“I’ve agreed to take another person on our research trip,” Achati said. “He was quite persuasive, and I can’t fault his reasoning. I’d already promised that if things got a bit too intense here I’d help him escape the Ashakis’ interest.”
Dannyl felt his heart sink. Then his disappointment at Achati’s words was followed by a rising suspicion.
“Who?”
Achati smiled. “I’ve agreed to take Ambassador Tayend with us.”
Dannyl looked away to hide his dismay. “Ah,” was all he trusted himself to say.
“You are displeased.” Achati sounded worried. “I thought you two were getting along.”
Dannyl forced himself to shrug. “We are.” I suppose I can’t ask Achati to leave Tayend behind without causing all sorts of embarrassment and insult. “There is one possible setback, though. I suspect he has neglected to tell you something very important.”
Achati frowned. “What is that?”
Dannyl did not have to force a chuckle at the memory. “Tayend gets horribly, insufferably, near-mortally seasick.”
CHAPTER 14
SCHEMES
Lilia stared at her surroundings, not sure if she was awake or still dreaming. She lay still for some time, then concluded that she must be awake because there was no sense of impending threat in the room, as there had been in her dreams.
Nothing moved, nothing changed, and nothing made a noise or spoke. Ah. I was wrong. There is a kind of threat here, but it’s more subtle and sinister. It’s the complete lack of anything happening. It’s the threat of endless, unchanging hours going on and on into the future.
It was the threat of boredom and of wasted years. Of never being loved, or loving another. Of being forgotten.
But it could have been worse. Looking around the room, she took in the comfortable, well-made furniture and furnishings. Not many prisons looked like this. Perhaps none but this one did. The meal the night before had been as good, if not better, than those she’d eaten in the University Foodhall. The guards were polite and, if anything, seemed to feel sorry for her. Maybe she reminded them of their daughters.
I bet their daughters never get themselves in as much trouble as I have.
She winced then, as she remembered the brief meeting she’d had with her parents, who had come to the Guild to see her before she was sent off to the Lookout. She’d been too dazed to say much. She remembered saying “sorry” a lot. Her mother had asked simply “why?” and she couldn’t answer. How could she tell her mother that she loved another girl?
There had been tears. The memory was more painful now than the meeting had been at the time. She got up and dressed just to have something else to think about, her breath misting in the chill air. Someone had decided she should wear the sort of simple trousers and tunic that most servants wore, but of a better-quality cloth. A warm undershift was included. Robes would have been too thin and light to ward off the cold, even if she had been allowed to wear them. She shivered and suddenly felt the loss of her magic keenly.
A brazier had been installed in the room, with a flue that sent the smoke out through the exterior wall of the building. Beside it was a pile of wood and kindling. She guessed that, since the Lookout had been built for magicians, no fireplaces or chimneys had been included. When the Guard had taken over they would have worked out that braziers were the easiest non-magical way to keep the rooms warm.
Spark sticks had been provided, so she set about lighting the brazier. She didn’t try to use her powers, sure that the blockage Black Magician Sonea had placed on her mind was impenetrable, and that striving against it would be unpleasant. She could barely remember it being put in place. Her mind had been numb with shock.
Sonea asked me some questions, she recalled. I wasn’t of much use to her, but at least she was still trying to help. Or, at least, to find out who killed Naki’s father.
Would the Guild give up trying, now that she was imprisoned? She hoped not. Though Naki hadn’t liked her stepfather, she had been obviously distressed by his death. She deserved to know what had really happened.
Especially since she might be in danger. Whoever killed her father might come after her.
Lilia’s heart began to beat faster, but she took a few deep breaths and told herself that Naki could look after herself. She didn’t entirely believe it though. Naki was too easily distracted by the latest indulgence. How well would she defend herself when caught up in the seduction of roet?
Well, that’s something I won’t have any problems with. No more roet for me, here in my prison.
The thought sent a shiver of anxiety through her. She shook her head. It wasn’t as if she needed roet. Or even wanted it that much. But it would have helped her forget everything. To not care about the things she couldn’t change or do. To stop feeling so stupid for trying out the book’s instructions on black magic. To endure not knowing whether Naki was in danger or not. Perhaps even to smother the love she felt for Naki. Didn’t the songmakers and poets say that love only brought pain?
Had she not loved Naki, she might have felt resentment towards the girl getting them into this mess in the first place. Trouble is, her recklessness is part of what I love about her. Though maybe it isn’t a part I like so much any more.
The brazier was small, and her skin was prickling with cold. Getting up, she drew a blanket from the bed around her shoulders and paced the room. For a while she stood at one of the slim windows, looking down on the forest outside. It was the same forest that backed onto the Guild buildings. She had never explored it. Having grown up in the city, the prospect of entering a wild, animal-filled mass of trees was strange and a little frightening. From her high vantage point – on the second floor of a tower built on a ridge overlooking the forest – she could see that the spaces between the trees were packed with an untidy tangle of dead trunks and vegetation. She tried to imagine how a person might walk through the forest without tripping over. Probably very slowly.
When she grew bored with staring at the forest, she occupied herself by looking closely at objects in the room. All were practical. There were no books, no paper or writing tools. Would the guards bring her some, if she asked?
The door to the corridor was of heavy, quality wood. A small square of glass had obviously been installed as an afterthought, so guards could check where their prisoner was before they opened the door. There was a door between her room and the next. She had tried the handle the previous night, thinking it might lead to a second room – perhaps a more private washroom – but it would not turn. Approaching it again, she wondered what was beyond. Out of curiosity she pressed her ear to the wood.
To her surprise, she could hear a voice. A woman’s voice. She could not hear what the woman was saying, but the sound was quite musical. Perhaps the woman was singing.
A knock at the main door made her jump violently. Knowing that she would have been observed listening to her neighbour, Lilia stepped hurriedly away from the side door.
The main door opened and a smiling guard entered, carrying a tray. He was young – only a few years older than her. The tray held a typical Kyralian morning meal.
“A good morning, Lilia,” he said, putting the tray on the small dining table. “Did you sleep well?”
She nodded.
“Warm enough? Need more blankets?”
She nodded, then shook her head.