Black Magician 03 - The High Lord

by Trudi Canavan

  "How so, Lord Sarrin?"

  The old magician stepped forward. "They reveal that black magic was not forbidden by the Guild until five centuries ago. Before then, it was in common use and was known as 'higher magic' After it was banned, records were rewritten or destroyed to eliminate reference to it. The books Akkarin possessed were buried under the University as a precaution against Kyralia facing a powerful enemy again."

  "So your predecessors intended for the Guild to relearn black magic if it was under threat?"

  "It appears so."

  The King considered that. Lorlen was pleased to see wariness and fear in the monarch's expression. No ruler would like the idea of giving magicians potentially limitless power.

  "How long would it take?"

  Sarrin spread his hands. "I don't know. More than a day. I believe Sonea learned it in a week, but with guidance from Akkarin. Learning from books may prove more difficult." He paused. "I would not recommend attempting such an extreme measure unless there was no other way."

  "Why not?" the King asked, though he seemed unsurprised.

  "We could save ourselves only to end up fighting the corrupting effects of black magic on our own people."

  The King nodded. "Yet black magic does not appear to have corrupted Akkarin. If he had intended to overpower the . Guild, and myself, he could have done it at any time in the last eight years."

  "That is true," Lorlen agreed. "Akkarin was my closest friend, from the day we met as novices, and I never found him to be dishonorable. Ambitious, yes, but not immoral or lacking in compassion." He shook his head. "The Guild is large, however, and I cannot guarantee that all magicians would be as restrained if they had access to limitless power."

  The King nodded. "Then perhaps only a few might learn it, those who were judged trustworthy ... but only if the situation proves desperate, as you say. Proof is the key, here. You must discover whether Akkarin's story is true or untrue." He looked at Lorlen. "Is there anything else that I should know?"

  Lorlen glanced at the others, then shook his head. "I wish we had more significant or reassuring news, Your Majesty, but we do not."

  "Then the rest of you may go. Stay with me a while, Administrator. I would question you further about Akkarin and his novice."

  Lorlen stepped aside and nodded to the others. They knelt briefly, then left the room. At a gesture from the King, the Advisors quietly moved away to chairs beside the door. He rose and crossed to the northern window.

  Lorlen followed at a respectful distance. The monarch leaned on the sill and sighed.

  "I have never found Akkarin to be anything but honorable," he murmured. "For the first time I find myself hoping that I was wrong about him, and have been proven a fool."

  "As do I, Your Majesty," Lorlen replied. "If he was telling the truth, we have just sent our best ally into the hands of our enemy."

  The King nodded. "Yet it had to be done. I do hope that he survives, Administrator, and not just because we may need him. I, too, valued him as a good friend."

  Pain was the first sensation Sonea became aware of when she woke. It was at its worst in her legs and back, but her shoulders and arms also felt bruised and sore. Concentrating on it, she realized it was the ache of muscles unused to exercise, and the cramping of others that had tried to brace themselves against the hard surface she was lying on.

  Drawing on her power, she Healed away the discomfort. As the ache receded, she grew aware of a nagging hunger. She wondered when she had last eaten, and memories of the previous night flooded in.

  Last thing I remember, I was in a cave with Akkarin.

  She opened her eyes slightly. Two walls of stone stretched up above her, drawing closer until they met. The cave. Keeping her eyes mostly closed, she looked toward the entrance. Akkarin was sitting a few steps away. As she watched, he looked at her and his mouth curled into that wry, half-smile she knew so well.

  He's smiling at me.

  She didn't know if he could see she was awake, and she didn't want him to stop smiling, so she stayed still. He continued to regard her, then looked away, signed and the smile was replaced with a frown of worry.

  She closed her eyes again. She ought to get up, but she did not want to move. Once she did, the day would begin and there would be more walking and climbing and running away from Ichani. And Akkarin would turn cold again.

