The Rogue (16 page)

“But … what of your duties as the king’s representative and adviser? What of mine as Guild Ambassador?”

Achati chuckled. “The king has more than one friend and adviser, and you are hardly being swamped with work. If any matter does arise, I’m sure Ambassador Tayend and your assistant can take care of it.” Then he sobered. “I want you to find out as much as possible about the storestone. If one should still exist, or was created, it could be terrible for all countries.”

Dannyl caught his breath. Achati was right: if a storestone existed or could be made it would be a great danger to both Sachaka and the Allied Lands. What would the Traitors do if they got hold of one? They would rise up against the Ashaki. Once they had conquered Sachaka, would they be content to remain there? Would they seek to expand their borders further?

Then he felt a pang of guilt and anxiety. He hadn’t told Achati everything, of course. In particular, nothing about the gemstones that Unh and the Traitors made. The only people Dannyl had given that information to were Lorkin and Administrator Osen. Osen had agreed that it was best to keep it a secret, as it might endanger Lorkin if Dannyl gave information about the Traitors to the Sachakans.

He shivered.
Can I warn the Sachakans about the Traitors’ gem-making ability somehow, without it seeming like I already knew?
He didn’t think he could.

Should I accept Achati’s help in finding out more about the store-stone?
If knowledge of such a weapon did exist, it would exist in Sachaka. The Sachakans would find it eventually, if Dannyl didn’t find it first. He should take advantage of the fact that Achati was willing for a Kyralian to do the searching.

Where would I start looking first?

He almost smiled as the obvious answer came to him.

“Could this tour take us anywhere near the Duna lands?” he asked.

“Duna?” Achati looked surprised.

“Yes. They are, after all, traders in gemstones. Perhaps they can tell us something about storestones.”

Achati frowned. “They aren’t much inclined to talk to us.”

“From what I remember of our last journey, Sachakans aren’t much inclined to listen to them.”

His friend shrugged, then his eyes narrowed. “That’s right. You and Unh got quite chatty. What did he say that makes you think his people might tell us what they know of store-stones?”

Dannyl considered his next words carefully. “We found a cave with a patch of gemstones growing from the wall. He told me they were safe. I knew what he meant, because I have encountered gemstones with magical properties before, in Elyne. Nothing like the storestone, of course.”

Achati’s eyebrows rose. “You
have
?” When Dannyl didn’t reply, he looked amused. “So … Unh knew they could be unsafe. You think his people have storestones?”

“No, but I think they might know something about them. Perhaps only stories and legends, but old tales can contain truths and history.”

The Ashaki considered Dannyl, then began to nod. “Duna, then. We will go to visit the ash desert, and hope that your powers of charm and persuasion work as well on them as they did on Unh.” He turned to the slave waiting nearby. “Bring raka. We have some planning to do.”

A thrill of excitement ran over Dannyl’s skin.
Another research trip! Like when Tayend and I …
A stab of guilt muted his enthusiasm.
What will Tayend think of me going off on an adventure with Achati just as he and I did back when we’d first met? Will he be jealous? At the least, it will be a reminder of what we don’t share any more. It seems an unkind way to repay him for drawing my attention to the booksellers at the market.

“What is it?” Achati asked.

Dannyl realised he’d been frowning. “I … I would have to gain the permission of the Higher Magicians.”

“Do you think them likely to refuse?”

“Not if I put it the way you just did.”

Achati laughed. “Then be sure to be a good mimic. Though not too good. If you sound like you’re becoming a Sachakan Ashaki, they might call you home instead.”

As Damend’s strikes broke through Pepea’s defensive shield, Lilia felt the inner shield she was holding weaken under the attack and quickly sent it more power.

“Well done,” Lady Rol-Ley said, nodding to Damend. “Third round goes to Damend. Froje and Madie will fight next.”

The two girls grimaced, rose and made their way over to the teacher reluctantly. Lilia let the inner shield around Pepea disappear and waited for instructions from the teacher. Ley was of the Lans people, who were a race that prided themselves on their warrior skills – in both men and women. Yet they produced few magicians, and not very strong ones, so while Ley was fit and good at strategy, she needed help to run classes safely.

