The Traitor Queen

There was a pause before Gol answered.

—Rothen says he’s thinking about it.

After they’d passed four ships, the guide stopped before a plank leading up to one of the vessels and pointed to it. She looked up at the vessel. The crew stared back down at her expectantly.

—They look ready to sail. What should I do?

—Get on board. You may only get one chance to save Anyi, Gol replied.

Which was better than no chance. She drew in a deep breath, let it out, then started up the plank. Nobody spoke to her. As soon as she had reached the deck the crew turned away and set to work.

How will Rothen follow? Does the Guild have a ship? Will he be able to use it without having to tell the Higher Magicians what I’m doing?

She moved down the deck, searching the faces. Skellin was not there. Nor Lorandra. Nor Anyi. The crew must be taking her to meet Skellin – but how far away was he? Surely not in another country. It would take weeks to get there.

She imagined what she might feel like if she had been a lone young servant girl surrounded by these tough- looking men. Their expressions were not leering, though, but cold. They avoided her gaze. Nobody paid attention to her except to skirt around her when she got in the way.

Which happened a lot. There wasn’t much room on the deck of a ship. Certainly not on a small vessel designed for transporting goods rather than people. By noting the movements of the crew, she found a place to stand out of their way. From there she watched as the ship drifted away from the pier, out of the Marina and towards the sea.

The deck began to rock under her, and she had to brace herself. Many more ships surrounded them, sailing to or from the mouth of the Tarali River, but as their vessel drew further from land they pulled away from most of the others. All but one, which had its sails furled. The man who was barking out most of the orders – from which she guessed he was the captain – pointed in its direction.

She stared at the tiny figures on the other ship. Details grew clearer as they sailed closer. Among the people on board was a trio standing together at the railing. Soon she could tell that one was male and the other two female. She recognised Anyi first. How could she not? I would know her by her shadow. By her presence. Her heart twisted. I can’t mess this up. She’ll die. Perhaps I should abandon my plan and do whatever Skellin orders. But will he really let her go if I do? Will he keep her and force me to stay and teach him everything I know about magic?

Steeling herself, she looked at the other two people. The vessels were close enough now for her to see that the woman was Lorandra. Which meant the other man was her son.

So this is Skellin. He was tall like a Lans but dark like a Lonmar. But since both peoples are known for their honour and strict moral code, I doubt they’d like the comparison. Still, he’s probably not the best example of his own people. I wonder... It took an outsider, someone willing to break our rules and laws, to show us our weaknesses. What could we have learned about ourselves if the first people to visit us from Igra had been decent and law-abiding?

The ship slowed and turned so that the vessels now floated alongside each other. She could hear activity around her –the anchor lowering and sails furling, she assumed – but she could not take her eyes off the trio on the other ship. They were only twenty or thirty paces from her.

—Rothen says do whatever you have to, to get Anyi away safe, Gol sent.

Lilia nodded, then hoped that if Skellin had noticed her movement he’d taken it as a gesture of recognition. The rogue magician beckoned.

“Come join us, Lilia,” he called.

She looked down at the gap between the ships, then at the crew watching her. They were making no move to direct her to a boat. How was she supposed to transfer to the other vessel?

—Can you levitate? Gol asked.

—Yes, but it will use up some of my magic.

Which was probably Skellin’s intention. Still, levitation over that small distance wouldn’t use up too much magic, if she was quick about it.

Drawing power, she created a small disc of force beneath her feet and lifted herself up and forward. Skellin, Lorandra and Anyi stepped away from the railing to make room for her. Lorandra was holding onto Anyi’s arm. Once her feet were on the deck, Lilia looked up and saw that the woman was holding a knife to Anyi’s throat. Her stomach clenched and a chill ran over her skin. Anyi stood stiffly, braced against the rocking of the deck, and as she looked at Lilia her eyes were full of apology, anger and fear.

“Lady Lilia,” Skellin said. “So glad you accepted my invitation.”

She made herself meet his gaze without flinching. You may think you’re the king of the underworld, she thought. But I am a black magician, defender of the Guild. The pride she felt was surprising and maybe a little inappropriate, but she didn’t care so long as it gave her the confidence to stand up to him.

Unlike his mother, he had no unfamiliar accent. He paused as if waiting for a reply, and when she said nothing he smiled. “Well, you have been up for some hours and early mornings don’t suit all of us. Perhaps we should get to business. I have a proposition for you. A trade. Teach me black magic and I will hand this lovely young woman into your care. I believe you know her?”

As he gestured to Anyi, the knife at the girl’s throat turned in Lorandra’s hand, reflecting a flash of sunlight into Lilia’s eyes.

Lilia ignored it. “Let her go now.”

Skellin shook his head and laughed.

“How do I know you won’t kill her,” Lilia continued, “once I’ve given you what you want?”

“How do I know you won’t kill me, once I let her go? You are the black magician, after all.”

“And you are the murdering rogue magician and Thief.”

His eyebrows rose. “Now, now. When have you ever seen me kill someone?”

She opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She hadn’t. Not even Cery had. Anyi’s father had died when his heart failed, though that was likely caused by the strain of being hunted by Skellin. Lorandra was the Thief Hunter. But that was the way of Thieves, wasn’t it? They didn’t get blood on their hands. They got someone to do it for them.

She crossed her arms. “Let’s get this over with.”

He grinned. “My, aren’t we impatient?” He took a few steps towards her, then stopped. “But first you need to take off your clothes.”

She stared at him. “What?” The word burst out of her.

His smile vanished. “I’ve done my research, Lady Lilia,” he said in a low voice. “I know black magic requires the skin to be cut. I require assurance that you aren’t carrying any sharp objects. You can be sure I am not, since I would rather not risk you’d turn them against me. I could get one of the crew to check you over, but you might kill him, and would probably rather not be man-handled. I only need you to undress to the point where it is clear you are weaponless.”

Swallowing hard, she pulled off the worn old tunic and trousers. Then she glared at Skellin, daring him to insist she remove the simple undergarments that Guild women wore beneath their robes. From the crew of the ships came low whistles, but they fell silent as Skellin glanced around, his expression stern.

“Kick the clothes away and turn around,” he ordered. Sighing, she obeyed. “Now, to begin you will teach me how to read minds.”

Lilia froze, then cursed silently. If she protested that the deal was only to teach him black magic, he’d laugh. She was in no position to argue.

“You need someone to practise on,” she told him.

“You’ll do,” came the reply she expected.

She felt an unexpected admiration. Oh, he’s not stupid. He’s thought this through. Far better than I have. It never occurred to me he’d demand this. If I do it, he’ll see everything. My plan will never work.

“I haven’t tried to teach it that way before.” It was not hard to sound uncertain and honest. She hadn’t taught mind-reading before. To anyone.