The Traitor Queen (3 page)

“S
hould I take Mother’s blood ring?” Lorkin asked as Dannyl walked through the open doorway of his rooms in the Guild House.

Dannyl looked down at the ring of gold Lorkin held, a globe of red glass set into the band.
If something should go wrong during this meeting with the Sachakan king it would be good if we both have a way to communicate
with the Guild
, he thought.
But if things go that badly both of our blood rings could be found and taken, and could be used as a tool of torture and distraction
against Osen and Sonea
.

That was the limitation of blood gems. They conveyed the thoughts of the wearer to the magician whose blood went into their
making. The disadvantage was that the creator couldn’t stop sensing the thoughts of the wearer, which was particularly unpleasant
if the wearer was being tortured.

This had been done to his old friend and mentor, Rothen, by one of the Sachakan outcasts – known as Ichani – who had invaded
Kyralia twenty years before. The man had caught Rothen but, instead of killing him, he’d made a gem from Rothen’s blood. He
had put it on every one of his victims so that Rothen received a flood of impressions from terrified, dying Kyralians.

Of Black Magician Sonea and Administrator Osen, who would be most affected if their ring was taken? Dannyl shivered at the
obvious answer.

“Leave it,” he advised. “I’ll have Osen’s ring. Give Sonea’s to me and I’ll hide it, in case they read your mind and learn
of it.”

Lorkin looked at Dannyl, an odd, half-amused expression on his face. “Don’t worry, they won’t read anything from me,” he said.

Dannyl stared at the young magician in surprise. “You can …?”

“In a limited way. I didn’t have the time to gain the skills the Traitors have at tricking a mind-reader. If someone tries
it on me they won’t succeed, but they’ll know they aren’t succeeding.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Dannyl said. He took a step back toward the door. “I’ll go hide this and meet you in
the Master’s Room.”

Lorkin nodded.

Dannyl hurried back to his rooms, ordered the slave to leave and stop anyone entering, then looked for a place to hide the
gem.
Lorkin can block a mind-read!
Ashaki Achati, the Sachakan king’s adviser who had been Dannyl’s friend since he had arrived in Arvice, had said the Traitors
had a way of doing it. How else did their spies, posing as slaves, avoid detection?
I wonder what else Lorkin hasn’t told me
. He felt a stab of frustration. Since returning to Arvice, Lorkin had been reluctant to say anything about the rebel society
he’d lived with for the last few months. Dannyl understood that his former assistant had been entrusted with secrets he couldn’t
reveal without risking many lives.
But it gives the impression that his loyalties now lie with them more than with the Guild and Kyralia
.

The young magician had begun wearing robes again, so he clearly still considered himself a Guild magician – despite telling
Dannyl, back when they had met in the mountains, that the Guild should act as if he’d left it.

The legs of Dannyl’s travel chest were carved to look like tree stumps, with rough, twisted bark. Dannyl had cut out one of
the twists with magic, making a small hollow behind it, in case he ever needed to hide Osen’s ring. Easing out the twist,
he set Sonea’s ring inside, then plugged the hollow closed again. Then he set off for the Master’s Room, the part of a traditional
Sachakan house where the head of a family greeted and entertained guests.

The Guild had never officially declared that Lorkin was no long a member, despite the awkward situation this had created between
Sachaka and Kyralia. Aside from avoiding the pain this would have caused Sonea, the Higher Magicians did not want to appear
to give up on finding wayward magicians too quickly. However, there had been a danger that doing nothing would make it seem
as if they condoned Lorkin’s association with the rebels, which would strain relations between the Allied Lands and the Sachakan
king.

Coming back to Arvice might have eased that strain, except for the fact that the Sachakan king badly wanted to know what Lorkin
had learned about his enemy. He was about to be disappointed.

As soon as he knew the young magician had returned, King Amakira had sent orders forbidding Lorkin to leave the city. Dannyl
had expected a summons to the palace to come soon after, but several days had passed with no further messages. No doubt the
king had been consulting with his advisers.

Including Ashaki Achati, if his absence is any indication
.

