She ignored the implication that she’d let them spot her. “You’re thinking about it the wrong way. Now that the deacons can wield magic, it changes everything. They sensed us. It’s an easy skill to learn even for the newest of beginners.” She rubbed her temples. “They correctly guessed we were affiliated with the Invisible Sword. It’s logical that we’d consider shutting down their torque-making operation. In fact, that’s why I was there, to check it out and see if it was possible to stop them or to steal their platinum. When they sensed us nearby, they staged that little demonstration just for us.”

“Why would they tip their hand? Surprising us with their own wielders would give the priestess a big advantage.”

True. A sudden thought occurred to her. “We need to act quickly.”

“What?”

“The priestess only has a few wielders. Otherwise she wouldn’t have shown them to us.”

“Wait. Where’s this logic coming from? How do you know she only has a few wielders?”

“You asked why she showed us at all. There’s only one reason to tip her hand. Because she wants to scare us off. Make us hesitate and wait so she can find and train more of her deacons. Which is why we need to act quickly.”

“Doing what?” Jayden asked.

“Getting to those deacons before she does.”

“Do you think you can after those sixteen people left?”

“It’ll be hard. But it’ll be even harder the longer we wait.”

“We need to train our people. And don’t forget that caravan is coming in two sun jumps.”

She stifled a groan. “You’re right. We need to get back to headquarters right away and figure it out.”

Jayden glanced at the sand clock. “It’s angle one-sixty. We’ll be spotted leaving the city.”

“Then we’ll just have to be clever. I’m not waiting another angle. I’ll go tell Wazir and his family to get ready.” She hurried off.

Disguised as two rich merchants, Wazir and Jayden and their four retainers left Zirdai via the north exit around angle one-seventy. Shyla used her magic to influence the guards nearby to see familiar faces.

“Masters Pramod and Fath, so good to see you again,” the one guard called to Wazir and Jayden. “What brings you out so close to darkness?”

“I want to check on Fath’s velblouds that are for sale. Make sure it’s a healthy flock before I purchase it.” Wazir waved to the guard. “You know I can’t trust Fath. He might have tied sun cloaks onto sand demons.”

The two Arch Deacons that had been edging closer turned away at the friendly banter, no longer interested in the group. Shyla relaxed.