  She opened her eyes fully and regarded him again. The skin of his face seemed tight, and looked bruised under his eyes. The shadow of stubble accentuated the angles of his jaw and cheekbones. He looked thin and tired. Had he slept at all? Or had he sat up all night watching her?

  His eyes snapped to hers and his expression became disapproving.

  "So. You're awake at last." He climbed to his feet. "Get up. We must get as much distance as possible between us and the Pass."

  Good morning to you, too, Sonea thought. She rolled and pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.

  "What time is it?"

  "Nearly dusk."

  She had slept all day. She considered the shadows under his eyes again.

  "Did you sleep?"

  "I kept watch."

  "We should watch in turns."

  He didn't reply. She moved to the entrance of the cave. The drop into the ravine made her head spin. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she felt the vibration of magic under her feet.

  "Let me do that," she offered.

  He ignored her. Magic lifted them both from the cave floor. She watched his face as they moved upward, noting the tension in his face. Tomorrow night she would insist on taking the first watch, she decided. Clearly she would not be able to rely on him to wake her up so he could sleep.

  As he set them down at the top of the cliff, his hand left her shoulder. She followed as he began searching the ground. Guessing he was looking for signs of the Ichani's passing, she hung back a little. After moving uphill for a few hundred paces, he stopped, walked back past her, and started in the opposite direction.

  Turning to follow, she looked up and drew in a short breath in amazement. The wasteland spread before her. Despite the muting of the dusk light, the colors of the land were still vivid.

  Dark, rust-colored soil lapped at the base of the mountains, but where rivers had eroded the land away, bands of black and pale yellow could be seen. If she looked closely, she could see a speckling of tussocky grass on the surface and, here and there, scraggly groves of trees grown twisted by the wind.

  It was a bleak landscape, yet there was a wild beauty to it. The colors were so intense and strange. Even the sky was a different blue.

  "It is as I feared. He continued southward instead of de­scending toward the wastes."

  She blinked in surprise as she saw that Akkarin was walk­ing toward her again. He passed her and continued up the slope again. She sighed and hurried after.

  A demanding climb followed. Akkarin seemed reluctant to levitate, preferring to climb up the stepped shelves of rock. He did not stop to rest, and by the time the last rays of the sun had left the mountains above, she was sore and weary again.

  She soon craved the relief of standing still. Or just to be able to keep up with his long strides. Perhaps, if she got him talking, he would slow down for a little while.

  "Where are we going?"

  Akkarin hesitated, but didn't stop or turn.

  "Away from the Pass."

  "And then?"

  "Somewhere safe."

  "Do you have a place in mind?"

  "Somewhere far from Sachaka and the Allied countries."

  Sonea halted and stared at his back. Away from Sachaka and Kyralia? He did not intend to stay close so he could help the Guild when the Ichani invaded? Surely he wasn't going to abandon Kyralia.

  It made sense, though. What else could they do? They weren't strong enough to fight the Ichani. Neither was the Guild. And the Guild wasn't going to accept their help any­way. What was the point of staying?

  Yet she could not believe he would give up so easi
ly. She could not give up so easily. She would fight, even if it meant she would probably lose.

  But what if that meant leaving Akkarin . .. ?

  Akkarin glanced back at her. "Actually, I intend to find Kariko's group and do a little spying myself," he said.

  "When I find them I will send images of what I see to the Guild."

  Sonea blinked, then shook her head. He had been testing her, then. The realization brought both relief and anger. Then she considered what he was saying, and felt her blood turn cold.

  "The Ichani will hear you. They'll know you're watch­ing," she said. "They'll—"

  He stopped and turned to regard her.

  "Why did you come, Sonea?"

  Sonea stared at him. His eyes glittered dangerously. She felt a stab of hurt, then a growing anger.

  "You need me more than the Guild does," she told him.

  His eyes narrowed. "Need you? I don't need a half-trained, disobedient novice to protect."

