What would happen when Kallen’s block failed? If it proved that a black magician’s powers could not be blocked, what would happen to the girls? They could still be imprisoned, but their guards would have to be magicians and …
The side door on the other side of the hall opened. A novice peered nervously around the hall, but as his gaze fell on Sonea he straightened. He pointed to her, then Lilia, then beckoned.
Her heart skipped. Has Kallen had some trouble with Naki?
Sonea looked at Lilia, who had obviously seen the novice and was looking worried.
“Come with me,” Sonea said.
The buzz of voices dropped as they walked across the hall. The novice was a tall, lanky young man, who bowed then bent forward to whisper in Sonea’s ear.
“The Administrator wants you to bring Lilia to his office, Black Magician Sonea.”
Sonea nodded. She moved to the door, Lilia following, and slipped out into the Great Hall.
The quiet of the hall was dramatic after the noisy Guildhall. Sonea gestured for Lilia to stay beside her, then strode toward the front of the University. As they reached the entry hall, she turned through the archway to the right and stopped at Osen’s door. It swung inward at her knock.
To her relief, Kallen and Naki stood there calmly. Kallen met her gaze, but he looked as curious and worried as she was. Naki looked bored.
“Black Magician Sonea,” Osen said. “I’ve just learned something very interesting, and it has raised a question I want answered before the Hearing begins.” He turned to Kallen. “Please remove Naki’s ring.”
At once Naki’s eyes went round. She drew her hands to her chest, one covering the other, and looked from Osen to Kallen and back again.
“No! It’s my father’s ring. The only memento I have of him.”
Osen’s eyebrows rose. “Other than an entire mansion and all his possessions – apart from a certain book containing instructions on black magic, that is.”
Kallen took hold of Naki’s arm. She resisted as he pulled the concealed hand away from the other. Something caught and refracted the light. Sonea heard Lilia draw in a sharp breath. She turned to the girl.
“What is it?”
“That’s the ring that was in the cabinet with the book.” She glanced at Sonea. “She said her grandmother owned it, and that it was magical.”
Kallen pulled the ring off Naki’s finger and handed it to Osen. The Administrator examined it closely. He slipped it on his own finger and a look of concentration crossed his face; then he shrugged and removed it.
“I cannot sense anything magical about it.”
“Of course not,” Naki said, giving him a forced smile. “She was a mad old woman who liked to spin tales for children.”
Osen looked at her, his gaze hard and assessing, and the smile slipped from her face. His gaze rose to meet Kallen’s.
“Read her mind.”
Both Kallen and Naki stilled. Kallen looked surprised; Naki slowly turned white. She recovered first.
“No,” she said angrily, tugging against the hand still holding her arm. “How many times do I have to have my head invaded?”
The two men exchanged looks. Osen’s expression hardened and he nodded to indicate that Kallen should continue. Kallen drew Naki closer.
“Wait!” she exclaimed, panic in her voice. “Isn’t it enough that I’ve been abducted by a Thief and forced to work for him? Isn’t it enough that … that my father was murdered.” She pointed at Lilia with her free hand. “By her. You should be looking into her mind again. You should …”
“If there’s nothing new to see in your mind, then let Kallen read it,” Osen told her.
“No!” Naki shouted. She cringed away from Kallen. “I’m grieving! I don’t want you to see that. Leave me alone!” She covered her face with her free hand and started sobbing.
Kallen frowned. To Sonea’s surprise, he looked up at her, his expression questioning. She met his eyes and saw the reluctance there. Turning to Osen, she was a little chilled to see no sign of sympathy. He reached out, grabbed Naki’s free hand and pulled it away from her face.
There were no tears. Naki stared at them each in turn, eyes wide with fear.
“Do it, Kallen,” Sonea said quietly.
Naki fought him with magic, but the struggle didn’t last long. As he took hold of her head Sonea looked at Lilia, concerned that the girl might be frightened, but Lilia watched with a calm intensity.
