The High Lord

us, if we include magicians living in other lands. Akkarin estimated there were ten to twenty Ichani. Even if there were only ten, we would have to increase our numbers more than threefold to meet a force that strong. Though there is magical potential in the underclasses, I doubt we would find seven hundred new magicians - and we certainly couldn't train them quickly enough.'

The King had grown a little pale. 'Is there no other way?'

Lorlen hesitated. 'There is one way, but it has its own dangers.'

The King gestured for Lorlen to continue.

Lorlen turned to look at Lord Sarrin. 'The Head of Alchemists has been studying Akkarin's books. What he has learned has been both disturbing and enlightening.'

'How so, Lord Sarrin?'

The old magician stepped forward. 'They reveal that black magic was not forbidden by the Guild until five centuries ago. Before then, it was in common use and was known as 'higher magic' After it was banned, records were rewritten or destroyed to eliminate reference to it. The books Akkarin possessed were buried under the University as a precaution against Kyralia facing a powerful enemy again.'

'So your predecessors intended for the Guild to relearn black magic if it was under threat?'

'It appears so.'

The King considered that. Lorlen was pleased to see wariness and fear in the monarch's expression. No ruler would like the idea of giving magicians potentially limitless power.

'How long would it take?'

Sarrin spread his hands. 'I don't know. More than a day. I believe Sonea learned it in a week, but with guidance from Akkarin. Learning from books may prove more difficult.' He paused. 'I would not recommend attempting such an extreme measure unless there was no other way.'

'Why not?' the King asked, though he seemed unsurprised.

'We could save ourselves only to end up fighting the corrupting effects of black magic on our own people.'

The King nodded. 'Yet black magic does not appear to have corrupted Akkarin. If he had intended to overpower the Guild, and myself, he could have done it at any time in the last eight years.'

'That is true,' Lorlen agreed. 'Akkarin was my closest friend, from the day we met as novices, and I never found him to be dishonorable. Ambitious, yes, but not immoral or lacking in compassion.' He shook his head. 'The Guild is large, however, and I cannot guarantee that all magicians would be as restrained if they had access to limitless power.'

The King nodded. 'Then perhaps only a few might learn it, those who were judged trustworthy... but only if the situation proves desperate, as you say. Proof is the key, here. You must discover whether Akkarin's story is true or untrue.' He looked at Lorlen. 'Is there anything else that I should know?'

Lorlen glanced at the others, then shook his head. 'I wish we had more significant or reassuring news, Your Majesty, but we do not.'

'Then the rest of you may go. Stay with me a while, Administrator. I would question you further about Akkarin and his novice.'

Lorlen stepped aside and nodded to the others. They knelt briefly, then left the room. At a gesture from the King, the Advisors quietly moved away to chairs beside the door. He rose and crossed to the northern window.

Lorlen followed at a respectful distance. The monarch leaned on the sill and sighed.

'I have never found Akkarin to be anything but honorable,' he murmured. 'For the first time I find myself hoping that I was wrong about him, and have been proven a fool.'

'As do I, Your Majesty,' Lorlen replied. 'If he was telling the truth, we have just sent our best ally into the hands of our enemy.'

The King nodded. 'Yet it had to be done. I do hope that he survives, Administrator, and not just because we may need him. I, too, valued him as a good friend.'

Pain was the first sensation Sonea became aware of when she woke. It was at its worst in her legs and back, but her shoulders and arms also felt bruised and sore. Concentrating on it, she realized it was the ache of muscles unused to exercise, and the cramping of others that had tried to brace themselves against the hard surface she was lying on.

Drawing on her power, she Healed away the discomfort. As the ache receded, she grew aware of a nagging hunger. She wondered when she had last eaten, and memories of the previous night flooded in.

Last thing I remember, I was in a cave with Akkarin.

She opened her eyes slightly. Two walls of stone stretched up above her, drawing closer until they met. The cave. Keeping her eyes mostly closed, she looked toward the entrance. Akkarin was sitting a few steps away. As she watched, he looked at her and his mouth curled into that wry, half-smile she knew so well.

He's smiling at me.

She didn't know if he could see she was awake, and she didn't want him to stop smiling, so she stayed still. He continued to regard her, then looked away, sighed and the smile was replaced with a frown of worry.

She closed her eyes again. She ought to get up, but she did not want to move. Once she did, the day would begin and there would be more walking and climbing and running away from Ichani. And Akkarin would turn cold again.

She opened her eyes fully and regarded him again. The skin of his face seemed tight, and looked bruised under his eyes. The shadow of stubble accentuated the angles of his jaw and cheekbones. He looked thin and tired. Had he slept at all? Or had he sat up all night watching her?

His eyes snapped to hers and his expression became disapproving.

'So. You're awake at last.' He climbed to his feet. 'Get up. We must get as much distance as possible between us and the Pass.'

Good morning to you, too, Sonea thought. She rolled and pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.

'What time is it?'

'Nearly dusk.'

She had slept all day. She considered the shadows under his eyes again.

'Did you sleep?'

'I kept watch.'

'We should watch in turns.'

He didn't reply. She moved to the entrance of the cave. The drop into the ravine made her head spin. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she felt the vibration of magic under her feet.

'Let me do that,' she offered.

He ignored her. Magic lifted them both from the cave floor. She watched his face as they moved upward, noting the tension in his face. Tomorrow night she would insist on taking the first watch, she decided. Clearly she would not be able to rely on him to wake her up so he could sleep.

As he set them down at the top of the cliff, his hand left her shoulder. She followed as he began searching the ground. Guessing he was looking for signs of the Ichani's passing, she hung back a little. After moving uphill for a few hundred paces, he stopped, walked back past her, and started in the opposite direction.

Turning to follow, she looked up and drew in a short breath in amazement. The wasteland spread before her. Despite the muting of the dusk light, the colors of the land were still vivid.

Dark, rust-colored soil lapped at the base of the mountains, but where rivers had eroded the land away, bands of black and pale yellow could be seen. If she looked closely, she could see a speckling of tussocky grass on the surface and, here and there, scraggly groves of trees grown twisted by the wind.

It was a bleak landscape, yet there was a wild beauty to it. The colors were so intense and strange. Even the sky was a different blue.

'It is as I feared. He continued southward instead of descending toward the wastes.'

She blinked in surprise as she saw that Akkarin was walking toward her again. He passed her and continued up the slope again. She sighed and hurried after.

A demanding climb followed. Akkarin seemed reluctant to levitate, preferring to climb up the stepped shelves of rock. He did not stop to rest, and by the time the last rays of the sun had left the mountains above, she was sore and weary again.