“Could she have acted in some drug-induced state, and not remembered it?” Peakin asked. “Naki had suggested it to her, after all.”
Sonea shuddered. “I have learned not to be surprised when it comes to the many detrimental effects of roet, but I have not heard of this happening before. If something so extraordinary has happened, it still means Lilia did not consciously and deliberately murder Lord Leiden. It could only be considered an accident.”
The room fell into a brief, thoughtful silence. High Lord Balkan moved forward.
“One thing is known: Lilia has learned black magic. The king and the people will expect us to ensure she is no danger to anyone if she is to remain alive.”
“We have to block her powers,” Vinara said.
“Can her powers be blocked?” Peakin asked, looking from Kallen to Sonea.
“Nobody has tried blocking a black magician’s powers before,” she told him. “We won’t know if it’s possible until we try.”
“If we can, then what do we do with her?” Garrel asked. “She is no longer a magician and therefore not a member of the Guild, but we can’t cast her out onto the street.”
“She’ll have to be watched constantly,” Peakin said. “Who is going to do that?”
Glances were exchanged. Expressions became grim. Sonea felt a chill run down her spine.
“Surely we’ve got a better option than putting her in the Lookout,” she found herself saying aloud.
“I don’t see that we have any choice,” Vinara said. The others nodded.
“Until the cause of Lord Leiden’s death is discovered we don’t know whether she can be trusted or not,” Garrel added. “If she killed someone in her sleep … well, we don’t want that happening again.”
“The Guild hasn’t held a prisoner in years,” Lord Telano muttered. “Suddenly it has two.”
Sonea suppressed a shiver. The last prisoners had been her and Akkarin, though they hadn’t been held for long.
“Let’s ensure she is as comfortable and well looked after as possible,” Osen said. “It does seem right that her punishment be less strenuous than Lorandra’s, who we know has broken laws and killed others. Are we in agreement?”
Murmurs of assent followed. Osen looked at Sonea. “You look troubled, Black Magician Sonea.”
She nodded. “I agree that a harsher punishment is needed, but … she isn’t a bad person and she is so young. It is a shame to lock her up for the rest of her life. Perhaps we could reconsider her case in a few years if she, too, has displayed good behaviour.”
He pursed his lips as he considered. “How many years?”
“Ten?” someone suggested. Sonea winced as the others murmured agreement, but nodded as Osen looked to her. She doubted she’d be able to talk them into a shorter length of time.
“So, who will block her powers?” he asked, looking from her to Kallen.
“I will,” she replied. “Unless you have any objections, I want to have another look at her memories.”
He smiled and nodded. “No objections. If you can find out anything that further explains what happened last night, it will be most welcome.” He looked at the other magicians. “And now we have the matter of Lord Leiden’s murder to consider. We know where Sonea and Kallen were at the time. If Lilia didn’t kill him, who did?”
CHAPTER 13
DIFFICULT DECISIONS
A scraping sound drew Lilia out of her thoughts and she turned to see the door of the Dome recede. As it moved aside it was replaced by a circle of cold light against which a silhouette of a magician stood. The magician beckoned, so Lilia stood up and obediently walked up to and out of the entrance.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that it was late afternoon. I was inside for less than a day, she thought. It felt like longer. Though it could be a day and a half. But then I’d be hungry. Her stomach growled. Well, hungrier than this.
“It’s time, Lilia.”
Lilia realised the magician was Black Magician Sonea and sketched a hasty bow. Sonea regarded Lilia with a sympathetic expression. Two other magicians waited a few steps away. Lilia avoided their eyes, falling into step as Sonea started toward the University.
“I wish we could avoid this Hearing,” Sonea said. “It’s unavoidable, I’m afraid. You and Naki must be judged before the Guild.”
Lilia nodded. “I understand.”
“You’re not to talk to each other,” Sonea added quietly. “Only speak when you are requested to, or to answer a question.”
Lilia nodded. She could see in the corner of her eye that Sonea was watching her closely, and realised something more definite was expected to indicate she had really heard and understood her, and wasn’t just responding automatically.
“Yes,” Lilia managed, her voice husky from crying and lack of use. “No talking to … unless asked to.” She could not say Naki’s name, but Sonea looked away, apparently satisfied.
They walked down the length of the University to the front entrance. The numbness that had come over Lilia since arriving at the Guild and being locked away in the Dome began to slip away as they climbed the stairs, and was replaced by a growing dread. She was going to have to stand in front of all the magicians of the Guild and endure their stares and judgement. All would be wondering if she was a murderer. All would know she had learned black magic. Whether they thought she had done so due to foolishness or evil intent, they would despise her.
She thought of her family’s disappointment, and quickly pushed the thought away. Best to dwell on only one confrontation full of shame and humiliation at a time.
They quickly passed through the spectacular entry hall of the University and down the corridor to the Great Hall. The space around the ancient building within the huge hall was empty, to her relief. She’d expected that some novices would find their way there, to watch what they could.
The doors to the Guildhall opened and her blood went cold.
The space between the tiered seating on either side of the room was filled with seats, and the seats were filled with brown-robed novices, twisting around so they could see her enter the building.
She fixed her eyes on the floor. Her heart thundered in her ears as she forced her shaky legs to carry her down the aisle. If any of the novices whispered anything – if any called out – she did not hear it. Blood was rushing in her ears, drowning out all noises. She concentrated on breathing, and on putting one trembling leg in front of the other.
They reached the Front of the hall and moved to the right-hand side, where Sonea stopped and placed a hand gently on Lilia’s shoulder.
“Stay here,” she murmured, then she strode forward and climbed the steep stairs to her seat among the Higher Magicians. Watching her, Lilia saw that some of the Higher Magicians were frowning. One said something, but Sonea waved a hand in a reassuring, dismissing gesture.
Then Lilia met the eyes of a Higher Magician who was staring at her, and quickly looked back down at the floor.
“You have heard the accounts of the few witnesses to these events,” a male voice boomed. Lilia glanced up and saw that the blue-robed Administrator was standing in the centre of the Front. She had been staring at the floor so hard that she hadn’t noticed him there. “You have heard what Black Magician Sonea discovered in the minds of the two young women standing before us. Now let us hear what they have to say. Lady Naki.”
A shiver ran down Lilia’s spine and she followed Osen’s eyes to find that Naki was standing just ten or so strides from her, on the left-hand side of the room. Her heart began to lighten at the familiar, beautiful face, but the feeling faded and was replaced by a pain that made Lilia’s breath catch in her throat.