The City of Zirdai

by Maria V. Snyder

  They wrinkled their noses at the foul odor and parted, allowing Shyla to pass without questioning her or even looking closely at her. She didn’t even need to use her magic. In fact, everyone gave her a wide berth as she carried that noxious bucket up to the growing cavern on level six. Wow. Who knew the power of poop?

  She set the container in the back room for Kaveri to turn the contents into fertilizer. On the way out, she stopped and bent close to one of the plants, breathing in its fresh scent to purge the stink of excrement from her nose and lungs. Then she hurried to the surface. The temperature increased with each level, until she pushed through the hot thickness.

  When she reached the surface building, the sunlight blinded her. And the heat immediately closed in, baking the sweat from her skin. Invisible fire burned with each inhalation. Soon her eyes adjusted to the brilliance and she changed into her sun cloak, leaving Kaveri’s robe on the bench. The monks who guarded the entrance hadn’t returned yet.

  Out in the full sunshine, the velbloud fibers of her cloak helped lessen the intensity of the sun, but the desert’s bright colors hurt. Which didn’t make sense. Colors shouldn’t be painful.

  Yet, as she sloughed through the blistering sand, various aches woke. The fiery press of heat on her head and shoulders increased her fatigue. And the effort to erase her footprints caused her muscles to tremble so much she had to quit hiding them once she was half a kilometer away. The distance to the Invisible Sword’s headquarters stretched toward impossible. She’d almost halted in defeat. But, in order to keep moving, Shyla set small goals.

  Just get to the top of this dune.

  Ten steps.

  Twelve more steps.

  Just reach that patch of shade.

  The heat had thinned slightly by the time she arrived at the entrance. She staggered to a stop, gathering the last dregs of her energy to mount the ladder. The lookout climbed from the temple. He jerked in surprise when he noticed her standing there.

  “Are you all right?” Balin asked.

  “I’m fine,” she croaked.

  Dubious, he raised his thick black eyebrows at her. “What are you doing out here?”

  She considered a sarcastic reply, but it was a legitimate question. “I just came from the monastery.” Overlooking how his eyebrows lifted even higher—a rather amazing feat—she gestured to her tracks and explained about the guards. “Keep an eye in this direction in case they find them and follow me. I’ll send someone to erase them.”

  “All right.”

  If the guards appeared in the distance, Balin would sound the alarm, and those who had magic would cover the entrance, the ventilation shafts, and any tracks with sand. That was, if any of them were here. Between the city and the dig site, there weren’t many around. More reason to increase their numbers.

  After the ridiculously complex task of descending the ladder, Shyla found Gurice, ignored her questions, and sent her to the surface. Then she gulped half of the water in her water skin and collapsed onto her mat with a groan.

  Despite her near miss with the guards and the exhaustion that had sunk deep into her bones, she still wished she’d stolen a sleeping cushion from the monks.

  “You do understand that you’re not only endangering yourself but the rest of us as well?” Gurice asked.

  “I’m aware of the risks,” Shyla said, swallowing down a sigh. No surprise that she’d encountered resistance to her plan to visit Tamburah’s judgment chamber.

  They sat at a table in the common room. Shyla had slept for a long time, scaring everyone. Gurice had been about to send for Zhek when she woke. Even now, after another full sun jump of rest, fatigue still tugged on her muscles.

  “Let me come with you, then,” Gurice said. “Or take Titus. He has magic.”

  “No, you’re both needed here in case our hideout is discovered.”

  “At least take a couple of the acolytes with you. Jayden will kill me if he finds out you went alone.”

  Shyla considered. “All right.”

  Gurice pressed a hand to her chest. “You can be reasonable. Praise the goddess.”

  “Cute.”

  “Finally, a challenge,” Lian said. “I’m sick of shoveling sand.”

  “My blisters have blisters,” Jaft quipped.

  “All part of being a member of a not-so-secret organization,” Elek said.

  “Are you done complaining?” Rae asked her friends. “Shyla hasn’t finished explaining the mission.”

