The Magicians' Guild

The magician moved into view again. He was wearing the black robes now and had combed and bound his dark hair into a tail. Reaching for the belt, he unclipped the lid of the dagger pouch.

Sonea drew in a quick breath. The dagger's handle glittered in the light. Gems set within it sent out glints of red and green. The magician examined the long, curved blade closely, then carefully wiped it on the towel. He looked up at the hidden servant.

'The fight has weakened me,' he said. 'I need your strength.'

She heard a murmured reply. The servant's legs moved into view, then all but his head appeared as he dropped to one knee and held out his arm. The magician grasped the man's wrist.

Turning it upward, the magician ran the dagger lightly across the man's skin. Blood welled and the magician pressed his hand over the wound as if he intended to heal it.

Then something began to flutter in her ears. Straightening, Sonea shook her head, thinking that an insect had crawled into her ears, but the buzzing continued. She stopped, then felt a chill steal over her as she realized that the noise was coming from somewhere inside her head.

The sensation stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Bending to the grille, Sonea saw that the magician had released the servant. He was turning slowly about, his eyes roaming around the walls as if searching for something.

'Strange,' he said. 'It's almost as if...'

He's not searching for something on the walls, Sonea thought suddenly. He's searching for something beyond them.

Fear rushed over her. Rising to her feet, she slipped out of the hedge and backed away from the house.

Don't run, she told herself. Don't make any noise. Resisting the urge to bolt for the trees, she forced herself to creep away carefully. She increased her pace as she reached the path, wincing every time a twig snapped under her feet. The forest seemed darker than before, and she felt a rising panic as she realized she was not sure where she had been sitting when Cery had left her.

'Sonea?'

She jumped as a figure stepped out of the shadows. Recognizing Cery's face, she gasped with relief. In his arms was something large and heavy.

'Look,' he said, lifting his burden.

'What's is it?'

He grinned. 'Books!'

'Books?'

'Books on magic.' His grin faded. 'Where have you been? I just got back and -'

'I was there.' She pointed at the house and shivered. It seemed darker now, like a creature lurking at the edge of the gardens. 'We have to go! Now!'

'That place!' Cery exclaimed. 'That's where their leader lives - the High Lord.'

She grabbed his arm. 'I think one of his magicians heard me!'

Cery's eyes widened. He glanced over her shoulder, then turned and started through the forest, away from the shadowy building.

Chapter 13 Powerful Influence

Only twenty or so magicians had gathered in the Night Room when Rothen entered. Finding that Dannyl had not yet arrived, he started toward a set of chairs.

'The window was open. Whoever it was came through the window.'

Hearing the distress in the voice, Rothen paused and looked for the speaker. He found Jerrik standing nearby, talking to Yaldin. Curious to know what could have upset the University Director, he walked over to the two men.

'Greetings.' Rothen nodded politely. 'You look displeased about something, Director.'

'There's a resourceful thief among our novices,' Yaldin explained. 'Jerrik has lost a few valuable books.'

'A thief?' Rothen repeated, surprised. 'Which books?'

'The Lore of the Southern Magicians, Arts of the Minken Archipelago and the Handbook of Firemaking' Jerrik said.

Rothen frowned. 'A strange combination of books.'

'Expensive books,' Jerrik grieved. 'Twenty gold pieces it cost me to have those copies made.'

Rothen whistled softly. 'Then your thief has an eye for value.' He frowned. 'Books of that rarity would be hard to hide. They are large volumes, I seem to remember. You could authorize a search of the Novices' Quarters.'

Jerrik grimaced. 'I was hoping to avoid that.'

'Perhaps somebody borrowed them,' Yaldin suggested.

'I've asked everyone.' Jerrik sighed and shook his head. 'Nobody has seen them.'

'You didn't ask me,' Rothen pointed out.

Jerrik looked up sharply.

'No, I didn't take them.' Rothen laughed. 'But you may have missed others as well. Perhaps you could ask everyone at the next Meet. It's only two days away, and the books might surface before then.'

Jerrik winced. 'I suppose I better do that first.'

Catching sight of a familiar, tall figure entering the Night Room, Rothen excused himself. He strode to Dannyl's side and drew the magician into a quiet corner of the room.

'Any luck?' he asked quietly.

Dannyl shrugged. 'No, no luck, but at least I wasn't followed by knife-wielding foreigners this time. You?'

Rothen opened his mouth to reply but closed it again as a servant stopped to offer a tray of wine-filled glasses. He reached out to take one, then froze as a black-sleeved arm extended toward the tray from behind Dannyl. Akkarin selected a glass and stepped around Dannyl to face Rothen.

'How does the search progress, Lord Rothen?'

Dannyl's eyes widened as he turned to face the High Lord.

'We came closest to catching her two weeks ago, High Lord,' Rothen replied. 'Her protectors used a decoy. By the time we realized we had the wrong girl, she had escaped. We found a book on magic, as well.'

The High Lord's expression darkened. 'That is not good news.'

'It was old and outdated,' Dannyl added.

'Nevertheless, we cannot allow such books outside the Guild,' Akkarin replied. 'A search of pawn shops should reveal if many have made their way into the city. I will speak to Lorlen about it, but in the meantime ...' he looked at Dannyl. 'Have you had any success re-establishing contact with the Thieves?'

Dannyl's face turned white, then flushed red.

'No,' he replied in a constricted voice. 'They have declined my requests for audience for many weeks.'

A half-smile curled Akkarin's mouth. 'I assume you attempted to impress on them the dangers of having an untrained magician in their midst?'

Dannyl nodded. 'Yes, but they did not seem concerned.'

'They will be soon. Continue your attempts to meet with them. If they refuse to see you personally, send messages. Detail the problems she will encounter as her magic becomes uncontrollable. It will not be long before they realize that you speak the truth. Keep me informed on your progress.'