  Disobedient. So that is what he is so angry about. She straightened. "If that ill-considered plan you just told me is what you're truly intending to follow, then obviously you do need me," she retorted.

  His gaze flickered, but his expression did not soften.

  "Ill-considered or not, why should I include you in my plans when you're so disinclined to follow them?"

  She held his gaze. "I'm only disinclined to follow plans that will get you killed."

  He blinked, then stared at her intently. She made herself hold his gaze. He abruptly turned away and resumed climb­ing.

  "Your presence has complicated things. I cannot do what I intended. I will have to reconsider what I... we will do now."

  Sonea hurried after. "You didn't really intend to spy on the Ichani and communicate what you saw to the Guild, did you?"

  "Yes and no."

  "If they hear you, they will be able to work out where you are hiding."

  "Of course," he replied.

  And if they caught him, they would not enslave him. They would kill him. Suddenly Sonea understood what he had in­tended to show the Guild. A chill rushed through her.

  "Well, I guess showing them that will definitely convince the Guild the Ichani exist."

  He paused and straightened. "I did not mean to imply that I intended to sacrifice myself," he said stiffly. "The Ichani will not hear if I communicate through Lorlen."

  Lorlen's ring. She felt her face warm. "I see," she replied.

  I'm a fool, she thought. Well, I just managed to sound like one anyway. Perhaps it would be better if I kept my mouth shut.

  But as they continued to climb, she considered his plan. There was no reason why they couldn't still try it. She looked at his back and considered whether she should broach the subject again, but decided to wait. When they stopped next, she would ask if it could still work.

  Just as the growing darkness was beginning to make it difficult to see their way, they reached the base of a sheer cliff. Akkarin stopped and turned to regard the land below. He lowered himself to the ground and rested his back against the cliff. Sitting beside him, she caught the faint smell of his sweat. Suddenly she was very aware of his pres­ence, and of the silence between them. Now was the time to ask about spying on the Ichani, yet she could not make her­self speak.

  What is wrong with me? she asked herself.

  Love, a voice in her head whispered.

  No. Don't be ridiculous, she answered. I'm not in love. And he clearly isn't. I'm a half-trained, disobedient novice. The sooner I put these silly notions out of my mind, the bet­ter.

  "We have company."

  Akkarin lifted a hand and pointed. Following the direc­tion of his finger, Sonea found herself searching the land she had travelled the night before.

  A dark shape detached itself from the shadow of a boul­der far below. It was hard to estimate how far away it was. She had never needed to guess such distances in the city.

  The distant movements were strange, and definitely not human.

  "It's an animal," she said.

  "Yes," Akkarin replied. "A yeel. They are a smaller, do­mestic breed of limek. The Ichani train them to track and hunt. See, its owner follows."

  A figure stepped into the moonlight, pursuing the limek.

  "Another Ichani?"

  "Probably."

  She realized her heart was pounding, but not from any foolish notions of love. One Ichani in front, one behind.

  "Will he be able to track us?"

  "If her yeel finds our scent."

  Her? Sonea watched the figure. There was something about the walk that did seem feminine, she decided. She looked at Akkarin. He was frowning.

  "What now?"

  He looked up at the cliff. "I don't like wasting power lev­itating, but we will be safer higher up. We must find a crack or fold in the cliff to hide within as we go up."

  "And then?"

  "We find water and food."

  "Up there?" she asked skeptically.

  "It may seem desolate, but a little life can be found if you know where to look. It will grow easier the farther south we go"

  "So we're going south?"

  "Yes. South."

  He rose and extended a hand. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. As he turned away, his fingers slid from hers, leaving her skin tingling where he had touched her. Sonea looked down at her hand and sighed.

  Getting these silly notions out of her head was not going to be easy.

  Dannyl sighed with relief as the door to his room closed. He sat down in one of his guestroom chairs and reduced his globe light to a faint glow.

  At last he was alone. Now that he was, however, he found he didn't feel any better. He moved around the room rest­lessly, examining the furniture and the framed maps and plans he'd collected and hung on his walls years ago.