  Shyla didn’t mind their banter, although she’d never tell them that or they wouldn’t shut up. Their easy friendship and loyalty was what she hoped all the members of the Invisible Sword would eventually feel toward each other. A big family, working together, fighting together, helping others.

  They had agreed to accompany her to Tamburah’s temple without knowing all the details. Dressed and ready to go, they had met her in the common room at angle three-fifty-five for a quick briefing.

  “This shouldn’t take long,” Shyla said. “The hardest part will probably be finding the escape tunnel.”

  “Are you expecting trouble?” Elek asked.

  “I’m always expecting trouble. However, I’m hoping that we’ll be disappointed.”

  They left at angle zero. Shyla erased their tracks. The action reminded her of her escape from the monastery. It was too dangerous to send a runner to check on what happened there after she’d left three sun jumps ago. Worry for her parents and the monks pulsed in her chest. If the Water Prince contacted the King about her, it could mean trouble for the monastery. Would he send his elite soldiers to investigate the dangerous sun-kissed? What if the King ordered the monks to turn Shyla over to the Water Prince if she ever returned? Best to stay away for a while. She’d wait until Jayden and Mojag returned from Zirdai and ask if they’d heard any rumors.

  Despite their earlier chatter, the four ex-acolytes settled into a quiet, highly focused team, scanning the desert for potential problems. Jaft and Elek carried shovels. A sense of readiness and competence oozed from all of them, their smooth gaits and graceful movements reminding Shyla of predators.

  As predicted, the hatch covering the safety tunnel was difficult to locate. It’d been thirty-nine sun jumps since it was last used and the constant blowing sand had reburied it. They used the handles of the shovels to puncture the loose sand, listening for a hollow thunk that would mean they’d hit the hatch.

  “Found it,” Jaft shouted.

  They removed the sand and opened the hatch. Stale air rushed out. Shyla dropped into the hole first, ensuring the tunnel hadn’t collapsed since it wasn’t part of the temple. Strong emotions welled as she shone the druk on the sand walls. The last time she was here, she’d run from the deacons and embraced the sun, knowing full well the heat would kill her.

  “It’s clear,” she called.

  Soon the others followed her deeper into the temple. They reached the faces of the dead. Carved into the sandstone were the eyeless visages of Tamburah’s victims. Their mouths were open in silent wails of anguish, desperation, and fear. The carvings covered the walls from floor to ceiling.

  “Is anyone else creeped out by all these people?” Jaft asked.

  “Even though they don’t have eyes, it seems like they’re staring at you,” Rae said with a shudder. “Are they just decoration?”

  “No,” Shyla said. “They were real people who King Tamburah judged as not trustworthy. He removed their eyes as punishment. Proud of his handiwork, he had an artist carve their faces into the walls so he could admire them. Banqui called this one of the hallways of the dead.”

  “You mean there are more?” Jaft asked.

  “Lots more. The temple is filled with them.”

  “He makes the Water Prince seem like…well, a prince,” Lian said.

  “The Water Prince tortures people by hanging them upside down and cutting into their flesh, including eyeballs, and male genitalia.” Revulsion coated her mouth with bile as the vivid memory of the nake
d vagrant flashed.

  “If given the choice, I’d choose my eyes over my—”

  “That’s enough,” Elek said, interrupting Jaft. “I just ate.”

  Tamburah’s judgment chamber was located on level five. They covered the druks and slowed as they neared the entrance, their footsteps almost silent. Shyla stretched out her senses, seeking that bump of others. Was an ambush waiting for them? Not one comprised of guards. Deacons were another matter. If they wore torques, Shyla and her friends would have to fight their way free.

  Taking a chance, she said, “Uncover the druks.”

  Light illuminated the threshold and, beyond that, the chamber. No sound pierced the quiet. No deacons attacked from the shadows. Not yet. She’d been surprised twice before in this very location and didn’t wish to add a third. The five of them entered and spread out. Stone benches and a large stone altar decorated the hexagonal room. Behind the altar, King Tamburah’s smug face filled the wall. Blue and purple sand lined his skin, and red grains of crystal filled his empty eye sockets and dripped down his cheek, indicating blood—it was all very dramatic.

