The words on the page before Dannyl were as grey as an overcast sky. Tayend had given Dannyl his meagre supply of remaining ink and, since neither the slaves nor Merria had managed to bring any more into the Guild House, Dannyl had to thin out what was left with water. Following Tayend’s advice, he now locked his research notes away with magic whenever he was done working on them.
A movement drew his attention to the doorway in time to see Kai throw himself on the floor.
“A carriage from the palace has arrived, master,” the slave said.
Achati again. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. This doesn’t get easier. Opening his eyes, he dried the ink on the page, cleaned his pen, stowed everything away in a drawer and protected it all with magic. Dismissing Kai, he straightened his back and made his way to the Master’s Room.
The door slave was literally hopping from one foot to another, until he saw Dannyl and dove face-first onto the floor.
“Lord Lorkin has returned, master!” he declared.
Dannyl’s heart skipped a beat. “Lorkin?”
He hurried forward, but Sonea’s son was already emerging from the entrance corridor. As the young man entered the room Dannyl felt a chill run down his spine. Something has happened to him, he thought, though he wasn’t sure how he knew. Dannyl looked Lorkin over. There was no sign of injury, though it was hard to tell when Guild robes concealed so much. Other than dark shadows under his eyes suggesting a lack of sleep, Lorkin looked well.
“Ambassador Dannyl,” he said.
“You’re free!” Dannyl had to resist an urge to hug the young man, instead grasping Lorkin’s arm in the usual gesture of Kyralian greeting. “What happened? King Amakira let you go?”
“Yes,” Lorkin replied.
“Do you know why?”
Lorkin looked away. “He didn’t say.”
Dannyl stepped back. Lorkin’s voice was flat and expressionless. He should be relieved. Puzzled by his unexpected release. Angry that he’d been imprisoned in the first place.
“Come sit down.” Dannyl ushered Lorkin to the seats, but the young magician didn’t sit down. “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Did they read your mind? Or attempt to?”
“No.”
“Lord Lorkin! I thought I heard your name.”
They both looked up to see Tayend standing in the doorway. The Elyne hurried forward, reaching out toward the young magician as if to hug him but, Dannyl was amused to see, letting his arms drop to his sides at the last moment. He gave Lorkin a critical look.
“You don’t look too bad, for someone who has been locked up in a prison,” he observed. “But they wouldn’t have dared harm you physically. How are you feeling?”
Lorkin shrugged, but his eyes betrayed the same wary evasiveness Dannyl had noted earlier. “Tired. Hungry. I could do with a bath.”
Tayend sniffed and smiled. “You’re right about that. I don’t imagine the palace prison contains hot tubs. Let’s get you to our perfectly civilized Guild House ones. I’ll have the slaves prepare you something nourishing and fetch you some clean robes.”
Lorkin nodded, but before he succumbed to the Elyne’s attempts to usher him out of the room he reached into his robes and turned to Dannyl. Wordlessly, he drew out a scroll. Dannyl noted King Amakira’s seal before looking up at the young man again. Lorkin’s eyes were hard and knowing.
Then he turned away and left.
Dannyl sat down and broke the seal. It was an official order from the king and simply declared that Lorkin was forbidden to leave the Guild House. No reason was given for his release from the palace prison. No mention was made at all of his incarceration. What did I expect? An apology?
Tayend returned to the room and sat down next to Dannyl.
“He’s not all right,” the Elyne murmured.
“No,” Dannyl agreed.
“Whatever they did to him — or forced him to do — he is not ready to talk about it. I will keep an eye on him and let you know if he tells me about it — if he doesn’t make me promise to keep it a secret, of course.”
“Of course.”
“So what does it say?” Tayend nodded at the scroll.
“Lorkin is forbidden to leave the Guild House.”
Tayend nodded. “He’s not completely free, then.” He reached out and patted Dannyl’s arm. “He’s out of that place. That, at least, is a good thing.” He stood up. “I have to report this. You had better tell Administrator Osen.”
Dannyl watched Tayend hurry away, and managed a sad smile. If Lorkin did prove reluctant to talk about what had been done to him in the prison, or had some guilty secret to admit to, Tayend was the one most likely to coax it out of him. He could be uncannily perceptive when it came to other people’s troubles. Except when it came to our troubles, Dannyl reminded himself.
I hate to think it, but I hope Lorkin isn’t here because they forced him to betray the Traitors. It could be very bad for them — and might be for us, if whatever Lorkin and Osen were communicating about involved us working with the them.
Osen. As Tayend had pointed out, the Administrator would want to know Lorkin had returned. Reaching into his robes, he drew out Osen’s blood ring, took a deep breath, then slipped it on his finger.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Sonea exclaimed under her breath as she looked up at the Stayhouse sign.
