—Oh, the Guild is going to love this! Is there anything else? I should go tell them straightaway.
—I don’t think so. If I think of anything, I’ll put the ring on. And I’ll check in with you in a few hours in case there’s anything the Guild needs to ask or you need to tell me.
—Good idea. And Lorkin?
—Yes?
—I’m so happy that you’re back. I love you and I’m very proud of you.
—I’m not back yet, Mother. But … thanks. I love you, too.
He removed the ring and slipped it into his pocket. He realised he was smiling, despite there being nobody to see it. Exciting times ahead, he thought. Thankfully I have this ring and can work at negotiations via Mother, or all I’d have to do here while waiting for Dannyl to return is eat, sleep and talk to Merria.
Judging from the unceasing chatter that had poured out of Dannyl’s new assistant that morning, he suspected that the Healer, stuck in the Guild House with little work and no company, had been very bored and lonely since Dannyl had left. Though she had, at least, made some friends among the Sachakan women, she hadn’t been able to leave the Guild House while Dannyl was absent.
He had to admit, though, it was nice to talk to other Guild magicians after all this time. It would be good to get more detailed news about the goings on in Imardin. And to find out how far Dannyl’s research had progressed since Lorkin had left – especially on the subject of the storestone.
CHAPTER 30
THE CHOICE
Slumping in the chair, Lilia looked down at the pile of books and paper on the desk and sighed. She’d met with University Director Jerrik that morning, before her first class since she’d learned black magic. He’d told her that he’d questioned her teachers, and gathered together a collection of exercises, practical assignments and essays that would bring her up to the same level as her fellow novices. Since she had missed the winter exams, she would have to study for those as well. It seemed like a lot of work for only a month or two of absence from the University, especially as she had to do not only that but also the work from her daily classes. The next few weeks were going to be very busy.
At least she could do the extra study in her room adjoining Sonea’s guest room, where it was quiet and the antics of her fellow novices wouldn’t distract her. After today’s classes, she suspected she would be doubly grateful for that. The other novices had ignored her, when they weren’t giving her dark, suspicious looks. Her old friends had made it clear they did not want anything to do with her now. Would they eventually forget what she had done, or would they continue to show their disapproval and fear, perhaps in other, nastier ways?
A muffled thump from the guest room made her jump. She got up, heart racing, and moved to the bedroom door. Putting her ear to it, she listened carefully.
And winced as someone knocked loudly on the door.
“Lilia? You there?”
At the familiar voice, Lilia’s heart lifted. She opened the door.
“Anyi!”
The tall girl grinned down at her, then stepped back and turned around, arms held out at her sides. Lilia smiled as she recognised the long, black hide-skin coat she’d sent as a thank you gift. To her relief, it fitted perfectly. In fact, Anyi looked even more striking than before.
“I love it,” Anyi said.
“It suits you,” Lilia told her.
“I know,” Anyi agreed, stroking the sleeves. Lilia laughed at the woman’s gleeful vanity. “Cery says thanks for the knives.”
“Sonea helped me choose them.”
Anyi chuckled. “Yes, she’d know exactly what his tastes were.” She looked at Lilia thoughtfully. “You know that Sonea and Cery were childhood friends, don’t you?”
Lilia shook her head. “No. I knew she was from the old slums, and had worked with the Thieves during the invasion.”
“Yes, Cery was her main contact among the Thieves. Akkarin recruited him to help hunt down Sachakan spies.”
“So they kept in touch all these years?”
Anyi shrugged. “I guess they must have. When Cery told me how to get here I asked him why he went to all that trouble. He said that, until recently, Sonea was restricted to the Guild grounds – like you are now. The only other place she was allowed to go was the hospices.”
“What do you mean by ‘all that trouble’?”
Anyi shrugged out of the coat. “There’s a bit of climbing, and apparently the tunnels are prone to collapsing these days. He’d do something about that if he wasn’t hiding from Skellin.” She tossed the coat over the back of a chair, then hesitated and looked close. “Curse it. The back got a bit scratched on the way up.”
