The Novice

than carrying boxes.”

Keeping her expression neutral, Sonea looked around. “Can you suggest a better place to spend my spare time, my lord?”

His mouth twitched, then he sniffed. “So long as the time is spare.” He looked at Tya. “I am retiring now. Good night.”

“Good night, Lord Jullen,” Tya replied.

When the stern magician had left, Tya started toward the storeroom. Sonea chuckled.

“I think he’s jealous.”

“Jealous?” Tya turned and frowned. “Of what?”

“You’ve got an assistant. The High Lord’s novice, no less.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve put a high value on yourself.”

Sonea grimaced. “That wasn’t of my choosing. But I’d lay a bet that Jullen’s a bit peeved that you’ve got a willing helper.”

Tya’s mouth tightened, as if she was resisting the urge to smile. “Hurry up, then. If you’re going to be of any help, don’t stand around speculating.”

Following Tya to the back room, Sonea set the boxes down on top of a chest and began unpacking them. She resisted the temptation to look at the cabinet of old books and maps, instead concentrating on stacking and sorting. Tya paused to yawn several times.

“How late did you stay back last night?” Sonea asked.

“Too late,” Tya admitted.

“Why don’t you leave me to do this?”

Tya sent her a disbelieving look. “You really have too much energy, Sonea,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t leave you here alone - and you’ll be locked in. I’ll have to come back and let you out.”

Sonea shrugged. “I’m sure you won’t forget me.” She looked down at the books. “I can help with this, but not the cataloguing work. You may as well go back and finish it.”

Tya nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll come back for you in an hour.” She smiled. “Thank you, Sonea.”

Following the librarian to the door, Sonea watched her walk away. She felt a growing excitement as Tya’s footsteps faded into the distance. Turning, she regarded the library. Dust hung in the air, tinged yellow by the glow of her globe light. The shelves of books extended into darkness, as if they stretched on forever.

Smiling to herself, she returned to the storeroom and stacked up the textbooks as quickly as possible. She counted the minutes, conscious that she only had an hour. Once the boxes were unpacked, she abandoned them and moved to the cabinet.

She inspected the lock carefully, both with her eyes and her mind. Tya had spoken of a lock, and it made sense that an important store of knowledge would be protected by magic. Her search proved her suspicions right.

Though the physical lock was no more complicated than any she had picked before, she had no idea if it was possible to foil a magical one. Even if she managed to, the meddling might be detectable, and the meddler identifiable.

When Cery had taught her how to pick locks, he had told her to look for another way first. Sometimes there were quicker ways to get into something than picking. She looked for hinges on the doors, and cursed softly as she saw they were on the inside of the cabinet.

She began to examine the entire unit, inspecting the joints and edges carefully. The cabinet was old, but sturdy and well made. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then fetched a chair and stood upon it so she could check the top of the cabinet. No weaknesses there, either. Sighing, she stepped down to the floor again.

That left the back and the base. To look underneath, she would have to lift it with magic, then crawl under to examine the bottom. Though she had recovered enough from the previous night’s exhaustion to tackle her lessons, she wasn’t sure if she could lift and hold the cabinet steadily. Did she really want to find the map that badly?

She peered through the glass at the books and rolled papers. A thin sheet of glass and wire mesh was all that lay between herself and a possible escape from Regin. She chewed her lip in frustration.

Then she noticed something odd about the wooden back. She could see two lines running down the length, too straight to be natural cracks in the wood. The back of the cabinet obviously wasn’t made from one large sheet of wood. Crouching a little, she checked to see if the lines extended all the way to the base. They didn’t.

Moving to one side of the cabinet, she peered along the gap between it and the wall. Using a tiny globe light, she illuminated the narrow space and discovered something strange.

Something about the size of a textbook, but made of wood, was attached to the wall behind the cabinet.

Stepping back, she took a deep breath and slowly extended her power out and around the cabinet, taking care that her magic did not touch that of the lock. With the gentlest flexing of will, she lifted the cabinet upward. It swayed slightly as it rose. Frowning with concentration, she turned it away from the wall like a door and carefully set it down again, a few faren scampering away from their webs in alarm.

Sonea let out the breath, and realized that her heart was beating fast. If anyone discovered what she was doing now, there would be no end of trouble for her. Looking through the glass, she was relieved to find none of the cabinet’s contents was out of place. Walking around the back she found that the object behind the cabinet was only a small painting. She looked at the back of the cabinet and drew in a breath in amazement.

A small square had been cut into the back. She slipped her fingernails into the crack, and the square of wood slipped out easily, revealing the ends of rolled up papers and a few books.

Her heart was racing now. She hesitated, wary of reaching inside. This square hole had been created by someone. Had it been there all along? Or had someone cut it later, so that they could take something unnoticed? Her senses did not detect a barrier over the hole, or any other magic. She slipped a hand in and gently pulled out one of the scrolls.

It was a plan of the Magicians’ Quarters. She inspected it carefully but could find no hidden passages marked. Replacing it, she drew forth another. This time it was a plan detailing the Novices’ Quarters. No secret passages there, either.

The third scroll she pulled out showed a map of the University and her pulse quickened. But nothing mysterious or unusual was marked on it. Disappointed, Sonea replaced it and was about to pick up another when something caught her eye.

Jutting up from between the pages of one of the books was a slip of paper. Curious, she eased the book out from between its neighbors.

“The Magiks of the Werld,” she read aloud. It was one of the early texts used in history class. Under the title was written, in faded ink: “High Lord’s copy.”

A chill went through her. Suddenly she wanted to replace the book, put the cabinet back in place, and get out of the library as quickly as possible. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her fears aside. The library was locked. Even if Jullen or Tya returned, she would hear them coming. Though she would have to move fast, she could probably put the cabinet back before they entered the storeroom.

Opening the book where the slip of paper lay, she examined the pages and recognized some of the text. Nothing strange or unusual explained the marker. Shrugging, she lay the paper bookmark back over the page.

Then her heart skipped. Three tiny, hand-drawn maps of the University had been sketched on the slip of paper - one for each level. Looking closer, she felt a thrill of excitement. On other maps the walls were thick lines; on this they were hollow, and doors were indicated in them where she knew there were none. Mysterious little crosses had been marked inside the walls. The third map, of the ground floor, showed a spider’s web of passages outside the University walls.

She had found it! A map of the passages under the University. Or, more accurately, a map of passages throughout the University.

Clutching the map, she stepped back from the cabinet. Should she take it, or would someone notice it missing? Perhaps she could copy it. How much time did she have left? Could she memorize it?

Looking down at the map, she traced the passages with her eyes. She noted a little symbol drawn on one of the inner walls next to the Magicians’ Library. Looking closer, she realized it was the wall she was standing next to, marking a place just about...