Lilia looked at the ropes and felt an unexpected wave of admiration for the woman.
“You do this all the time, don’t you?”
The bodyguard smiled. “We put them there. Never know when you’ll need to get away from somewhere”
Lilia nodded toward the road. “Anybody watching?”
The woman leaned toward the edge, looked up and down the street, then shook her head.
“Then I have a better way for you,” Lilia told her. “Hold on to me and don’t shout.”
She drew magic and created a disc of it beneath their feet. The woman threw her arms out, unbalanced, and Lilia caught them to steady her. Willing the disc to rise, Lilia carried them out across the road to the roof on the other side. The woman was staring at her as their feet met the tiles.
“Rek was wrong. You do have your powers back.”
Lilia nodded, then looked back at the bolhouse roof. “She doesn’t.”
“That’s the best news I’ve had all night.” The woman moved to the attic window. It was boarded up on the inside. She unblocked it with one quick kick. As Lilia followed her into the dark room, she hurried to the door, opened it and listened. Then she crept further into the house, peeking through doors. “Nothing. Doesn’t look like anybody is home. That’s the second best news I’ve had all night.”
“You broke in without knowing if anyone was home?”
The woman shrugged. “I could have handled it.”
Lilia decided she didn’t want to know how. She followed her rescuer into a bedroom. The woman approached the window cautiously.
“Don’t get too close,” she warned. Then she tensed. “Ah. There they are. If we’d taken any longer, they’d have spotted us.”
Lilia moved to the side of the window and peered out. Figures roamed the street below. A movement higher up drew her attention to the roof, where two people were balancing, one pointing at the ropes and another staring around at the rooftops.
“I better go cover that window again,” the woman muttered. She hurried upstairs and Lilia soon heard a muffled banging she hoped wasn’t audible from the outside. Fortunately, the rain had begun to come down harder. Perhaps it would mask the sound.
The woman reappeared, this time carrying two chairs, which she set down either side of the window. She dropped into one, and Lilia took the other.
“We’re going to stay put,” she told Lilia as she scanned the street outside again. “They’re heading off along the known routes, not searching houses.” She grinned. “I suppose if I’d known you had your powers and Lorandra didn’t we could have just walked out of there, but then they would have followed us. And there’s something satisfying about disappearing from and then hiding right under the enemy’s nose.” Abruptly her smile faded and she frowned as if something bad had occurred to her.
“What is it?”
The woman grimaced. “Aside from just losing my job, I had other things I was supposed to be doing. People are going to be waiting for my message, and when it doesn’t come they’ll worry about me.”
“Oh.” Lilia felt a pang of guilt. “Well … thank you for helping me – and for offering to find Naki. You’re sure you can find her?”
“We will. We won’t ask you to betray the Allied Lands in the process.” The woman straightened. “In the meantime, we haven’t been formally introduced. Though I’ve guessed who you are.”
“Yes. I’m Lilia, the novice who accidentally learned black magic,” she said wryly.
“Honoured to meet you, Lady Lilia.” The woman bowed slightly. “My name is Anyi.”
CHAPTER 20
NO RETURN
It had been a rough night at sea, and Dannyl had been relieved when the Inava had turned into a small, sheltered bay in the early afternoon. Though Achati had planned for them to spend most nights on land, the further north they sailed the greater the distance was between port towns. Tayend had taken an extra dose of the seasickness cure the night before and promptly fallen asleep, something which Dannyl had eventually begun to envy. Though Dannyl could Heal away the ill effects of sea travel, the heaving of the ship meant that staying in bed sometimes took some effort. Finally, a few hours before dawn, the storm passed and he got some sleep, but all too soon they had to get up again.
Achati had arranged for them to stay at the estate of a friend, who was currently visiting the city. They had the place all to themselves – bar the slaves of course. The slaves, who had been told to treat their master’s guests well, had a delicious meal ready and escorted them to baths built around a natural hot spring that Achati said were not to be missed.
It looked like Tayend would miss them, however. He had to be half carried off the ship by a slave, then lifted into the waiting carriage. He’d snored loudly all the way to the estate and roused himself only long enough to follow a slave to the guest quarters. The slaves reported that he fell asleep as soon as he reached a bed.
Achati and Dannyl headed for the baths together. These turned out to be one long room, a door at each end, with no windows but with an opening in the ceiling that revealed the starry night sky. Steaming pools of water ran down the room’s length, each pouring into the next, with a path that wound beside and, in one place, over a pond via a curving bridge. A metallic, salty tang hung in the air.
“The closest pool is warm,” Achati said as he began to strip off his clothes. “It’s for cleaning, and drains separately. Once you are clean, you can start at the next pool and move down the room until you find one that suits you. The ones at the centre are hot, then they grow cooler again until the last, which is cold.”
“They finish with a cold pool?”
“Yes. To wake you up. It’s very refreshing. But if you wish to go to sleep straight after a bath it is recommended you get out of one of the warmer pools. There are absorbent coats down there to put on to keep yourself warm.” Achati, who was down to just his trousers, looked at Dannyl, who hadn’t begun to undress. “The slaves will clean your clothes and take them back to your room.”
