The Magicians' Guild

why. Nothing upset a King more than the presence of a rogue magician in his realm. The Thieves were tolerated. They kept the criminal underground in check, and they never presented a greater threat than the loss of taxes to smuggling. Even if the King managed to find and remove them, he knew others would take their place.

But the King would be willing to raze the slums to the ground - and lower - if he knew beyond a doubt that there was a rogue magician in the city.

Dannyl wondered if the Thieves realized this. He had not spoken of the possibility during his talks with Gorin, not wanting to appear unreasonable or threatening. Instead, he had warned the Thief of the danger the girl presented.

Reaching the end of the alley, he hurried across a wider street into the narrow space between two buildings. From there, the slums wove into a maze. The wind shivered down each narrow alley, whimpering like a hungry child. Occasionally it died away completely, and in one of these pauses Dannyl heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around.

The alley was empty. Shrugging, he continued on.

Though he tried to ignore it, his imagination would not let go of the idea that he was being followed. In the pause between his own steps he would hear the crunch of another footfall or, looking back, he sometimes caught the flicker of movement around a corner. As the conviction became stronger, Dannyl grew exasperated with himself. Turning a corner, he quickly manipulated the lock of a door and slipped into a building.

To his relief, the room inside was unoccupied. Peering through the door's keyhole, he snorted softly as he saw that the alley outside was still empty. Then a figure stepped into view.

He frowned as he recognized the scars on the man's broad face. The Sachakan's eyes flickered about, searching. Dannyl caught a glimmer and, looking down, he saw a vicious-looking knife in the man's gloved hand.

Dannyl chuckled quietly. Fortunate for you that I heard you following, he thought. He considered tackling the mugger and dragging him to the nearest Guard Hall, but decided against it. Night was approaching, and he was eager to get back to the warmth of his own rooms.

The Sachakan examined the ground, then doubled back. Dannyl counted to a hundred, then slipped through the door again and continued on his way. It seemed his fear that the dwells knew what he was had been unfounded. No dwell was foolish enough to attack a magician with a mere knife.

Sonea was bent over a large book when Cery entered the hideout. She looked up and smiled.

'How's the magic going?' he asked.

Her smile disappeared. 'The usual.'

'The book's not helping?'

She shook her head. 'It's been five weeks since I started practicing, but the only thing I'm getting better at is reading. I can't read in exchange for Faren's protection.'

'You can't hurry what you're doing,' he told her. Not when she could only practice once a day, he added silently.

Since her near-capture, there had been a group of magicians patiently closing in on each of Faren's hideouts each time she used magic, forcing him to find new ones. Cery knew Faren was calling in favors from all around the slums. He also knew that the Thief believed Sonea was worth every coin and favor he spent.

'What do you think you need to get your magic to work?' he asked.

She rested her chin in one hand. 'I need someone to show me.' She lifted an eyebrow at Cery. 'Has Faren said anything about that person he was going to find out about?'

Cery shook his head. 'Nothing to me. I've overheard something but it didn't sound good.'

She sighed. 'I don't suppose you know of any friendly magician who's willing to reveal the Guild's secrets to the Thieves? Perhaps you could kidnap one of them for me.'

Cery laughed, then stopped as an idea began to form. 'Do you think -'

'Shh!' Sonea hissed. 'Listen!'

Cery leapt to his feet as he heard the faint tapping from the floor.

'The signal!'

Cery hurried to the street-side window and peered into the shadows below. Instead of the sentry, an unfamiliar figure paced in the shadows. He grabbed Sonea's cloak from the back of a chair and tossed it at her.

'Shove it down your shirt,' he told her. 'And follow me.'

He grabbed a bucket of water sitting beside her table and threw its contents on the few embers still lingering in the fireplace. The wood hissed and steam billowed up the chimney. Pulling the grate out, he ducked inside and began to climb the chimney, setting the toes of his boots into the cracks between the rough, hot bricks.

'You've got to be joking,' Sonea muttered from below.

'Come on,' he urged. 'We're going across the roofs.'

Muttering a curse, she began to climb.

As the sun emerged from behind storm clouds, the rooftops were bathed in golden light. Cery moved into the shadow of a chimney.

'It's too bright,' he said. 'We'll be seen for sure. I think we should stay here 'til it gets dark.'

Sonea settled beside him. 'Are we far enough away?'

He glanced back toward the hide. 'I hope so.'

She looked around. 'We're on the High Road, aren't we? Those rope and wood bridges - the handholds.' She smiled as Cery nodded. 'That brings back memories.'

He grinned at the wistful look in her eyes. 'It seems like such a long time ago.'

'It was. Most times I can't believe we actually did some of the things we did.' She shook her head. 'Wouldn't have the guts now.'

He shrugged. 'We were just kids.'

'Kids sneaking into houses and lifting things.' She smiled. 'Remember that time we got into that woman's room and she had all those wigs? You curled up on the floor and we put them all over you. When she came in you made groaning noises.'

Cery laughed. 'She sure could scream.'

Her eyes gleamed in the light of the setting sun. 'I got into so much rub when Jonna worked out I was sneaking out at night to join you.'

'Didn't stop you,' he reminded her.

'No. You'd taught me how to pick locks by then.'

He looked at her closely. 'Why did you stop coming out with us?'

She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. 'Things changed. Harrin's lot started treating me differently. It was like they had remembered I was a girl, and thought I was hanging out with them for other stuff. It wasn't fun anymore.'

'I didn't treat you different...' he hesitated, gathering his courage. 'But you stopped wanting to come out with me, too.'

She shook her head. 'It wasn't you, Cery. I think I got tired of it. I had to grow up and stop pretending. Jonna was always saying how honesty was valuable, and stealing was wrong. I didn't think that stealing when you had no choice was wrong, but that wasn't what we were doing. I was almost glad when I moved into the city, because it meant I didn't have to think about all that anymore.'

Cery nodded. Perhaps it had been better that she had left. The boys in Harrin's gang hadn't always been nice to the young women they encountered.

'Was it better working in the city?'

'A little. You can still get in a lot of rub if you're not careful. The guards are the worst, cause no one stops them hassling you.'

He frowned as he tried to imagine her fending off over-interested guards. Was there anywhere safe? Shaking his head, he wished that he could take her somewhere where no guards or magicians would bother them.

'We lost the book, didn't we?' Sonea said suddenly.