The Novice

Seeing the calculating look in Akkarin’s eyes, Lorlen shivered. A memory of his visit to the Guard House returned. The images of the bodies of the murdered young man and his father were hard to forget. Though more gruesome, the young man’s death had not chilled Lorlen as much as the other. The father’s wrists had shallow cuts, and he had lost little blood. Yet he was dead.

At Akkarin’s instruction, Lorlen had explained to Barran he would not be sending magicians out in a hunt for the rogue, as he had done with Sonea. The previous search had driven Sonea to seek the help of the Thieves, and they had kept the Guild from finding her for months. Though the Thieves were rumored to be hunting for the murderer as well, it was not impossible that they would strike a deal if he came to them for help. So it was better that the Guild gave the murderer no reason to hide himself too carefully. The Guard must locate him, then Lorlen would arrange for magical assistance to capture him. Barran had agreed that this was the wisest action.

But this would never happen if the murderer was Akkarin. Lorlen considered the black-robed man. He wanted to ask Akkarin directly if he had anything to do with the murders, but he was afraid of the answer. And even if the answer was no, could he believe such a denial, anyway?

“Ah, Lorlen,” Akkarin sounded amused. “Anyone would think Sonea was your adopted novice.”

Lorlen forced his mind back to the subject. “If a guardian is neglecting his obligations, it is my duty to correct the situation.”

“And if I tell you to leave this alone, will you?”

Lorlen frowned. “Of course,” he said reluctantly.

“Can I trust you to?” Akkarin sighed. “When you have not done as I have asked concerning Dannyl?”

Surprised, Lorlen frowned at Akkarin. “Dannyl?”

“He has continued his investigations.”

Lorlen could not help feeling a trickle of hope at this news, but it quickly evaporated. If Akkarin knew this, whatever good might have come from it was already lost. “I sent him orders to abandon the work.”

“Then he hasn’t followed them.”

Lorlen hesitated. “What will you do?”

Akkarin drained his glass, then rose and walked toward the drinks table. “I haven’t decided. If he goes where I fear he may go, he will die - and not by my hand.”

Lorlen’s heart skipped a beat. “Can you warn him?”

Placing his glass on the table, Akkarin sighed. “It may be too late already. I shall have to weigh the risks.”

“Risks?” Lorlen frowned. “What risks?”

Akkarin turned and smiled. “You are full of questions tonight. I wonder if there is something in the spring water lately. Everyone seems to have grown so bold.” He turned away and refilled his glass, and another. “That is all I can tell you, for now. If I was free to tell you what I know, I would.”

He crossed the room and handed Lorlen a glass.

“For now, you’ll just have to trust me.”

34 If Only It Was That Simple

As they reached the curve of the road from where they had first seen Dem Ladeiri’s home, Dannyl and Tayend halted their mounts and turned to regard the building one last time. Their servants continued ahead, their horses walking slowly down the winding road.

“Who would have thought we’d find the answers to so many questions in that old place?” Tayend said, shaking his head.

Dannyl nodded. “It has been an interesting few days.”

“Now that’s an understatement.” Tayend’s lips curled up at one side, and he gave Dannyl a sidelong glance.

Smiling at the scholar’s expression, Dannyl looked up at the mountains above the Ladeiri house. The ruins of Armje lay beyond one of the ridges, hidden from sight.

Tayend shivered. “It makes me nervous, knowing that cavern is up there.”

“I doubt any magicians have visited Armje since Akkarin,” Dannyl said. “And that door can’t be opened without magic - or without breaking down the whole wall. I would have warned the Dem, but I didn’t want to tell him before consulting the Guild.”

Tayend nodded. He nudged his horse forward, and Dannyl’s followed. “We have some more information on this Charkan King, anyway. If we had a few weeks to spare, we could travel into Sachaka.”

“I’m still not sure that’s wise.”

“Akkarin probably went there. Why shouldn’t we?”

“We don’t know for sure if that’s where he went.”

“If we went there we might find evidence that he did. The Sachakans are sure to remember if a Guild magician passed their way. Have any other magicians visited Sachaka in the last ten or so years?”

Dannyl shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“If one had, surely he would have heard that another Guild magician had been in the country before him.”

“Perhaps.” Dannyl felt a nagging uneasiness. The thought of being around other magicians reminded him that, one day, he would have to return to the Guild. As if his colleagues might be able to see...

But, of course, they wouldn’t - couldn’t - know that from just looking at him. So, as long as he and Tayend were careful about discussing the matter, and he never allowed anyone to truth-read him, and he was cautious during mental communication, who could ever prove anything?

He looked at Tayend. Rothen would say I was cunning enough to discover - or hide - any secret, he mused.

—Dannyl.

Startled, Dannyl sat up straight in the saddle. Then he recognized the personality behind the mental call and was paralyzed by disbelief.

—Dannyl.

He felt panic rush over him. Why was Akkarin calling him? What did the High Lord want? Dannyl glanced at Tayend. Or had he heard that... but, no, surely that was not important enough to—

—Dannyl.

He had to answer. He could not ignore a call from the High Lord. Dannyl swallowed hard, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he closed his eyes and sent out a name.

—Akkarin?

—Where are you?

—In the mountains of Elyne. He sent an image of the road. I offered to take over Ambassador Errend’s biannual rounds of the Dems so that I might familiarize myself with the country.

—And so that you could continue your research despite Lorlen’s orders.

It was not a question. Dannyl was surprised at the relief he felt. If Akkarin had heard rumors about Tayend and... but he quickly turned his thoughts from that.

—Yes, he confirmed, deliberately thinking of the Tomb of White Tears and the mystery of the Charkan King. I continued out of my own interest. Lorlen did not indicate that I shouldn’t.

—Clearly your duties as Ambassador are not overly time consuming.

Dannyl winced. There was a definite feeling of disapproval behind Akkarin’s communication. Was he simply concerned that Dannyl was spending too much time on research or did he resent that another magician was continuing work he had abandoned? Or was he annoyed that someone was tracing a part of his own past?