The High Lord

quickly around the room. 'No other way out,' he muttered. He lifted the corner of the sacking covering the alcove. 'Can you fit in there?'

She didn't bother replying. Turning, she sat on the edge of the alcove and pushed herself backward. As she folded her legs into the small space, Akkarin let the sacking fall and pressed the boards back into place.

Complete darkness followed. The pounding of her heart was loud in the silence. Then Sonea suddenly found herself staring at lines of bright stars.

'You again,' a woman said in a strangely accented voice. 'I wondered when you would give me another chance to kill you.'

The stars brightened and Sonea felt the vibration of magic. Realizing that the points of light were holes in the mud-soaked sacking, Sonea leaned forward, hoping to see into the room beyond.

'You came prepared,' the woman observed.

'Of course,' Akkarin said.

'I have, too,' she said. 'Your dirty city is a bit smaller now. And your Guild will soon be another man less.'

In one place, where the dried mud coating the sacking was thin and crumbling, Sonea could see moving shapes illuminated by flashes of light. She scratched at the sacking to unclog more of the cloth's rough weave.

'What will your Guild think when its ruler is found dead? Will they work out what killed him? I think not.'

Sonea could make out a figure now. A woman in a dull-colored shirt and trousers stood on one side of the room. Sonea couldn't see Akkarin, however. She continued scratching at the mud coating of the sacking, trying to get a better view. How was she going to learn anything about fighting these spies, if she couldn't see the battle?

'They won't know what's hunting them,' the Sachakan continued. 'I was thinking of walking in and taking them all at once, but now I think it'll be more fun to lure them out and kill them one by one.'

'I recommend the latter,' Akkarin replied. 'You'll not get far, otherwise.'

The woman laughed. 'Won't I?' she sneered. 'But I know Kariko is right. Your Guild doesn't know higher magic. They are weak and stupid - so stupid that you must hide from them what you know or they would kill you.'

The room flared with light as strikes pounded at the woman's shield. The woman responded in kind. A creaking sound came from above. Sonea saw the woman glance up, then step sideways, toward the alcove.

'Just because we do not abuse our knowledge of magic, does not mean we are ignorant,' Akkarin said calmly. He moved into sight, maintaining a position opposite the woman.

'But I have seen the truth in the minds of your people,' the woman replied. 'I know this is why you chase me alone - why you cannot let anyone see us fighting. Let them see this, then.'

Suddenly the room filled with the deafening crack of splintering wood. A shower of wooden beams and roofing tiles fell down from the roof, filling the air with dust. The woman laughed and moved closer to the alcove and Sonea.

Then she stopped as another fall sent rubble down blocking her path. The Sachakan was suddenly thrown back against the side wall. Sonea felt the impact of Akkarin's forcestrike through the floor of the alcove, and a shower of dirt pattered onto her back.

The woman pushed herself away from the wall, snarled something, then strode toward the rubble... and through it. Sonea blinked in surprise as she realized it had been an illusion, then her heart skipped as she saw that the woman was walking straight toward her.

Akkarin attacked, forcing the woman to slow. As the woman stopped in front of her hidden store, Sonea found herself facing Akkarin's attack. Disturbed, she hastily put up a strong shield around herself.

The room vibrated as the two magicians struck at each other. More dirt trickled down Sonea's back. Reaching up, she felt the beams holding up the roof of the alcove beginning to split and sag. Alarmed, she expanded her shield to give them support.

A laugh brought her attention back to the room. Peering through the sacking, she saw that Akkarin was backing away. His strikes didn't seem to be as strong. He took a sideways step toward the door.

He's losing strength, she realized suddenly. Her stomach sank as he edged closer to the door.

'You're not getting away from me this time,' the woman said.

A barrier filled the doorway. Akkarin's expression darkened. The woman seemed to grow straighter and taller. Instead of advancing, she took a few steps backward and turned toward Sonea.

Watching Akkarin, Sonea saw his expression change to dismay and alarm. The woman reached out toward the alcove, then stopped as he threw a powerful strike at her.

He was faking, Sonea thought suddenly. He was trying to draw her away from me. But instead of following him, the woman had approached the alcove. Why? Does she know I'm here? Or is it something else?

Feeling around, Sonea found the bundle of cloth. Even in the dark she could tell that the material was of good quality.

She created a tiny, faint globe light. Unravelling the bundle, Sonea saw that it was a woman's shawl. As she lifted it, a small object fell out of the folds. A silver ring.

She picked it up. It was a man's ring, the kind that the elders of a House wore to indicate their status. A flat square on one side of it bore the incal of House Saril.

Then the alcove exploded into a storm of dirt and noise.

Sonea felt herself thrown backward. Curling into a ball, she concentrated on holding her shield around her. The weight pushing down on it increased, then became constant.

Then all was still. Opening her eyes, she created another tiny globe light. All about her was earth. Her shield was holding it back, forming a spherical hollow around her. She uncurled, rolled into a crouch and considered her situation.

She was buried. Though she could hold the shield for some time, the air within it would not last long. It would not be hard to push her way out. Once she did, however, she would no longer be hidden.

So I should stay here as long as possible, she decided. I won't get to see any more of the fight, but that can't be helped.

Thinking back on what she'd witnessed, she shook her head. The battle had been nothing like Akkarin had predicted. The woman was stronger than the usual spy. Her attitude was not like that of a slave, and she had referred to the Ichani as 'us' not 'my masters,' as the previous spy had. She was skilled in fighting. The former slaves sent into Kyralia had no time to gain any fighting skills.

If this woman was no slave, then, there was only one other thing she could be.

Ichani.

Sonea's stomach clenched at the realization. Akkarin was fighting an Ichani. She concentrated and found she could feel the vibration of their magic somewhere near. The battle was still raging.

The pressure on her shield began to ease. Looking up, she saw a small hole appear where the soil was falling away from her shield. As she watched, it enlarged as more dirt slipped away.

A view of the room began to emerge. She straightened, and caught her breath in horror. The Sachakan woman was standing only a few steps away.

Alarmed, Sonea reduced the size of her shield, but this only sent the dirt cascading down faster. As it did, Akkarin came into view. His eyes flickered to hers once, but his expression did not change. He started to move forward.

Sonea crouched within her shield, helplessly watching the Sachakan woman's back as the dirt continued to fall away. She dared not move in case the woman heard something and turned around. The Sachakan took a step backward as Akkarin drew closer. Her body was stiff with concentration.

Sonea felt Akkarin's magic brush her shield as he encircled the woman with a barrier and tried to drag her forward. But the woman broke his hold and took another step back. As her shield drew closer, Sonea pulled her own inward to avoid contact. The woman's shield now buzzed within a hand's span of Sonea. Another step, and the woman would discover her.

If she detects me, Sonea thought. If I stop shielding, her shield might slide over me without her noticing.