mind. Something flashed before her mind’s eye. An impression. Of blood. A lot of blood.
“Left!” Werrin exclaimed. The scout was already running back long the column, his expression stiff with shame. Werrin urged his horse after the man. After a moment he stopped and called out. “Four with me,” he said. “The rest stay.”
That meant five magicians and their apprentices. Dismay mingled with relief as she saw Dakon move to the side of the track, indicating that she and Jayan should too. Narvelan, Hakkin, Prinan and Ardalen and their apprentices hurried after Werrin.
The sound of hoofbeats faded rapidly. For a long moment the rest remained still and silent. Then Dakon moved along the line and, finding that the servants were still on the steep track, brought them up onto the ridge to wait next to the remaining magicians.
The wait was not long, but it was slow and strained and full of dread. At every sound in the forest all jumped or searched the trees fearfully. Every exchanged glance was full of unspoken questions. Tessia realised she was no longer hungry. In fact, she felt a little queasy. She checked her shield again.
When the sound of approaching hoofbeats reached her Tessia held her breath. Dakon moved forward. Jayan urged his horse after, and Tessia nudged hers to follow. Heart racing, she gazed down the track.
Then Narvelan appeared and she let out a sigh of relief. But as she read his expression she felt her stomach sink. The young magician looked pale and grim. As Werrin came into sight she flinched at the fury in his face. Then Hakkin appeared. He hung his head, his expression tortured and bleak.
Narvelan looked up at those waiting.
“They’re dead,” he said.
None said a word for a long moment. The only sound was the movement of the horses returning to the group.
“Both of them?” a weak voice asked. Tessia turned as she realised Leoran had spoken.
“Yes,” Werrin replied.
“You buried them, then?” Bolvin asked.
Werrin and Narvelan exchanged glances. “Yes.”
Tessia felt a chill run down her spine. There had been more to it than that, she suspected. The glance between the two magicians hinted at something bad. Something they felt was better left unmentioned. She looked at the other magicians and their apprentices. Lord Ardalen looked ill. Lord Prinan’s eyes were haunted but there was determination in the set of his jaw. The apprentices... they were pale and their eyes were wide. They kept glancing back over their shoulders. Mikken met her gaze, then looked at the ground.
“This changes things,” Werrin said, addressing them all. “They have killed a Kyralian magician. Even by their standards, retaliation is justified. We must camp and discuss our next move, and notify the king of Lord Sudin’s death. And Apprentice Aken’s.” He shook his head.
“I must accept responsibility,” Lord Hakkin said. “I encouraged Sudin to contemplate the action he took today. I can see now that such risks are not worth taking. Should never be taken again. I...am sorry.” He bowed his head.
“We have been only guessing the extent of the danger we face until now, balancing caution with courage,” Narvelan said. “But now we know the truth, and it is a hard and bitter lesson for all of us. We know what we risk, both magician and apprentice.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Lord Bolvin said. “Since they share the risk, should we include the apprentices in our discussions? They may not have the experience to offer suggestions or insight, but they deserve to know what they are fighting against, and how.”
To Tessia’s surprise, all of the magicians nodded.
“Then let’s get away from this place and return to somewhere less exposed and more protected,” Ardalen said.
Without another word, the magicians led the group back down into the valley.
There were some truths you didn’t need to know, but
Or perhaps just because he couldn’t quite believe he was never going to talk to, or tease, Aken again. Or play Kyrima against him. The young man he’d barely got to know was never going to grow into a higher magician, with power and authority. Never take on his own apprentice.
So at the first opportunity, as they were making camp, he sidled up to Mikken and asked.
The young man looked at Jayan in disbelief, then annoyance, but then his gaze became thoughtful and he nodded in understanding.
“They were in pieces,” he said, then went on to describe what must have been the result of a planned, deliberate sequence of torture. Since then, whenever Jayan thought about what Mikken had told him he felt cold right down to his bones. He realised that, for most of his life, he’d imagined the Sachakan magicians as being not so different from Kyralians. They kept slaves instead of lording it over commoners. They maintained land and trade, as Kyralian lords did.
He’d reasoned that these invaders were merely bored young men with high ambitions – of which there were plenty in Kyralia, though none held ambitions as high as conquering another land. But now Jayan knew better. Now he knew they were savages. No ambitious young Kyralian magician would have killed with such deliberate, undeserved cruelty. Not unless he was dealing out revenge for a truly atrocious act. And even then... Jayan had to acknowledge that if anyone he’d known had shown he was capable of such savagery he would have regarded them with disgust and wariness from then on.
What the Sachakans had done to Sudin and Aken took planning. And
“Don’t tell Tessia,” Mikken said.
Though Jayan appreciated that Mikken had Tessia’s well-being in mind, he wasn’t going to keep anything from her just because the young man fancied her. Besides, Tessia had seen plenty of gruesome things as a healer’s assistant. As the set-up of camp finished and Tessia approached Jayan to ask what he had learned, he considered telling her everything. And immediately decided against it. She would wonder if such things had been done to the villagers of Mandryn, or her parents. She was also more trusting than he. It probably wouldn’t even occur to her to question whether she’d been told the full truth.
So he glossed over the details, only saying that Aken had been killed first, and that their bodies had been left in a state meant to shock and scare anyone who found them. Then the magicians called everyone to their meeting, rescuing Jayan from any further questions.
The decision to include apprentices in the meeting had surprised Jayan, and now he felt a twinge of excitement. The magicians sat in a wide circle and their apprentices settled beside them. The sound of the forest around them faded as Werrin raised a shield to prevent their words from being heard outside the group. Jayan glanced beyond, to where scouts and servants kept watch, holding the lanterns they were to signal with if anything suspicious was seen or heard.
Jayan glanced at Dakon, who smiled knowingly.
“Don’t say anything unless invited,” he murmured.
Nodding, Jayan suppressed a fleeting annoyance. Normally he had a chance to talk to Dakon before the magicians met. Dakon always asked if Jayan had anything to suggest or comment on. But there had been no time today.
Lord Werrin began by going over the events of the day, glossing over the gory details much as Jayan had for Tessia. Once again, Lord Hakkin admitted his part in encouraging Lord Sudin to risk venturing out on his own, and then all tried in vain to guess what the magician’s plan had been.
When the possible reasons and consequences had been fully covered, Werrin sighed and straightened.
“Sudin’s death changes much. A magician has been killed. This frees us to consider strategies that may result in Sachakan deaths. But we must consult the king first.”
“Surely he will not prevent us from killing them now,” Prinan said.
