Royend followed Dannyl’s gaze, then straightened his shoulders. “Very well. I will show, you out.”
The day had been bright and warm, but darkness had brought a chill that Sonea could not banish, even by warming the air in her room with magic. She had slept well the last few nights, but this one was different and she couldn’t work out why.
Perhaps it was because Akkarin hadn’t been present all evening. Takan had met her at the door when she returned from classes to tell her that the High Lord had been called away. She had eaten dinner alone.
He was probably carrying out official duties at court. Yet her imagination kept placing him in darker parts of the city, tending to his secret arrangements with the Thieves or facing another spy.
Sonea stopped in front of her desk and stared down at her books. If I can’t sleep, she told herself, I may as well study. At least then I’d have something to occupy my mind.
Then she heard a noise outside her room.
Gliding to the door, she opened it a crack. Slow footsteps echoed softly in the far stairwell, growing louder. She heard them stop in the corridor, and then heard the click of a door latch.
He’s back.
Something loosened within her and she sighed with relief. Then she nearly laughed aloud. Surely I’m not worrying about Akkarin.
But was that so strange? He was all that stood between the Ichani and Kyralia. Worrying about him being alive and well was perfectly reasonable when considered in that light.
She was about to close her door when a new set of footsteps filled the corridor.
“Master?”
Takan sounded surprised and alarmed. Sonea felt a chill run across her skin.
“Takan,” Akkarin’s voice was barely audible. “Stay and I will give you this to dispose of.”
“What happened?”
The shock in the servant’s voice was clear. Before she could think twice, Sonea pulled open her door and padded down the corridor. Takan was standing in the entrance of Akkarin’s bedroom. He turned as she approached, his expression uncertain.
“Sonea.” Akkarin’s voice was low and quiet.
A tiny, weak globe light illuminated his bedroom. He was sitting on the end of a large bed. In the dim light his robes seemed to retreat into the darkness, leaving only his face and hands visible... and one forearm.
Sonea drew in a breath. The right sleeve of his robe hung strangely, and she saw that it had been cut open. A red mark ran down his arm from elbow to wrist. His pale skin was stained with streaks and smudges of blood.
“What happened?” she breathed, then added, “High Lord.”
Akkarin looked from her to Takan and snorted softly. “I can see I’ll have no rest until you have both heard everything. Come in and sit down.”
Takan stepped inside the room. Sonea hesitated, then followed. She had never seen inside his bedroom before. A week ago it would have terrified her to think of entering it. As she looked around, she felt a wry disappointment. The furniture was similar to hers. The paper screens that covered his windows were a dark blue, matching the border of a large carpet that covered most of the floor. The door to his cabinet was open. It contained only robes, a few cloaks and a longcoat.
As she turned to look at Akkarin again, she found he was watching her, a faint smile on his lips. He gestured to a chair.
Takan had taken a jug of water from a cabinet beside the bed. He produced a cloth from within his uniform, moistened it, and reached toward Akkarin’s arm. The High Lord plucked the cloth out of his hand.
“We have another spy in the city,” he said, wiping the blood from his arm. “But she is no ordinary spy, I think.”
“She?” Sonea interrupted.
“Yes. A woman.” Akkarin handed the cloth back to Takan. “That is not the only difference between her and the previous spies. She is unusually strong for a former slave. She has not been here long, and could not have grown so strong by killing Imardians. We would have heard, if she had killed people.”
“They prepared her?” Takan suggested. His hands gripped the stained cloth tightly. “Let her take strength from their slaves before she left?”
“Perhaps. Whatever the reason, she was ready for the fight. She let me think she was exhausted, then when I came close she cut me. She wasn’t quick enough to get a hold on my wound and draw power, however. After that, she tried to draw attention to our fighting.”
“So you let her escape,” Takan concluded.
“Yes. She must have thought I’d let her go rather than endanger the lives of others.”
“Or she knows you’d rather the Guild didn’t hear of magical battles in the slums.” Takan’s lips thinned. “She will be killing to strengthen herself again.”
Akkarin smiled grimly. “I don’t doubt it.”
“And you are weaker now. You’ve had little time to strengthen yourself after the last one.”
“That will not be a problem.” He looked at Sonea. “I have one of the Guild’s strongest magicians to help me.”
Sonea looked away, and felt her face warming. Takan was shaking his head.
“This sounds wrong to me. She is too different. A woman. No Ichani would free a woman slave. And she is strong. Cunning. Not like a slave at all.”
Akkarin regarded his servant closely. “You think she is an Ichani?”
“Possibly. You should prepare as if she was. You should...” He glanced at Sonea. “You should take an ally.”
Sonea blinked at the servant in surprise. Did he mean she should go with Akkarin when he faced this woman again?
“We have already discussed this,” Akkarin began.
“And you said you would reconsider it if they attack Kyralia,” Takan replied. “If this woman is Ichani, they are already here. What if she is too strong for you? You can’t risk losing your life, and leaving the Guild with no defense.”
Sonea felt her pulse quickening. “And two pairs of eyes are better than one,” she said quickly. “If I had come with you tonight—”
“You might have got in the way.”
That stung. Sonea felt a flare of anger. “You think so, do you? I’m just a soft novice like the rest. Don’t know my way around the slums, or how to hide from magicians.”
He stared at her, then his shoulders slumped and he began to laugh softly.
“What am I to do?” he asked. “You are both determined to wear me down on this.”
He rubbed his arm absently. Sonea looked down and blinked in surprise. The red wounds were now only pink. He had been Healing himself even as they spoke.
“I will teach Sonea only if this woman is Ichani. Then we will know they have become a real threat.”
“If she is Ichani, you may end up dead,” Takan said bluntly. “Be prepared, master.”
Akkarin looked up at Sonea. His eyes were shadowed, his expression distant and thoughtful.
“What do you think, Sonea? This is not something you should agree to without much careful consideration.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I have considered it. If there’s no other way, then I’ll take the risk and learn black magic. After all, what is the point of being a good, law-abiding novice if there is no Guild? If you die, the rest of us probably will, too.”
Slowly, Akkarin nodded.
“Very well. I do not like it. If there was another way, I would take it.” He sighed. “But there isn’t. We will begin tomorrow night.”
11
Forbidden Knowledge
Three yerim thumped spike first into the door of Cery’s office. Rising from his desk, he pulled out the scribe tools and returned to his seat. He stared at the door, then tossed the yerim again, one after another.
They landed just where he intended, at the points of an imagined triangle. Standing up again, he strolled across the room to retrieve them. Thinking of the merchant who was waiting behind that door, Cery smiled. What did the man make of this regular thudding on the Thief’s door?