“What is it?” Regin asked.
She said nothing, because a stocky man had appeared in the doorway.
He bowed. “My Lord and Lady! Come in! Come in!” the man said. “I am Fondin. Welcome to Fergun’s Rest, the finest Stayhouse in Kyralia.”
She heard Regin chuckle, but he said nothing as she moved through the doorway. As always, the ground floor was a dining and drinking area. It was busy despite the late hour, the room echoing with many voices. The clothing of the customers suggested they were locals and had dressed up for an occasion. A few looked up at her and Regin, and their eyes went wide with surprise.
“Please sit a moment and rest,” Fondin invited them, gesturing toward a quieter corner. “Do you need one room or two?”
“You’re busy tonight,” Sonea observed.
“Yes. We’re hosting a celebration and there are many who have come from afar,” Fondin said. “But don’t worry about the noise. We’ll finish up at a decent hour and then it’ll be nice and quiet here.”
As if on cue, the room began to quieten. Sonea heard hissed whispers. Fondin turned back to them, then his eyes dropped to Sonea’s robes and widened. He’d obviously not noticed the colour in the dim light outside. Even in the subdued lamplight, she could see his face grow pale.
“What is the reason for the celebration?” she asked.
“W-w-w-wedding,” Fondin stuttered.
“Then pass on my congratulations to the bride and groom.” Sonea smiled. “Are they staying here tonight?”
“N-n-n…” Fondin took a deep breath and straightened. “No, they’ll be off to their new house tonight.”
But many of the wedding guests would be staying here, she guessed.
“A new home as well. Well, we won’t take up much more of your time. I’m sure we can manage in one room,” Sonea told him. “With separate beds and a privacy screen, of course. We’ll eat there so you can keep your full attention on your guests. Could you show us straight to the room?”
Fondin nodded, then, for good measure, bowed deeply before whirling around and leading them upstairs. He paused at several doors, wringing his hands, then with obvious reluctance led them to a room at the end of the corridor. As he opened the door Sonea was pleased to see it was a rather plain room, with a single one-person bed, but no signs of current occupants. She had been worried he’d throw guests out of one of their rooms, or that none of the rooms were empty. Stayhouses along major routes were paid by the Guild to keep one room free at all times, and everyone expected it would be their best room, but it must be tempting to put guests in there on busy nights, especially on lesser-used routes like this one.
“This will do,” she told him.
“I’ll have another bed and a screen brought in, my Lady,” he said, then hurried away.
She entered the room, and Regin followed.
“Should I offer to sleep on the floor?” Regin asked.
Sonea turned to see him smiling. “I won’t spoil anybody’s night by insisting on having the best room, or two rooms, but sleeping on the floor is going a bit too far.”
Before long the arrangements had been made. A generous meal and a bottle of wine were laid out on a small table. The wine was very good. Too expensive even for a local wedding, Sonea suspected. More likely the Guild had ensured a supply of decent wine was kept here for its members.
“Do you have more of this wine?” she asked the young woman when she returned to collect the dishes.
“Yes, Lady.”
“Are the newly-weds still here?”
“About to leave, Lady.”
“Give them a bottle as a wedding gift.”
The young woman’s eyes widened. “Yes, Lady.”
Regin’s pursed his lips, then to Sonea’s surprise he slipped out of his chair and quietly followed the woman downstairs. When he returned, Sonea raised an eyebrow at him.
“Just making sure the gift reached the recipients,” he said. He sat down. “So. Fergun’s Rest.” Regin frowned. “Didn’t he run away when the Fort was attacked by the Ichani?”
“He hid. Which was the only sensible thing to do.”
“And cowardly.” Regin shrugged. “Still, nobody knows how they’ll react when confronted by a real battle. Naming a Stayhouse after him?” He shook his head. “Tell me there are Stayhouses all over Kyralia named after magicians who died in the war, not just Fergun.”
“I don’t know. I hope so.” She grimaced. “It irks me more that a man who locked up my friend so that he could blackmail me has anything named after him, but that’s too personal a grudge to justify not honouring him among the rest of the dead.”
Regin looked at her. “Ah, that’s right. He wanted you dishonoured and thrown out of the Guild to ensure no lower-class people would join the Guild again.”
“Yes. He’d be horrified, if he were alive today, at the changes in the Guild.”
“You never know. He may have changed his mind, after the invasion. Lots of people did, you know.”
She looked up at him. He held her gaze for a moment. In his eyes was a hint of expectation. For what? For me to acknowledge he is a much better person now? Reassurance that I don’t hold a grudge still? Or to admit I have come to trust even him? Perhaps even like him? Well, maybe I shouldn’t go that far. She drew in a breath to speak.
— Sonea?