The adviser had not visited or sent any messages since the day he, Dannyl and Tayend had arrived home from their research
trip to Duna. At the thought of the journey, Dannyl felt anger simmering. Tayend had manipulated Achati into taking him with
them, then deliberately and successfully prevented Dannyl and Achati from becoming lovers.

Funny how that has made me want us to be together more, when before we left I was hesitant, and doubtful about the political
consequences of such a relationship
.

The fact that Tayend’s reasons for interfering were the same as those that had caused Dannyl to hesitate in the first place,
and that the current situation was exactly the sort that would make such an affair awkward, did not make it any easier for
Dannyl to forgive him for interfering.

Dannyl could not help hoping it was only the situation with Lorkin that kept Achati away, rather than that the man had given
up on him.

He also could not help feeling a pang of guilt. Whether he and Achati were lovers or not, there would always be secrets they
must keep from each other. Secrets like the Duna people’s proposal for an alliance or trade agreement with the Guild. That
matter had been all but forgotten since Lorkin had returned. Once, the Guild would have been excited by any chance to acquire
a new kind of magic, but the prospect of the same trade with the Traitors, who would be a more formidable ally, had eclipsed
that.

Dannyl did not know exactly what the Traitors had told Lorkin to communicate to the Guild. Osen had decided that it was best
that Dannyl did not know, in the unlikely event that his mind was read. Dannyl frowned.
Osen must know that
Lorkin can block a mind-read. Lorkin isn’t going to tell me anything he hasn’t already told Osen
.

Arriving at the Master’s Room, he saw that Lorkin was already there. He, Tayend and Lady Merria, Dannyl’s assistant, were
sitting on stools, talking quietly. They got to their feet as Dannyl entered.

“Ready?” Dannyl asked Lorkin.

Lorkin nodded.

Tayend gave the young magician a serious look. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, Ambassador,” Lorkin replied.

“We’ve both been asking our Sachakan friends what they think the king will do,” Tayend added, glancing at Merria. “Nobody
wants to predict anything, but they all hope the king won’t do anything to upset the Allied Lands.”

“And do they think I should break my promise and tell all about the Traitors?” Lorkin asked.

Tayend grimaced in reply. “Yes.” Merria nodded in agreement.

Lorkin’s lips twitched into a brief smile. “Hardly surprising.” But despite his apparent humour, his eyes were hard. Dannyl
was suddenly reminded of Black Magician Sonea. Thinking of how stubborn Lorkin’s mother had been at his age, Dannyl felt a
little better about Lorkin facing the questions and bullying of the Sachakan king.
Let’s hope bullying is all he tries
.

“You be careful, too,” Merria said.

Dannyl realised she was looking at him, and blinked in surprise. She had been giving him dark looks since he’d returned, letting
him know that she hadn’t forgiven him for not taking her to Duna. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her concern, especially
since he didn’t want to think about what would happen to himself should matters take a turn for the worse.

“I’ll be fine,” he told her. “We’ll be fine,” he added. Tayend
was looking at Dannyl in a concerned way that Dannyl did not want to think about either, so he turned towards the corridor
leading out of the Guild House. “Well, let’s not keep the king waiting.”

“No,” Lorkin said softly.

Dannyl looked over to Kai, the man who was now his personal slave. Merria had learned from her friends that it was a typical
ploy of slaves to switch tasks a lot, since it was harder for a master to find the right slave to punish for a particular
error if many different slaves could be responsible. The more slaves you saw the harder it was to remember their names, and
if you couldn’t remember a slave’s name it was harder to order them punished.

Merria had demanded that each occupant of the Guild House have one or two slaves dedicated to meeting their needs. But though
the arrangement was closer to having a servant there were still disadvantages. A servant asked questions. A servant would
tell you if something was impossible or difficult to do. A servant didn’t throw himself onto the floor every time he came
into your presence. Despite having had some irritatingly argumentative servants over the years, Dannyl would rather that than
the inconvenience of unquestioning obedience.

“Let the carriage slaves know we’re ready, Kai,” Dannyl instructed.