Dannyl nodded, then began removing his clothes. Public bathing had gone out of fashion in Imardin a hundred or so years ago. It was well known that baths (and some records rather snarkily claimed bathing as well) had been introduced by the Sachakans when they had conquered Kyralia. Bathing had remained popular, but not the public aspect. The Guild’s baths were divided into private rooms, as were the facilities in the city – though he’d heard that some bathhouses associated with brothels had larger pools for mixed bathing.
Elyne still had a few public baths, but men and women used them separately, and wore a modest shift of heavy cloth. Dannyl had visited them a few times with Tayend, when he had been Guild Ambassador to Elyne. It had been fashionable to lament the passing of the good old days of nude bathing, but nobody tested the apparent common opinion that it was better stripping off completely.
Of all the more confronting Sachakan habits – slavery, black magic – surely this should be the easiest to adapt to. Though I haven’t heard of any public baths in Arvice. Maybe it has gone out of fashion in Sachaka, too. I can’t imagine them allowing their women to bathe publicly.
Achati had removed all his clothes now, and was stepping into the first pool. His darker skin was suddenly more obvious, and though Achati was smaller in size than the average Sachakan man, he had the same broad shoulders and sturdy frame. Taking a deep breath, Dannyl shrugged off the outer magician’s robe and stepped out of his trousers. He made himself turn around, walk to the pool and step into the water.
He’d been expecting heat, but the water was tepid. Achati’s expression was neutral as he indicated a bowl at the pool’s edge that contained bars of soap. He was surrounded by a slick of soapy residue, which concealed his body beneath the water. The pool was large. Plenty of room for the both of them – possibly enough for four. Dannyl concentrated on the details, not wanting to think too much on the fact that he was naked in the company of a man who had indicated he wanted there to be more
than just friendship between them.
The soap was strange. It contained grit, which scratched Dannyl’s skin and left red lines. As Achati stepped out of the pool, Dannyl noted that any such marks weren’t as noticeable on the Sachakan’s skin.
He finished scrubbing himself, then rose and followed Achati to the next pool.
This one was hot. Seats had been built into the sides. Dannyl felt his skin smart at the temperature. Achati did not stay there for long, but moved from pool to pool until he found one that he proclaimed the most comfortable.
“Hot enough?” he asked Dannyl.
Dannyl nodded. “Very.”
“Go on to the next one. I’ll stay here. We can claim one each and still chat.”
So Dannyl stepped down to the next pool, which was pleasantly warm. “Ah. Yes. That’s the one.” He settled into a seat alcove from which he could easily turn and talk to Achati. Though he was growing used to being unclothed, he had to admit to feeling a little relieved that they were now separated by the low wall of the upper pool.
Achati chuckled.
“What is it?” Dannyl asked, when his companion didn’t explain the source of his humour.
The Sachakan smiled crookedly. “You. I thought you’d turn and run.”
“From this?” Dannyl shrugged. “I’ll admit it’s a new experience, and not a completely comfortable one.”
“And yet you managed it. With me here, as well.”
Dannyl tried to think how best to answer that, but before he managed to, Achati continued.
“You’ve been doing very well keeping me at arm’s length.”
Dannyl couldn’t think of anything smart to say to that, either.
“Have I?” he managed.
“Yes. Having Tayend ask to come along was a clever move.”
Dannyl straightened in surprise and indignation. “I didn’t have Tayend ask to come along.” He scowled. “He came up with that idea all by himself.”
Achati’s eyebrows rose. He looked at Dannyl thoughtfully. “I think I believe you.”
“It’s true,” Dannyl told him, trying to avoid sounding offended, and not quite succeeding. “Though it’s also true I’ve been keeping you at arm’s length.”
“Why?”
Dannyl looked away and sighed. “Consequences. Conflicting loyalties. That sort of thing.”
“I see,” Achati said quietly. He was silent for a while, then suddenly rose and moved into Dannyl’s pool. Once settled, he sighed deeply. “That is better.” Then he looked at Dannyl. “You’re worrying about the wrong things, Ambassador Dannyl.”
Dannyl met Achati’s eyes. “Am I?”
“Yes. My loyalties lie first with Sachaka and my king.” Achati’s eyes flashed. “Yours are with Kyralia, your king, the Guild and the Allied Lands – though not necessarily in that order. Nothing will ever change that, and nothing should.” He smiled thinly. “Think of it this way: if my king ordered me to kill you, I would. Without hesitation.”
Dannyl stared at the man. Achati’s eyes were hard and his expression challenging. He means what he says, but then, wouldn’t I do the same, if we became enemies? Probably. I would feel bad about it, but … how likely is it? He pushed that thought aside. What is true is that I’d feel bad about it no matter how close we were, and it’s not that we could ever do anything to make others doubt our loyalties, like having children or getting married …
It wasn’t as if Achati wanted any commitment. For once, that appealed. While Dannyl ought to have been repelled by the man’s admission that he’d kill him if ordered to … it was strangely exciting.
“So … you wouldn’t hesitate? Not even a little bit?” he asked.
Achati smiled and pushed away from the wall, moving to the centre of the pool.
