads, blocking the sun’s lethal rays. Rendor only had enough energy to grunt in appreciation as the air cooled by what felt like ten degrees. Blocking the sunlight might just keep them alive a little longer—if she didn’t collapse from exhaustion first. She hadn’t used this much magic in a long time.
“There.” He pointed to the beacon.
Lota’s caravan was already parked nearby. The gamelus wilted in the full sun. Most people panicked if they were outside after angle seventy, but they still had another ten angles before it turned deadly. The caravanners must have believed they didn’t have enough time to set up the shade or give the animals water. But after the extra quick trot to the shelter, the gamelus might not survive apex.
“Go…inside,” she told Rendor. “I’ll—”
“No.” He grabbed the fabric from one of the wagons. “Just…cover them.”
Oh. They fanned it out and laid it over the gamelus like a blanket. She added a layer of sand to weigh it down and give them some more protection. Her arms and legs shook with the strain. The desert spun around her as Rendor set out the water buckets for the herd.
“Come on.” Rendor guided her toward the shelter. “Go…now.”
With the last of her energy boiling away in the heat, she mounted the ladder. Shyla considered it a win that she made it halfway down before fainting.
A strange creaking and grinding noise like a sword being dragged through the sand woke Shyla. She lay on her back and stared up at a cloth ceiling while the world around her swayed with the motion of the wagon, its wheels the cause of the sounds.
“See? She’s not dead. You owe me an osee,” Anwar said.
Lota’s children stared at her. Both sat cross-legged next to her.
“I would have been right if Mommy didn’t pile those cushions under the entrance.” Faizah pouted.
Well, that explained why Shyla hadn’t broken all her bones when she fell. “Water?” she croaked.
Anwar handed her a skin. Then the kids left the wagon, announcing to the rest of the caravan and anyone within ten kilometers that she was awake. Shyla gulped the liquid. Even though it was warm, it still soothed her mouth and throat. Drinking exhausted her, and she flopped back. She must have slept through apex. At least they didn’t leave her behind in the travel shelter.
The fabric was soon swept aside and Rendor peered inside. His face was creased with concern. “Finally. How are you feeling?”
“Like a gamelu chewed on me and spit me out.”
His expression smoothed. “That good?”
She struggled to sit up. “What did I miss? How long was I out?”
“You missed nothing. It’s almost darkness. We’ll be stopping soon.” He paused. “Everyone wants answers about earlier.”
“So do I.”
“Should be an interesting conversation. I’ll follow your lead.” Rendor paused and stroked her cheek. “Rest up.” Then he ducked out of sight.
When they arrived at the shelter, Camlo offered to cover Shyla’s shift. He hefted his mallet, bragging he’d bash anyone’s skull in if they came near the caravan. The others all sat around Lota and Shyla. Rendor stood near the entrance where he could watch for intruders and listen to their conversation.
“Rendor told us what happened after we left,” Lota said. “But he said you’d explain about the sand and why those people are after you.”
What Shyla really wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep for an entire sun jump. And she didn’t have the energy to erase everyone’s memory of the fight to avoid this conversation. Plus, she wasn’t sure she should. Lota had stood by her when she could have handed her over. So, Shyla told them that the attackers were hired to kidnap her for reasons unknown.
“Mercenaries!” Yegor said in surprise. “There haven’t been any since King Ondro’s soldiers arrested them and they were outlawed in Koraha.”
“That was so long ago,” Lota said. “Things change and our current king doesn’t seem to care about anything but growing his mound of coins.”
“We heard rumors of merc troops in a few other cities,” Rendor said.
“Are there any in Zirdai?” Lota asked him.
Rendor met Shyla’s gaze. She shook her head. The Invisible Sword would never charge people to help them.
“We completed a full investigation but didn’t find any evidence,” he said. Although humor sparked in his umber-colored eyes.
“Could they want you because of what happened in Zirdai?” Lota asked Shyla.
“Probably.” The former Water Prince could have relatives living in Nintri who desired revenge. But would the news of her summons to the King have reached Nintri so soon?