The Traitor Queen

tunnels. She had heard that there were some in the University.

Even if she did find another way in, most of the furniture in the Guild was old and valuable so likely to be missed. The servants’ furniture might be less precious, but they lived and worked away from the areas magicians and novices frequented. If Lilia wandered over to the servants’ quarters, or even slipped into the kitchens beside the Foodhall, she’d stand out like, as her mother would say, “a prince at a beggar’s ball”.

I need to find cast-offs that nobody is using. They’ll probably be broken, but I suppose we can try to fix them. We might have to pull them apart and reassemble them anyway, to get them into the tunnels. I’d have to get hold of some wood and nails – and tools. Hmm, if I’m going to do that, maybe we could smuggle wood in and make furniture from scratch.

“Look, it’s the black novice.”

The words were spoken loudly and from close by. Lilia looked up and met the eyes of the speaker. He was Bokkin, a tall novice – a lowie who liked to bully those weaker than him. None of the lowies protested too loudly because he was bold enough to pick on the snooties as much as the lowies.

He’d stopped to lean on a nearby table, the usual group of followers hovering around him. She doubted they actually liked him. More likely they allied themselves with him to avoid being his target.

“Got anybody killed lately?” he asked, his lips twisted in a sneer.

She tilted her head to the side and pretended to consider. “Well, no actually.”

“What are you going to do with yourself now that Black Magician Sonea is leaving?” He pushed away from the table. “You’ll be all alone in her rooms. Got a new girlfriend? Or do you want to see what a man’s like for once?” He strutted up to her table and thrust his groin close to her face. “How about I show you what you’ve been missing?”

So they know Sonea’s leaving. Lilia leaned back and looked up at him. She’d considered that someone might try to take advantage of the situation, but hadn’t expected anyone to test her so soon.

“You never showed any interest before.” She stood up slowly, staying close so that her face ended up near to his, and stared straight into his eyes. “Must be the black magic that changed your mind. You’re attracted to it, aren’t you? The thrill of danger. I’ve been told to watch for people like you.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she grabbed his face, fingers digging into the flesh of his jaw. At the same time she pushed at him with a sharp jab of magic, forcing him to stagger backwards before he could summon up the magic to resist it. She followed and pressed him back against the edge of the next table.

“You know what’s going on in that Meet? Black Magician Sonea is taking power from every magician in the Guild. Using black magic. One day – maybe one day soon – I might do that to you. You’ll have no choice. King’s orders. Do you really want to give me reason to make it as unpleasant as possible?”

He stared back at her, his face pale. She let go and wiped her hand on the front of his robe. The novices around her were silent, and the silence was spreading. She did not take her eyes from Bokkin, but she could see in the edges of her vision that faces were turning toward her.

“You had better hope she returns,” she told him. She turned her back, picked up her bag and the pieces of fruit and spiced bread rolls she’d collected for her evening meal, and left the hall.

As she stepped into the corridor she felt a rush of triumph.

That’ll get them talking. And worrying about the reason for Sonea’s trip to Sachaka, but they’ll wonder about that anyway. I’m not going to let anyone think that her leaving makes me vulnerable.

If the only future she had was to be restricted to the Guild grounds, groomed to be a protector of the Allied Lands and the main target of any enemy who might attack, then she wanted to be treated with respect in return.

Failing that, with people like Bokkin who are too stupid to remember who’ll be risking their life for him, I’ll settle for being feared.

* * *

From her seat at the front of the Guildhall, Sonea watched the gathering magicians and struggled to keep her breathing slow and even.

What will they do? Is twenty years of getting used to the idea of black magic long enough for them to agree to take part in it? Will they consider my mission to free my son justification enough?

It would have been easier to dismiss these questions if the other Higher Magicians hadn’t also expressed the same concerns earlier. None could predict the outcome of the Meet. All had thought some magicians would refuse to give their magic and some would not, but their opinions differed greatly on the likely numbers of either.

On both sides of the long hall, magicians were taking their seats. As always, patches of green, red and purple formed where friends of the same discipline gathered together. The dominant colour was the Alchemist’s purple, but the numbers of Healers had grown in the last few decades and there was plenty of green around the hall. Though more Warriors existed than ever before, red robes were still in the minority. This didn’t worry her, though. While most magicians dedicated their energies to something more useful, she knew that the majority of them still maintained their fighting skills in their spare time.

At the front of the hall the Higher Magicians waited. Only Administrator Osen was missing from the tiered seats. As always he would address the room from the Front, the area before the Higher Magicians. Sonea looked at the row of seats above hers. The king’s chair was empty, but both King’s Advisers had joined the Meet – which was unusual. Adviser Glarrin met her eyes and nodded; Adviser Rolden, who had been present twenty years before when she and Akkarin had been judged and exiled, glanced at her and frowned.

Looking down, Sonea noted how the Higher Magicians in the lower tiers of seats kept casting glances upward. From his place among the Heads of Studies in the bottom row, Rothen met Sonea’s eyes. He looked grim, but managed a reassuring smile.

Their dinner the night before had been shadowed by frightening possibilities. She knew he was wondering if this was the last time he’d see her. It was another fear to add to the worry that he’d never see Lorkin again. He’d offered to go with her. She’d reminded him that he knew too much about her other reason for the journey. He’d nodded, then said that he would take comfort from the fact she had chosen a reliable assistant.

Looking around the hall, she searched for Lord Regin and found him sitting, as she’d expected, near the front. He looked serious and aloof. This might have been a deliberate mask of his true feelings, but it was hard to tell. He always looked serious and aloof.

I hope Rothen is right about him. Well, of course he is. Regin takes his responsibility to the Guild, Kyralia and the Allied Lands much too seriously to jeopardise our task.

Which meant, no matter how unpleasant things got between them, he would obey her orders.

Most of the magicians had settled in their seats now. Administrator Osen strode out in front of the Higher Magicians and a gong rang to mark the beginning of the Meet.

The room immediately quietened.

“At this Meet here today we have an exceptional situation to discuss and deal with,” Osen began, “and, as such, the course of action given to us will be unique in the history of the Guild.” He paused and looked around the room. “As you may already know, Ambassador Dannyl travelled to Sachaka some months ago to serve in the Guild House of Arvice. He took with him the young magician Lord Lorkin, who had volunteered to be his assistant.

“Not long after settling in Arvice, Lord Lorkin was saved from assassination by a slave. The slave was a spy for the people known as the Traitors, Sachakans who have lived separately to the rest of the country for hundreds of years. To evade future attacks on his life, this slave helped Lorkin flee to the Traitors’ secret home.

“There Lorkin learned more about these people. They reject slavery and though they use black magic they appear to live peacefully. They have a network of spies throughout Sachaka – though from all I have heard the main aim of their spying is their own protection.

“Recently Lorkin sought to return home. On arriving in Arvice he was summoned by King Amakira and ordered to reveal all he had learned of the Traitors. Knowing that he must give any such information to King Merin first, Lorkin refused. Though this was made clear to King Amakira, and he agreed when we sent the first ambassadors to Sachaka that they will answer to their own king, he sent Lorkin to the palace prison.”