—Now, step inside, into your power.
Sonea stilled. Step into the abyss?
—No, step into your power. Step into its center.
—But it’s so far away! I can’t reach that far.
—Of course you can. It’s your power. It is as far away as you wish it to be, and you can step as far as you want to step.
—But what if it burns me?
—It won’t. It’s your power.
Sonea hovered at the edge of the doorway, then steeled herself and stepped through.
There was a feeling of stretching out, then the white sphere swelled and she felt a thrill rush through her as she entered it. Suddenly she was weightless, floating in a white mist of light. Energy rushed through her.
—See?
—I see. It’s wonderful. Why didn’t Rothen show me this?
—You will know why soon. I want you to expand yourself. Reach out and feel all of the power that is yours. Visualization is a useful tool, but you need to go beyond it now. You need to know your power with all your senses.
Sonea felt herself obeying before he had finished speaking. It was easy, when surrounded by nothing but whiteness, to stretch her senses out.
As she grew more aware of her power, a sense of her body came with it. At first she worried that becoming conscious of the physical meant she was losing her concentration. Then the realization came that her power was her body. It didn’t exist in some abyss within her mind. It flowed through every limb and bone and vein within her.
—Yes. Now focus on your right hand, and what lies beyond.
She did not see it at first, then something caught her attention. It was a gap, a glimpse of something beyond herself. Focusing on it, she sensed that an otherness lay beyond.
—Concentrate on that otherness, then do this.
He sent her a thought too strange for words. It was as if she stepped into Takan’s body, except she was still within her own. She was conscious of both.
—Be aware of the energy within his body. Take some of it into your own.
Abruptly she realized that Takan held a great store of power. He was strong, she realized, almost as strong as she. Yet his mind did not seem to be connected to it, as if he was not conscious of the power within him.
But she was. And through the gap in his skin, she had a connection to it. It was easy to direct it out of his body and into hers. She felt herself grow a little stronger.
Understanding sprang into her mind. She was drawing power.
—Now stop.
She relaxed her will and felt the trickle of energy cease.
—Begin again.
She drew power through the gap again. Just a slow leaking of magic. She wondered what it would be like to add all of his power to her own, and double her strength. Exhilarating, perhaps.
But what would she do with it? She certainly didn’t need to be twice as strong. She didn’t even use up her own strength during lessons at the University.
—Stop.
She obeyed. As Akkarin’s hands slipped from her temples, she opened her eyes again.
“Good,” he said. “You can heal Takan now.”
Sonea looked down at Takan’s arm, then concentrated. The cut healed quickly, and her awareness of his body and power faded away. The servant grimaced and her heart skipped.
“Are you all right?”
He smiled broadly. “Yes, Lady Sonea. You are very gentle. It’s just that the Healing itches.” He looked up at Akkarin and sobered. “She will be a worthy ally, master.”
Akkarin didn’t reply. Turning, Sonea saw that he had moved away to the cabinet of books and was standing with his arms crossed and a frown creasing his brow. Sensing her gaze, he turned to meet it. His expression was unreadable.
“Congratulations, Sonea,” he said softly. “You are now a black magician.”
She blinked in surprise. “That is all? It’s that easy?”
He nodded. “Yes. The knowledge of how to kill in a moment, taught in a moment. From this day, you must never allow another into your mind. It would only take one stray thought for you to reveal this secret to another magician.”
She looked down at the tiny bloodstain on her hand and felt a chill rush over her.
I have just used black magic, she thought. There is no turning back. Not now. Not ever.
Takan was regarding her closely. “Any regrets, Lady Sonea?”
She drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “Not as many as I would have if the Guild was destroyed and I could have prevented it. But I…I hope I will never have to use this.” She smiled crookedly and looked at Akkarin. “That would mean the High Lord had died, and I only recently stopped wishing that that would happen.”
Akkarin’s eyebrows rose. Then Takan let out a bark of laughter.
“I like this one, master,” he said. “You chose well when you took on her guardianship.”
Akkarin snorted quietly and uncrossed his arms. “You know very well I didn’t choose anything, Takan.” He approached the table and regarded the items on it.
“Now, Sonea, I want you to examine each of these living things on the table and consider how the skill I have taught you may be applied to them. Then I have some more books for you to read.”
12
The Price of Keeping Deadly Secrets
Rising from his bed, Rothen slid aside one of his window screens and sighed. A faint light brightened one side of the sky. Dawn was close, and he was wide awake already.
He looked at the High Lord’s Residence lurking at the edge of the forest. Soon Sonea would rise and make her way to the Baths.
He had watched her closely over the last week. Though he hadn’t seen her with Akkarin again, something in her manner had definitely changed.
There was a new confidence in the way she walked. At midbreak, she would sit in the garden and study, giving him an opportunity to watch her from the University windows. During the last week she had been easily distracted. She would often stop and look around at the Guild with a frown of concern or worry. Occasionally she would stare at nothing, her expression grim. At these times she looked so grown up he barely recognized her.
