The Traitor Queen

clothing, padding his torso by stuffing his clothes with clean rags. Achati had put on a slave’s wrap. It would have been amusing to watch Tayend instructing the dignified Ashaki how to walk with a slave’s hunch, if they hadn’t all been so worried that their plan would fail.

As always, the courtyard of the Guild House had been lit by one lamp and they had both kept their faces turned from it. At Tayend’s suggestion they had kept their actions simple: Lorkin strode out of the House and into the carriage, Achati had hurried after and climbed onto the back of the carriage. They’d left the Guild House without any interference. All the way to Achati’s home, Lorkin had sat rigid in the carriage, waiting for a call for them to halt, but none came. Once the carriage passed through the gate of Achati’s mansion, the Ashaki climbed inside the carriage and they’d quickly exchanged clothing.

Lorkin’s rescuer had told him to stay put, then left to have a quiet conversation with a man Lorkin learned later was the household’s slave master. Achati had returned to explain his plan. Once again Lorkin would be disguised as a slave, only this time he must be prepared to endure much harsher treatment – and hope that there were Traitors among Achati’s all-male slaves.

I also have to hope that they saw and recognised me, found out I’d been put on the cart, were able to pass on messages to other Traitors, and that the Traitors are actually able to catch up with the cart, stop it and free me without revealing their, and my, identities.

Thinking about it like that, it sounded a crazy scheme with far too many ways it could all go wrong.

What’s the worst that could happen? I might have to go all the way to the mine. The Steelbelt Ranges run along the border between Sachaka and Kyralia. How hard would it be to free myself with magic, and travel the rest of the way to Kyralia?

How hard depended on whether Sachakan magicians ran the mine. Or if Ichani lurked in the mountains.

I should leave the cart before I get there, when there are no Sachakan magicians around, but we are close to the mountains. If only I knew what Sachaka was like down in the southern corner. Does the wasteland extend as far as the sea? Do the Ichani roam that far?

The cart began to slow. Opening his eyes, Lorkin glanced around to see both fear and hope in the faces of the other slaves. He heard the sound of a stomach growling. Perhaps they were going to be given food and water.

The cart stopped and he heard voices outside.

“The well’s likely to collapse. I don’t want to risk one of mine. They’re healthy and useful,” a haughty voice said.

The driver replied in a low, wheedling voice. Lorkin could not make out the words.

“Name the price,” the haughty one commanded.

A pause, then the cart shifted and two sets of footsteps moved around to the rear. The lock rattled, then the doors opened. Bright light flooded in, blinding Lorkin.

“That one will do.”

“He’s trouble.”

“Then you’ll be glad to be rid of him. If he survives and is troublesome, I’ll sell him back to you. Here.”

The clink of coins followed. Lorkin’s eyes had begun to adjust to the light. He could see an Ashaki standing next to the driver, who was leaning in to unlock the chains of one of the slaves.

Lorkin’s heart stopped as he realised those chains were his own.

For a wild moment he considered blasting his way out of the cart with magic, but stopped himself with an effort. Wherever you end up, there will be Traitors, he told himself. They will find you. They will free you.

Whatever work this Ashaki planned for him sounded dangerous, but at least Lorkin could use magic to protect himself. At least none of these other poor slaves will have to risk their lives doing it.

“Come on,” the driver said, grabbing Lorkin’s leg and pulling. Lorkin hauled himself to his feet, stepping over the legs of other slaves between him and the open doors. He had to jump to the ground, and the restraining chains prevented him keeping his balance. He fell face first on the ground.

Well, at least that saves me the humiliation of throwing myself on the ground before my new owner.

“Stay there,” the haughty voice said.

The man waited until the cart had driven away before he spoke again. By then Lorkin had stolen enough glances to either side to see there were two burly male slaves standing alongside him and the Ashaki.

“Get up. Follow me.”

Lorkin obeyed. The chains rattled and shortened his stride as he followed the Ashaki and his two slaves through a small gate and into a courtyard. Another slave waited with a large hammer.

“Get rid of those,” the Ashaki ordered.

The slave pointed to a bench. Lorkin sat down and obediently positioned the leg chains where the man directed. After a few nerve-wracking but accurate blows, the chains fell from Lorkin’s ankles.

The Ashaki watched it all, looking bored. He then gestured for Lorkin to follow and led the way into the building. Damp, freshly scented air surrounded them as they entered a bathhouse. The Ashaki gestured to a pile of cloth on a wooden seat.

“Clean yourself and put those on. Don’t take too long. We don’t have much time.”

Lorkin glanced behind to find that the two burly slaves hadn’t followed them into the building. The Ashaki smiled, all haughtiness gone, then left the room. Alone, Lorkin stared after the man.

Something isn’t right about this.

Moving over to the seat, Lorkin lifted the topmost piece from the pile of cloth. His heart skipped, then soared, and he found himself grinning.

They were the simple, comfortable clothes of a Traitor.

Chapter 14 Another Change of Plan

“Safe journey,” Watcher Orton said, as the carriage pulled away from the Fort. Above him, an array of small windows looked out from the Sachakan side of the building, some bright squares of light, some dark and near- invisible. Sonea gazed back at the building until it was swallowed by darkness.

Then she extinguished the small globe light she’d set hovering inside the carriage. The darkness in the cabin felt appropriate for discussing secrets, yet she hesitated. “It’s a relief to hear Lorkin has escaped the city,” Regin said.

“Yes,” Sonea replied, seizing the opportunity to delay. “Dannyl will be pleased, too. I don’t know how he arranged it, exactly, but it involved taking a big risk. Though... we have to trust that the message did come from the Traitors, and is true.”

“Do you think it might be a lie?”

Sonea shook her head. “Not if it came from the Traitors. I can’t help worrying that this whole thing is some elaborate ruse set up by King Amakira. Lorkin would have to have been deceived as well, as I detected no feeling of deceit from him when we spoke via the blood ring.” She frowned. In fact, I didn’t detect anything of his thoughts and feelings. That’s odd. The ring should have allowed me to do so. It’s as if... aah, of course. Lorkin’s thoughts were being protected somehow. Possibly the same way hers were protected by Naki’s ring. Was he carrying a similar gemstone? Did Naki’s ring originally come from the Traitors? If it had, how did it get to Kyralia? She said it had been passed down through the women in her family. Was one of them a Traitor?

“He has the ring now?”

She turned her thoughts back to the conversation. “Yes.”

“So that’s how you knew the messages were from the Traitors,” Regin said, more to himself than her.

She looked at him, or rather, what she could see of him in the dark. They had a couple of hours before they