The Traitor Queen (40 page)

Taking the ring, Dannyl examined it. The setting was silver, and the stone within it was clear. “What is it?”

“A storestone.”

Dannyl’s breath caught in his throat. He remembered what Achati had said: “
If one should still exist, or was created, it could be terrible for all countries
.”

“It contains the strength of only a few magicians. The trouble with storestones is that you can’t know how much power they
can hold. Too much and they will shatter, releasing all their power. It would be safer to have several storestones holding
a little power than a few holding a lot. But even then, it could be the solution to defending the Allied Lands without resorting
to black magic.”

“So the Traitors lied. They
did
know how to make them,” Dannyl breathed.

“No, though they have stones that are very similar. I’m afraid I – we – gave them the idea to try. They have made only a few
so far, but I can see no reason why they couldn’t make more, or improve the method.” Lorkin looked at the ring, then back
at Dannyl. “Savara said you can keep it.”

Dannyl frowned. “A bribe?”

“The first payment for the Healers’ services.”

“How do I use it?”

“Touch it. Draw power as if you were taking it from another magician. You’ll have to use it straightaway, since you don’t
know how to store magic. Strengthening it is the same. Just send it power as if you were sending it to another.”

“And don’t store too much power in it.”

“No.”

Dannyl let his hand and the ring drop to his side. He looked at Lorkin, weighing up all that his former assistant had said.
Then he nodded.

“This will definitely persuade the Guild to order your mother home.”

Lorkin smiled. “Thanks. Though I’ll make sure I get the chance to spend some time with her before she goes. I do miss her.
And my friends. And Rothen. Ah. And there’s something
I wanted to ask you about Lord Regin. Are he and …?” He stopped and turned toward the door. “Ambassador. Did you find it?”

Tayend had stepped into the room with Lak and Vata. He held up a small ring, his connection to the Elyne king. “Exactly where
I left it.”

“Good,” Lorkin said. “Now, do you want to stay here, or come back with me?” He looked at Dannyl. “By the time we get back
we’ll know if Achati’s library is intact. The best way to prevent it being ransacked would be to occupy the building, and
I think Savara will approve of her main links to the Guild and Allied Lands staying close by.”

Dannyl sighed with relief and saw Tayend’s eyes brighten with hope. “I’ll just grab a few things, then we’ll gladly take up
your offer of accommodation.”

T
hat haunted look has crept into Anyi’s gaze again
, Lilia noted as she emerged from her bedroom. She knelt down beside the chair and wound her arms around her. Anyi sniffed
once, and turned to look at Lilia.

“I know you buried him out in the forest, but it’s not right. We have to put him with his family.”

“Where are they buried?”

“I’m not sure. Gol will know.”

Lilia kissed her. As Anyi’s arms began to slide around her a knock came from the door and they froze. Lilia pulled away and
sighed. Getting to her feet, she sent a little magic to the door to open it.

“Gol,” Anyi said with obvious relief, as the big man stepped inside with Lord Rothen. “How did it go?”

He sat down. “Things are going back to the way they used to be real fast. The Thieves stopped calling themselves ‘princes’
straightaway, and they’re taking back what they had control of beforehand – and anything else they can grab. If you want to
take Cery’s territory, you need to move now.”

Anyi frowned. “Will his people work for me?”

Gol nodded. “Those I asked were keen. They’d rather you
than any of the neighbours. It helps that you are Cery’s daughter, but in some ways it’ll make it harder. Cery had no favours
left to call in, and plenty he owed, but he had money stashed away and was respected for keeping promises.”

Lilia watched Anyi’s face, her stomach sinking as her friend’s expression hardened.

“I’ll do it.” She looked up at Gol. “But only if you help me.”

Gol smiled. “I was hoping you’d want me. Not that I wouldn’t like to retire.”

“I
am
retiring you,” Anyi said. “You won’t be my bodyguard, you’ll be my second. Like you were for my father. I don’t know why
he didn’t just call you that and be done with it.”

“To make me less of a target,” Gol told her.

“Well, you can’t pretend to be a bodyguard any more. Nobody’ll believe I’d choose a bodyguard twice my age.”

Gol crossed his arms. “I’d still beat you, any day.”

Anyi stood up. “Oh, really? Let’s see—”

“I apologise for interrupting,” Rothen injected, “but may I suggest you test that theory somewhere other than Sonea’s quarters?
And the Higher Magicians will not look favourably on us arriving late, especially after we insisted this meeting take place
as soon as could be arranged.”

Anyi looked at him thoughtfully, then at Lilia. Her expression was apologetic.

