A squawk brought her attention back to the present, and she felt her heart skip. Akkarin had stopped walking and was looking up at several birds circling above. As she watched, a small shape dropped from the sky.
He caught the bird easily, then another. By the time she caught up with him, he had removed their feathers and had begun the less pleasant task of gutting them. He worked quickly and efficiently, obviously having once been well practiced at the task. It seemed strange to see him using magic for such a menial task, but then she had never seen a magician hesitate to use it to open and close doors and move objects they were too lazy to collect.
Every time he caught and roasted an animal, or she purified stagnant water, she wondered how they could have survived in this place without magic. They could not have travelled as quickly for a start. An ordinary man or woman would have needed to detour around the deep crevasses they had encountered, and scale the sheer cliffs in their path. Though Akkarin avoided using his magic as much as possible, without levitation they couldn’t have kept ahead of the Ichani woman tracking them.
As Akkarin began roasting the birds in a globe of heat, Sonea realized she could hear a faint pattering nearby. Moving away, she walked along the rock wall toward the sound. Seeing a glistening patch of stone, she drew in a sharp breath. A small trickle of water was running down a crack in the rock, surrounded by several birds.
She hurried to the wall, sending the birds fluttering away, and cupped her hands under the dribbling water. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned and smiled at Akkarin.
“It’s clean.”
He held up the two birds he’d caught, now reduced to a small, steaming handful of brown meat.
“They’re ready.”
She nodded. “Just give me a moment.”
Sonea hunted around until she had found a suitable rock, then began to work. Remembering her lessons on molding stone, she shaped the rock into a large bowl, then set it below the trickle of water to fill. Akkarin made no comment on her use of magic.
They sat down to eat. The small mountain birds did not yield much meat, but they were tasty. She sucked on the thin rib bones and tried to ignore the nagging hunger that remained. Akkarin rose and moved away. The sky had rapidly darkened to a deep blue-black and she could barely see him. She heard a faint splash and a swallow, and guessed he was drinking from the bowl of water.
“Tonight I will attempt to spy on our pursuers,” he said.
Sonea looked toward his shadowy figure, her pulse quickening.
“Do you think they’re still following us?”
“I don’t know. Come here.”
She rose and approached him.
“Look down and to the right a little. Can you see it?”
The slope of the mountain dropped steeply down from their position. Where it began to split into ridges and ravines, Sonea could see a small point of light. Something was moving about in the light. Something on four legs…
A small limek, she realized. Another movement brought her attention to a figure.
“They’re much farther away now,” she observed.
“Yes,” Akkarin agreed. “I believe they’ve lost our trail. We’re safe, for the time being.”
Sonea stiffened as another shadow moved near the distant light.
“There are two of them now.”
“It appears the one who nearly caught you has met with the woman.”
“Why have they made the light?” she wondered aloud. “They can be seen from all around. Do you think they’re trying to trick us into coming closer?”
He paused. “I doubt it. Most likely they do not know we are so high above them. They have stopped within a cluster of boulders. If we were lower on the slopes, we would not have seen the light.”
“It is going to be a big risk, approaching them just for the sake of showing Lorlen the truth.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “But that is not the only reason to do it. I may also learn how the Ichani plan to enter Kyralia. The North Pass is blocked by the Fort, but the South Pass is open. If they enter from the south, the Guild won’t have any warning of their approach.”
“The South Pass?” Sonea frowned. “Rothen’s son lives near there.” That put Dorrien in considerable danger, she realized.
“Near, but not on the road or in the Pass. The Ichani would appear to be a small band of foreign travellers. Even if they were noticed, Dorrien may not hear about it from the local people for a day or so.”
“Unless Lorlen instructs him to keep an eye on the road, and question travellers.”
Akkarin did not reply. He remained silent, watching the distant Ichani. The sky brightened beyond the horizon, heralding the rise of the moon. When the first sliver of light appeared, he spoke again.
“We will have to approach from downwind, or the limek will smell us.”
Sonea glanced back at the bowl of water. It was full to the brim and overflowing.
“Then, if we have the time, there is something we ought to do first,” she said.
He watched as she walked over to the bowl. She warmed the water with a little magic, then glanced up at him. “Turn around—and no peeking.”
A faint smile curled his lips. He turned his back and crossed his arms. Keeping him in sight, Sonea pulled off her clothes a piece at a time, washing them and herself, then drying off with magic. She had to wait for the bowl to refill a few times as her clothes soaked up the water. Finally, she emptied the bowl over her head. She scrubbed at her scalp and sighed with relief.
Straightening, she shook her hair out of her eyes.
“Your turn.”
Akkarin turned, then approached the bowl. Moving away, Sonea sat down with her back to him. A nagging curiosity stole over her as she waited. She pushed it aside and concentrated on drying her hair with magic while combing out the knots with her fingers.
“That’s better,” he said eventually.
Glancing back, she froze as she saw that his shirt was lying on the ground beside him. Seeing his bare chest, she felt her face flush and turned away.
Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. You’ve seen plenty of bare chests before. The workmen in the markets wore little more than short trousers in the summer heat. That had never embarrassed her before.
No, a voice in the back of her mind answered, but you’d have felt differently about those workmen if you’d fancied any of them.
She sighed. She did not want to feel like this. It made the situation more difficult than it needed to be. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. For once, she wanted to be moving, so that all her attention was focused on traversing the rough terrain of the mountains.
She heard footsteps behind her. Looking up, she saw with relief that he was fully dressed again.
“Come along then,” Akkarin said.
She rose and followed as he started down the mountain slope. The journey did seem to clear her mind. They descended quickly, taking a direct route to the Ichani and their light. After more than an hour had passed, Akkarin slowed and stopped. His eyes were fixed on a distant point.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Lorlen has put on the ring,” he said after a long pause.
“He isn’t wearing it all the time, then?”
“No. Until now, it has remained a secret. Sarrin was reading the books and would have recognized it for what it was. Lorlen usually slips it on a few times each evening.” He started moving again. “I wish I had some glass,” he murmured. “I would make you a ring.”
Sonea nodded, though she was heartily glad he hadn’t. A blood ring would have revealed too much of her thoughts. Until she managed to rid herself of this foolish attraction to him, she did not want Akkarin knowing what was going on in her mind.
They continued slowly. After several hundred paces, he pressed a finger to his lips. They crept forward slowly, pausing many times as Akkarin noted the direction of the wind. Sonea saw a glimmer of light between two boulders ahead of them, and knew t
hey had arrived.
Faint voices grew more audible as she and Akkarin approached the boulders. They stopped and crouched behind the rocks. The first voice Sonea heard was male and thickly accented.
“…better chance than I had, with a yeel.”
“She’s a smart girl,” the woman replied. “Why don’t you have one, Parika?”
“I did once. Last year I picked up a new slave. You know how the new ones can be. She took off on me and when the yeel found her she killed him. He’d torn her legs up, though, so she didn’t get far after that.”
“You killed her?”
“No.” Parika sounded resigned. “As tempting as it was. Too hard to find good slaves. She can’t run now, so she isn’t as much trouble.”
The woman made a low noise. “They’re all trouble—even when they’re loyal. Either that or they’re stupid.”
“But necessary.”
“Hmmm. I hate travelling on my own, with nobody to serve me,” the woman said.
“It’s faster, though.”
“These Kyralians would have slowed me down. I’m almost glad I didn’t find them. I don’t like the idea of keeping magicians prisoner.”
“They’re weak, Avala. They wouldn’t have been much trouble.”
“They’d be less trouble dead.”
A chill ran down Sonea’s spine, then prickled over her skin. Suddenly she wanted to get as far from this place as she could, as quickly as possible. It was not a comfortable feeling, knowing that two powerful magicians who wanted her dead sat just a dozen or so strides away.
“He wants them alive.”
“Why doesn’t he hunt them himself?”
The male Ichani chuckled. “He’s probably itching to, but he doesn’t trust the others.”
“I don’t trust him, Parika. He might have sent us to find the Kyralians to get us out of the way.”
The man didn’t answer. Sonea heard a soft rustle of clothing, then the sound of footsteps.
“I did what I could to find them,” Avala declared. “I won’t be excluded. I’m going back to join the others. If he wants these two, he’ll have to hunt them himself.” She paused. “What will you do?”
“Return to the South Pass,” Parika replied. “I will see you again soon, I’m sure.”
Avala gave a soft grunt. “Good hunting, then.”
“Good hunting.”
Sonea heard footsteps, growing faintly softer. Akkarin looked at her, jerked his head in the direction they had come. She followed him slowly and silently away from the boulders. When they had walked several hundred paces, he quickened his stride. Instead of heading to the higher slopes of the mountain, he set off in a southerly direction.
“Where are we going?” Sonea murmured.
“South,” Akkarin replied. “Avala was anxious to get back to the others, as if she feared she might miss something. If she is travelling back to meet Kariko without Parika, who is heading to the Southern Pass, that suggests Kariko intends to enter via the North Pass.”
“Yet they said they’d meet soon.”
“In Kyralia, most likely. It has taken us four days to reach here, and it will take Avala the same time to return. If we hurry, we’ll reach the South Pass before Parika. We must hope it is not guarded by other Ichani.”
“So we’re going back into Kyralia?”
“Yes.”
“Without the Guild’s permission?”
“Yes. We will enter Imardin in secret. If they ask for my help, I want to be close enough to act quickly. But we have a long way to go yet. Save your questions. We must try to put some distance between ourselves and Parika tonight.”
“I think that is all we’re going to get,” Lorlen said. He unclasped his hands from Balkan and Vinara’s, and leaned back in his chair. As the pair released Sarrin’s hands, the three magicians turned to stare at Lorlen.
“Why haven’t you told us about this ring before?” Sarrin asked.
Lorlen took off the ring and set it on the desk before him. He regarded it a moment, then sighed.
