Well, I had a lot on my mind. A lot more than Regin knows. And while Cery knows about Lorkin’s abduction, I haven’t had a chance to tell him that Dannyl is in the midst of tracking Lorkin down right now.
When they arrived at their destination, a man had walked up to them and told them their host was waiting for them – just knock on the last door to the left down that alleyway. They’d entered the old butchery building, whose owner had been forced to move his business away when the area had grown more prosperous and finicky about its neighbours. It was used as a storehouse.
The sun was setting when we arrived. I was worried we were too late. I needn’t have rushed.
They’d been ushered into a surprisingly well-furnished room. An extraordinary-looking man had risen from one of the expensive chairs to bow to them. He was dark like a Lonmar, but with a distinct reddish tone to his skin, and strange, elongated eyes that put her in mind of drawings of the dangerous predatory animals that roamed the mountains.
He had no accent, however. He introduced himself as Skellin and offered them a drink. They’d declined. She assumed Regin was as reluctant to muddle his senses before a possible magical confrontation as she was.
Maybe I should have had that drink.
Skellin was clearly excited to meet them. When he had finally stopped exclaiming about being in the presence of real magicians –and the famous Black Magician Sonea herself, he told them of his history. He and his mother had left their homeland – a land far to the north – when he was a child. Faren, the Thief she had once agreed to use magic for in exchange for hiding her from the Guild, had raised him to be his heir. He remembered little of his homeland, and considered himself a Kyralian.
Sonea had begun to warm to him at this point, though she hadn’t forgotten that he was an importer of roet. Cery had arrived at last and Skellin grew serious. He explained his trap. The rogue, he had learned, worked for a roet seller who bought his supply from a worker in this building. They were due to pick up some more. But the timing was never sure. Sometimes they dropped by early in the evening, sometimes late. Skellin had men ready to tell him when she and the seller arrived. They had only to wait.
And wait we have, she thought. For hours and hours. All I want to do is get back to Osen and find out if Dannyl has caught up with Lorkin yet.
Instead, she and Regin had been urged to tell stories about the Guild. Skellin knew how she had become a magician, but not how Regin had come to join the Guild. Even though Regin’s story was hardly exciting or unusual, it clearly intrigued Skellin. He then wanted to know how their learning in the University was structured. Of the rules that they had to follow. Of the disciplines and what they involved.
It grew less pleasant when he urged them to describe the Ichani Invasion. “You must have amazing tales to tell,” the Thief had said, grinning. “I wasn’t there, of course. My mother and I hadn’t arrived in the country yet.”
Regin had saved her from revisiting the more painful time in her past by taking over the storytelling at that point. She wondered if he had guessed how difficult it would be for her. Either way, she felt even more gratitude toward him.
That’s three things I have to thank him for tonight, she thought. The cart, the coats and saving me from reliving some unpleasant memories. I had better...
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Skellin called out, and a lean man in black clothes opened the door.
“They’re here,” the man said, then backed out of the room again.
Sonea sighed with relief as quietly as she could manage. They all rose to their feet. Skellin looked at them in turn.
“Leave your coats here, if you wish. Nobody but my people and the rogue will see you.” He smiled. “I’m looking forward to seeing those famous powers of yours at work. Follow me.”
They filed through another door into a long corridor. Windows at the far end glowed faintly.
It’s nearly dawn. We’ve been up all night! She felt a stab of apprehension. Has Dannyl found Lorkin yet? What if Osen sent someone to get me and they discovered I’m missing? Even if he hasn’t, my allies at the hospice will have found it hard to stop the new Healer from looking for me to ask yet more questions.
Someone must have noticed my absence by now.
But if they had, it would not matter. When she and Regin returned to the Guild with the rogue there would be no more concealing her venturing outside of the hospices. If Rothen was right, nobody would care. Everybody’s attention would be on the discovery that a magician who not only wasn’t a member of the Guild but had actively been working for criminals had been living in the city.
If he was wrong, things were going to get very unpleasant for both of them.
Chapter 27
The Trap is Sprung
As Cery had followed Skellin, Sonea and Regin out of the room he’d made a mental note to apologise to Sonea, once they were alone, for the long night she had endured. Perhaps it was only because he’d known her for so long that he’d detected how uncomfortable she’d been with Skellin’s questions about the Ichani Invasion.
Though I’d have thought anyone clever enough to become a Thief as powerful as he was, in such a short time, would realise that she’d hardly want to talk about the battle that led to the death of the man she loved.
Cery had felt an overwhelming gratitude to Regin for taking over at that point and saving Sonea from telling the story, or refusing to. The irony of that wasn’t lost on him. Regin was not a person he’d have ever expected to thank for being considerate.
At the end of the long corridor they climbed stairs to the upper floor of the old building. Skellin led them to a closed door. He paused as he took hold of the handle and looked at Sonea and Regin.
“Ready?”
The two magicians nodded.
Skellin opened the door and stepped through, then moved aside quickly as if eager not to be caught between the magicians and their quarry. Cery followed Sonea and Regin into a room filled with crates, lit with lamps set around the room. Four people had turned to see who had entered. Three were men and one was a woman wearing a cloak, the hood up and shadowing all but the dark skin of her chin and jaw. Two of the men looked unconcerned and unsurprised at the interruption. The third man looked from Skellin to the magicians, his gaze dropping to their robes. He looked shocked and frightened.
But the woman’s reaction was the most dramatic. She backed away, then raised her arms as if to ward off a blow. The air vibrated faintly. Sonea and Regin exchanged a knowing look. That was some sort of magical attack, Cery guessed. The magicians turned their attention back to the woman. She yelped in surprise and tucked her arms in against her sides.
Or is that an involuntary movement? Cery thought. She looks as if something invisible is wrapped around her.
The magicians paused as if waiting for something, but nothing happened. Sonea glanced at Regin again, then walked over to the woman.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“F-Forlie,” the woman answered, her voice trembling.
“Did you know, Forlie, that all magicians in the Allied Lands must be members of the Magicians’ Guild?”
The woman swallowed audibly and nodded.
“Why aren’t you a member?” Sonea asked. There was no accusation in her voice, just curiosity.
The woman blinked, then her head turned toward Skellin. “I... I didn’t want to.”