“Can you have them look out for Banqui as well?”
If a frown could be wielded like a weapon, he just stabbed her with his. “Do you really think that’s necessary? He’s either gone or living in the wealthy levels where the vagrants don’t go.”
Where Banqui was spending his blood coins, Shyla finished his unspoken thought. Actually she was surprised he hadn’t said it. “Just ask them to, please.”
“Okay.”
Too tired to think anymore, Shyla found an empty room. During her explorations, she learned the commune had a number of guest rooms for visitors and this was one. Orla had ordered her to sleep and she was more than happy to obey.
At angle zero the next sun jump, Shyla and Jayden left the city with the others. They all wore sun cloaks. The white, slightly hairy fabric crafted from velbloud hair protected them from the sun’s harsh rays. A few deacons in their long green robes milled around the exit, studying faces. Shyla kept her hood pulled low, but both she and Jayden used thelook awaycommand for extra protection.
They headed in the wrong direction just in case anyone followed them. When they were confident that no one had paid them any attention, they angled toward the temple. Jayden erased their tracks as they walked. Shyla still hadn’t mastered the technique of “moving and smoothing,” according to Ximen.
The cool air smelled fresh and clean after the musty city odors underground. They passed a flock of velbloud. The fuzzy white creatures converged on the caretaker as he set out buckets of feed for them. Their long tethers striped the sand, making a pinwheel pattern. Shyla wondered how they managed to avoid getting them all twisted together.
She held a special fondness for the animals since they’d saved her life. Caught topside during the killing heat, she’d been desperate enough to wrap two tethers around her body as the velblouds floated into the sky. They had lifted her above the dangerous hotness. After the velblouds had reeled in their tethers and descended, the monks had found her lying almost dead among the creatures. If Zhek hadn’t been at the monastery, she’d have never survived.
“Shyla?” Jayden asked from a couple meters away.
She’d paused to watch the flock without any conscious decision to do so. Her thoughts about the monks reminded her of another concern. “Do we need to keep the torques to protect our people?”
He moved closer. “What do you mean?”
“Are there others in Zirdai who can wield magic? People we need to shield ourselves against?”
“Oh.” He considered. “No.”
Thinking of Mojag, she asked, “How can you be so sure? How many people have magic?”
Jayden pulled up his hood against the strengthening sunlight. “From what I’ve learned, only a small number of people have the potential to wield magic. But, of those not everyone can tap into it.”
“Is that why the Invisible Sword doesn’t test everyone, only those who show potential?”
“That’s right.”
“How do you know who has the potential?”
“One way is bloodlines. Certain families have the skill and they pass it down. Gurice inherited hers from her grandmother. In my family, my grandfather and my father could wield magic. My sister was tested, but failed.”
Questions about his sister pushed up her throat, but the scowl that arrived when he mentioned her warned Shyla to keep quiet.
Jayden continued. “Those that seek out the monks tend to have the ability. Hanif has sent us a few candidates.”
“What does he see in them?”
“An open mind, being flexible in their thinking and not set in their ways. Confidence. Intelligence. Resourcefulness.”
All great qualities. “But not everyone you test taps into their power, right?”
“Right.”
Memories of being chained in the dark threatened to overwhelm her. “Why do you have to test them? Why can’t you explain about the magic and teach them how to do it?”
Jayden huffed in amusement. “Even though the candidates are open-minded, all of them would think we’re insane. I believe a certain sun-kissed didn’t believe in magic even after she witnessed it and successfully wielded it. Then again, she wasn’t that open-minded to begin with.”
She refrained from punching him. “Then why did you test me?” she shot back.
“You have all the other qualities. And you fought back when Payatt took you through the sands.”
