But Naki only laughed again. A carefree, mischievous laugh. “I bet that gave them interesting dreams for months.”
Lilia chuckled. She tried to imagine Froje and Madie daydreaming about … no, don’t think about it.
“You want to know if it’s true.”
Lilia blinked in surprise, then turned her head to look at Naki.
Her friend met her eyes and smiled. “It is. And it is for you, isn’t it? Or … you’re not sure.”
Face burning with sudden heat, Lilia looked away. “I …”
“Go on. You can tell me.”
“Well … I think so … um … any advice about that?”
Naki turned over and pushed herself up into a sitting position. “My advice is to not worry about it.” She reached up and unhooked the brazier. It had stopped smoking. “Women have fallen in love with women for centuries. Men always assumed they were just close friends. Which is the opposite to men, who can’t be close friends for fear others will think they’re really in love.” She giggled, then got off the bed and beckoned. “Girls like us can keep secrets easily because nobody pays us the attention they should. Let’s go to the library.”
Lilia sat up, then paused and closed her eyes as her head began to spin. “The library? Why the library? Why now?”
“Because there’s something I want to show you before Father gets home. I want some more roet.”
“You keep roet in the library?”
“Father does.”
“Your father uses roet?”
Naki gave a humourless laugh. “Of course he does.”
She led the way out of her rooms and through corridors and down staircases. Lilia wondered what time it was. Late enough that there were no servants about, it seemed.
“My father’s family have lots of sordid habits,” Naki said. “For my uncle it was girls. I don’t mean he likes women a lot. I mean he likes little girls. The servants knew and kept me out of his way whenever he came visiting. Father never believed me when I told him.”
Lilia shuddered. “That’s horrible.”
Naki glanced back and smiled, but her eyes were hard. “Oh, he paid for it in the end.” She turned away and stopped at a door. “Here we are.”
She pushed through the door into an enormous room. Lilia could not restrain a gasp as she took in all the shelves stuffed with books and rolls of paper. She had learned quickly that Naki thought that appearing to be too interested in study was boring, but she couldn’t contain her awe and delight now.
“I thought you’d like it.”
Lilia looked at Naki, who was grinning widely, and pretended to look embarrassed.
Naki laughed. “You’re a terrible actor. Come see something.”
She headed for a glass-topped side table. Lilia saw that the glass covered a drawer-like cavity filled with very old books, scrolls, a few sculptures and some jewellery. Naki ran her hand down the narrow side. There was a soft click.
“Father has the top locked with both key and magic, but he’s not so powerful a magician that he’d waste magic protecting the whole case,” Naki murmured. She reached inside and drew out a small book, then handed it to Lilia.
The cover was soft skin, slightly powdery with age, and the title had worn off. Opening it, Lilia was disturbed by the brittle stiffness of the pages. They felt as if they would shatter if she attempted to bend them. The writing was faded but still readable, and in an old formal style that was not easy to read.
“What is it?”
“A book on how to use magic,” Naki said. “Most of it we know already. Magicians have learned a lot in the last seven hundred years.”
“Seven hundred,” Lilia breathed. “It’s amazing this is still intact.”
“It’s not that old. This is a copy of the original, and has been rebound several times.” Naki looked at Lilia closely. “There is one kind of magic in there that we don’t know. Can you guess what it is?”
Lilia considered. “Seven hundred years? Before the Sachakan War … oh!” She turned to stare at her friend. “You’re not serious!”
“Yes.” A single glint of light lit Naki’s dark eyes. “Black magic.” She took the book from Lilia and put it back in the case. “I told you my father’s family had some dark secrets.”
“They don’t … they don’t know black magic, do they?”
“No. Well, I don’t think they do. It wouldn’t be hard to hide, you know. Black Magician Sonea knew it for ages before the Guild found out, and they only found out about her because High Lord Akkarin got caught. And he was only caught because the Sachakans set him up.” She looked at the case. “I reckon you could keep it secret for all your life, and nobody would know. Now this is old.”
She reached inside and brought out a ring. It was made of gold and a pale stone was set into it.
“My grandmother on my mother’s side used to wear this. It was passed down to her by her grandmother, down the line of women for centuries. Mother told me that the stone is magical and she would teach me how to use it one day. Of course, she died before she had a chance to, and Father said I couldn’t have it.”
“What is it supposed to do?”
“She said it helped a woman to keep secrets.”
“Not much point unless you have a secret to hide.”
“Or someone to hide it from.”
“Have you tried to discover how it works?”
“Of course. It’s why I found a way to get to it. But I haven’t been able to find a way to test if it works, and the one secret I’m sure it won’t hide is whether it’s been stolen or not, so I have to put it back each time.”
“How could something like that work?”
“Who knows? I think it’s just a silly story my mother told me to keep me entertained.” Smiling wryly, Naki put back the ring and replaced the side of the case.
“Maybe your father doesn’t know black magic. After all, surely he’d wear the ring if it helps hide secrets – if it really does.”
Naki’s nose wrinkled as she thought about it. Then she shook her head. “I don’t think even he would try learning it. He’s not one for taking big risks.”
Lilia nodded in agreement, surprised at how relieved she was to hear Naki say so.
Her friend suddenly looked up and grinned. “Let’s steal more of Father’s roet!” Without waiting for an answer, she skipped away to the other side of the room, and Lilia followed.
CHAPTER 7
DECISIONS AND DISCOVERIES
Whenever the Higher Magicians met in the Guildhall without the rest of the Guild present, their voices echoed in a way that Sonea always found disturbing. She looked out at the two sets of tiered seating that lined the longer walls of the hall. Between was a long, empty space that was only occupied on the few occasions each year when novices were included in ceremonies. At the far end were two large doors. They were the original doors of the building, still sturdy despite being over six hundred years old and having spent a few hundred exposed to the elements before the University was built around the old hall.
The other end of the hall, known as the Front, was where Sonea and the Higher Magicians were seated. The steeply tiered chairs were reached by narrow staircases. Not only did this arrangement allow a good view of the hall for them all, but it made clear the hierarchy of power among the magicians. The topmost seats were for the king and his advisers. The next row down was for the Guild’s leader, the High Lord, and the two newest Higher Magicians – the black magicians.
I’ve never felt comfortable with the decision to put us up here, Sonea mused. While she and Kallen had the potential to become stronger than any other magician in the Guild, they had no greater power or influence than any other Higher Magician. They were forbidden to use black magic unless ordered to and, unlike most ordinary magicians, were restricted in where they could go.