Administrator Osen’s voice in her mind made her jump. She let out the breath in a startled gasp. It was always surprising to be contacted through one of her blood rings, since she never knew when the other person was about to put it on.
— Osen!
— I have good news, Osen sent. King Amakira has released Lorkin.
Relief rushed through her, followed by a new anxiety.
— Is he all right?
— Yes. We don’t think he was tortured or harmed, though Dannyl suspects the experience was harrowing.
— Will he be leaving for home soon? Should I meet and escort him?
— Amakira has forbidden him from leaving the Guild House.
— Oh.
Anger flared inside her, then a quieter puzzlement. Why release Lorkin then force him to stay in the country?
— At least he is one step closer to coming home. We will continue to insist Lorkin be allowed to return, through Dannyl.
— And myself?
— Yes. There is no need to change plans and you still have the other matter to attend to.
— Of course.
— Good luck. I will contact you if I learn more.
— Thank you.
A feeling of silence where his voice had been told her he had taken off the ring. She blinked as her eyes registered her surroundings again. Regin was watching her closely.
“Was it Lorkin or Osen?”
She stared at him. “How did you know Lorkin had one of my blood rings?”
His smile was lopsided. “As if you’d let him out of your sight without one.”
She nodded. “Yes, it wouldn’t be hard to guess that one correctly. It was Osen. Lorkin has been released, but the Sachakan king has forbidden him to leave the Guild House.”
Regin straightened. “That’s good news. Are we still travelling to Arvice, then?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed. “Not simply because you want to make sure he gets home?”
Sonea crossed her arms. “You think I’d disobey the Guild?”
“Yes.” He held her gaze, but was smiling. “But only for Lorkin’s sake.”
“I didn’t run off to save him when he first disappeared,” she reminded him. “Anyway, Osen’s orders were to continue with our plans.”
Regin nodded. “All of them?”
“Yes. What plans did you think we might abandon, at this point?”
He shrugged and looked away. “I don’t know. You said ‘plans’ not ‘plan’. We have only one official reason to be going to Sachaka.”
“With multiple possible outcomes to deal with.” Sonea rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Are you going to spend the entire journey looking for hidden objectives and secret motives in everything I say?”
“Probably.” Regin grinned. “I can’t help it. It’s a habit. It could be considered a talent. An annoying one, perhaps, but I do try to use it for good.”
Sonea sighed. “Well, don’t annoy me without good reason. That would not be good.”
“No.” He shook his head in emphatic, exaggerated agreement, his eyes bright with humour. She felt a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, until she recalled that he was right: there was another reason for their journey. She felt a brief but powerful urge to tell him about the meeting with the Traitors.
Not yet.
She sighed and finished her glass of wine. “Then I hope you don’t snore, because I’m used to working night shifts and wake up easily. If I don’t get a full night’s sleep I’m going to be cranky.”
He rose and started toward the bed on the other side of the screen. “Ah, Sonea. You ask for the one thing I can’t promise.”
Later that night she did find herself awake and listening to the sound of his breathing. It was not loud, but it was strange to be hearing someone else sleeping nearby.
And unexpectedly soothing, she realised.
Ever since the first time she had climbed down the hidden chimney between the panelling of Sonea’s main room and the outer wall of the Magicians’ Quarters, Lilia had wondered what its original purpose had been. All of the rooms had them, though she suspected none of the occupants knew of their existence. Bricks protruded at regular intervals up the narrow space, too convenient not to be intended as a kind of ladder.
Cery’s guesses included garbage chutes and latrine outlets. Fortunately, there was no sign that the gap had been used for either purpose for a long time, if ever. Lilia thought of them as chimneys, despite there being no sign of soot on the bricks or mortar.
Reaching the top, she peered through the spy hole Cery had drilled long ago. Sonea’s main room was unoccupied.
Where is Jonna?
Perhaps the servant had gone into one of the other rooms. Perhaps she had been called away. Lilia reached out to the latch, then hesitated. It was still possible that Jonna was in one of the bedrooms with a visitor, though Lilia could not think of any good reason a stranger would be in there with her… except a few scandalous ones that Lilia could not imagine Jonna indulging in.
She tapped on the panelling lightly, in a random pattern that anyone who didn’t know there was gap behind the wood might think was a bug scuttling across the surface. A moment later, Jonna hurried into the room, her eyes focusing on the hatch. Though she couldn’t see Lilia, she nodded and beckoned with one hand.
The latch slid open without a sound, then the door swung inward silently. Jonna stepped forward to help Lilia out. The hatch was slightly higher in the wall than was comfortable to step down from, not helped by the fact that she had to fold double to get through it.
“How are they all?” Jonna asked.
“Fine,” Lilia told her. “Grateful for your help. Is Black Magician Kallen back yet?”
“Yes, about ten minutes ago.”
