“No. Cave in. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She sighed. “Jayden was only sixteen circuits old and he took it hard. Not only did his father die, but he suddenly had a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders.” Orla peered at her intently. “Much like you.”
True. And she still had so much to learn. ”Do you mind if I take a closer look around?”
“Go ahead. My lot will tell you if you’re in the way.”
The other times she’d been here, she’d noticed the cushions, curtains, and furniture, but now she picked up on the little details. Where their food and water was stored, where people slept and worked, the areas designated for relaxation, and where Ilan housed his sand rats—he carved a complex mini-city for them into one of the walls of a tunnel, complete with warrens, rat-sized passages, and velbloud fibers for bedding (they had a nicer home than she did).
It was all very overwhelming. So much to do, to learn, to organize, and to keep it all hidden…it was a massive undertaking. Orla’s advice of delegating would help and perhaps Shyla needed to focus on the immediate needs of the Invisible Swords instead of trying to figure it all out. Their biggest needs were coins, water, and food.
Jayden caught up to her as she watched a man weave six colored threads into a fabric with a complex pattern. His fingers moved with such deft precision there was no doubt he’d spent thousands of angles perfecting his craft.
“Thinking of starting a new career?” Jayden asked, joking.
“What I’m thinking is that if I had that job, I’d end up with a very colorful knot.” Then she mulled it over. “Actually, our jobs are rather similar.”
“How do you figure?”
“There are so many threads we need to weave together in order to set up our headquarters.”
“True. And it’s going to take us a while to get settled.”
Meanwhile, the Invisible Swords and the treasure hunters locked in the black cells continued to suffer. But if they rescued them now, they’d need a place to hide them and she wouldn’t endanger the vagrant communes or the monks.
“Did you locate a place we could connect to?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s on level ten back in the northwest quadrant. There was a cave-in there about six or seven circuits ago. A bunch of people died so no one wants to live there now. In fact there’s still rubble, which we can use to our advantage.”
“Great.”
He smiled, but it was half-hearted. “That was the easy part. Digging a tunnel is going to be the hard part.” Jayden’s shoulders drooped with fatigue.
“Go get some sleep.”
“I will after I visit my commune.”
“Do you have family living there?” she asked in a neutral tone.
“Yeah. I haven’t seen my mother since I was captured by the Arch Deacons.”
She paused as his comment hit her. Even though she didn’t have traditional parents, even she knew mothers tended to get upset when their children didn’t visit. Did that mean Jayden and his mother didn’t have a good relationship? “You could have visited—”
“I know. Do you need anything else before I go?”
Ah, his mother was a touchy subject. “How would you find someone who is hiding from the prince’s guards?”
“Who do you want to find?”
She explained about the treasure hunters. “I think Aphra might still be in Zirdai, but I don’t know how to find her.”
“I can ask the vagrants to keep an eye out for her. They’re usually in the same places as those wishing to remain hidden,” Jayden said. “What does she look like?”
Shyla described the young woman. “She usually wears her long brown hair in an intricate knot.”
“All right, I’ll tell the network to be on the lookout for her.” Jayden strode away.
“Jayden, wait,” she called after him.
He paused and glanced back.