“I’m sorry Lilia, but if I am going to take my father’s place, I can’t go to this meeting.”

Lilia stared at her. “But … we need you to tell your story.”

“No, you don’t. It will make no difference whether I tell it, or you, or Lord Rothen.” Anyi’s expression was serious. “We
know Skellin had allies in the Guild. Who knows which Thief has adopted or inherited those allies? If these spies don’t know
what I look like, then I should keep it that way. If they do, I shouldn’t remind them.”

Lilia’s heart had begun to race. “But … how will you visit? I’m not supposed to leave the grounds. Once the Guild finds out
a Thief was living in the tunnels and that Skellin was there, they’ll fill in all the passages.”

Anyi walked over to Lilia and hugged her. “We’ll find other ways. You didn’t think we could live here together, did you?”

“I suppose not.”

“You’ll graduate soon. They’ll let you out of the Guild grounds then. Maybe they’ll even let you live in the city, like other
magicians do. Whatever happens, we’ll still see each other. Nobody is going to stop us being together.” Anyi pulled away,
then turned to Gol. “I’ll go out the other way.
You
won’t fit and people might’ve seen you come in, so you’d better leave with Rothen. I’ll meet you at Donia’s.”

“Are you sure you want to go that way?” Gol asked.

Anyi nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“Just … keep the lamp flame covered. I don’t know how much minefire got spilled.”

Anyi nodded, then looked at Lilia expectantly. Taking the hint, Lilia moved to the door and led Rothen and Gol out. She looked
back and saw Anyi wave before the door closed.
I hope she’ll be safe going back into the city on her own
.

She worried about that all of the way to the Administrator’s office. They detoured to the front of the University, where Rothen
arranged for a carriage for Gol. There they found Jonna waiting for them outside Osen’s door. The servant looked a little
pale, but she smiled and squeezed Lilia’s hand as Rothen knocked.

“I’ve done this before,” Lilia reminded Jonna in a whisper.

“I haven’t,” Jonna replied.

The door swung inward and they stepped into a room full of Higher Magicians.

“Ah, good,” Osen said as Lilia, and Jonna bowed. He frowned. “Were there more witnesses wishing to tell their stories, Lord
Rothen?”

“No, Administrator,” Rothen replied. “You may wish to interrogate the crew I took into custody two days ago, but for now I,
Lady Lilia and Jonna, Sonea’s servant, should be able to describe the events and cover the issues without any unnecessary
repetition.”

“Good. Who will begin?”

“I think Lady Lilia is best placed to explain where it all started,” Rothen said, turning to look at her.

Lilia took a deep breath. “For some time now Anyi – my friend and the Thief Cery’s bodyguard – have been visiting me in the
Guild via the underground passages …” Watching the faces of the Higher Magicians, Lilia saw eyes sharpen and jaws harden,
but as she told of the arrival of Cery and his injured bodyguard some softened with understanding. Kallen frowned, but she
could not tell if it was from disapproval at her keeping this secret from him, or guilt that his failure to find Skellin had
led to the situation.

A few smiled at the trap Cery had planned, arranging for Skellin to walk right into their midst. But then all signs of amusement
faded as she described how the trap had failed, of Cery’s death and Anyi’s abduction and, she saw with satisfaction, displeasure
in all faces at Skellin’s claim that he had sources in the Guild.

Rothen then took over, telling of their plans to rescue Anyi without the help or approval of the Guild for fear of alerting
Skellin’s source. He stopped at the point where Lilia boarded the ship, then looked to her to finish the story.

It was harder than she had expected to describe how she had defeated Skellin and Lorandra.
I killed someone with black magic. And yet Skellin’s death wasn’t as nasty as Lorandra’s
. Now and then she remembered the woman’s screams. What had been easy to forget on the day had turned into a memory that refused
to fade.

When she had finished, the inevitable questions came.

“You left the grounds and used black magic without permission,” Lady Vinara said.

Lilia nodded and bowed her head.

“Actually, she didn’t,” Rothen told them. “I gave her permission to do both.”

“Permission ought to be obtained from all Higher Magicians, or at least the High Lord,” Osen said, but then he smiled and
spread his hands. “However, there was reason to suspect corruption among us. Caution was the best approach, in this instance.”

“If Lilia is to fulfil her role as a black magician in future, she should not regard us with unquestioning trust,” Kallen
agreed.

Balkan nodded. “I agree. It is more important that we discover who Skellin’s source is.”

“We have a new clue: the magician who delayed Jonna reaching Lilia,” Vinara pointed out. She turned to the servant. “Who was
it?”

