“This is the audience room,” Amakira told him. He sat down on a stool and indicated another. “Sit.”
“It is magnificent, your majesty.” Dannyl complied, glancing around at the hangings and precious objects in wall alcoves and cupboards. “Such fine examples of Sachakan skill and artistry.”
“So your friend, the Elyne Ambassador, said. He was particularly taken with the glassware.”
Surprise was followed by annoyance. How had Tayend managed to gain an audience with the king within a few days of arriving? I suppose he is the first non-Guild Ambassador to take residence in Sachaka, whereas I was just another Guild Ambassador. Dannyl made himself nod and hoped his efforts at hiding his jealousy were effective. “Ambassador Tayend has a great liking for brightly coloured, elaborate things.”
“How is he? Settling in well?”
Dannyl shrugged. “It is too early to tell, and we have been too busy to exchange much more than greetings.”
The king nodded. “Of course. I found him witty and insightful. I’m sure a man of his charm and enthusiasm will be popular among the Ashaki.”
“I’m sure he will,” Dannyl replied smoothly. He found himself remembering a conversation with Achati during their return from hunting for Lorkin: “We make sure we know everything we can about the Ambassadors the Guild sends our way. And your choice of companions isn’t exactly a secret in Imardin.” The king must know Tayend was Dannyl’s former lover and companion. So did Achati. But who else here knew? Did all the powerful men of Sachaka know about them? If they did, they couldn’t be too bothered about Tayend’s preference for male lovers – since he was being as swamped with invitations to dinner as Dannyl had been when he’d first arrived.
Though Achati was acting as adviser and introducer for Tayend, as he had for Dannyl, he always arrived early to the Guild House so that he and Dannyl could spend some time talking. Even when Tayend joined in these conversations, Achati still directed most of his attention toward Dannyl.
For which I’m grateful. He may have other reasons than to make me feel better about being upstaged by Tayend, though. Perhaps he wants to demonstrate that his interest hasn’t shifted to Tayend. To remind me of his proposal.
Achati hadn’t yet asked if Tayend’s arrival had meant the resumption of his former relationship with Dannyl. I’m not sure what to say if he asks. I hadn’t considered us officially parted. Now that he’s here … it feels like we have. Tayend hasn’t behaved as if we’re together. He had taken that as a cue. Or had Tayend taken Dannyl’s manner as a cue first?
The first emotion he’d felt at Tayend’s arrival was annoyance. To cover it, Dannyl had made sure to be as polite and formal as an Ambassador should be to another. Tayend had followed suit, which then made Dannyl start to miss their old, teasing familiarity. Even if it had been laced with resentment in recent years.
“I have my people looking for suitable accommodation for the Elyne Ambassador,” the king said. “It may take some months. Are there any reasons of a political nature that require the Ambassador to stay somewhere other than the Guild House in the meantime?”
Dannyl considered, then shook his head. “No.” Though I suspect I will wish there were sometimes …
“If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to inform Ashaki Achati. He will make alternative arrangements.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, to the matter I wish to discuss, Ambassador Dannyl.” The king’s expression became serious. “Have you heard from Lord Lorkin?”
“No, your majesty.”
“Could you establish communications with him?”
“I doubt it.” Dannyl paused to consider. “Perhaps with the Traitors’ cooperation. I could see if the slaves would pass on—”
“No, I would not trust communications passed on by the Traitors. I mean communication with Lorkin directly.”
Dannyl shook his head. “Not secretly. The only way I can contact Lorkin without the Traitors’ help would be open mental communication – and all magicians would hear that.”
The king nodded. “I want you to find a way. If you need Sachakan assistance – non-Traitor assistance, that is – Achati will arrange it.”
“I appreciate your concern for Lord Lorkin,” Dannyl said. “He did convince me that he joined them of his own choosing.”
“Nevertheless, I wish this connection established,” the king said firmly. His eyes were unblinking as he looked at Dannyl. “I expect any information about the Traitors to be passed on, in return for my people’s efforts in helping you attempt to retrieve your former assistant. Cooperation between our nations can only be of mutual benefit.”
A shiver ran down Dannyl’s spine. He wants Lorkin to be his spy. Dannyl kept his expression neutral, and nodded. “It is, indeed.” Keep him happy, but don’t make any promises, he told himself. “Lorkin knew that joining the Traitors might prove to be a problem for the Guild, politically, and suggested that we officially expel him. The Guild would do so reluctantly, of course. It has not been a decision we wished to hurry, nor did we wish to do so unless it was absolutely necessary. The reason I mention this is … we may not have any means to compel him to cooperate with us.”
“The Traitors indicated that they would never allow him to leave their base,” the king said. “That sounds like imprisonment to me. He could have been coerced into saying he was happy to join them. I’m surprised that the Guild is going to leave the matter as it is.”
“Lorkin contacted his mother via a blood ring right before he met with me, to assure her that he was joining them of his own free will. She sensed no lie or distress. He then gave the blood ring to me,” Dannyl added. “So that I could return it to her.”
“I’m surprised his mother accepts this arrangement.”
