'It would have been worse if they hadn't found me. People would have been killed. Lots of people.'
He looked down at his hands. 'So you can't come home.' She chuckled, a sound so unexpectedly cheerful that he stared at her in astonishment.
'I'll be fine,' she told him. 'Once I've learned Control I won't be in danger anymore. I'm getting to know how things work here.' She gave him a wink. 'So where are you hanging out now?'
He grinned. 'Same old place. Best bolhouse in the slums.'
She nodded. 'And your... friend? Is he still giving you work?'
'Yes.' Cery shook his head. 'But maybe not once he finds out what I did tonight.'
As she considered that, the familiar lines of worry appeared between her brows. He felt something squeeze his heart so tightly it hurt. Clenching his fists, he looked away. He wanted to pour out all the guilt and fear he'd felt since her capture, but the thought that others might be listening kept the words choked within his throat.
Looking at the luxuries of the room, he consoled himself that she was being treated well, at least. She yawned. It was late, he remembered.
'I guess I had better go.' He rose, then stopped, not wanting to leave her.
She smiled, this time sadly. 'Tell everyone I'm well.'
'I will.'
He couldn't move. Her smile faded a little as he stared at her, then she waved toward the door. 'I'll be fine, Cery. Trust me. Go on.'
Somehow he made himself walk to the door and knock. It swung inward. The three magicians regarded him closely as he stepped into the corridor.
'Shall I escort our visitor to the gate?' Fergun offered.
'Yes, thank you,' the blue-robed magician replied.
A globe of light appeared above Fergun's head. He looked at Cery expectantly. Glancing back at the blue- robed magician, Cery hesitated.
'Thanks.'
The magician nodded once in reply. Turning away, Cery started toward the stairs, the blonde magician following.
He considered Sonea's words as he descended. Her signals made sense now. She had to wait until she had learned to control her magic, but once she had she would try to escape. He could do little to help her, except make sure she had a secure place to return to.
'Are you Sonea's husband?'
Cery glanced up at the magician in surprise.
'No.'
'Her, ah ... lover, then?'
Cery felt his cheeks warming. He looked away. 'No, just a friend.'
'I see. It was very heroic of you to come here.'
Deciding that he didn't need to reply to that, Cery stepped out of the magicians' building into the cold wind, and turned toward the garden. Fergun stopped.
'Wait. Let me take you through the University. It is a warmer journey.'
His heart skipped. The University.
He had always wanted to see inside the great building. Such an opportunity would never come again once Sonea escaped. Shrugging as if it made no difference to him, he started toward the back entrance of the enormous building.
His heart began to race as they climbed the stairs. They entered a room full of elaborately decorated staircases. The magician's light vanished as he directed Cery through a side door and into a wide corridor which seemed to extend for an eternity.
Doors and passages lined the walls on either side. Looking around, Cery could not find the source of light. It was as if the walls themselves glowed.
'Sonea was quite a surprise to us,' Fergun said suddenly, his voice echoing. 'We have never found any talent in the lower classes before. It's normally restricted to the Houses.'
Fergun looked at Cery expectantly, obviously expecting conversation.
'It gave her a surprise, too,' Cery replied.
'This way.' The magician guided Cery into one of the side passages. 'Have you ever heard of other dwells with magic?'
'No.'
They turned a corner, pushed through a door into a small room, then stepped through another door into a slightly wider corridor. Unlike the earlier passages, the walls were panelled with wood, and paintings hung at regular intervals.
'It's quite a maze in here,' Fergun said, sighing a little. 'Come, I'll take you through a shortcut.'
He stopped beside a painting and reached behind it. A section of the wall slid aside, revealing a rectangle of darkness the size of a narrow doorway. Cery looked at the magician questioningly.
'I've always loved secrets,' Fergun said, his eyes bright. 'Does it surprise you that we, too, have underground passages? This one comes out in the Inner Circle - a dry, windless journey. Shall we?'
Cery looked at the doorway, then at the magician. Passages under the Guild? This was too strange. He stepped back and shook his head.
'I've seen plenty of passages before,' he said, 'and I don't mind the cold. The pretty things in this building are more interesting.'
The magician closed his eyes and nodded. 'I see.' He straightened and smiled. 'Well, it's good to know you don't mind the cold.'
Something pressed on Cery's back, forcing him toward the rectangle. He yelled and grabbed the edges of the hole, but the push was too strong and his fingers slipped on the polished wood. Falling forward, he brought his hands up in time to protect his face as he slammed into a wall.
The force held him firmly against the bricks. He could not even move a finger. Heart racing madly, he cursed himself for trusting the magicians. He heard a click behind him. The secret doorway had closed.
'Yell now if you want.' Fergun chuckled, a low, nasty sound. 'Nobody comes down here, so you won't bother anyone.'
A piece of cloth dropped over Cery's eyes and was bound tightly. His hands were pulled together behind his back, and bound with more cloth. As the pressure against his back eased, a hand gripped his collar and shoved him forward.
Cery staggered down the passage. After a few steps he reached a steep stairway. He felt his way down, then the guiding hands pushed him along a route that twisted lazily.
The temperature of the air dropped rapidly. After a few hundred steps, Fergun halted. Cery's stomach sank as he heard the sound of a key turning in a lock.
The blindfold was pulled away. Cery found himself standing at the door of a large, empty room. The cloth about his wrists was untied.
'In you go.'
Cery looked at Fergun. His hands itched for his knives, but he knew he would only lose them if he tried to fight the magician. If he didn't walk into the room himself, Fergun would push him.
Slowly, numbly, he entered the cell. The door swung shut, leaving him standing in darkness. He heard the lock turn, then the muffled sound of footsteps moving away.
Sighing, he dropped to his haunches. Faren was going to be
Chapter 21
A Promise of Freedom