  “Let’s check the other hallways of the dead,” Shyla said. Six doorways led to other areas of the temple, but she wanted to ensure they were empty of attackers. Satisfied they were alone, for now, she took a druk and examined Tamburah’s giant face while the others guarded her back.

  Like she’d suspected, the lines formed a pattern that resembled a…maze…or it could be a complex map. Either way there wasn’t a big X marking the location of another vault or anything else. Studying it with the power of The Eyes also failed to reveal any secrets—because that would have just been too easy. Still…the design seemed clearer than before.

  Shyla dug into her pack and removed a blank scroll, a stylus, and a vial of ink. She copied the pattern. As the lines filled the velbloud skin, a nagging sense that she’d seen this before grew. It was a map to a maze, and at the center of the maze should be the prize, whatever that was. Yet the problem still remained of where in Zirdai or the surrounding desert the map detailed. It could be anywhere. Also there wasn’t a key or a compass rose. The area might be kilometers wide, or all contained within a single level. Except…

  Tamburah considered the temple his seat of power. Following the logic that he wouldn’t want anything important to be too far away from him, the map would start in the temple. But where?

  When she finished the copy, she let the ink dry. She stepped back from the carving. Once again she studied the pattern. Tamburah’s obsession with eyes meant they would be a focus point—an important part of the map. Perhaps the location of the maze. So where was the starting point? The judgment room! She glanced around. Six possible directions. She would have to explore each one, following the map. Too bad she no longer had the map to Tamburah’s temple. The last time she examined it the map had been in Banqui’s work rooms on level thirteen. No doubt Rohana and her diggers now occupied the three large caverns.

  “Are you done?” Lian asked. “It’s getting late.”

  Shyla debated. They could retreat deeper in the temple and Shyla could explore. Or she could return at another time with Jayden. He had to be well acquainted with the temple’s layout. Plus Banqui had disabled a few booby traps. Perhaps the Invisible Sword had kept some traps active to keep the curious or the treasure hunters away. The smart thing would be to come back with Jayden, even though it would probably start a fight between them.

  “All right. Let’s go,” Shyla said.

  They returned to headquarters well before the danger zone. And, as if he’d read her mind, Jayden waited for her in the common room. He and Mojag had earned a small pile of coins, but that wasn’t why they’d returned.

  “I’ve news,” Jayden said.

  And by the wary way he gazed at her, Shyla knew it wasn’t good. “Just tell me.”

  “Captain Yates arrested Hanif and another monk. They’re in the black cells.”

  Twelve

  Shyla stared at Jayden in stunned silence. Hanif arrested? Locked in the black cells? Grief cracked through the surprise and the full implications of his news hit her. She rocked back on her heels. “Another monk? Do you know who?”

  “The rumors said she’s a sun-kissed. I thought it was you. That’s why I came back here as soon as I could.” He shot her an annoyed glare. “To find you missing.”

  She ignored him. The other monk had to be Kaveri. All of her energy drained and she sank onto a cushion. It was her fault they’d been arrested. Memories from when she’d visited Banqui rose—the foul odor of excrement and piss, the cold dampness, the wails of the other prisoners, and not a single beam of light.

  “We have to rescue them,” she said.

  “We don’t have the resources,” Jayden said. “Besides, they’re under the protection of the King. They won’t be there long.”

  She jumped to her feet. “Being in there one single angle is too long! And the King gave the Water Prince permission to search the monastery, including the Rooms of Knowledge. That must mean they’ve a good relationship. The monks have helped us so much. We have to do something.”

  Jayden held out his hands. “Calm down. We’ll find out why they were arrested and see what we can do.”

  Not good enough. They needed to act now. “We can get into one of the prince’s empty special rooms and find a way into the black cells from there.”

  “It’s not that simple, otherwise we’d have done it before.”