“She is understandably upset – but not about to march into Sachaka to fetch him home, I assure you.”
The king smiled. “A pity he did not keep the ring.”
“I expect he did not want to risk that the Traitors would search him and find it.”
The king shifted in his seat. “I want you to endeavour to establish a safe form of communication with him, Ambassador Dannyl.”
Dannyl nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
“I know you will. I will delay you no longer.” The king rose and, as Dannyl stood up, indicated Dannyl should walk beside him as they headed toward the door. “I regret that this situation occurred at all. We should have anticipated that the Traitors might turn their attention to the Guild at some point. But I am glad your assistant is alive and in no immediate danger.”
“Thank you, your majesty. I am, too.”
They reached the door and stepped into the corridor.
“How is your new assistant, Lady Merria, settling in?”
Dannyl smiled grimly. “Well, and adapting quickly.” She’s already bored with the lack of work to do, Dannyl wanted to add. Perhaps … perhaps I can ask her to consider how we might contact Lorkin.
The king shook his head. “I’d have advised strongly against a woman as your assistant, since she will have difficulty interacting with Sachakan men, but I would once have also reasoned that a woman would be a more likely target for the Traitors, and I have been proven wrong in that. I may be wrong about Lady Merria’s success here, too.”
“Your majesty is undoubtedly right in all other matters and I will always trust his wisdom, especially on Sachakan matters. That is why I am giving her work that does not require her to deal with Sachakan men.”
The king chuckled. “You are a smart man.” He stopped at the door to the throne room, gesturing for Dannyl to continue inside alone. “Goodbye, Ambassador.”
“As always, an honour and pleasure to meet you, your majesty.” Dannyl bowed. As the king walked away he turned and re-entered the great hall.
Well, at least I now have something to give Merria to do. Though giving her an impossible task like finding a way to contact Lorkin without using the Traitors seems a bit cruel. But it’s
not as if she is interested in my research, and I can’t ask her to venture out alone into an Ashaki’s personal library to examine books for me anyway.
It wasn’t as if he’d had any invitations to any libraries himself lately, either. As far as his research was concerned, he was getting nowhere at all.
Sonea shifted the basket of bed sheets to her other hip, then tugged the hood of her cloak further down over her face. Though it was raining, and there was a chill to the air that warned of harsher days ahead, she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Maybe roaming the city in disguise would grow tiresome eventually, but for now she relished the freedom it gave her.
Not far from the hospice was a cleaner’s shop that tackled most of the washing for the hospice. It had been a long time since she’d made that arrangement with the owner, and the shop had changed hands a few times since then. The hospice helpers always delivered the laundry, so there was little chance anyone at the cleaner’s shop would recognise her – unless, of course, she had treated them or their family.
She ducked in through the open door and dropped off the basket quickly. There was no need to talk to anyone, and the staff were used to hospice workers being in a hurry. Next door was a sweet shop, and Sonea slipped through the door. She bought a bag of pachi fruit drops and spoke a code word. The middle-aged woman behind the counter waved her toward a door into a narrow passage.
Within a few steps she was knocking at another door. The number of taps had been agreed to weeks ago. A voice called out a code word and she pushed through into a small room bisected by a narrow desk.
“Greetings.” A barrel-chested man rose and bowed to her as best he could in the small space. “They are waiting for you.”
Sonea nodded and moved to a side door – she had to sidestep around the desk to reach it. Unlocking it with magic, she moved into a stairwell and locked the door behind her, adding a magical barrier stretched across the frame as an extra precaution.
The man in the small room was an employee of Cery’s. As far as Sonea could tell, he was the husband of the sweet shop woman, and arranged debt collection. Descending the short staircase, Sonea entered a room not much bigger than the one above, furnished with only two chairs. Cery was sitting in one, but neither Gol nor Anyi had taken the other.
Pushing back her hood, Sonea smiled at her old friend and his bodyguards.
“Cery. Gol. Anyi. How are you all? What are you grinning at, Cery?”
Cery chuckled. “It’s always nice to see you in something other than those black robes.”
She ignored him and looked at Anyi and Gol. Both shrugged. They looked a little cold. The room was definitely chilly. She drew some magic and channelled it out as heat. Both bodyguards frowned, looked around, then turned to regard Sonea thoughtfully. Sonea smiled and sat down.
“I hope you’ve had some ideas on how to lure Skellin into revealing how far from Imardin he is,” she said, looking at Cery. “Because I haven’t.”
He shook his head. “None that don’t rely on people I can’t trust, or that will risk too many lives. I’ve lost too many allies. Even those that still deal with me are taking advantage of my problems. Gol has had several offers of employment.”
“Me, too,” Anyi said. “Just this afternoon. In fact, it gave me an idea.”
All turned to regard her. Cery’s daughter looked too young to be a bodyguard. But then, these days Sonea felt most graduating novices looked too young to be considered responsible adults.
“Go on,” Cery said.
“What if I took up one of the offers?” Anyi said, her eyes gleaming. “What if I pretended to be fed up with working for you, and decided I was never going to get anywhere working for the least powerful Thief in the city? I could take a job and spy for you.”