After a long silence, Kallen let Naki go, releasing her with a sound of disgust. He looked at Osen.
“You were right to suspect. The ring hides the wearer’s true thoughts and memories.”
Osen looked down at the ring, his mouth tightening in grim triumph. “What was she hiding?”
Kallen drew in a deep breath and let it out again. “She did learn black magic before she met Lilia – deliberately. She resented the constraints put on her by her father and the Guild, and wanted to be free to do whatever she wanted.” His face darkened. “She befriended Lilia and lured her into learning black magic so that she could kill Leiden and someone else would be suspected of it – drugging Lilia and wiping blood on her hands to make her look guilty.” He looked at Lilia sympathetically, then back at Osen. “She was inspired by Skellin, who she admired for avoiding capture for so long. The mind-block wasn’t something she’d planned for, but it was easy to get past – I suspect no ordinary block would have been effective on a black magician. Naki then found a Thief willing to teach her how to survive in the underworld in exchange for magical favours.” Kallen turned to regard Naki with contempt. “He brought her people that nobody would miss, so she could strengthen herself, and ensured the bodies were never found.”
Sonea stared at the girl, outrage at her callous manipulations and murder of her father turning into horror. How could she have done it? To kill people who meant her no harm … Naki was now standing with her back stiff and her arms crossed, her lip curled in sullen defiance. All so she could do as she pleased.
“Sonea,” Osen said.
She dragged her eyes away and looked at him. He held up the ring.
“I want you to attempt to read my mind.”
She blinked in surprise, then understood as he slipped the ring on again. Moving forward, she placed a hand on each side of his head and closed her eyes.
Sending her mind forth, she slipped past the defences around his and sought his thoughts. She detected a strong sense of his personality, but the few thoughts she picked up were vague and fragmentary. Drawing her consciousness back, she opened her eyes.
“That’s … odd. Your thoughts were disjointed, as if you were having trouble focusing them.”
He smiled thinly. “I was thinking about Lorlen.”
She regarded him thoughtfully. Osen had admired and worked with the former Administrator for years, and grieved over his death deeply. There was no chance she would have missed those thoughts and the accompanying emotions, without some kind of magical interference.
“I didn’t sense this disjointedness when I read Naki’s mind the first time,” Kallen pointed out.
“Nor did I,” Sonea said, turning to face him. “Perhaps there is some knack or skill to using the ring.”
“From what I’ve learned, that is exactly the case,” Osen told them. He smiled as they both looked at him. “Ambassador Dannyl reported to me as I was readying to go to the Hearing. He has discovered the existence of mind-read-blocking stones, among other things. Since there were so many inconsistencies between what Sonea and Kallen read in Naki and Lilia’s minds, I decided to check whether either girl was wearing a gemstone before we proceeded.”
“What will we do now?” Kallen asked.
“Proceed with the Hearing,” Osen answered, looking at Naki. She glowered back at him. He turned to Sonea. “You and Lilia return first. I will come afterwards with Kallen.”
She nodded. He led the way to the door and, to her surprise, followed her and Lilia out, shutting the doo
r behind him.
“Before you go,” he said, his voice low. His gaze moved from Sonea to Lilia and back, indicating he was speaking to them both. “Do not mention the ring to anybody for now.” He turned to Sonea. “Construct a barrier of silence and tell the Higher Magicians that Kallen has read Naki’s mind after a block was removed that prevented a mind-read. Tell them they will be given the details after the Hearing.”
She nodded, and as he gestured that they could go, hurried away with Lilia at her side.
“So,” Lilia said, as they entered the Great Hall. “If Naki is guilty of murder … of murder using black magic …”
Sonea felt a chill run down her spine. The punishment would be execution. She looked at Lilia and felt a wave of sympathy. She definitely chose the wrong girl to be infatuated with. Lilia had not just had her heart broken, but had found out that the object of her desire had murdered others, set her up, and then tried to kill her. Now it is likely her friend is going to be executed. I hope she is going to be all right. I should keep an eye on her …
The girl looked away.