  At that moment, she hated Jayden. Easy for him to be logical and calm, it wasn’t his parents who were in trouble. Except, no one besides Rendor knew they were her parents. Everyone still believed she’d been abandoned in the desert as a baby. Hanif had asked her to keep it a secret.

  “I’ll send Mojag and Gurice to the monastery as soon as it’s cool enough,” Jayden said. “We can discuss options once we learn more. In the meantime, you can explain to me why you thought going to Tamburah’s temple was a good idea.”

  A childish retort—I don’t have to explain myself to you—pushed up her throat. Instead, she detailed her reasons and showed him the map. “I think it might lead to a maze of hidden tunnels and rooms. Do you recognize anything?”

  He studied the scroll with his forehead furrowed. A pang gripped her. Underneath his eyes were dark smudges like faded bruises. He hadn’t been getting enough sleep.

  Finally, he met her gaze. “We’ve had our headquarters in the temple for hundreds of thousands of sun jumps. If there was something like this in there, the Invisible Sword would have found it by now.”

  “It has to be well concealed. And perhaps only I’ll be able to see it.”

  “Still dangerous just for a perhaps.”

  “We’ll go along as backup,” Elek said, gesturing to the other three who nodded in agreement.

  His comment eased some of the pain in her chest. “And I’ll need you, too, Jayden. I think it’s worth the danger.” However, if he didn’t agree to accompany her, it would be too hazardous to go.

  “I’ll think about it. For now, let’s deal with the problem at hand.”

  “Which one?” she asked.

  Jayden ignored her sarcasm. “The one associated with the other bit of news I picked up while working for the black-market dealers.”

  She settled back on the cushion. “How bad is it?”

  “There’s a trading caravan coming in from Tarim in a few sun jumps. The dealers say the leader of this cavalcade, Zimraan, is fond of precious metals and is well known to have ingots of platinum for sale.”

  “How well known?”

  “The Heliacal Priestess is probably already planning on sending a couple of Arch Deacons to the man’s market stand.”

  Scorching sand demons. “We need to stop that sale.”

  “Exactly.”

  Shyla mulled it over. “When are they due to arrive?”

  “In the next four to six sun jumps, but it could be longer.”

  “At least we have some time to plan.
But that will take away from all the other things we need to do!”

  “You can’t save the city in a couple sun jumps, Shyla,” Jayden said before leaving to find Mojag and Gurice.

  But it’d been more than a couple. An eternity of them weighed on her shoulders. To be fair, it was only twenty-six sun jumps since she’d sacrificed her eyes, but she’d expected to have accomplished more. Jayden was right. They lacked resources. They needed to strengthen their numbers. Especially if they were going to rescue Hanif and Kaveri, find the hidden maze, and stop a merchant from selling his valuable goods. She studied the four ex-acolytes.

  “Oh no, do you see that look on Shyla’s face?” Lian asked her friends. “She’s up to something. Well, it’s been nice, but I’ve sand to shovel.” She gave a jaunty wave.

  “Nice try,” Shyla said, tugging Lian back. “Sit down.” She explained her experiments with Mojag and Gurice to them. “I’d like to see if you have the potential to wield magic.”

  “Does that mean you’ll read our souls?” Rae asked. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

  “No. Yes. Not exactly.”

  “That was clearly confusing,” Jaft said.

  “I won’t dig for your innermost desires and secrets. I’m searching for your potential. I might learn something about you, but it’s usually just surface thoughts and emotions. It’s up to you.”

  “I think knowing I have potential to wield magic is worth Shyla knowing I hate my father,” Lian said.

  “We all know you hate him,” Elek said. “If I ever meet him…” He punched a fist into his hand. “I’m going to pummel him.”

  “After I’m done with him,” Lian said.

  “What if we’re cracked? Then what?” Rae asked.

  “I’ll try to open it. Expand it.” Shyla mimed pulling apart a druk.

  “Try to? That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” Jaft said.

  “I’m still working on that part. Once I figure it out, then I’ll open everyone with potential.”