Kai hurried ahead. Dannyl led Lorkin down the corridor to the front door. As they stepped out, bright sunlight dazzled Dannyl’s
eyes and he lifted a hand to shade them. The sky was blue and cloudless, and there was a warmth and dryness to the air that,
in Kyralia, he’d have associated with the onset of summer. Here it was only early spring. As always, the slaves threw themselves
onto the ground. Dannyl ordered
them to rise, then he and Lorkin climbed on board the waiting carriage.

They rode in silence. Dannyl considered all that Osen had told him to say, and to avoid saying. He wished he knew more of
what Lorkin and the Guild planned. Not knowing the full truth made him uneasy. All too soon the carriage turned into the wide
tree-lined avenue leading to the palace, then pulled up outside the building. The slaves clambered to the ground and opened
the door.

Dannyl climbed out and waited for Lorkin to join him.

“Pretty,” Lorkin said, gazing up at the building in admiration.
Of course, he hasn’t seen the palace before
, Dannyl thought. Looking up at the curved white walls, and the top of the glittering gold dome just visible above, he remembered
how impressed he’d been the first time he’d visited. He was too worried about the coming interview to feel admiration now.

Turning his attention to the entrance, he led Lorkin inside. They strode down the wide corridor, past the guards, out into
the huge, column-filled hall that served as the king’s grand Master’s Room. Dannyl’s heart began to beat faster as he saw
many more people were present than at any time when he’d met the king before. Instead of a cluster of two or three people
here and there, there was a small crowd. Judging by their highly decorated short jackets and confident poses, most of them
were Ashaki. He counted quickly.
About fifty
.

Knowing that there were so many black magicians surrounding him sent an unpleasant chill down his spine. He concentrated on
keeping his face impassive and his walk dignified, hoping he was hiding his fear successfully.

King Amakira was sitting on his throne. Though old, he looked as tense and alert as the youngest of the Sachakans in
the room. His eyes never left Lorkin until Dannyl stopped and dropped to one knee. Lorkin, as instructed, followed suit.

“Rise, Ambassador Dannyl,” the king said.

Dannyl stood up and resisted looking at Lorkin, who was obliged to remain kneeling until told otherwise. The king’s gaze had
shifted back to the young magician. His gaze was intense.

“Rise, Lord Lorkin.”

Lorkin got to his feet, looked at the king, then lowered his gaze politely.

“Welcome back,” the king said.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“Have you recovered from your journey back to Arvice?”

“I have, your majesty.”

“That is good to hear.” The king looked at Dannyl and a kind of cold amusement crept into his eyes. “Ambassador, I wish to
hear Lorkin tell how he came to leave Arvice, live with the Traitors and then return.”

Dannyl nodded. “I expected you would, your majesty,” he replied, managing a smile. He turned to Lorkin. “Tell him what you
told me, Lord Lorkin.”

The young magician gave Dannyl an amused, almost reproachful look before he turned back to the king. Dannyl suppressed a smile.
If he tells them what he told me, he’ll hardly be telling them much at all
.

“On the night that I left the Guild House,” Lorkin began, “a slave crept into my bed and tried to kill me. I was saved by
another slave, who convinced me that assassins would return to finish me off if I didn’t leave with her. My rescuer, as I’m
sure you’ve guessed, was not really a slave at all, but one of the Traitors.

“She explained that the society she belonged to was formed before the Sachakan War, when a group of women were driven to unite
by their ill treatment in Sachakan society. The war forced them into the mountains, where they became a new people, rejecting
slavery and inequality between men and women.”

“They are ruled by women,” the king interrupted. “How is that equal?”

Lorkin shrugged. “It’s not a perfect arrangement, but still fairer than any I’ve encountered or heard of.”

“So you went to their base?”

“Yes. It was the safest place to go, what with the assassins still hunting for me.”

“Could you find it again?”

Lorkin shook his head. “No. I was blindfolded.”

The king’s eyes narrowed. “How big is their base? How many Traitors are there?”

“I … I can’t really say.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

“It wasn’t the sort of place where you can easily guess how many people are around.”

“Take a guess anyway.”

Lorkin spread his hands. “More than a hundred.”