“The king may grant her a pardon,” Sonea told her.
Lilia gave a short and bitter laugh. “That’s not going to happen.”
Sonea sighed. “No, it’s not likely.”
As they reached the door to the Guildhall, something else occurred to her that made her pause, her heart filling with sudden dread.
Then who will have to perform the execution?
CHAPTER 27
UNPLANNED ASSISTANCE
Standing outside the hunter’s shack, Lorkin looked around and wondered what time it was. All he was sure of was that the sun was up, because the fog around him was too light for it to have been illuminated merely by moonlight.
Should I stay here until it lifts?
Because of the storm that had delayed him and Tyvara, he was running low on food. While he was willing to go hungry for a day, he knew that, down at the end of the valley, Traitors disguised as slaves were waiting to meet him. The longer he took to arrive, the more likely they’d be missed at the estate they belonged to.
So long as I always go downhill, I shouldn’t get lost. Tyvara said I wouldn’t go astray if I travelled at night, because the road crosses the mouth of the valley. She said to just walk until I find it, then turn left and follow where it leads.
Surely the same instructions would apply now.
He looked back at the hut, mostly hidden by the fog. He’d buried the sledge under the snow, as instructed. Someone would take it back to Sanctuary soon enough, he guessed. He’d also left his pack and changed into the sort of clothes that hunters usually wore in winter – roughly made trousers and a tunic covered by a hooded cape of hides stitched together. His boots were made of skins with the fur on the inside. There were simple gloves – mere pockets of hide – as well. Hunters were another group of Sachakans that didn’t quite fit into the simple division of slaves and Ashaki. They were free men, but they weren’t magicians. They lived on estates in exchange for the pelts, meat and other products they produced, but they weren’t considered slaves. Since they spent much of the year in remote places, it would be hard for a master to maintain control of them. They also had an understanding of sorts with the Traitors, who left them alone so long as they kept away from certain areas in the mountains. Some actively helped the Traitors by allowing use of their huts – though they may not have had much choice about that. If they wanted to be free to hunt in the mountains, they had to stay on the right side of the magicians that lived there.
A hunter’s outfit was the perfect disguise for Lorkin. If any Ashaki saw him, they’d ignore him, and it wasn’t too strange for a hunter to be out and alone. Not that anybody was going to see him today.
Turning his back on the mountains, he started walking. The fog was so thick he had to constantly watch the ground for obstacles. After stumbling into depressions and the edge of the river, hidden under the snow, he broke a branch off one of the scraggly trees and used it to probe the drifts in front of him as he walked. It slowed his progress, so he was not expecting to find the road for some time. After the relief of a flat stretch of ground was followed by a sudden drop, however, he stopped and looked around. Exploring left and right, he discovered that the flat area continued in both directions, and was of a consistent width. It had to be the road.
Tyvara said to turn left. If I’m wrong and this isn’t the road, the flat area will soon end, or I’ll encounter the side of the valley.
So he started along the direction she’d said. After several hundred paces he relaxed a little. The surface continued straight and, aside from the occasional rut or puddle, remained level. With no obstructions to beware of, he was able to look around and search the fog for some sign of the Traitors waiting to meet him.
After a while he began to worry that he would pass them, unnoticed. Though the fog had a deadening effect on sound, his footsteps crunching through the snow and finding the occasional puddle seemed loud to him, and he had to resist trying to be quieter.
At least I should hear a carriage coming soon enough to get off the road and hide. It won’t matter either if there’s nothing to hide behind. All I have to do is crouch down and stay still, and if anyone sees me they’ll probably think I am a rock.
A voice called out behind him, and Lorkin froze. He could not make out what it had said, but it had definitely been calling to someone.
To me?
