The High Lord

'I do not mean black magic.' Akkarin's eyes flashed. 'I would not teach you that, even if you were willing. I wish to teach you how to read minds.'

'But...' She drew in a quick breath as she realized what he meant. He, of all the magicians in the Guild, was able to read another person's mind whether they were willing or not. She had experienced his mind-reading skills herself, when he had first discovered that she, Lorlen and Rothen knew that he practiced black magic.

And now he wanted to teach her how to do it. 'Why?' she blurted out.

'As I said, I want you to know the truth for yourself. You would not believe me if I told you.' His eyes narrowed. 'I would not trust you with this secret if I did not know you have a strong sense of honor and morality. Even so, you must vow never to use this method of mind-reading on an unwilling recipient unless Kyralia is in great danger, and there is no other course of action.'

Sonea swallowed hard and kept her gaze steady. 'You expect me to restrict my use of it as you say, when you have not yourself?'

His eyes darkened, but his mouth widened into a humorless smile. 'Yes. Will you make the vow, or shall we return to the Guild now?'

She looked at the captive. Obviously Akkarin intended for her to read this man's mind. He would not have her do it if what she saw would endanger him. But would she see anything that would endanger herself?

It was impossible for the mind to lie. Conceal the truth, perhaps, but that was difficult - and impossible with Akkarin's mind-reading method. If he had arranged for this man to believe certain lies were truth, however, she could still be deceived.

But if she kept that in mind and carefully considered all she learned...

Knowing how to read minds could be a useful skill. Even if she did make this vow, it would not stop her using it in the fight against him. Kyralia was already in great danger just by having a black magician at the heart of the Magicians' Guild.

The captive stared back at her.

'You would have me vow never to read a mind unless Kyralia was in danger,' she said. 'Yet you want me to read his. Surely he is not a threat to Kyralia.'

Akkarin smiled. He seemed pleased by her question. 'He isn't now. But he was. And his claims that his master will enslave you after he kills me should prove there is a possible future threat. How can you know whether his master is capable of it, if you do not read his mind?'

'With that reasoning, you could justify reading the mind of anyone who made a threat.'

His smile broadened. 'Which is why I require you to make that vow. You will not use this skill unless there is no other choice.' His expression became serious. 'There is no other way I can show you the truth - not without putting your life at risk. Will you make the vow?'

She hesitated, then nodded. He crossed his arms and waited. She took a deep breath.

'I vow never to read the mind of an unwilling person unless Kyralia is in great danger and there is no other way of avoiding that danger.'

He nodded. 'Good. If I ever discover that you have broken that vow, I will ensure you regret it.' He turned to regard the captive. The man had been watching them closely.

'Will you let me go now?' the man said, his voice pleading. 'You know I had to do what I did. They made me. Now the sthtone is gone, they can't find me. I won't—'

'Silence.'

The man cringed at the command, then whimpered as Akkarin crouched beside him.

'Put your hand on his forehead.'

Sonea pushed aside her reluctance and squatted beside the captive. She rested a hand on his forehead. Her heart skipped as Akkarin pressed his hand over hers. His touch was cool at first, but quickly warmed.

- I will show you how to read him, but once you have the skill of it, I will let you explore as you wish.

She felt his presence at the edge of her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she visualized her mind as a room, as Rothen had taught her. She took a step toward the doors, intending to open them to greet him, then jumped back in surprise as Akkarin appeared within the room. He waved a hand at the walls.

- Forget this. Forget everything you have been taught. Visualization slows and restricts your mind. Using it, you will only understand what you can translate into images.

The room disintegrated around her. So did the image of him. But the sense of his presence remained. Before, when he had read her mind, she had sensed little presence at all. Now she detected a hint of personality and a power that was stronger than anything she had encountered before.

- Follow me...

His presence moved away. Pursuing it, she sensed herself drawing close to a third mind. Fear emanated from this mind, and she encountered resistance.

- He can stop you only if he can sense you. To prevent him sensing you, put aside all will and intent except for the single purpose of easing into his mind without disturbing it. Like this...

To her amazement, Akkarin's presence changed. Instead of exerting his will on the man's mind, he seemed to give up.

Only the faintest presence remained, a vague desire to drift into another's thoughts. Then his presence strengthened again.

- Now you.

She had a lingering sense of what he had done. It had seemed easy, yet every time she tried to emulate him she bumped up against the captive's mind. Then she felt Akkarin's mind drift into hers. Before she could feel any alarm, he sent something - a concept - into hers. Instead of trying to separate and lose all the intentions but one, she should concentrate only on the one needed.

Suddenly she knew exactly how to slip past the captive's resistance. In less than a heartbeat she had drifted into his mind.

- Good. Now keep that light touch. Watch his thoughts. When you see a memory you wish to explore, exert your will on his mind. This is more difficult. Watch me.

The man was thinking about the tooth, wondering if his master had been watching when the girl had appeared.

- Who are you? Akkarin asked.

- Tavaka.

Abruptly, Sonea became aware that he had been a slave, until recently.

- Who is your master?

- Harikava. A powerful Ichani. A face, distinctly Sachakan, flashed through his mind. It was a cruel face, hard and clever.

- What are the Ichani?

- Powerful magicians.

- Why do they keep slaves?

- For magic.

A multilayered memory flashed through Sonea's mind. She had the impression of countless memories of the same incident: the slight pain of a shallow cut, the drawing of power...

The Ichani, she understood suddenly, used black magic to draw power from their slaves, constantly strengthening themselves.

- No more! I am a slave no longer. Harikava freed me.

- Show me.

The memory flashed through Tavaka's mind. Harikava sat in a tent. He spoke, saying that he would free Tavaka if he undertook a dangerous mission. Sonea sensed Akkarin take control of the memory. The mission was to enter Kyralia and find out if Kariko's words were true. Was the Guild weak? Had it spurned the use of greater magic? Many slaves had failed. If he succeeded, he would be accepted among the Ichani. If he did not, they would hunt him down.

Harikava opened a wooden box trimmed in gold and gems. Taking out a sliver of something clear and hard, he tossed it in the air. It floated there, slowly melting before Tavaka's gaze. Harikava reached to his belt and drew an elaborate curved dagger with a jeweled handle. Sonea recognized the shape. It was similar to the one she had