But they were impossible to hurry. Rothen sighed and glanced back at Raven, but the spy was dozing among the sacks of cloth in the cart, a wide-brimmed hat covering his face. Rothen allowed himself a smile and turned his attention back to the road. The previous night, they had hired rooms above a bolhouse in a town called Coldbridge. The spy, posing as Rothen’s cousin, had drunk more bol than anyone ought to be able to, then spent the night swaying from his bed to the piss drain and back again.
Which probably meant Raven was doing a much better job at playing the part of intrepid merchant than Rothen was. Or am I supposed to be the sensible older cousin?
Rothen adjusted his shirt. The closely fitting garment was much less comfortable than robes. He was grateful for his traveller’s hat, however. Though it was early morning, the day was promising to be a hot one.
A haze of dust hung in the air over the road and blurred the horizon. No mountains had appeared in the distance, though he had been travelling for two days. Rothen knew that the road ran near-straight to Calia, where it split into two. Turn left and it took you north to the Fort; turn right and you headed northeast to the South Pass. That was where he and Raven were headed.
It seemed strange to be travelling northeast to a southern pass, Rothen mused. The route was probably named for its location in the mountains, not for its general position in Kyralia. He had come close to it once, while visiting his son during the summer break five years ago.
He frowned as he thought of Dorrien. His son was watching the road to the Pass, and a meeting was inevitable. Rothen would have to explain where he was going, and why, and Dorrien wasn’t going to like it.
He will probably try to join us. Rothen snorted quietly. That’s an argument I’m not looking forward to.
It would be several days before he faced his son, however. Raven had said it took six or seven days to reach the South Pass by cart. By then Sonea will have been in Sachaka for fifteen days, Rothen thought. If she stays alive that long.
He had been relieved to hear from Lorlen that Akkarin had contacted the Higher Magicians, now five days ago. Sonea had been alive. Lorlen had also described an overheard discussion between two Sachakans that disturbed Rothen greatly. Whether the strangers were Ichani or not, they clearly wanted Akkarin and Sonea dead.
“They called them ‘the Kyralians,’ ” Lorlen had said. “I hope this doesn’t mean they’ll treat all Kyralians entering Sachaka the same way. Kyralian merchants have been making the journey to and from Arvice safely for years, though, and say they see no reason why that might have changed recently. Just be careful.”
“Someone’s approaching,” Raven said. “From behind us.”
Rothen glanced at the spy. The man shifted slightly, and one eye appeared beneath the brim of his hat. Looking down the road, Rothen realized that he could see movement beyond the dust stirred up by their passing. Horses and riders emerged from the cloud, and Rothen felt his pulse quicken.
“Magicians,” he said. “Balkan’s reinforcements for the Fort.”
“Better move to one side of the road,” Raven advised. “And keep your head down. You don’t want them recognizing you.”
Rothen pulled gently on the reins. The gorin tossed their heads halfheartedly, and slowly moved to the left side of the road. The sound of drumming hoof beats drew nearer.
“Feel free to gawk, though,” Raven added. “They’ll expect that.”
The spy was sitting up now. Rothen turned and peered under the rim of his hat at the approaching magicians. The first to pass the cart was Lord Yikmo, the Warrior who had been Sonea’s special tutor last year. The magician did not even glance at Rothen and Raven as he passed.
The other magicians thundered by, kicking up a dense cloud of dust in their wake. Raven coughed and waved a hand.
“Twenty-two,” he said, climbing onto the seat beside Rothen. “That’ll double what’s at the Fort. Is the Guild sending magicians to the South Pass?”
“I don’t know.”
“Good.”
Rothen looked at Raven, amused.
“The less you know, the less an Ichani can learn from you,” the spy said.
Rothen nodded. “I do know that the South Pass is being watched. If the Ichani enter there, the Guild will be alerted. Those at the Fort should have time enough to ride back to Imardin and join the Guild. The distance is about the same, from either pass.”
“Hmmm.” Raven clucked his tongue, as he had a habit of doing when he was thinking hard. “If I were these Ichani, I would use the South Pass. There are no magicians there, and no Fort, so they can enter without using any power in fighting. That doesn’t bode well for us, I’m afraid. Though...” He frowned. “These Ichani do not know how to fight as one. If the entire Guild faces them, it may be able to kill one or two. If the Guild is split, however, there is no danger of that. The Fort may be the better option.”
Rothen shrugged and turned his attention to guiding the gorin back from the side of the road. Raven spent a little time in thoughtful silence.
“Of course, the Ichani may be an invention of the former High Lord,” he said eventually, “created simply to convince the Guild to let him live. And your former novice believed him.”
Seeing his companion’s sidelong look, Rothen scowled. “So you keep reminding me.”
“If we are to work effectively together, I need to know what is between you and Sonea, and her companion,” Raven said. His tone was respectful but also determined. “I know it is not simple loyalty to the Guild that motivated you to volunteer for this mission.”
“No.” Rothen sighed. Raven would keep prying until he was satisfied he had all the information he could get. “She means more to me than just another novice. I took her from the slums and tried to teach her how to fit in.”
“But she didn’t.”
“No.”
“Then Akkarin took her hostage, and you couldn’t do anything about it. Now you can.”
“Maybe. It would be nice if I could just slip into Sachaka and take her back.” Rothen glanced at the spy. “Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as that.”
Raven chuckled. “It never is. Do you think Sonea might be in love with Akkarin?”
Rothen felt a flash of anger. “No. She hated him.”
“Enough to learn forbidden magic and follow him into exile, to ensure he survived long enough for, as she put it, the Guild to come to its senses?”
Taking a deep breath, Rothen pushed away a nagging fear. “If she believes these Ichani exist, it would have been easy for him to convince her to do all those things for the sake of the Guild.”
“Why would he, if the Ichani weren’t real?”
“So she would follow him. He needs her.”
“What for?”
“Her strength.”
“Why teach her black magic, then? That gained him nothing.”
“I don’t know. She said she asked him to. Perhaps he could not refuse without losing her support.”
“So now she’s potentially as powerful as he. If she discovered he was lying, why wouldn’t she return to Imardin, or at least tell the Guild?”
Rothen closed his eyes. “Because... just because...”
“I know this is distressing,” Raven said in a low voice, “but we must examine all the possible motivations and consequences before we meet them.”
“I know.” Rothen considered the question, then grimaced. “Just because she has learned black magic, doesn’t mean she is powerful. Black magicians grow stronger by taking energy from others. If she hasn’t had the opportunity to do that, Akkarin may be much more powerful than her. He may also be keeping her weaker by taking all her strength from her each day—and he may have threatened to kill her if she communicates with the Guild.”
“I see.” Raven frowned. “That doesn’t bode well for us either.”