Dorrien winced. “Alina will love that. Goodnight, Sonea.”
She smiled. “Goodnight, Dorrien.”
When the door closed behind him, she looked around the room once to ensure she had all the cures, bandages and tools at hand that she might need, then she sat down again. Before long the first knock came at the door.
Drawing magic, she sent it out to the door. To her surprise, Dorrien stood there with Healer Nikea.
“A message just arrived,” he told her.
“Bring it in.”
Nikea handed a slip of paper to Dorrien, then smiled at Sonea and headed back down the corridor. Dorrien stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He handed the paper to Sonea.
Big meeting tonight. Come for dinner. Bring sweets.
She looked up at Dorrien, her heartbeat quickening.
“This is it,” she said. “The opportunity we’ve been hoping for.”
She’d agreed with Cery that they’d refer to any confirmed arrangement between Skellin and Anyi’s new boss, or the Thief that he worked for, as “big”. “Dinner” meant an hour after sundown. A request for sweets meant to join him at the room under the sweet shop.
“I should be more pleased about that than I feel,” Dorrien murmured.
Sonea smiled grimly. “Don’t worry. I’ll see if one of the Healers here can join us. I’d rather send for someone at the Guild, but we don’t have the time. Though perhaps we can send a message anyway, to see if someone from the Healers’ Quarters of the Guild can help out here tonight.”
Dorrien nodded. “Worth a try.”
Lilia felt much calmer about everything now that she’d had a few hours’ sleep and a meal among people who she hadn’t recently seen beat a man half to death. Worries about the consequences of not returning to the Lookout were easier to push to the back of her mind. Instead, worries about the people she was trusting began to seem more important.
While she felt confident that they couldn’t hurt her, since she had magic, there could be other ways they might take advantage of her. She could only hope that Lorandra would stick to their deal. Though the old woman appeared to be doing that, Lilia doubted she would continue to do so if the search for Naki brought her into conflict with an ally, or came with too high a cost.
The effort she is going to, to help me, seems to be greater than what I did to help her. All I did was bust her out of prison. I didn’t need to ask favours of anyone. Now that I’ve seen the world she belongs to, I don’t think she’s going to value the sacrifice I made by doing something that’ll get me in more trouble with the Guild. She doesn’t understand that I want to return, and hope to rejoin the Guild some day, because she never wanted to join it in the first place.
The Thief, whose name was Jemmi, had arranged a meeting with another Thief who might know where Naki was. He, Lorandra, Lilia, and a man and a woman who appeared to be bodyguards had left an hour or so ago and travelled an underground route to a warehouse. From there they’d emerged into dark streets and huddled in heavy, hooded coats as they walked through the rain to a bolhouse.
All filed up a flight of stairs and into a small room containing two small chairs and a table. It was cold in the room and Lilia was tempted to warm the air, but Lorandra had warned her not to use magic unless she had to. The male bodyguard moved closer to Jemmi and said something. The Thief frowned and turned to Lorandra.
“We need to discuss a fee before we move on.”
“What fee?” Lorandra’s odd-shaped eyes narrowed. She looked at Lilia. “Stay put,” she said. “We won’t be far away.”
She headed for the door. Jemmi looked at the male bodyguard and jerked his head to indicate he should accompany him out. The bodyguard looked at his female colleague and made a quick signal, before stepping into the corridor and closing the door.
Bemused, Lilia sat down in one of the chairs.
The female bodyguard moved to the door, clearly listening to the faint voices beyond. Lilia watched her, wondering how a woman could end up in a job like this. She’s younger than I first thought, Lilia mused. Looking even closer, she noted a few scars on the woman’s hands and one on her neck. The way the fabric of her coat hung and moved suggested that objects were contained within. Knives, perhaps? Surely not a sword …
The woman turned to look at Lilia. Her expression was one of indecision. She shook her head, then sighed.
“Do you know who you’re about to be given to?”
Lilia blinked. “Me?”
“Yes. You.”
“They’re taking me to see another Thief.”
“So that’s how they put it.” The woman’s lip curled. “The Thief’s name is Skellin. Do you know who he is?”
Skellin? Lorandra’s son was a Thief? Lilia felt cold fear prickle her skin. Why hasn’t Lorandra told me she is taking me to her son? Did she think I’d realise he was a magician, and be scared and try to run away? She swallowed. I suppose she’s right. He is scarier than she is, because he has control of his powers.
The woman was staring at her expectantly.
“I thought she’d help me find Naki before joining him,” Lilia explained. “She said we were going to meet someone who would have a better chance of finding her, and maybe he is the best—”
“Skellin is a magician.” The woman moved away from the door and grasped the arms of Lilia’s chair, staring down at her.
“I know—”
“And you know black magic. Do you really think he’s going to find your friend for free? He’s not going to do anything for you until you teach him black magic.”
“I’ll refuse unless he finds Naki.”
The woman’s stare was unfaltering. “Assuming he lets you, what then?”
Lilia could think of no good answer. The bodyguard glanced back at the door, then sighed again.
“You don’t need to betray everyone to find your friend,” she said. “There are others who can help you. Others who won’t blackmail you, because they know it’s better for everyone if the Thieves have no access to magic. Especially black magic.”
“I … I didn’t know.”
The woman let go of the chair and straightened. “I guess you wouldn’t.”
Lilia shook her head. She felt foolish and helpless and frightened. “I … it’s too late now, isn’t it? What else can I do?”
The woman glanced at the door, then at Lilia. “It’s not too late.” Her whisper was full of urgency. “I can get you out of here and introduce you to people who can find your friend without asking you to teach anyone black magic. But only if you come with me now.”
Lilia looked at the door. Lorandra had agreed to help her. She’d made a deal and appeared to be sticking to it. But to get Skellin’s help … he’ll probably want to make a deal of his own … if there’s a chance I can get out of here, I have to try.
“Are you sure you can find Naki?”
“Yes.” The woman’s gaze was steady and her voice full of confidence.
Hoping she wouldn’t regret it, Lilia got to her feet.
“All right.”
The woman gave her a feral grin.
“Follow me.”
In one graceful movement, she stepped up on the table, then reached to the ceiling. Lilia hadn’t noticed the hatch there. It opened silently. The woman held a hand out to Lilia and helped her up, then grabbed her by the thighs and lifted. Lilia bit back a gasp of surprise at being so man-handled. Or is that woman-handled? Her head and shoulders were in a roof space. She braced herself on the frame of the hatch and, helped by a shove from below, pulled herself inside.