The High Lord

Akkarin looked up. Following his gaze, Sonea saw he was looking at the King. The monarch watched Akkarin intently. Sonea felt a spark of hope. Even if the King did not completely believe Akkarin's story, surely he would feel it prudent to check. He might allow Akkarin to live and stay at the Guild until...

The King's gaze suddenly shifted to hers. She found her self staring into a pair of unwavering green eyes. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to hold that gaze. It is true, she thought at him. Believe him.

'What did you do with this slave you found in the city?' Lorlen asked.

Sonea looked back down at the Administrator, then at Akkarin.

'I could not set him free to continue preying upon the people of Imardin,' Akkarin said. 'Nor could I bring him to the Guild. He would relay everything he saw, including our weaknesses, to Kariko. I had no choice but to kill him.'

Lorlen's eyebrows rose. Before he could ask further questions, Akkarin continued, his tone dark with warning.

'In the last five years I have tracked down and killed nine of these spies. Through them I have seen Kariko's attempts at uniting the Ichani fail twice. This time, I fear, he will succeed.' Akkarin's eyes narrowed. 'The last spy he sent was no slave. She was Ichani, and had no doubt read Lord Jolen's mind and learned all that I hoped to prevent the Sachakans from discovering. If she had made Jolen's death look natural, and left his family and servants alive, none of us would have thought to question it, I might not have realized the Ichani knew the truth about the Guild. Instead, by trying to make it look as though I killed him she has forced me to reveal the existence of the Ichani to you.' He shook his head. 'I only wish that was to your advantage.'

'So you believe this Ichani woman murdered Lord Jolen?'

'Yes.'

'And these spies are the reason why you started practicing black magic again?'

'Yes.'

'Why didn't you tell us of this five years ago?'

'The threat was not great then. I hoped that, by killing off the spies, I might eventually convince the other Ichani that the Guild was not as weak as Kariko claimed. Or Kariko might eventually give up trying to gain their support. Or one of the Ichani might kill him; he did not have his brother's protection any more.'

'Yet you should have let us decide that.'

'It was too great a risk,' Akkarin replied. 'If I was publicly accused of using black magic, the Ichani would learn of it and know Kariko was right. If I managed to convince you of the truth, you might decide that learning black magic yourselves was the only way to protect Kyralia. I would not have that on my conscience.'

The Higher Magicians exchanged glances. Lorlen looked thoughtful.

'You have used black magic to strengthen yourself, so that you could fight these spies, and this Ichani woman,' he said slowly.

'Yes.' Akkarin nodded. 'But it was strength given willingly, by my servant and lately by Sonea.'

Sonea heard indrawn breaths. 'You used black magic on Sonea?' Lady Vinara gasped.

'No.' Akkarin smiled. 'There was no need. She is a magician, and can give her strength to another in more conventional ways.'

Lorlen frowned and glanced at Sonea. 'How much did Sonea know of all this before today?'

'All,' Akkarin replied. 'She had, as Lord Rothen pointed out, accidentally discovered more than she should have, and I had to take steps to ensure she and her former guardian remained silent. I recently decided to allow her to know the truth.'

'Why?'

'I realized that someone should know of the Ichani threat other than myself.'

Lorlen's eyes narrowed. 'So you chose a novice? Not a magician, or one of the Higher Magicians?'

'Yes. She is strong, and her knowledge of the slums has proved useful.'

'How did you convince her?'

'I took her to see one of the spies, then taught her to read his mind. She saw more than enough there to know that what I told her of my own experiences in Sachaka was true.'

Murmuring filled the hall as the implications of that sank in. The eyes of the Higher Magicians turned to Sonea. She felt her face warming and looked away.

'You told me that you couldn't teach another that skill,' Lorlen said quietly. 'You lied.'

'No, I didn't lie.' Akkarin smiled. 'I couldn't teach another, at the time, or you would have realized it had been taught to me, and asked where I had learned it.'

Lorlen frowned. 'What else have you taught Sonea?'

At the question, Sonea felt her blood turn to ice.

Akkarin hesitated. 'I have given her certain books to read, so that she might better understand our enemy.'

'The books from the chest? Where did you get them?'

'I found them in the passages under the University. They were placed there by the Guild after black magic was banned, in case such knowledge was needed again. I'm sure you have read enough of them to know this is true.'

Lorlen glanced back at Lord Sarrin.

The old Alchemist nodded. 'It is true, according to the records I found in the chest. I have studied them carefully and they do appear to be genuine. They relate how, before the Guild banned black magic five centuries ago, its use was common. Magicians kept apprentices, who gave them power in exchange for knowledge. One of these apprentices killed his master and massacred thousands in an attempt to rule the land for himself. After he died, the Guild banned black magic.'

The hall filled with murmuring voices that quickly rose into a clamor. Listening carefully, Sonea heard snatches of conversation.

'How are we to know if any of his story is true?'

'Why haven't we heard of these Ichani?'

Lorlen lifted both arms and called for quiet. The noise subsided.

'Do the Higher Magicians have any questions for Akkarin?'

'Yes,' Balkan rumbled. 'How many of these outcast magicians are there?'

'Somewhere between ten and twenty,' Akkarin replied. A scattering of laughter followed. 'Every day they take power from their slaves, who have strong magical potential equal to any of us. Imagine a black magician with ten slaves. If he took power from half of them every few days, he would be hundreds of times stronger than a Guild magician within weeks.'

Silence followed his words.

'Yet, that power diminishes as it is used,' Balkan said. 'After battle, a black magician is weaker.'

'Yes,' Akkarin answered.

Balkan looked thoughtful. 'A smart attacker would kill the slaves first.'

'Why haven't we heard of these Ichani before?' Administrator Kito's voice echoed through the hall. 'Merchants travel into Sachaka every year. They have occasionally reported meeting magicians in Arvice, but not black magicians.'

'The Ichani are outcasts. They live in the wastes and are not spoken of publicly in Arvice,' Akkarin replied. 'The court of Arvice is a dangerous political battlefield. Sachakan magicians do not allow others to know the limits of their skills and power. They are not going to allow Kyralian merchants and ambassadors to discover what they keep from their own countrymen.'

'Why do these Ichani want to invade Kyralia?' Balkan asked.

Akkarin shrugged. 'Many reasons. The main one, I suspect, is to escape the wastes and regain status and power in Arvice, but I know some desire to take revenge for the Sachakan War.'

Balkan frowned. 'An expedition to Arvice would confirm the truth of this.'

'Anyone recognizable as a Guild magician will be killed if they approached the Ichani,' Akkarin warned. 'And I suspect few in Arvice would be aware of Kariko's ambitions.'

'How else will we confirm the truth?' Vinara said. 'Will you submit to a truth-read?'

'No.'