Lilia sat down on one of the guest room chairs, and Anyi dropped into the one beside it. “Sonea told me she goes into the bedroom when Cery leaves, so she doesn’t see how he arrives, and that I should do the same thing when you go.”
Anyi nodded. “He advised we do that.”
“Sounds like you intend to visit on a regular basis.”
“I do.” Anyi smiled. “If you’d like me to.”
Lilia nodded. “Very much. I’ve lost the friends I had here. The ones in my class won’t talk to me. Naki is … gone. I don’t think anyone else is going to want to be my friend,” she lifted up her arms to show the black bands stitched around the sleeves of her robes, “now that I know black magic. Even if they wanted to, their parents would stop them. If they did want to, I’d have to worry what their real intentions were.”
Anyi grimaced in sympathy. “That’s going to be tough.”
“It’s not going to stop after I graduate, either.”
“At least Sonea is willing to trust you.” Anyi looked around the room. “She has friends, here and outside the Guild. Even if others don’t take that as a good sign, you should. You should also know …” Anyi leaned over the arm of her chair and reached out to touch Lilia’s cheek.
Surprised and unused to such contact, Lilia stilled. She met Anyi’s gaze. The woman’s expression was thoughtful and intense. Anyi slipped off her chair and knelt on the floor beside Lilia’s in one graceful movement. Her hand did not move from Lilia’s cheek, or her eyes from Lilia’s.
“You should also know this,” she said.
Leaning close, she kissed Lilia. It was a slow, lingering kiss. It was definitely not the kiss of mere friendship, and Lilia could not help responding in kind. It confirmed all that she had guessed about Anyi and all she had suspected of herself. It was not just Naki, she thought. It’s me – and it’s Anyi. And it could be me and Anyi.
Anyi pulled away a little, then smiled and folded herself back into her chair. She looked, Lilia mused, rather smug.
“I know it’s too soon since Naki,” she said. “But I thought you should know. In case you’re interested.”
Lilia put a hand to her heart. It was beating very fast. She felt elated and reckless. She laughed to herself, then looked at Anyi.
“I’m definitely interested – and it’s not too soon since Naki.”
Anyi’s smile widened, but then she looked away and frowned. “Even so, I’d hate for Sonea to walk in on us …”
“She’s at a meeting, and is going straight to the hospice afterwards. Night shift. Won’t be back until morning.”
“… or her servants,” Anyi added. She tapped her fingers on the edge of the chair, then stopped and smiled. “Tell me, how much do you know about the passages under the Guild?”
“I know of them, but I’ve never seen them. Nobody is allowed down there.”
“Well, unless you’re really serious about not breaking any rules any more, I could take you on a little tour.”
Lilia looked at the scratches on the back of Anyi’s jacket, then at her friend.
“I’ll … I’ll think about it.”
Sonea sat down in the chair Osen had offered with silent satisfaction. The Administrator had arranged for more seating to be brought into his office and arranged it in a rough circle before his de
sk. He’d insisted that Kallen not stand by the wall any more, which meant that Sonea did not feel obliged to stand up as well.
Now she and Kallen sat on either side of Osen and Balkan. The rest of the Higher Magicians had arranged themselves in no particular order, Sonea noted. Usually the Heads of Disciplines clustered together. She expected they’d still be the most vocal in this meeting, however. Some things never changed.
Rothen looked up at her and smiled. She felt an answering smile spring to her lips. He had been overjoyed to hear of Lorkin’s return, and since learning that Lorkin would be attempting to negotiate an alliance and would be bringing the Guild a new kind of magic he had been bursting with pride. At one point he’d sighed and looked sad, and when Sonea had asked what was wrong he’d looked at her apologetically. She winced as she remembered what he’d said.
“It is a pity his father never got to see this.”