He considered what Tyvara had said about the likeliness of encountering Ashaki. “You shouldn’t encounter any Ashaki. They don’t tend to travel at this time of year.” He doubted anyone would willingly venture out in this fog, and he’d heard no sound of carriage wheels or hoof beats. The only people likely to be out in such weather were the people looking for him. The voice had come from behind him. Maybe they’d seen his tracks and realised he’d passed them.
The voice called out again, this time further away. He started forward. Within a few steps he saw something move. He made out a figure coming toward him. A man, walking confidently. Wearing trousers and a cropped jacket.
Ashaki.
He stopped, but it was too late. The man had seen him. Lorkin’s heart began to race. Should he throw himself to the ground and hope the man thought he was a slave? But a hunter wouldn’t do that.
“You’re not Chatiko,” the man said, stopping. He came closer, bending forward as he stared at Lorkin. “I know you. I’ve seen you before.” His eyes widened with realisation and surprise. “You’re that Kyralian magician! The one who went missing!”
There was no point pretending otherwise. Tyvara’s words rose in his memory.
“If you do, tell them who you are and request to be taken back to the Guild House. They’ll be politically obliged to help you.”
“I am Lord Lorkin of the Magicians’ Guild of Kyralia,” he said. “I formally request that you return me to the Guild House in Arvice.”
The man smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Well, it’s your lucky day. We’re heading that way ourselves. We were going to wait until the weather cleared, but Master Vokiro insisted we leave at first light. I am Master Akami.”
Lorkin searched for something to say. Two of them are Masters. They aren’t as highly ranked as Ashaki. That could be to my advantage. He managed a smile. “Thank you, Master Akami.”
The Sachakan gave Lorkin a familiar amused look at his Kyralian manners, then gestured back down the road. “The carriage is this way. Master Chatiko stopped to relieve himself.” Lorkin fell into step beside the man. “He was taking so long I went looking for him. See how lucky you are? We could have driven by and not seen you. Ah! He’s back.”
Another man stood by the carriage. As he saw Lorkin, his gaze moved from Lorkin’s head to his feet, an expression of puzzlement and distaste on his face.
“Look what I found,” Master Akami declared. “A lost Kyralian magician! And I bet he has some tales to tell. He’ll keep us entertained all the way back to the city!??
?
No sooner had the trunks been hauled onto the deck of the Inava than the anchor was pulled up and sails unfurled. Dannyl, Tayend and Achati were ushered to the one place on deck where they were out of the way of the captain and his slave crew.
Achati looked at Dannyl.
“So, are you content with what you learned here, Ambassador?”
Dannyl nodded. “Yes, though I would like to return and record more of these Duna legends. I asked to hear the ones about magic, but there would be plenty more that aren’t. I guess that’s a book for someone else to write.”
Achati nodded. “Perhaps your assistant might write such a book. She seems very interested in the tribes.”
Dannyl felt a small pang of guilt for leaving Merria behind. But someone had to remain at the Guild House. “Yes, she is.”
“And what about you, Ambassador Tayend?” Achati said, turning to the Elyne.
Tayend waved a hand in a vague gesture that might have meant many things. He looked a little pale, Dannyl noted.
“Have you taken the seasickness cure?” Achati asked.
“Not yet,” Tayend admitted. “I did not want to miss our last sight of …” He gulped and waved a hand at the valley. “I’ll take it once we leave the bay.”
Achati frowned with concern. “There will be some delay before it takes effect, and it won’t have a chance to if you can’t keep it down.”
“Ashaki Achati,” the captain called.
They all turned to see the man pointing out over the northern arm of the bay, his eyes bright and a grim smile on his face. Black clouds darkened the sky, and the horizon was invisible behind streaks of rain.
Achati chuckled. “A storm is coming.” He took a step toward the captain. “I will give you my assistance.”
The man’s eyebrows lowered. “You have experience?”
Achati grinned. “Plenty.”
The man nodded and smiled again. As Achati turned away, his eyes shone with excitement. Dannyl’s skin pricked.