The Magicians' Guild

horizon. Sonea followed Cery in silence, concentrating on keeping her footing in the faint light. When he finally stopped again, a wave of weariness swept over her and she sat down with a groan.

'We better get there soon,' she said. 'I'm almost done.'

'Not far now,' Cery assured her. 'Just through here.'

She followed him over a wall into a large, neat garden. The trees were tall and symmetrical. He led her along in the shadows of a wall which seemed to go on forever.

'Where are we?'

'Wait and see,' Cery replied.

Something caught her foot and she stumbled against a tree. The roughness of the bark surprised her. She looked up and around. Endless trees stood like sentries before her. In the dark they looked strange and sinister, a forest of clawed arms.

A forest? She frowned, then a chill seized her. There aren't any gardens in the North Quarter, and there is only one forest in Imardin ...

Her heart began to race. She hurried after Cery and grabbed his arm.

'Hai! What are you doing?!' she gasped. 'We're in the Guild!'

His teeth flashed. 'That's right.'

She stared at him. He was a black silhouette in the moonlit forest, and she could not see his expression. A frightening suspicion stole over her. Surely he hadn't ... he wouldn't... Not Cery. No, he would never turn her over to the magicians.

She felt his hand on her shoulder. 'Don't worry, Sonea. Think about it. Where are the magicians? In the slums. You're actually safer here than there.'

'But... don't they have guards?'

'A few at the gates, that's all.'

'Patrols?'

'No.'

'What about a magical wall?'

'No.' He laughed quietly. 'Guess they think people are too scared of them to trespass.'

'How do you know if there's a wall or guards?'

He chuckled. 'Been here already.'

She drew in a sharp breath. 'Why?'

'After I decided I would visit every place in the city, I came here and snooped around a bit. Couldn't believe how easy it was. I didn't try to get inside any of the buildings, of course, just watched the magicians through the windows.'

Sonea stared at his shadowed face in disbelief. 'You spied on the Guild?'

'Sure. It was real interesting. They've got places where they teach the new magicians, and places where they live. I saw the Healers working last time. That was something to see. There was this boy with cuts all over his face. When the healer touched him they all went away. Amazing.'

He paused and she saw his head turn toward her in the faint light. 'Remember how you said you wanted someone to show you how to use magic? Perhaps if you watch them, you'll see something that will help you learn.'

'But... the Guild, Cery.'

He shrugged. 'I wouldn't bring you here if I knew it was real dangerous, would I?'

Sonea shook her head. She felt awful for doubting him. If he had intended to turn her in, he would have let the magicians catch her back at the hide. But he would never betray her. Though his explanation was incredible.

If this is a trap, I'm already doomed.

She pushed the thought away and turned her mind to what Cery was proposing.

'You really think we can do this?'

'Sure.'

'It's madness, Cery.'

He laughed. 'At least come and look. We'll go as far as the road and you can see for yourself how easy it is. If you don't want to try it, we'll go back. Come on.'

Swallowing her fear, she followed him through the trees. The forest thinned a little, and through it she saw walls. Keeping to the shadows, Cery crept forward until he was less than twenty paces from a road, then darted forward and stood behind the trunk of a large tree.

Sonea hurried after and pressed her back against another tree. Her legs seemed to have lost most of their strength and she felt light-headed and dizzy. Cery grinned, then pointed through the trees.

She looked up at the building before her and gasped.

Chapter 12 The Last Place They'd Look

It was so tall, it seemed about to touch the stars.

At each corner was a tower. Between them, white walls glowed softly in the moonlight. At the front stone arches spanned the width of the building, one above the other, and from each arch hung a curtain of stone. A wide staircase led up to a pair of grand doors, which stood open.

'It's beautiful,' Sonea breathed.

Cery laughed softly. 'It is, isn't it? See those doors? They're about four times as tall as a man.'

'They must be very heavy. How do they close them?'

'With magic, I suppose.'

Sonea tensed as a figure in blue robes appeared in the doorway. The man paused, then strode down the stairs and walked away toward a smaller building to the right.

'Don't worry. They can't see us,' Cery assured her.

Sonea let out the breath she was holding and dragged her eyes away from the distant figure. 'What's inside?'

'Classrooms. That's the University.'

Three rows of windows ran down the side of the building. The bottom two rows were mostly obscured by a line of trees but she could see warm yellow light through gaps in the foliage. A large garden was on the left of the building. Cery pointed to a building on the far side of this.

'That's where the novices live,' he said. 'There's another building just like it on the other side of the University where the magicians live. Over there,' he pointed to a circular building several hundred paces to their left, 'is the place where the Healers do their work.'

'What's that?' Sonea asked, pointing to a collection of curved masts rising up from somewhere within the garden.

Cery shrugged. 'I don't know,' he admitted. 'Never found out.'

He gestured to the road in front of them. 'This goes to the servants' houses down there,' he pointed to the left, 'and the stables that way,' he pointed to the right. 'There are a few other buildings behind the University, and another garden in front of the magicians' building. Oh, and there are more houses for magicians up the hill a bit.'

'So many buildings,' she breathed. 'How many magicians are there?'

'Over a hundred living here,' he told her. 'There's more that don't. Some live in the city, some out in the country, and lots more in other countries. About two hundred servants live here too. They've got maids, stablemen, cooks, scribes, gardeners, even farmers.'

'Farmers?'