  I miss Tayend, he thought. I miss sharing a bottle of wine, and talking for hours. I miss sitting in our room working on our research. I miss . . . everything.

  He longed to tell Tayend about Akkarin's story. The scholar would work his way through every detail of it, teas­ing out hidden inconsistencies or meanings. He would see possibilities that others had never considered.

  But Dannyl was glad that the scholar wasn't here. If Akkarin's story proved to be true, Dannyl would rather Tayend was as far away from the Guild as possible.

  He considered everything he had been told about black magic in preparation for his position as Ambassador, and what he had learned from the Dem's book. By using it, a ma­gician could draw magical strength from others. A person gifted with magical talent had more power to take than one without it—but that did not mean that a magician was the better target. A magician, once defeated, would have little magic left to take. It was the person gifted with magical tal­ent who hadn 't been trained to use it who would be the most attractive victim.

  Which was exactly what Tayend was.

  Dannyl sighed. He felt as if he were being pulled in two directions. Though he longed to return to Elyne to make sure Tayend was safe, he did not want to abandon Kyralia and the Guild either.

  He thought of Rothen and smiled grimly. I might have joined this group of spies once. Now I hesitate, because I know how I would feel if Tayend left on such a dangerous mission. I wouldn 't do that to him unless there was no other choice.

  Sitting down at his desk, Dannyl drew out a sheet of paper, ink and a pen. He paused to consider what he could risk putting onto paper.

  To Tayend of Tremmelin:

  As you have no doubt heard, the Guild is in a state of up­heaval. I arrived to learn that the High Lord had been ar­rested for using black magic. You will appreciate how unfortunate the timing was in relation to our work, but while it created some problems, none have proven too troublesome so far.

  He went on to relate Akkarin's story, then explained that he could not return to Elyne until he knew the Guild was safe.

  I will be surprised, and not a little annoyed, if I am not free to return within the
next few months. While it is good to speak to Rothen again, I don't feel like I belong here now. Instead, I feel like a visitor waiting for the chance to return home. When this matter is settled, I will ask Lorlen if I may continue in the role of Guild Ambassador to Elyne perma­nently.

  Yours in friendship, Ambassador Dannyl.

  Sitting back in his chair, Dannyl considered the letter carefully. It was more formal than he would have liked, but he was not about to put on paper anything more personal. If there were people like Farand in the Allied Lands, employed to listen to magicians' mental conversations, there must also be people employed to intercept and read mail.

  He rose and stretched. It might be months before he could leave Kyralia. If Akkarin's claims proved to be true, the Guild would want to keep as many magicians in Kyralia as possible. He could be stuck here for a long time.

  If Akkarin was telling the truth, he thought with a shiver, I might never return to Elyne again.

  23

  Spies

  While outside the summer heat was slowly rising to its peak, the rooms inside the University were still pleasantly cool. Rothen relaxed in one of the large comfortable chairs in the Administrator's office and regarded his companions. Lord Solend, the historian, seemed a strange choice for a spy, but who would suspect the sleepy-looking old man of gathering intelligence for the Guild? The other spy, Lord Yikmo, was the Warrior Skills teacher who had trained Sonea.

  Solend was an Elyne, and Yikmo a Vin, making Rothen the only Kyralian magician chosen for the task. Rothen ex­pected this would make it harder for him to get information out of the Sachakans—if they did dislike Kyralians as much as Akkarin claimed.

  Lorlen drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. They were waiting to meet a professional spy, sent by the King, who would instruct them in the art of disguise and intelligence-gathering before they left for Sachaka in a few days. At a knock on the door, all turned to see who entered. A messenger strode into the room, bowed, and informed Lorlen that Raven of House Tellen would be late and offered his apologies.

  Lorlen nodded. "Thank you. You may go."

  The messenger bowed again, then hesitated and glanced around the room.