“Yes, Administrator.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Did Akkarin teach you how to read an unwilling mind?”
“Yes.”
“And you are sure what you saw in the spy’s mind was true?”
“I am sure.”
“Where were you on the night Lord Jolen died?”
“I was with the High Lord.”
Lorlen frowned. “What were you doing?”
Sonea hesitated. Now was the time to reveal herself. But Akkarin might have a reason for wanting her not to.
He wants someone who knows the truth to remain in the Guild.
What use will I be, though, with him dead? Better that we escape together. If the Guild needs our help, they can contact us through Lorlen’s blood ring.
“Sonea?”
One thing I am sure of. I can’t let them kill Akkarin.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her eyes to meet Lorlen’s.
“He was teaching me black magic.”
Gasps and exclamations filled the hall. In the edge of her vision she saw Akkarin turn to stare at her, but she kept her eyes on Lorlen. Her heart was pounding, and she felt sick, but she forced herself to continue. “I asked him to teach me. He refused at first. It was only after he had been injured by the Ichani spy that I—”
“You learned black magic willingly?” Vinara exclaimed.
Sonea nodded. “Yes, my lady. When the High Lord was injured, I realized there would be nobody with the ability to continue fighting if he died.”
Lorlen glanced at Akkarin. “Now there won’t be.”
His words sent a chill down her spine. Clearly Lorlen had understood what Akkarin had been trying to do. Knowing that she had been right in her suspicions gave her only a bitter satisfaction.
Looking at Akkarin, she was shocked to see the anger in his face. She quickly looked away. I said I would do as he instructed. She felt doubts beginning to gather. Was I wrong? Did I just ruin some plan I wasn’t clever enough to see?
But surely Akkarin had realized she would understand that he was sacrificing himself so that she could remain in the Guild. He must have considered that she might refuse to abandon him.
“Sonea.”
Heart still pounding, she forced herself to look at Lorlen.
“Did Akkarin kill Lord Jolen?”
“No.”
“Did he kill the witness?”
Her stomach fluttered at the question. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen this witness, so I couldn’t tell you. I can say that I have never seen him kill a woman.”
Lorlen nodded and looked up at the Higher Magicians. “Any further questions?”
“Yes,” Balkan said. “When we arrived at Akkarin’s residence, neither you nor Akkarin were there. You arrived together later. Where did you go?”
“We went into the city.”
“Why?”
“To deal with another spy.”
“Did Akkarin kill this spy?”
“No.”
Balkan frowned at her but remained silent. Lorlen looked at the Higher Magicians, then turned to regard the rest of the hall.
“Does anyone have any more questions?”
Silence answered him. Sonea breathed a sigh of relief. Lorlen nodded.
“We will now discuss what we have—”
“Wait!”
Lorlen turned to the front. “Yes, Lord Balkan.”
“One more question. For Sonea.”
She forced herself to meet Balkan’s gaze.
“Did you kill this Ichani woman?”
Cold swept over her. She looked at Akkarin. He was staring at the floor, his expression hard and resigned.
What difference would it make to tell them? she thought. Only to show that I believe what he says is the truth. She lifted her chin and stared back at Balkan.
“Yes.”
The hall filled with exclamations. Balkan sighed and rubbed his temples.
“I told you not to let them stand together,” he muttered.
18
The Guild’s Judgment
As soon as Lorlen called for another break for discussion, Dannyl hurried to Rothen’s side. He had seen his friend react to Sonea’s admission as if he had been struck a physical blow. Now Rothen stood staring at the floor.
Dannyl reached his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You two never stop surprising me,” Dannyl said gently. “Why didn’t you tell me the real reason you lost Sonea’s guardianship?”
Rothen shook his head. “I couldn’t. He might have... well, I guess he has now.” He looked at Sonea, then sighed. “This is my fault. I convinced her to join the Guild in the first place.”
“No, it isn’t. You couldn’t possibly know this would happen.”
“No, but I made her question her beliefs when she first came here. I taught her to look beyond them, so she would accept her place among us. She probably did the same for... for...”
“What if all this is true? Then she had good reasons for what she did.”
Rothen looked up, his expression bleak. “Does it matter? She just ensured her own execution.”
Surveying the room, Dannyl noted the expressions of the Higher Magicians, then the King. They looked wary and anxious. Then he looked at Sonea and Akkarin. Sonea stood straight and determined, though how much of that was forced he couldn’t guess. The High Lord’s expression was... controlled. Looking closer, Dannyl read anger in the set of Akkarin’s jaw.
He hadn’t intended for Sonea to reveal so much, Dannyl mused.
But, despite this, he and Sonea now stood closer together. A few steps, and they would be side by side. Dannyl nodded to himself.
“I don’t know if she has, Rothen.”
Once the Higher Magicians had returned to their seats, they began to relate what the members of their disciplines had expressed. Lorlen listened closely.
“Many find his story hard to believe,” Vinara said, “but some have pointed out that, if he was seeking to justify his actions with a fabricated story, surely he would come up with something more convincing than this.”
“My Warriors also find it disturbing,” Balkan added. “They say we cannot ignore the possibility that he speaks the truth, and we face a threat of attack from Sachaka. We must investigate further.”
Sarrin nodded. “Yes, my people agree. Many have asked if there is information in the books we might use to defend ourselves, should an attack come. I fear there is not. If Akkarin is telling the truth, we may need him.”
“I, too, would like to question Akkarin further,” Balkan said. “I would normally ask that he be detained until his claim is proven.”
“We cannot imprison him effectively,” Vinara reminded him.
“No.” Balkan pursed his lips, then looked up at Lorlen. “Do you think he would cooperate?”
Lorlen shrugged. “He has up till now.”
“That doesn’t mean he will continue to,” Vinara said. “For all we know, we could be doing everything he intended us to do. He might become very unhelpful if we took a different path.”
Sarrin frowned. “If he wanted to take control of us by force, he would have attempted it already.”
“That clearly isn’t what he wants,” Balkan agreed. “Though this whole story of Sachakan magicians might be meant to confuse and delay us.”
“Delay us for what?” Sarrin asked. Balkan’s shoulders lifted. “I have no idea.”
“But we cannot let him go,” Vinara, said firmly. “Akkarin has freely admitted to practicing black magic. Whether he committed the murders or not, we cannot show any tolerance for someone of his standing breaking one of our most serious laws. Akkarin must be seen to be punished.”
“The appropriate punishment is execution,” Sarrin reminded her. “Would you continue cooperating if you knew that was to be your punishment?”
“No doubt he would object to us trying to bind his powers, too.” Vinara sighed. “How strong is he, Balkan?”
The Warrior considered. “That depends. Is he telling the truth? He said a black magician with ten slaves could grow to the strength of hundreds of Guild magicians in a matter of weeks. He has been back eight years, though he claims he did not begin using it again until five years ago. Five years is a long time to be strengthening oneself, even if it was only from one servant—until recently.”