“Well, maybe a little bit. You could come here and convince me how long I should hesitate for.”
Chuckling at his friend’s invitation, Dannyl moved to the middle of the pool. For a few heartbeats they stared at each other. Time seemed to slow and stop.
Then both froze as muffled voices came from the direction of the bathhouse entrance. They quickly moved apart and stood up so they could see who was there. Dannyl was relieved to see the door was still closed.
The voices fell silent, then there was a tapping at the door. Achati glanced at Dannyl, his annoyance gratifyingly obvious. “I gave the slaves orders that we weren’t to be disturbed unless it was urgent.”
“You had better find out what’s wrong,” Dannyl replied.
Achati stepped out of the pool and brought a coat to him with magic. He shrugged into it and moved to the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened. Dannyl quickly schooled his face as he saw Tayend peer around it. The more annoyed I look, the more he’ll suspect. Inside he felt as if his blood was boiling with fury.
“Am I interrupting?” Tayend said. “The slaves said you were here, and after you said we had to try these baths it seemed rude not to come and see them.”
“Of course not,” Achati replied. He waved Tayend toward the cleansing bath and explained the procedure.
Then, as he walked back to join Dannyl, he smiled and silently mouthed a promise.
Later.
Not long after arriving at the Care Room, a magician came to escort Lorkin to the stone-makers’ caves. He was a little reluctant to leave, as the woman who had replaced Kalia was still working out where everything was stored and learning which ailments the patients occupying the beds were recovering from. But she shooed Lorkin away when the escort arrived.
“Go,” she’d ordered. “I will work it all out.”
“I’ll come back later,” he promised.
The magician escort had smiled shyly at him and said little as she led him to the caves. It was so unusual for a Traitor woman to be shy and awkward that he resisted trying to draw her into a conversation. If growing up in a place where women were powerful hadn’t helped to make her bold and confident, then the awkwardness must run very deep – and challenging it might do more harm than good.
She led him deep into the city, further inside the mountain than most Traitors liked to live. The passage became winding, and they passed openings into caves on either side. He’d figured it prudent not to show too much interest in them the last time he’d passed, when being escorted out of the cave Evar had shown him. Now he was free to glance inside.
The caves were of varying sizes and shapes. Some effort had obviously been put into levelling the floor in places, but the uneven and angular walls had obviously been left untouched. In a larger room, Lorkin noted that walkways had been fixed to the walls to allow access to higher parts of them.
In all of the caves he saw spreads of glittering colour, on walls, ceilings and even, in a few instances, on floors.
None of the caves had doors. It seemed a strange omission in a part of the city that contained such magical secrets. But perhaps the secrets can’t be extracted from the stones. Perhaps they can only be passed on mind to mind, like black magic. Or perhaps they were kept in books in a secure room somewhere.
The winding corridor ended at another cave. The guide continued through it, to where another cave joined it, then another. There had been fissures in the walls and floor of the passage, easily stepped over. Now they passed over bigger cracks via bridges made of slabs of the same stone as the walls.
And then they arrived at a door.
The escort knocked, then smiled at him and walked away quickly, before he could thank her. He turned back to find the door open. A voice called out.
“Come in Lorkin.”
He recognised the voice as Speaker Savara’s. Stepping inside the room, he saw that she and Speaker Halana were sitting in two seats of a ring of five. Savara gestured to one of the chairs, and he sat down.
“Are you aware of the responsibilities of each of the Speakers?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Well, at least some of them. Speaker Riaya organises meetings, elections, jud
gements and such, Speaker Kalia oversaw health, Speaker Shaiya controls the production of food and supply of water, and you are in charge of defence.”
“That is correct. Speaker Lanna’s responsibility is living arrangements and Speaker Yvali’s is education. Speaker Halana’s,” she nodded at the other woman, “is stone-making.”
He looked at Speaker Halana and inclined his head in respect. “So you will be my teacher?”
The woman nodded. “I will. If you agree to it.”
He smiled. “I can think of no reason why I would not.”
Halana did not return his smile, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. Something about her expression sent a warning chill up his spine. He frowned and looked at Savara.
“Is there are a reason why I would not?”
She smiled wryly. “Possibly. I may have mentioned before that I once travelled to Kyralia. I visited Imardin for a while, before and during what you call the Ichani Invasion.”
He stared at her in surprise. “You saw the invasion?”
Her expression was serious now. “Yes. We keep an eye on the Ichani, since they are always on the move and sometimes venture too close to Sanctuary. Mostly they are harmless, too occupied in fighting each other to cause us trouble. But any signs that they are uniting, as you can imagine, are alarming. Fortunately for us, the last time they did that their intent wasn’t to cause us trouble. Unfortunately for your people, their attention had turned to Kyralia.
“We noticed that they were sending slaves into Kyralia, so I went to investigate their purpose. The events that I witnessed made it very obvious that the Guild does not use, and in fact forbids, higher magic.”
Lorkin nodded and looked down. “It is called black magic. And it is no longer forbidden.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And yet its use is restricted. Only a few know how to use it.”
“Yes.”
“And if our spies are correct, the knowledge that those few have is incomplete, too.”