The Magicians' Guild

to regard her.

'What do you think of Lorlen, then?'

She considered. 'He seems nice, but he's very formal.'

Rothen chuckled. 'Yes, he can be.'

He moved into his bedroom, then returned wearing a cloak. Surprised, Sonea watched him stride toward her. Another cloak was draped over his arm.

'Stand up,' he said. 'I want to see if this will fit you.'

Rising, she stood still as he draped the cloak over her shoulders. It fell almost to the floor.

'A bit long. I'll have it shortened. For now, you'll have to take care not to trip.'

'This is for me?'

'Yes. To replace your old one.' He smiled. 'You'll need it. It's quite cold outside.'

She looked at him sharply. 'Outside?'

'Yes,' he replied. 'I thought we'd take a walk. Would you like that?'

Nodding, she looked away, not wanting him to see her face. The thought of getting out had filled her with an intense longing. She had been inside his rooms for less than three weeks but she felt as if months had passed.

'We're meeting Dannyl downstairs,' he told her, moving toward the door.

'Now?'

He nodded and beckoned. Taking a deep breath, she approached the door.

Unlike the previous time, the corridor was not empty. A pair of magicians stood several paces to the right, and a woman in ordinary dress walked to the left, flanked by two small children. All stared at Sonea in surprise and curiosity.

Rothen nodded to the watchers and started toward the stairs. Following, Sonea resisted the temptation to glance behind. No floating magicians appeared in the center of the staircase as they descended. Instead, a familiar tall magician waited at the bottom.

'Good evening, Sonea,' Dannyl said, smiling.

'Good evening,' she replied.

Turning, Dannyl gestured grandly at a pair of large doors at the end of the lower-floor corridor. They slowly swung open, letting in a gust of cold air.

Beyond them was the courtyard she remembered seeing when she had explored the Guild with Cery. It had been night then. Now a murky twilight was growing, making everything seem muted and unreal.

Following Rothen through the doors, Sonea felt the bite of cold air. Though it set her shivering, she welcomed it. Outside ...

Warmth slid over her skin, and she sensed a vibration in the air around her. Surprised, she cast about, but could see nothing to mark the change. Rothen was watching her.

'A simple trick,' he told her. 'It's a magical shield that holds in warmth. You can walk in and out of it. Give it a try.'

She took a few steps back toward the doors and felt the cold on her face. Her breath began to mist in the air. Reaching out, she felt her hand pass into warmth again.

Rothen smiled encouragingly and beckoned. Shrugging, she moved back to his side.

The back of the University towered to her left. Looking around, she identified most of the buildings she had seen on Dannyl's plan. Her eye was drawn to an odd structure on the other side of the courtyard.

'What is that?'

Rothen followed her gaze. 'That is the Dome,' he told her. 'Centuries ago, before we made the Arena, most training for Warriors was held in there. Unfortunately, the only people who could see what was going on were those inside, so teachers had to be strong enough to protect themselves from any stray magic that might be loosed by their pupils. We don't use it anymore.'

Sonea stared at the structure. 'It looks like a big ball has been sunk into the ground.'

'It has.'

'How do you get in?'

'Through an underground passage. There's a door like a giant round plug which can only be opened inward. The walls are three paces thick.'

The doors to the Novices' Quarters opened. Three boys hurried outside, wrapped in cloaks. They moved around the courtyard, tapping the lampposts standing around the edge of the paving. At their touch, the lamps began glowing.

Once all the lamps in the courtyard were alight, the three boys separated and ran in different directions. One headed down the front of the Novices' Quarters, another disappeared into the gardens on the other side of the University, while the third dashed between the Baths and the Magicians' Quarters, where a long path curved up into the forest.

Dannyl looked at Rothen questioningly. While the two magicians teased each other like old friends, Sonea had noticed that Dannyl always deferred to his former guardian.

'Where to?'

Rothen nodded toward the forest. 'This way.'

Sonea stayed beside Rothen as the magician crossed the pavement and started along the path. The novice, having finished lighting the lamps, hurried back toward the Novices' Quarters.

As she passed the back of the Magicians' Quarters, a movement in one of the windows caught her eye. Looking up, she saw a fair-haired magician watching and felt a shock as she recognized him. He quickly withdrew into the darkness. Frowning, she turned her attention back to the path. She had no idea when Fergun would visit again, but when he did, he would want to know if she was going to accept his offer. She needed to come to a decision soon.

Until her talk with Lorlen, she hadn't discovered whether all of the claims Fergun had made were true. She had been waiting for opportunities to steer her conversations with Rothen to vows and guardians, or Fergun himself, but few had come. Could she ask him directly without raising his suspicions?

While Rothen had told her what a guardian did, he hadn't mentioned that he intended to be hers. She would not be surprised if he had decided that she did not need to know unless she chose to stay.

Once she had learned Control, she had two choices: return to the slums with her powers blocked, or help Fergun win her guardianship so that she could return with her powers intact.

As they reached the forest, Sonea looked into the maze of trunks. Fergun's plan made her uneasy. It involved a great deal of deception and risk. She would have to pretend that she wanted to stay, possibly lie to ensure Fergun won her guardianship, make a vow she intended to break, then break that vow - and the Ring's law - by leaving the Guild.

Had she become so fond of Rothen that the idea of lying to him bothered her? He is a magician, she reminded herself. His loyalties are with the Guild and the King. While she believed that he did not want to lock her away, for instance, he would if ordered to.

Or was it the idea of breaking a vow that worried her? Harrin and his friends cheated and stole all the time, but they regarded the breaking of a vow as an unforgivable offense. To keep their standing with others, they did all they could to avoid making one.

Of course, if a vow could not be avoided, awkward situations could be evaded if it was phrased sloppily ...

'You're very quiet tonight,' Rothen said suddenly. 'No questions?'

Sonea looked up at Rothen and found him regarding her fondly. Seeing his smile, she decided it was time to risk asking a few unprompted questions.

'I was wondering about the vow magicians make.'

To her relief, his brows didn't lower with suspicion, but rose with surprise. 'There are two, actually. The Novices' Vow and the Magicians' Vow. One is made when novices enter the Guild, the other made at graduation.'

'What do they swear?'

'Four things.' Rothen held up the fingers of his left hand. 'The novices vow to never deliberately harm