Which had made her heart ache for more than the obvious reasons. For Rothen to have said this of Akkarin indicated a level of forgiveness of the former High Lord that Sonea had not thought Rothen would ever reach.
For all that Lorkin had impressed others, Sonea was all too aware that he was not safe yet. What he was doing was risky. Even if the Sachakans did not know about it, they must still consider him a potential source of information about the Traitors. He would not be safe until he returned to Kyralia.
“The king has come to a decision,” Osen told them. He turned to Balkan. “The High Lord met with him again this evening. What did he say?”
“He has gained the agreement of the other leaders of the Allied Lands,” Balkan told them. Sonea felt an odd sensation somewhere between pride and regret. To consult with the rest of the Allied Lands so quickly would not have been possible twenty years ago. Now all Guild Ambassadors were given blood rings so they could communicate with the Administrator or High Lord whenever they needed to. “The meeting will take place and negotiations entered into. They have indicated their preferred terms. They have agreed that a Guild magician will represent the Allied Lands. The king has left the choice of representative to us.”
“There is no small risk involved,” Osen told them. “If King Amakira learns of the meeting he will try to prevent it. He may even see it as an act of war. We are, in effect, considering an alliance with the people he considers rebels and traitors.”
“Whoever we send will be vulnerable. We could send the entire Guild, and not be strong enough to counter an attack,” Balkan said, then he smiled crookedly. “Amakira would hardly fail to notice if we send an army of magicians his way. For this reason, we have decided that only two magicians will go.”
“However,” Osen continued. “Two of us have the potential to be as strong as an army of us.”
Sonea’s breath caught in her throat. Surely they weren’t going to send both her and Kallen? Who would be left to defend Kyralia? Lilia was far too inexperienced and untrained …
“We will send one black magician and an assistant,” Balkan said. “The assistant must be willing to offer his or her magical strength, if required. Since there is a risk that, if attacked, the two magicians’ minds will be read, the assistant cannot be a Higher Magician or know any more about the purpose of the trip than necessary. The black magician will wear Lord Leiden’s mind-read-blocking ring.”
Osen smiled thinly. “So, as you can see, our decision was reduced to one of two black magicians.” He looked at Kallen, then at Sonea. “Are you both willing to take on this role?”
“Yes,” Sonea replied. Kallen echoed her.
Osen looked around the rest of the circle. “Then the decision is left to the rest of us now. I will ask each of you in turn to speak your mind. Lady Vinara?”
Sonea felt frozen in place as the Higher Magicians discussed, often quite frankly, why they favoured her or Kallen as the representative. She was not surprised when Lord Garrel bluntly raised the issue of her trustworthiness, referring to her decision to learn black magic and her refusal to obey the Guild which had led to her exile. The others did not protest or agree, merely moved on to other matters as if what he’d said was not important. By the time the discussion wound to a close, she was unsure whether more of the Higher Magicians favoured her or Kallen.
“I think we have explored all the issues,” Osen said. “Now we will put it to a vote. All in favour of Black Magician Sonea representing the Allied Lands in these negotiations, raise your hands.”
Sonea counted. She noted that some who had argued for her had changed their minds, and vice versa. There was one less hand raised than lowered. Sonea felt her heart beat even faster with both excitement and anxiety. Osen turned to High Lord Balkan.
“Has your opinion changed?”
Balkan looked at Sonea and shook his head.
“My vote and the High Lord’s go to Sonea,” Osen stated. “Which tips our collective vote in her favour.” He looked at her and smiled grimly. “Congratulations.”
She nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. While she had hoped to be chosen, so that she could see and protect Lorkin as soon as possible, the weight of responsibility in representing not only the Guild and Kyralia, but all the Allied Lands, was daunting. So was the prospect of returning to Sachaka, though this time she would not be an exile, hunted by the Ichani.
