“Lord Fergun.”
The magician stopped and looked over his shoulder. Two robed shadows were approaching. Feeling a sudden tension in his captor’s grip, Cery was not sure whether to be relieved or worried about the newcomers. Obviously, Fergun didn’t welcome their intrusion.
“Administrator,” Fergun said. “How fortunate. I was just coming to rouse you. I have discovered an intruder. He appears to have been attempting to reach the slum girl.”
“So I have been told,” the taller newcomer glanced at his companion.
“Will you question him?” Fergun sounded hopeful, yet his grip on Cery’s arm tightened.
“Yes,” the tall magician replied. He made a lazy gesture, and a ball of light flared into existence above them.
Cery felt warmth slide over him and the wind disappeared. Looking around, he could still see trees twisting about, but the three magicians stood undisturbed.
In the strong light, the magicians’ robes were brightly colored. The tall magician wore blue, his companion, an older man, wore purple, and Cery’s captor wore red. The tall magician looked down at Cery and smiled faintly.
“Do you want to talk to Sonea, Cery?”
Cery blinked in surprise, then frowned. How did this magician know his name?
Sonea must have told him. If she had wanted to warn Cery, she would have given them another name ... unless they had tricked it out of her, or read it from her mind, or ...
What did it matter? They had caught him. If they intended to do him harm, he was doomed anyway. He may as well see Sonea.
He nodded. The tall magician looked at Fergun. “Let him go.”
Fergun’s grip tightened before his fingers uncurled from Cery’s arm. The blue-robed magician gestured for Cery to follow, then started toward the magicians’ building.
The doors opened before them. Aware of the two magicians pacing behind like guards, Cery followed the tall magician up a short flight of stairs to the upper floor. They strode down a wide corridor to one of many plain doors. The older magician stepped forward to touch the handle, and the door swung inward.
Inside was a luxurious room with cushioned chairs and fine furniture. In one of the chairs sat Sonea. When she saw Cery, she smiled.
“Go on,” the blue-robed magician said. Heart still racing, Cery stepped into the room. As the door closed, he looked back and wondered if he had just walked into a trap.
“Cery,” Sonea breathed. “It’s so good to see you.” He turned to study her. She smiled again, but it quickly disappeared.
“Sit down, Cery. I asked Rothen to let me talk to you. I told him you would keep trying to rescue me unless I explained why I can’t leave.” She pointed to a seat.
He sat down reluctantly. “Why can’t you leave?” She sighed. “I don’t know if I can tell you in a way that makes sense.” She leaned back in the chair. “Magicians have to be taught how to control magic, and only another magician can teach it, because it has to be taught mind to mind. If they don’t learn to control it, the magic works whenever the magician feels something. The magic takes simple, dangerous forms, always stronger as it grows. Eventually ...” She grimaced. “I... I nearly died the day they found me, Cery. They saved me.”
Cery shivered. “I saw it, Sonea. The buildings—they’re gone.”
“It would have been worse if they hadn’t found me. People would have been killed. Lots of people.”
He looked down at his hands. “So you can’t come home.” She chuckled, a sound so unexpectedly cheerful that he stared at her in astonishment.
“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “Once I’ve learned Control I won’t be in danger anymore. I’m getting to know how things work here.” She gave him a wink. “So where are you hanging out now?”
He grinned. “Same old place. Best bolhouse in the slums.”
She nodded. “And your... friend? Is he still giving you work?”
“Yes.” Cery shook his head. “But maybe not once he finds out what I did tonight.”
As she considered that, the familiar lines of worry appeared between her brows. He felt something squeeze his heart so tightly it hurt. Clenching his fists, he looked away. He wanted to pour out all the guilt and fear he’d felt since her capture, but the thought that others might be listening kept the words choked within his throat.
Looking at the luxuries of the room, he consoled himself that she was being treated well, at least. She yawned. It was late, he remembered.
“I guess I had better go.” He rose, then stopped, not wanting to leave her.
She smiled, this time sadly. “Tell everyone I’m well.”
“I will.”
He couldn’t move. Her smile faded a little as he stared at her, then she waved toward the door. “I’ll be fine, Cery. Trust me. Go on.”
Somehow he made himself walk to the door and knock. It swung inward. The three magicians regarded him closely as he stepped into the corridor.
“Shall I escort our visitor to the gate?” Fergun offered.
“Yes, thank you,” the blue-robed magician replied.
A globe of light appeared above Fergun’s head. He looked at Cery expectantly. Glancing back at the blue-robed magician, Cery hesitated.
“Thanks.”
The magician nodded once in reply. Turning away, Cery started toward the stairs, the blonde magician following.
He considered Sonea’s words as he descended. Her signals made sense now. She had to wait until she had learned to control her magic, but once she had she would try to escape. He could do little to help her, except make sure she had a secure place to return to.
“Are you Sonea’s husband?”
Cery glanced up at the magician in surprise.
“No.”
“Her, ah ... lover, then?”
Cery felt his cheeks warming. He looked away. “No, just a friend.”
“I see. It was very heroic of you to come here.”
Deciding that he didn’t need to reply to that, Cery stepped out of the magicians’ building into the cold wind, and turned toward the garden. Fergun stopped.
“Wait. Let me take you through the University. It is a warmer journey.”
His heart skipped. The University.
He had always wanted to see inside the great building. Such an opportunity would never come again once Sonea escaped. Shrugging as if it made no difference to him, he started toward the back entrance of the enormous building.
His heart began to race as they climbed the stairs. They entered a room full of elaborately decorated staircases. The magician’s light vanished as he directed Cery through a side door and into a wide corridor which seemed to extend for an eternity.
Doors and passages lined the walls on either side. Looking around, Cery could not find the source of light. It was as if the walls themselves glowed.
“Sonea was quite a surprise to us,” Fergun said suddenly, his voice echoing. “We have never found any talent in the lower classes before. It’s normally restricted to the Houses.”
Fergun looked at Cery expectantly, obviously expecting conversation.
“It gave her a surprise, too,” Cery replied.
“This way.” The magician guided Cery into one of the side passages. “Have you ever heard of other dwells with magic?”
“No.”
They turned a corner, pushed through a door into a small room, then stepped through another door into a slightly wider corridor. Unlike the earlier passages, the walls were panelled with wood, and paintings hung at regular intervals.
“It’s quite a maze in here,” Fergun said, sighing a little. “Come, I’ll take you through a shortcut.”
He stopped beside a painting and reached behind it. A section of the wall slid aside, revealing a rectangle of darkness the size of a narrow doorway. Cery looked at the magician questioningly.
“I’ve always loved secrets,” Fergun said, his eyes bright. “Does it surprise you that we, too, have underground passages? This one comes out in the Inner Circle—a dry, windless journey. Shall we?”
Cery looked at the doorway, then at the magician. Passages under the Guild? This was too strange. He stepped back and shook his head.