Ley glanced at Lilia. “Protect Madie. I’ll shield Froje.”

Reaching out to lay a hand on Madie’s shoulder, Lilia sought a sense of the other girl’s power so that she could create an inner shield attuned to it. If it wasn’t in tune, it would prevent Madie striking.

She sensed nothing. Madie was rigid and tense. Looking up, she saw her old friend abruptly look away, avoiding her eyes. The girl’s power was suddenly there, clear to her senses. Annoyed, Lilia created the inner shield.

“I don’t see the point of this,” Froje complained. “I know all magicians are supposed to keep their fighting skills up, in case we’re invaded again, but we’re both terrible at it. We’d be more of a liability in battle than a benefit.”

Ley chuckled. “You might surprise yourself.”

“I doubt it. Surely we’d have no power to fight with anyway. We’d have all given it to Black Magicians Sonea and Kallen.”

“You could have hours – even half a day – to recover some strength before a battle began, so you wouldn’t be completely powerless. Even if Sonea and Kallen were defeated, our enemy would be weakened by the fight. It would be a pity if we could not finish them off and save ourselves, just because some of us were too lazy to keep up our warrior skills. Now go take your positions.”

The two girls shuffled away to the entrance of the Arena. Ley shook her head and sighed.

“They wouldn’t be so bad at it if they practised,” she said.

Lilia shrugged. “They’d practise if they liked it. And they’d like it if they were good at it.”

Ley glanced at Lilia and smiled. “Do you like Warrior Skills?”

“I’m not good at them. I never have worked out what sort of strike to use, or when.”

The teacher nodded. “You don’t have the mind of an attacker. You’re strong, though, and you pay attention. It makes you a good defender.”

A warm feeling of gratitude filled Lilia.
So I’m not terrible at this, but neither am I going to be a great Warrior.
There was a kind of relief at knowing that her decision to not choose that discipline was the right one.
Now I just have to decide between Healing and Alchemy.

At least she had a whole year and a half to make up her mind. Naki had only half a year, and she was torn between Warrior Skills and Alchemy. She was worried she would come to regret choosing the former, though it was her favourite and best discipline, because the only useful thing she could do with it during peaceful times was teach, and she didn’t think she’d be a good teacher.

Whereas I find Alchemy more interesting, but it seems so indulgent when I could be more useful to others as a Healer.

If they both chose Alchemy, it would be something they had in common during the year Lilia would continue at the University. Naki would be a graduated magician free to do whatever she chose.

A stab of worry went through Lilia’s gut. She couldn’t help fearing that Naki, once she had graduated, would grow sick of Lilia always being tied down to lessons, and find someone else to befriend.
But I’m getting ahead of myself
, she thought.
I’m not even sure Naki wants to spend that much time with me anyway. I don’t know if she loves me in return.

As if to argue with that thought, a memory flashed through her mind of Naki pressing a finger to her lips, then leaning across the carriage seat and pressing it to Lilia’s in turn. She’d dropped Lilia off at the Guild after they’d left the brazier house. Lilia had been unable to hide her disappointment. She’d hoped Naki was taking her back to her house.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Naki had said. “Remember, we must not show a hint that we might be anything more than friends. Do you understand? Not a hint. Not even when you think you’re alone. It’s the watcher you don’t see who catches you out.”

“More than friends.” Surely that means Naki loves me, too
.

A sudden impact on her shield snapped her attention back to the Arena and she instinctively drew and sent more magic to it.

“First round goes to Froje,” Lady Rol-Ley announced. “Begin round two.”

The day after their visit to the brazier house, Naki had said Lilia could stay over at her house at the end of the week. Lilia tried not to think about that. Instead she took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate on the two girls fighting in the Arena, and on keeping her shield strong.

But inside, her stomach fluttered with anticipation.

