He rubbed his hands together. “He hurts my kin, I hurt his.”
“No, Cery.”
His expression had grown distant, and he didn’t appear to be listening. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t kill them or harm the weaker ones, just scare some of the men in the family. Regin will work it out eventually, ’cause he’ll twig that one of his kin always gets visited by a messenger just after he does something to you.”
Sonea shuddered. “Don’t joke about it, Cery. It’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t joking. He wouldn’t dare touch you.”
She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. “This isn’t the slums, Cery. If you think Regin will keep silent because he’d have to admit what he’s doing, you’re wrong. You’d be playing right into his hands. Harming his family is a far greater offense than giving another novice a hard time. I’d have used connections with the Thieves to harm another novice’s family. They might throw me out of the Guild for that.”
“Connections with the Thieves.” Cery’s nose twitched. “I see.”
“Oh, Cery.” Sonea grimaced. “I appreciate that you want to help. I really do.”
He scowled into the trees. “I can’t do anything to stop him, can I?”
“No.” She smiled. “But it is fun thinking about dunking Regin in the sea or dropping a house on him.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Sure is.”
“And I’m glad you dropped by. I haven’t seen you since before I started at the University.”
“Work’s kept me busy,” he said. “You heard about the murders?”
Sonea frowned. “No.”
“Been lots of them lately. Strange ones. The Guard are out for the killer, causing everybody a lot of rub, so the Thieves want him got.” He shrugged.
“Have you seen Jonna and Ranel?”
“They’re well. Your little cousin is strong and healthy. You going to drop in soon? They say it’s been a while.”
“I’ll try. I’m so busy. There’s so much studying to do.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the packet. “I want you to give this to them.” She pressed it into his hand.
He tested its weight, then looked at her in surprise.
“Coins?”
“Part of my allowance. Tell them it’s a little of their taxes going to a better cause - and if Jonna still won’t take it, give it to Ranel. He’s not so stubborn.”
“But why give it to me to deliver?”
“Because I don’t want anyone here to know. Not even Rothen. He’d approve but...” She shrugged. “I like to keep some things to myself.”
“And me?”
She smiled and shook a finger at him. “I know exactly how much is in there.”
He pushed out his bottom lip. “As if I’d steal from a friend.”
She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t. Just everybody else.”
“Sonea!” a voice called.
They looked up. Lord Ahrind stood outside the Novices’ Quarters, his head turning to and fro as he searched for her. Sonea stood up and the magician located her. He gestured imperiously for her to come inside.
“I’d better go,” she said.
Cery shook his head. “It’s strange hearing you call them ‘my lord’ and jumping at their orders.”
She pulled a face at him. “Like you didn’t for Faren. At least I know that, in five years, I’ll be ordering everyone else around.”
An odd look crossed Cery’s face. He smiled and shooed her away. “Go on. Get back to your studies. I’ll try to drop by soon.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
She started toward the Novices’ Quarters reluctantly. Lord Ahrind watched her, his arms crossed.
“And tell that boy I’ll break his arms if he doesn’t leave you alone,” Cery called, just loud enough for her to hear.
She turned to grin at him. “I’ll do it myself if he pushes me far enough. By mistake, of course.”
He nodded approvingly, then waved her on. When she reached the Novices’ Quarters she looked back. He was still standing by the bench. As she waved he gave a quick signal in the street sign language. She smiled, then let Lord Ahrind usher her inside.
13
Thief!
As she left the Novices’ Quarters, Sonea caught her breath with surprise and pleasure. The sky was a luminous pale blue, streaked with glowing orange clouds. Somewhere behind Sarika’s Hill, the sun was rising.
She had discovered that she enjoyed these early hours, when everything was still and peaceful. As winter approached, dawn had come later each day, and today she was finally seeing it for herself.
Yawning servants blinked at her as she entered the Foodhall, and one wordlessly wrapped up a savory bread bun for her to take away. They were used to her unpredictable appearances now. From there she headed to the Baths. Of all places in the Guild, they had turned out to be one of the safest. Women and men were strictly separated and, to ensure this, a section had been built for each, divided by a thick wall. Neither Issle nor Bina had ever attempted to bother her there. There was nearly always another female magician using the Baths, so the chances for harassment were less.
Regin had discovered quickly that any insult or insinuation he directed at her did not impress his new classmates. As she had hoped, he hadn’t managed to charm them into following him about, either, and his attempt to befriend Poril had been almost comically unsuccessful, as the boy recoiled in fear and disbelief.
At midbreak, when the novices visited the Foodhall, Regin always rejoined his former class. She guessed he was not about to abandon his old gang when his new classmates were not interested in starting a new one. And now that their harassment had begun again, they needed time to plan their moves.
They had only the hours before the first class and after the last to find and torment her. She made sure she was hard to find until the last moments before the first gong. After class, however, the gang usually lay in wait for her and she could do little to avoid them.
Though her classmates did not join in, they never stepped forward to help her, either. And Poril was no deterrent. He stood back, pale and trembling, as she endured Regin’s taunting.
Sometimes she managed to avoid the gang by offering to carry something for the teacher, or asking a question that took most of the walk out of the University to answer. The presence of almost any magician in the corridor gave her an opportunity to escape them. Rothen met her after class sometimes, but she always endured sneering remarks about it the next day.
In the Novices’ Quarters, the gang left her alone. They had pushed through the door of her room one day and started messing up her belongings. A quick mental query to Lord Ahrind asking how to deal with uninvited guests had brought him storming in to demand what was going on. They hadn’t attempted to enter her room again - as far as she could tell.
She had bought a sturdy box with a carry handle to tote her belongings in, tired of having her books knocked out of her hands, her notes set on fire, and her pens and inkwell shattered. And protecting this box with magic kept her shield-holding skills well honed.
As she left the Baths, Sonea noted the identities of the novices around the courtyard. She tightened her grip around the handle of her box as she entered the University and started up the stairs. Stepping into the second-floor corridor, she quickly scanned the faces. A huddle of brown robes had gathered outside her classroom, heads close together. Her stomach sank.
Glancing about, she saw a magician talking to a novice a hundred paces away. Was he close enough to deter any mischief? Possibly.