Lilia headed for her bedroom to change back into her robes. “I’d better hurry up, then, or I’ll catch him in his bedclothes.”
Jonna made a small noise of amusement. “That would be an odd sight.”
Lilia grinned. “It sure would be.”
The simple trousers and shirt Jonna had found for her to wear when visiting Cery and Anyi were much easier to climb in, and she felt a wave of gratitude as she saw the scuffs and stains she’d gained that night. Better she spoil these than her robes.
Changing quickly, she returned to the main room.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” she said to Jonna. “You don’t have to hang around now. I’ll come straight back after talking to Kallen.”
Jonna shrugged. “I don’t mind staying.” She straightened and placed her hands on her hips. “I promised Sonea I’d keep an eye on you, and I won’t sleep right unless I know you’re back here in your bed at a decent hour.”
Lilia rolled her eyes and sighed. “Nobody ever worried about that when I was staying in the Novices’ Quarters.” But she didn’t mind. It was nice that someone cared enough to look out for her. I don’t want to take any longer with Kallen than I need to, anyway.
Slipping out of the main door into the corridor, she walked to Kallen’s rooms and knocked. A short pause later the door swung inward. At once she smelled the faint scent of roet smoke, but it was stale and faded as if emanating from the furnishings. Kallen was sitting in a large chair, a book in his hand and a look of mild surprise on his face.
“Lady Lilia,” he said. “Come in.”
She stepped inside, pushed the door closed and bowed. “Black Magician Kallen.”
“How can I help you?” he asked.
He had the patient expression of a teacher interrupted at a bad time by a novice. She resisted a smile. She was acting as messenger, not a novice, and the content was far more important than mere lessons.
“You know I occasionally meet Anyi, my friend and bodyguard of the Thief Cery,” she began, sitting down on another chair. “Without leaving Guild grounds,” she added quickly.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ve already told you that Cery is in hiding, and can’t maintain his…” She waved a hand, searching for the right term. “Business arrangements and… contacts.”
“Everyone in the city thinks he is dead.”
“It’s likely Skellin won’t believe Cery is dead unless he sees a body.”
Kallen nodded. “Or sufficient time passes.”
“This makes Cery the ideal bait to lure Skellin with. Which is his own idea,” she reassured him. “He said to tell you he is prepared to do it and proposes you meet with him to work out a place and time.”
“Hmm.” Kallen frowned and looked away. “That is a very generous and brave offer. One that I admire and appreciate and I’m sure the rest of the Guild would too, if they knew of it. One that we might take up.” He shook his head. “But not right now. We’re exploring another avenue. I can’t tell you the details yet, but if it succeeds we will not need to risk Cery’s life at all.”
Lilia felt a brief disappointment, then relief, followed by anxiety. “How long until you know? Cery’s hiding place is… well, it’s his last safe place. If Skellin discovers it, Cery won’t have anywhere else to go.”
“What we’re doing can’t be hurried. It may take weeks, or months. How long does Cery believe he can remain hidden?” Kallen asked.
Weeks! Months! Anger flared inside her, but when she looked at Kallen she saw genuine concern in his eyes. The anger ebbed away.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know. Skellin could find him tonight, he could find him in a few weeks. Getting food without being seen is difficult. Each time they go out it’s a risk.”
Kallen reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder briefly.
“I understand. We are doing everything we can, Lilia. Tell Cery we appreciate his offer, and may take it up if our other plans fail. In the meantime, he should do all he can to stay hidden.”
Lilia nodded, and sighed. “I’ll tell him. He won’t like it, though.”
“I don’t expect he will.” He gave her a sympathetic look, but it suddenly changed to a frown. “He won’t do anything foolish out of impatience, will he?”
She swallowed a bitter laugh. “I don’t think so, but he’s a Thief. He’s used to being in charge of his life.” Seeing Kallen’s eyebrows lower further, she shook her head. “Anyi and I will do all we can to talk him out of it, if he tries. And Gol is used to talking sense to Cery, I suspect.”
Kallen nodded. “Good.”
Getting to her feet, Lilia smoothed her robes. “I had better be going. Goodnight, Black Magician Kallen. I hope your plans are successful.”
He nodded. “Thank you. Goodnight Lady Lilia.”
As she turned toward the door it swung open. Stepping out into the corridor, she breathed the cleaner air outside with relief. Then her mood darkened again.
Cery isn’t going to like this. But I think he trusts… no, it’s more that he respects Kallen than trusts him… enough to wait and see if these other plans work. That wasn’t the main problem, though. How am I going to keep them fed and undiscovered for weeks — perhaps even months? Someone’s bound to notice something eventually.
She could only hope that, with Jonna’s help, they could prevent that, or for Kallen’s “other avenue” to succeed.