After all I said to Dorrien about only wanting to be a Healer, I’ve gone and got myself a task that will involve using black magic. But not to kill. Those who give me power will do so willingly, and hopefully I won’t have to use that power to kill, either.
“There are details to sort out and preparations to make,” Osen told them all. He stood up. “Black Magician Sonea will leave soon, but I expect it will not be for a few days at least. Perhaps not for a few weeks. Lorkin will need to relay our decision through the slave spy network to the Traitors and wait for a reply. There is the matter of choosing an assistant, but that will require further discussion and consultation. Thank you for your suggestions and advice. I need not remind you that this is all strictly secret. Goodnight.”
As the magicians rose, Balkan stepped forward and touched Sonea on the shoulder.
“Stay,” he murmured.
She nodded, unsurprised. When the last of the Higher Magicians had left the room except Osen and Balkan, she dropped back into the chair with a sigh.
“I’m not sure if I should congratulate you or not,” Osen said to her as he returned to his seat.
Sonea smiled wryly. “It is reassuring, even flattering, that you are willing to entrust me with the task. Especially when I’ve failed at the last one you set me.”
Osen frowned, then his eyebrows rose. “Finding Skellin?” He shrugged. “That is a trickier task than the one you have now.”
“Who will be taking it over?”
“Black Magician Kallen, most likely,” he told her. “Will your contacts consent to work with him?”
Sonea considered. “Yes, I think they will. They have little choice. Can I make a suggestion?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Lilia befriended one of my contact’s loyal friends and workers while she was looking for Naki. Since Kallen is also her guardian, it might be beneficial to everyone if Lilia was to be his assistant – or one of his assistants.”
Osen looked thoughtful, and nodded. “I will consider it, and suggest it to Kallen. It won’t be breaking the restrictions we set on her movements, if she is under Kallen’s orders.”
Sonea tried to imagine Cery meeting with Kallen, and failed. She tried not to wince.
Sorry Cery, but I can’t be two places at once. Kallen is nothing if not thorough and dedicated. I’m sure he will find Skellin eventually. She wondered if there was anything else she could do to help him.
“Now, do you have anyone in mind to take as your assist ant?”
Forcing her mind back to her new task, she considered the question, and nodded.
Everything was illuminated by lamplight. As the Inava drew level with the wharf, slaves on the deck tos
sed ropes to those waiting below. Staying out of the way, Dannyl looked out at the city. There wasn’t much to see. Since the majority of the buildings in Arvice were single storey, the view was a rather boring stretch of similar rooftops.
“Ah, look,” Achati said. “The Guild House carriage has arrived. I would have taken you home in mine.”
Dannyl looked at the Sachakan and frowned in concern. “Perhaps it is better that you go straight home. You still look tired.”
Achati smiled. “I am a little, but not from the overuse of power. Travel wears me more than it used to. As you know, I didn’t sleep much last night.”
A glint of amusement had entered his gaze. Dannyl smiled and looked away. The day the storm had passed, the ship had pulled in at an estate belonging to a friend of Achati’s. They had collapsed onto the offered beds and slept late into the next day, then decided to leave early the next morning to avoid sailing at night. Even so, unfavourable winds meant they had arrived at Arvice late.
The estate had been luxurious. Dannyl wasn’t surprised when, Tayend having picked up on the possibility that their host might have goods to trade with Elyne, insisted Achati help him with all discussions on the matter, which went late into the night.
“Looks like we will be going our separate ways from here,” Tayend said as he emerged from the hatch and took in his surroundings. He turned to Achati and smiled. “Thank you, Ashaki Achati, for arranging and guiding us on this adventure.”
Achati inclined his head in the Kyralian way. “A pleasure and an honour,” he said.
“Will we see you at the Guild House soon?”
“I hope so,” Achati replied. “I will report to my king and deal with any matters that have accumulated in my absence first, of course. Unless one of those matters concerns one or both of you, I will be sure to make a social visit as soon as I am free to.”