Cery stared at his daughter. His face did not appear to move, but Sonea saw subtle shifts in his expression: horror, fear, caution, speculation, guilt.
“They’d never trust you enough to put you anywhere you’d learn something useful,” he told Anyi.
Why doesn’t he just say “no”, Sonea wondered. But as Gol glanced at Cery his expression was full of warning. He knows Cery has to tread carefully. Perhaps if Cery blocks Anyi outright she’ll be more likely to defy him. Like Lorkin had been inclined to do to Sonea, from time to time.
Anyi smiled. “They will if I betray you,” she said. “I could tell someone where to find you, perhaps. Of course, you’ll know and can arrange an escape plan.”
Cery nodded. “I’ll consider it.” He looked at Sonea. “Anything from Lorandra?”
Thinking of Skellin’s mother, locked away in the Dome, Sonea winced. “Some of the Higher Magicians don’t like me talking to her, and I suspect Administrator Osen only agrees to it because he thinks it would be cruel if nobody ever spoke to her. Kallen told us that she doesn’t know where Skellin is so they can’t see why I bother questioning her. They don’t see that mind-reading has limits, and that she may be able to guess where her son is if prompted. I doubt I’ll ever get permission to read her mind myself.” She shook her head. “And talking to her is all I do. She never says a word.”
“Keep at it,” Cery advised. “Even if you feel ridiculous asking the same questions over and over again. It has a way of wearing a person down.”
Sonea sighed and nodded. “If it doesn’t wear me down first.”
He smiled grimly. “Nobody said interrogation was easy. You’re not the one locked up, though. She’s got to be fed up with being shut away in a stone room for so long.”
“We have little other choice. There’s been talk of building a prison somewhere on the Grounds, but that could take several months.”
“Why don’t they just block her powers?”
“Same reason they were reluctant to read her mind. It could offend her people.”
Cery’s eyebrows rose. “She broke the laws of our country and plotted, with her son, to take over the city’s underworld and enslave magicians. The Guild is worried about offending her people?”
“Yes, it’s ridiculous. But I expect she’ll be even less cooperative if we block her powers.”
“She might be more cooperative, if you suggested you might remove the block later.”
Sonea looked at Cery reproachfully. “Lie to her?”
He nodded.
“You Guild types are far too squeamish,” Anyi said. “Things would be a lot easier if you weren’t always worried about rules and lying to enemies or offending people.”
“As if the life of a Thief is any different,” Sonea pointed out.
Anyi paused. “I guess that’s true, but your rules force you to be so darn nice all the time. Nobody expects a Thief to be nice.”
“No.” Sonea smiled. “But how different do you think the Allied Lands would be if magicians weren’t forced to be nice.”
Anyi frowned, opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“The word ‘Sachaka’ just popped into my mind,” Gol muttered.
The young woman nodded. “I see what you mean. But perhaps there are times for being a little less nice to avoid something really nasty happening. Like Skellin getting control of the city.”
Anyi looked at Sonea expectantly. Sonea suppressed a sigh. She has a point. She looked at Cery.
“I’ll talk to her again,” she promised. “But I won’t deceive her unless there isn’t any alternative. Even little betrayals tend to have nasty consequences later.”
CHAPTER 4
VISITING
Lilia picked up her bag and paused to look around her room. Like most University entrants from the lower classes, she had been astounded to find she would have an entire room to herself in the Novices’ Quarters. The rooms weren’t big by snootie standards, of course. They contained a bed, a cupboard, a desk and a chair. Bedclothes and robes were washed and the room cleaned by the servants.
She knew that several years ago, with the number of magicians diminished due to the war and that of novices growing rapidly after lowies had been
allowed to join the Guild, accommodation in the Novices’ Quarters had been quickly filled and novices from the Houses had been allowed to share empty rooms in the Magicians’ Quarters.
Not now. The Magicians’ Quarters were full again. Graduating lowies were given priority whenever rooms became available, since magicians from the Houses were more likely to have respectable homes in the city to live in. Some lowie magicians used their income from the king to buy or rent houses in the city, too.
The Novices’ Quarters were still too small, and the Guild had been forced to allow some of the snootie novices to live at home. They’d done so reluctantly, Lilia knew, because magicians weren’t supposed to involve themselves in politics and the Houses were always involved in politics. Removing snootie novices from their families helped to distance them from that world.
Naki was one of the snooties living at home. She said she hated it. Lilia didn’t quite believe her new friend, and it certainly didn’t put her off accepting an invitation to stay the night.
Do I have everything? She looked at her bag and considered the contents: some toiletries, nightclothes and a spare set of robes. We magicians don’t need much.
Turning to the door, she opened it and stepped out into the corridor. To her dismay, her friends from her class were walking past. Though they hardly paid much attention to her these days, now that they had paired up with the boys, they would notice anything unusual in Lilia’s behaviour. Lilia’s heart sank as they saw her and, noticing her bag, immediately looked curious.
Madie walked over, Froje following.