But it was when she gazed at the High Lord’s Residence that she gave him the most reason to fear. There was such a thoughtful look on her face at these times, but it was what was lacking in her expression that scared him most. There was no dislike or fear in it.
He shivered. How could she regard Akkarin’s house without showing at least some discomfort? She had before. Why not now?
Rothen drummed his fingers on the windowsill. For a year and a half he had obeyed Akkarin’s order to stay away from Sonea. The only times he had spoken to her had been in situations where, because others were watching, it would have seemed strange if he didn’t.
I’ve been cooperative for so long. Surely he won’t harm her if I try to speak to her alone just once.
The sky was a little lighter now. The gardens were growing clearer. All he had to do was go down there and catch her on the way to the Baths.
He turned from the window and began to dress. Only when he reached his door did he pause and reconsider. A few questions, he thought. That’s all. He probably won’t even notice us.
The Magicians’ Quarters corridor was empty and silent. Rothen’s boots rapped out a quick rhythm as he hurried down the stairs to the exit. He entered the courtyard and turned toward the gardens.
He chose to wait in one of the little garden rooms next to the main path. It was well hidden from the High Lord’s Residence. Most of the garden was visible from the top floor of the University, but it was too early for any magicians to be roaming about up there.
Half an hour later he heard light footsteps approaching. He glimpsed her through the trees and sighed in relief. She was late, but was still following her routine. Then his heart began to race. What if she refused to talk to him? He rose and reached the entrance of the garden room just as she passed the entrance.
“Sonea.??
?
She jumped, then turned to stare at him.
“Rothen!” she whispered. “What are you doing out here this early in the morning?”
“Trying to catch you, of course.”
She almost smiled, then a familiar wariness returned to her expression and she glanced up at the University.
“Why?”
“I want to know how you’re getting along.”
Her shoulders lifted. “Well enough. It’s been a long time. I’ve got used to it—and good at avoiding him.”
“You spend every evening there now.”
Her gaze wavered. “Yes.” She hesitated, then smiled faintly. “It’s good to know you’re keeping an eye on me, Rothen.”
“Not as closely as I’d like.” Rothen took a deep breath. “I have to ask you something. Is he…has he made you do anything you don’t want to, Sonea?”
She blinked, then frowned and looked down. “No. Other than becoming his favorite and studying so hard.”
He waited until she looked up to meet his gaze again. There was something about the way her mouth was set that was familiar. It had been so long, but it reminded him how she…
…how she almost smiles when she’s telling the truth, but knows it’s not the full truth!
He quickly reconsidered his question. “Has he asked you to do anything I would not want you to?”
Her mouth quirked up at one corner again. “No, Rothen. He hasn’t.”
Rothen nodded, though her answer hadn’t reassured him. He could not keep reshaping his question over and over. Perhaps Ezrille is right, he thought. Perhaps I am worrying too much.
Sonea smiled sadly. “I keep waiting for something bad to happen, too,” she said, “but every day I’m learning more. If it ever comes to a fight, I won’t be that easy to defeat.” She glanced in the direction of the High Lord’s Residence, then took a step away from him. “But let’s not give anyone reason to start one yet.”
“No,” he agreed. “Be careful, Sonea.”
“I will.” She turned to walk away, then hesitated and looked over her shoulder. “You take care of yourself too, Rothen. Don’t worry about me. Well, don’t worry too much anyway.”
He managed a smile. Watching her walk away, he shook his head and sighed. She asked the impossible.
Reaching the center of the Arena, Sonea noted the low position of the sun. It had been a long day, but soon classes would be over. Just this last bout to go.
She waited as the novices Balkan had chosen took their places. A ring of twelve formed around her, like the points of a compass. She turned a full circle, meeting the eyes of each in turn. They returned her stare confidently, no doubt reassured by their numbers. She wished she was feeling as sure of herself. Her adversaries were all from Fourth and Fifth Year classes, and most of them favored the Warrior Skills discipline.
“Begin,” Balkan called.
All twelve novices attacked at once. Sonea threw up a strong shield and sent out a spray of forcestrikes in return. The novices combined their shields into one.
This would not happen if they were Ichani. She frowned as she remembered Akkarin’s lessons.
“The Ichani don’t fight well together. They have battled and distrusted each other for years. Few know how to channel power to another, to construct a barrier with the power of several magicians, or to fight cooperatively.”
Hopefully, she would never have to fight any Ichani. She would only need to face their spies, and then only if Akkarin died. Unless this latest one—the woman—was an Ichani. But Akkarin would deal with her.
“These spies have a deep fear of Guild magicians, despite what Kariko tells them. When they kill, it is carefully planned and carried out so that they do not attract the Guild’s attention. They strengthen themselves slowly. If you face one, and you are prepared, you should be able to defeat him quickly and quietly.”
The novices increased their attack, forcing Sonea to concentrate on the fight again. She fought back. Individually, they were no match for her. Together they could eventually defeat her. But she had only to strike the inner shield of one novice to win the bout.