“I could not decide what to do about it,” he told them. “It is a thing of black magic, yet it does no harm and it is our only safe means of contacting Akkarin.”
Sarrin picked up the ring and examined it, taking care to touch only the band. “A blood gem. Strange magic. It allows the maker access to the wearer’s mind. He sees what the wearer sees, hears what the wearer hears, and absorbs what the wearer thinks.”
Balkan frowned. “That does not sound like a harmless magical object to me. Whatever you know, he learns.”
“He can’t search my mind,” Lorlen said. “Only read my surface thoughts.”
“That can be damaging enough, if you happen to think about something he shouldn’t know.” The Warrior frowned. “I don’t think you should wear this ring again, Lorlen.”
The others shook their heads. Lorlen nodded reluctantly.
“Very well, if you all agree.”
“I do,” Vinara replied.
“Yes, so do I,” Sarrin added. He put the ring down. “What shall we do with it?”
“Put it somewhere only we four know of,” Balkan said.
“Where?”
Lorlen felt a stab of alarm. If they locked it away, it had better be in a place they could get to quickly if they needed to call on Akkarin.
“The library?”
Balkan nodded slowly. “Yes. The cupboard of old books and plans. I’ll put it away on the way back to my rooms. For now,” he looked up at each of them in turn, “let’s consider this conversation Akkarin relayed to us. What have we learned?”
“That Sonea is alive,” Vinara replied. “That she and Akkarin have overheard a woman named Avala and a man named Parika discussing a third man.”
“Kariko?” Lorlen suggested.
“Possibly,” Balkan replied. “The pair did not mention his name.”
“Inconsiderate of them,” Sarrin muttered.
“This unseen pair discussed slaves, so that much about them is true,” Vinara said.
“They also discussed hunting for Kyralians.”
“Sonea and Akkarin?”
“Probably. Unless this is a ruse Akkarin has arranged,” Balkan said. “He could have employed two people to have that discussion, so he could relay it to us.”
“Why such an ambiguous message, then?” Sarrin asked. “Why not have them mention Kariko, or his intention to invade Kyralia?”
“I’m sure he has his reasons.” Balkan yawned, then apologized. Vinara gave him a penetrating look.
“Have you slept since you returned?”
The Warrior shrugged. “A little.” He glanced at Lorlen. “Our meeting with the King continued late into last night.”
“Is he still considering asking one of us to learn black magic?” Sarrin asked.
Balkan sighed. “Yes. He would rather that, than call Akkarin back. Akkarin has proven himself untrustworthy by breaking the Guild’s law and his vow.”
“But if one of us learned it, he or she would also be breaking that law and the Magicians’ Vow.”
“Not if we make an exception.”
Sarrin scowled. “There should be no exceptions where black magic is concerned.”
“Yet we may have no choice. It may be the only way we can defend ourselves against these Ichani. If one of us was voluntarily strengthened by a hundred magicians each day, that magician would be strong enough to fight ten Ichani in just two weeks.”
Sarrin shuddered. “No one should be trusted with that much power.”
“The King knows you feel this way,” Balkan said. “Which is why he believes you would be the best candidate.”
Sarrin stared at the Warrior in horror. “Me?”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t. I…I’d have to refuse.”
“Refuse your King?” Lorlen asked. “And watch the Guild and all of Imardin fall before a handful of barbarian magicians?”
Sarrin stared at the ring, his face white. r />
“It would not be an easy burden to shoulder,” Lorlen said gently, “and not one to take on unless we were sure there was no other choice. The spies will leave in a few days. Hopefully they will discover, once and for all, whether Akkarin spoke the truth.”
Balkan nodded. “We should consider sending reinforcements to the Fort, too. If this overheard conversation is real, it suggests that this woman is meeting a group of Ichani in the north.”
“What about the South Pass?” Vinara asked. “Parika was returning there.”
Balkan frowned. “I will have to consider that. It is not as defendable as the Fort, but their conversation suggests a larger gathering in the north. We should have the road to the South Pass watched, at the least.”
The Warrior yawned again. Clearly he was struggling against weariness. Lorlen caught a meaningful look from Vinara.
“It is late,” he said. “Shall we meet here, early, to discuss it?” The others nodded. “Thank you for coming here so promptly. I will see you in the morning.”
As the trio rose and bid him good night, Lorlen could not shake a feeling of disappointment. He had hoped Akkarin would show them something that would prove his story was true. The conversation between the Sachakans hadn’t revealed much, but it had pointed out some flaws in Kyralia’s defense.
But now the ring was gone, and with it went his only link to Akkarin.
24
Secrets Revealed
The whisper of robes and the shuffle of booted feet was a constant background noise in the Guildhall, even during Lorlen’s short speech. We’re all restless, Dannyl mused. Too few questions were answered this Meet.
There was a collective sigh as Lorlen announced the Meet concluded.
“There will be a short break before the Hearing to judge the Elyne rebels begins,” the Administrator told them.
At the announcement, Dannyl’s stomach flipped over. He looked at Rothen.