Once he opened the door Lorkin understood straightaway why Evar’s instructions had referred to the passage as a tunnel. The walls were roughly cut. For one long stretch it looked as if he was walking along a natural fissure, the floor filled in with slabs of stone and the roof gradually narrowing to a dark crack far above him. His guess was proven right when the floor abruptly ended. He peered over the edge and sent his globe light floating downward. The crack descended below the floor, which was, indeed, slabs of stone wedged between the walls. The distance of the drop below was impossible to guess at. The glow of his globe light did not penetrate far enough into the darkness.

Shuddering, he turned to a large hole carved into the rock to one side and stepped through into another roughly cut passage. This continued in a straight line for quite a distance, and he realised he must be far from the occupied caves of the city now.

I hope I’m not technically leaving the city
, he thought.
Then I’ll be breaking a rule. I could argue that I didn’t know the sewers were outside the city, but I don’t think as many Traitors would be so willing to believe in my innocence as last time if I’m found to be sneaking about again.

If only Tyvara was allowed to see him. He could have simply visited her then at her rooms. He would have liked to see what her rooms were like. What would they tell him about her?

Sometimes it feels as if I know too little about her
, he thought.
I only know what people tell me, and what I learned of her on the journey from Arvice to Sanctuary. People aren’t going to describe her rooms to me. I’m sure it would not make me love her less if she had terrible taste in furnishings or kept her rooms a mess.

The passage began to curve gently. After several hundred more steps he saw a light ahead. He shrank his globe light until it was just bright enough that he wouldn’t trip in the dark, and quietened his footsteps.

As he neared the end of the tunnel a rushing sound reached him. He peered out, but could see nobody close by. Emerging from the tunnel, he found himself on a ledge carved into the site of a huge, natural underground tunnel. The rushing sound abruptly grew louder and gained a rhythmic beat. He leaned forward to look down and saw a narrow but swiftly running river below; the ledge was several times the height of a house above it. A large water wheel pushed water out of a side tunnel to join the larger flow. This water was a darker colour.

That’s the sewer
, he realised.

The air was not as fragrant as he’d feared, perhaps because of how far away the dark water and water wheel was.
If you can operate such a mechanism from a distance, why wouldn’t you? And I suppose you could create a magical shield to keep the bad air away, too.

“Lorkin.”

He jumped at the voice and looked around, but could not see anybody.

“Up here.”

Looking up, he saw that two women were peering down at him from a ledge above, both sitting on a stone bench carved out of the rock. One was Tyvara and the other …

He blinked in surprise and dismay as he realised the other was the queen.

Recovering, he hastily performed the hand-on-heart genuflection. The queen smiled and beckoned to him. He looked to either side. There were no stairs or ladder.

“You can levitate, can’t you?” Tyvara asked.

He nodded. Creating a disc of force beneath his feet, he lifted himself upwards until he was level with the ledge, then remained floating.

“Am I breaking any rule doing this?” he asked of the queen. “I know Tyvara isn’t supposed to talk to me.”

“Never mind that,” Zarala replied, waving a hand. “Nobody is here to see. Actually, we were just talking about you.”

He looked from her to Tyvara and back, noting the glint of humour in their gaze as he stepped onto the ledge. “All praise and admiration, I hope.”

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” Zarala laughed, the wrinkles deepening around her eyes.

Once again he found himself liking her automatically. He wondered where her helper was. How had she got here all on her own?

“So, why are you here?” the queen asked. She patted the seat beside her.

He looked at Tyvara as he sat down. “To thank Tyvara for a favour she did me.”

“Oh? What favour?”

“Some advice of a personal nature.”

Zarala’s eyebrows rose and she looked at Tyvara. The younger woman stared back at her with a challenge in her eyes. The queen’s smile widened and she turned back to Lorkin.

“It wouldn’t have had something to do with the state your friend Evar was in a few days ago, would it?”

He scowled. “I must say, my opinion of the Traitors was lowered when I learned there would be no punishment for it.”

The queen’s expression became serious. “He was not forced into it.”