There was far more at stake than her pride. She had to win, and quickly, in order to save her strength.
Every night for the last week she had been giving Akkarin most of her strength. Talk of the murders in the city increased as new victims were found every day. It was difficult to say how much strength the Sachakan woman had recovered in that time. Akkarin, however, had only Sonea and Takan to take energy from each night.
She must not exhaust herself in this fight.
That was not going to be easy, however. Her adversaries were obviously well practiced at combining shields. She remembered the first attempts her own class had made at this sort of fighting. Until they all learned the proper responses to different kinds of attacks, and learned to act as one, it was easy to become confused.
So I should do something unexpected to confuse them. Something they’ve never encountered before.
Like what she had done the night Regin and his friends had attacked her in the forest, so long ago. She couldn’t effectively dazzle these novices with a bright light during the day, however. But if she did something similar so they didn’t know where she was, she could sneak behind someone and…
She smothered a smile. Her shield didn’t have to be transparent.
It took only a shift in her will for her shield to become a globe of white light. The disadvantage of this, she realized belatedly, was that she couldn’t see them either.
Now for the deception. Creating several more shields like her first, she sent them out in different directions. At the same time she began walking, taking one shield with her.
She felt the novices’ attack falter, and had to cover her mouth to stop herself laughing as she imagined how the Arena must look, with several big white bubbles floating around it. She couldn’t strike back, however, or they would know which shield she stood within.
As the shields drew close to her adversaries, she felt them encounter the novices’ barrier. She stopped and let all but one of the shields fall back a little. The novices began to attack the one still advancing. She let one of the stationary shields waver and disappear: another distraction.
Reverting the shield around her to a transparent one, she found herself standing near three novices. Gathering her power, she blasted one with a fierce attack of forcestrikes. He jumped, and his neighbors whirled around to face her, but the rest of the novices were still too distracted by her other shields to realize their allies needed help.
The combined shield wavered and broke before her.
“Halt!”
Sonea turned to face Balkan. She blinked in surprise when she saw that he was smiling.
“An interesting strategy, Sonea,” he said. “Not one we’d probably use in real combat, but certainly effective in the Arena. You win the bout.”
Sonea bowed. She knew that next time she attended his lessons she would find her multiple shield idea completely ineffective. The University gong rang, signalling the end of the class, and Sonea heard a few sighs among the novices. She smiled, but more at having ended the bout without using too much strength than at their obvious relief.
“Lesson over,” Balkan announced. “You may go.”
The novices bowed and filed out of the Arena. Sonea saw that two magicians were standing just outside the entrance. Her heart skipped when she recognized them: Akkarin and Lorlen.
She followed the other novices out of the Arena. They bowed to the Higher Magicians as they passed. Akkarin ignored them and beckoned to Sonea.
“High Lord.” She bowed. “Administrator.”
“You did well, Sonea,” Akkarin said. “You assessed their strengths, recognized their weaknesses, and came up with an original response.”
She blinked in surprise, then felt her face warm.
“Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t take Balkan’s comment too seriously, however,” he added
. “In real combat, a magician uses any strategy that works.”
Lorlen gave Akkarin a penetrating look. He looked as if he desperately wanted to ask a question, but didn’t dare. Or perhaps a dozen questions, Sonea mused. She felt a pang of sympathy for the Administrator, and then she remembered the ring he wore.
It enabled Akkarin to sense everything Lorlen saw, felt and thought. Was Lorlen aware of its power? If he was, he must feel utterly betrayed by his friend. She shivered. If only Akkarin could tell Lorlen the truth.
But then, if he did, would he also tell Lorlen she had willingly learned black magic? Thinking of that made her feel very uncomfortable.
Akkarin started walking toward the University. Sonea and Lorlen followed.
“The Guild will lose interest in the murderer once Ambassador Dannyl arrives with the rogue, Lorlen,” Akkarin said.
Sonea had heard about the rebels that Dannyl had caught. News about the rogue magician he was bringing to the Guild had spread among the novices faster than the winter cough.
“Perhaps,” Lorlen replied, “but they won’t forget. Nobody forgets a killing spree like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone demands the Guild do something about it.”
Akkarin sighed. “As if having magic makes it any easier for us to find one person in a city of many thousands.”
Lorlen opened his mouth to say something, then glanced at Sonea and seemed to think better of it. He remained silent until they reached the University steps, then he bid them good night and hurried away. Akkarin started toward the residence.
“So the Thieves haven’t found the spy yet?” Sonea asked quietly.
Akkarin shook his head.
“Does it usually take this long?”
He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. “You’re eager to see us fight, then?”
“Eager?” She shook her head. “No, I’m not eager. I can’t help thinking that the longer she’s out there, the more people she will kill.” She paused. “My family lives in Northside.”
His expression softened a little. “Yes. There are many thousands in the slums, however. The odds of her taking one of your relatives is small, particularly if they stay indoors at night.”