The High Lord

What's the difference? I'm going to die anyway.

He took two quick breaths, then whisked out the knives.

- No, Cery! Don't!

Cery froze at the voice in his mind. Was this his fear speaking? If it was, it had a woman's voice. A voice much like...

Harikava turned to look out of the room and his eyes widened. Cery heard swift footsteps. As a woman stepped into the doorway, he caught his breath in surprise.

'Leave him, Harikava,' Savara said. Her voice was commanding. 'This one is mine.'

The Ichani backed way from her. 'What are your kind doing here?' he snarled.

She smiled. 'Not making our own claim on Kyralia, as you probably fear. No, we are merely watching.'

'So you say.'

'You are in no position to say otherwise,' she replied, stepping into the room. 'If I were you, I'd leave now.'

As she moved toward Cery, Harikava watched her carefully. When she was several steps away from the door, he strode to it and out of the room. Cery heard the man's footsteps stop outside.

'Kariko won't have your kind here. He will hunt you down.'

'I will be long gone before he has the time to spare.'

The footsteps moved away, then there was the sound of the door in the next room closing. Savara looked at Cery.

'He's gone. That was close.'

He stared back at her. She had saved him. Somehow she had known he was in trouble, and appeared just in time. But how was that possible? Had she followed him? Or had she been following the Ichani? Relief changed to doubt as he considered her words. The Ichani had been afraid of her. Suddenly he was sure he ought to be, too.

'Who are you?' he whispered.

Her shoulders lifted. 'A servant of my people.'

'He... he ran away. From you. Why?'

'Uncertainty. He has used a great deal of power today, and can't be sure he would defeat me.' She smiled and moved toward him. 'Bluff is always the most satisfying way to win a fight.'

Cery backed away. She had just saved his life. He ought to thank her. But there was something too strange about all this. 'He recognized you. You know his name.'

'He recognized what I am, not who I am,' she corrected.

'What are you, then?'

'Your ally.'

'No, you're not. You say you want to help us, but you won't do anything to stop the Ichani, even though you're strong enough to do it.'

Her smile vanished. She regarded him solemnly, then her expression hardened. 'I'm doing everything I can, Cery. What will it take to convince you of that? Would you trust me if I said I have known for some time that Akkarin and Sonea had returned? Obviously I haven't told the Ichani this.'

Cery's heart skipped a beat, then began to pound. 'How did you find out about that?'

She smiled and her eyes flickered to his chest. 'I have my ways.'

Why the glance at his chest? He frowned as he remembered the pendant. Reaching under his shirt, he pulled it out. Her eyes flickered and her smile faded.

What sort of magical properties did it have? Looking at the smooth ruby at the center, he felt a chill go down his back as he remembered Sonea and Akkarin making their rings for each other. Rings with red glass baubles...

'With these rings, we will be able to see into each others' minds...'

He looked at the ruby. If this was a blood gem, then Savara had been reading his mind... and he had been wearing it since just after Akkarin and Sonea arrived.

How else could she know they were in the city?

Drawing the chain over his head, he tossed the pendant aside.

'I have been a fool to trust you,' he said bitterly.

She regarded him sadly. 'I have known about Sonea and Akkarin since I gave you that pendant. Have I revealed them to the Ichani? No. Have I used this information to bribe you? No. I have not taken advantage of your trust, Ceryni, you have taken advantage of mine.'

She crossed her arms. 'You told me you would keep me informed if I gave you advice on killing magicians, but you have kept much from me that I needed to know. My people have been looking for Akkarin and Sonea in Sachaka. They intended to help the former High Lord take back Kyralia from the Ichani. We do not want Kyralia ruled by Kariko and his allies any more than you do.'

Cery stared at her. 'How can I believe this?'

Savara sighed and shook her head. 'I can only ask you to trust me. It is too difficult to prove... but I think you have reached the limit of your trust.' She smiled ruefully. 'What are we to do with each other?'

He didn't know how to answer that. Looking at the pendant, he felt angry, foolish and betrayed. Yet when he looked at her, he saw a sadness and regret in her eyes that he did believe was real. He did not want them to part with ill feelings for each other.

But perhaps that was not possible.

'You and I have deals and secrets we can't give away, and people we must protect,' he said slowly. 'I respect that about you, but you didn't respect that about me.' He looked at the pendant again. 'You shouldn't have done that to me. I know why you did it, but that doesn't make it right. When you gave me that, you made it impossible for me to keep my promises.'

'I wanted to protect your people.'

'I know.' He managed a wry smile. 'And I can respect that, too. While our lands are fighting, we can't put each other's feelings before our people's safety. So let's see how this turns out. When it's all over, I might forgive you for doing that to me. Until then, I'm sticking to my own side. Don't expect anything more.'

She looked down, then nodded. 'I understand.'

The servants door to Zerrend's mansion opened onto an alley just wide enough for a delivery cart to pass through. The lock was undone, but the door was closed. Both ends of the alley met empty, silent streets.

There was no sign of Tayend - no sign of anyone at all.

'What shall we do now?' Farand asked.

'I don't know,' Dannyl admitted. 'I don't want to leave, in case he comes back. But he may have been forced to flee the city.'

Or he might be lying dead somewhere. Every time Dannyl thought about the possibility, his blood turned cold and he felt ill with dread. First Rothen, then Tayend...

No, he told himself. Don't even consider it. Not until you see it for yourself.

The thought that he might see Tayend's body only made it harder to think clearly. He had to concentrate, to decide where they should go. They had three choices: stay at the mansion and hope Tayend would eventually return, search the city for him, or give up and leave the city.

I'm not leaving the city until I know.

So that left the mansion or the search. Neither were very fair to Farand.

'I'm going to look for Tayend,' Dannyl said. 'I'll try the surrounding streets, and come back to check the house from time to time. You should leave the city. There's no point in us both risking our lives.'

'No,' Farand replied. 'I'll stay here in case he comes back.'

Dannyl regarded Farand in surprise. 'Are you sure?'

The young magician nodded. 'I don't know Imardin, Dannyl. I don't know if I'd find my way out. And you need someone to stay here in case Tayend comes back.' He shrugged, then took a few steps backward. 'I'll see you when you return.'

Dannyl watched Farand until he had entered the house, then moved back to the end of the alley and scanned