Page 85 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope

"Don't say things like that," Tula murmured under her breath. "Not here."

"Sorry. I won't."

It was hard to shake the thoughts prompted by what they were doing. If they succeeded in escaping, what would happento everyone here? Would Navuh rage at their disappearance? Would he take out his anger on those who remained?

Hopefully, he wouldn't.

He'd be coldly furious, but practical. The other ladies hadn't done anything wrong. The servants were valuable resources. He wouldn't waste them out of spite.

Probably.

"Are you coming?" Tula looked at her over her shoulder.

"Yeah."

They walked past the guards, who noted their departure but didn't comment.

The gazebo stood empty and welcoming, its vine-overgrown lattice providing blessed shade. They set the plates on the table and sat on the cushioned benches, finally able to drop their masks.

"How long has it been?" Tula asked.

Tamira checked her watch. "Twenty minutes since the building was declared empty."

"Is that enough time for them to reach the tunnel?"

"It should be." But Tamira wasn't certain.

They'd had to wait for the guards to finish their sweep, then navigate in complete darkness with only flashlights to guide them. The utility closet was on the fifth level, and Areana's quarters were on the first. They had to climb the stairs in the dark, then the careful process of stepping on the right spot,pulling and pushing the books in the correct sequence, and accessing the hidden door without triggering any alarms.

"You know what we haven't considered?" Tula asked suddenly.

"What?"

"That there might be more than one fork in the tunnel, and they won't know which one to take."

For a moment, Tamira allowed herself to panic, but then she remembered what Eluheed had said about his vision. "Elias saw Navuh and Areana running through the tunnel. He would have seen if there were more than one offshoot."

From their vantage point in the gazebo, they could see the top of the tent in the distance, and the colorful flag that someone had hung there. She could hear music drifting in the air and voices raised in song. It was surreal, this juxtaposition of ordinary life continuing while Eluheed and Tony attempted the impossible below.

"I keep thinking about what happens after," Tula said, her voice barely above a whisper. "If we make it out, we will have to find our way to Annani's clan."

Tamira lifted a brow. "What are you talking about? Annani is gone along with all the other gods."

"Right." Tula wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "The heat is getting to me, and I'm hallucinating. Perhaps your son will help us. Maybe even Areana's son. They are fugitives just like we will be."

Tamira nodded. "We will be fugitives together, and?—"

"Listen," Tula suddenly said.

The sounds of heavy footsteps preceded the appearance of two guards walking in the direction of the gazebo.

Tamira's pulse spiked before she noted their unhurried pace. They weren't coming to arrest anyone. They were probably just checking on them.

"Smile," she murmured to Tula. "We're having a lovely time waiting for our partners."

The guards stopped about twenty feet away, apparently satisfied that the ladies were where they'd said they'd be, then turned back and walked away without even a greeting.

"I hate this," Tula said once they were gone. "We are never left alone. There is always someone watching."