She felt very naïve and foolish after that, but there was worse to come. A journey on foot took her through cold alleyways strewn with mud, garbage and the occasional shivering person huddled in a doorway, and ended with them hiding in the shadows, waiting for three thugs to finish beating another man senseless. Lilia was horrified when Lorandra then approached the men, but even more so when it turned out they knew the old woman.
The men had invited Lorandra inside a house, which turned out to be the home of several members of a gang who hired themselves out to do “strong work”. Listening quietly, Lilia guessed that this officially involved lifting and carrying things, but was generally understood to also mean beating and killing people.
They were surprisingly nice to her, asking if she was hungry and offering her the least worn-out chair in the guest room. Though she followed Lorandra’s lead and said she wasn’t hungry, their leader sent one of the group out to buy hot bread from the local baker for her to eat, and when he pressed a mug of bol into her hands she decided it would not be prudent to decline.
It was sickly sweet and made her sleepy. The late hour didn’t seem to bother Lorandra, who talked and strode about tirelessly. A longer journey followed, Lilia following her guide through a confusing series of rooms and corridors and tunnels, only occasionally emerging into the night air for a few steps. Finally, they stopped in a warm room and when Lorandra gestured to a chair Lilia collapsed into it.
The chair was surprisingly comfortable. It was a lot newer than the houses and buildings they had passed through. Lilia looked up, noting that the room’s decoration and furniture were expensive. She heard her name and realised that the man sitting opposite her, watching her with narrowed eyes, was very well dressed indeed. He smiled, and she forced herself to smile in return.
“The friend of this missing girl,” Lorandra told him.
He nodded, his expression becoming serious as he turned to her. “Then we must find Naki. The sun is well up. It is many hours since you escaped. I have rooms here you can sleep in, if you wish.”
Lorandra hesitated.
The sun is up? Lilia sat bolt upright. The latter part of their journey had taken them along corridors and through tunnels, and she realised she hadn’t seen the sky in hours. “But we have to get back!” she exclaimed.
“I’m sorry, Lilia,” Lorandra said. “Dawn came and went some time ago. We have missed our chance to go back. I did not think it would take this long to find someone who could help us. Do you wish to return now?”
Lilia stared at the woman. If we do return now, the Guild will make sure we never escape again. We won’t be able to help Naki.
She should have known this would happen. She’d expected that they’d make enquiries each night, returning to the Lookout before their absence was noticed, until they found and rescued Naki. Even when she’d levitated them both off the top of the Lookout, she’d known escaping would not be an easy thing to repeat. They had been lucky that one of the guards had been mostly asleep on his feet, glancing up at the tower far less often than into the forest. He hadn’t looked up as they’d floated out and away into the tree tops. They might not be that lucky again.
“No,” Lilia said.
Lorandra smiled and nodded approvingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find Naki. They’ll forgive you for running away when you bring her back to them.”
Lilia managed a smile. “Thank you for helping us.”
Lorandra turned back to the man. He’s probably a Thief, Lilia thought. But then, she is a rogue magician. What fine company I’m keeping. Naki would find it amusing.
Entering Imardin’s underworld in Lorandra’s company had frightened Lilia more than it ever had in that of Naki. But then, brazier houses were probably the safest places to encounter criminals. The trade there was designed to attract, not put off, customers. She and Naki had only really entered the edge of that world. Lorandra had brought Lilia into the middle of it.
She doesn’t have to help me. I’ve done my part: got her out of the Lookout. If she’d been untrustworthy she would have just left me somewhere and disappeared. But she’s doing what she promised: helping me find Naki.
Knowing Lorandra was holding to her side of their deal was the only reassuring thing in this unfamiliar, dangerous world. It had been a risk to trust her, but she’d felt it was one worth taking.
How strange it is that the foolish thing Naki got me to try – to learn black magic – has been the thing that got me out of the Lookout and into the company of someone who can save her.
CHAPTER 19
ESCAPEE
Lorkin opened his eyes, saw that Tyvara was sitting beside the bed, and smiled.
“I thought you weren’t allowed to see me?”
Her eyes widened and snapped to his, and she leaned forward.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Good. Better. Have you been sitting there all the time I was asleep?”
She shrugged and looked around the room. “Not much else to do.” Then she turned back and her lips twitched. “Better than watching a sewer.”
“I’m glad you think so.” He sat up and stretched, remembering just in time that he was naked under the bedcovers. Tyvara’s gaze dropped to his chest and her eyebrows rose.
She stood up and gestured to a chair, where a fresh set of trousers and tunic were draped. “You had better wash and get into those. The judgement of Kalia is about to begin, and you smell as bad as a sewer.”
She slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Getting out of bed, Lorkin found a large bowl of water and washing cloths in an alcove and made use of them. His abductors had provided him with a bucket, but had made no attempt to assist him in relieving himself, which had been difficult blindfolded and with hands bound behind his back. He wasn’t surprised that he stank.
He’d had only energy enough after his rescue and some food to peel his clothes off and collapse into the bed before falling asleep. Now he looked around, wondering where he was. The room was small and two chairs were the only other furniture apart from the bed.
Once dressed, he opened the door to the room and blinked in surprise. It opened onto a corridor, which was filled with people. Tyvara was standing beside the door, and hooked a hand under his arm as he emerged.
“Good timing,” she told him, guiding him to the right. People turned to watch him pass. Some looked friendly, others hostile. Kalia’s kidnapping of him was more than a mere scandal and, in the middle of winter with everyone stuck indoors most of the time, it would be attracting attention in a way it might not at other times.
It has probably created more division among the Traitors, he thought. I hope that doesn’t lead to worse problems for them, which become yet another thing they’ll blame me for.
Before long he and Tyvara reached the entrance to the Speakers’ Chamber. They passed through and were immediately pulled aside by a magician and asked to stand by the wall to one side of the lower section. Once in place, Lorkin looked around the room.
All of the Speakers were in their seats except for Kalia, who was standing on the opposite side of the room to Tyvara and Lorkin, flanked by two magicians. The rest of the room was crowded with people, all standing up, their voices combining into an intense chatter.
A bell rang out. Heads turned and the sound of voices dropped. Lorkin saw that Director Riaya was holding a bell much smaller than would normally have been needed to produce the sound. Those of the audience standing in the tiered part of the room began to sit down, while the rest retreated to the walls. When nearly all were settled, another person entered the room. At once almost complete silence descended, the last of those standing among the tiers sat down hastily, and the Speakers rose from their seats to greet the queen as she walked stiffly to her chair.