Jonna’s eyes widened as all attention turned to her. Then her gaze flickered across the room. “Lord Telano.”

All turned to regard the Head of Healing Studies. He looked around the room, then threw up his hands.

“A coincidence,” he protested. “So I tried to help her find Lady Lilia and got the room wrong. That proves nothing.”

“But it is interesting, in light of your recent behaviour,” Vinara said. “It would explain why—”

“Wait,” Osen interrupted. “Lady Lilia. Jonna. Is there anything else you would like to tell us?” As they shook their heads
he nodded. “Please wait outside the room.”

“Lilia should stay,” Kallen said. “We may have need of her.”

Lilia stared at him in surprise.
Surely, if he was one of Skellin’s spies, he wouldn’t want me here
. Osen looked around the rooms and she was even more astonished to see most of the magicians nodding. Except Lord Telano.
What had Vinara said? “…
in light of your recent behaviour
.” What had he done?

“Very well,” Osen said. “Stay, Lilia.”

Jonna took that as her cue to leave. Rothen moved to an empty chair and sat down, leaving Lilia as the only one standing.
All attention had returned to Telano.

“Lord Telano,” Vinara said. “Were you Skellin’s source in the Guild?”

“No,” Telano replied firmly.

“Then why is it that the roet most of the magicians and novices acquired can be traced back to you?”

“Why have my assistants seen you visiting members of the underworld and bringing back packages?” Kallen asked.

“I like smoking roet,” Telano said, throwing his hands in the air again. “So do others. There is no law against it.”

“There will be soon,” Vinara said quietly.

“But there
is
a law against working with criminals,” Osen pointed out.

“I didn’t
work
with anyone. I just happened to have bought their products. Plenty of magicians do this, often unwittingly.”
Telano gestured to Lilia. “She has knowingly worked for a Thief. Nobody is questioning
that
.”

“We’ll get to it,” Vinara assured him. “You’ve defended yourself with this reasoning for a while now, Lord Telano, but it
doesn’t explain your attempt to destroy our roet crop. For someone who likes roet, that seems … odd.”

He shook his head. “I thought the Thieves had somehow set themselves up here.”

“Really? That wasn’t your excuse when we first caught you.”

“I didn’t know who to trust. You could have been colluding with them. After all, it turns out there
is
a spy in the Guild.”

“A simple mind-read would establish your innocence,” Lord Peakin said.

The room fell silent. Looking around, Lilia saw both reluctance and hope.
They’ve wanted it done for a while, but are worried what the consequences will be if he’s innocent. He’ll resent them for
distrusting him, at the least
.

But what if he was guilty? That would be even worse.

“Will you …?” Osen began.

“No,” Telano said, the word echoing in the room.

“Your lack of cooperation does not encourage us,” Osen pointed out.

“Then demote me.” Telano’s tone was sullen.

“No.” All eyes shifted to Balkan. The High Lord was sitting with his elbows on the arms of his chair, his fingertips touching.
“With Sachaka now under the rule of the Traitors and our attention needed elsewhere, we need this matter settled. Read his
mind, Kallen.”

The mood in the room changed to surprise. Telano’s eyes had gone wide, but his face smoothed again. As Kallen stood up he
slowly got to his feet.

“Well, if you must. At least we have something in common,” he muttered.

Lilia drew in a sharp breath. “I … I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she forced herself to say, lowering her eyes as attention
shifted to her. “I’ve occasionally suspected Black Magician Kallen was … the one.”

This roused mutters of surprise and frustration. “We could wait until Sonea returns,” someone suggested.

Looking up, Lilia forced herself to meet Kallen’s eyes. He smiled. “As I said, we have need of Lilia. Distrusting me will
soon be part of her responsibilities. I suggest she read my mind as well, to put everyone’s at ease.”

Lilia stared at him, feeling doubt and a little guilt creep over her.
If he’s innocent I’m going to feel very bad about suggesting he’s Skellin’s source, after all he’s taught me. But if he’s
not … will he use this opportunity to secretly blackmail me?

Osen was nodding his head. So was Balkan. Kallen beckoned. There would be no avoiding it. If this had been his intention all
along, she had well and truly fallen into his trap. Her mouth dry, Lilia approached him. He took her hands and, still smiling,
lifted them to his head.

“You remember what to do?”

She nodded. Then closed her eyes.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed when she stepped away from him again. She felt guilt for distrusting him,
but mostly she felt relief.
I can see why the Guild chose him. He would rather die than betray the Guild. He hates himself for allowing himself to be
trapped by roet – and I had no idea the craving could be that bad. I
am
lucky to have not been caught by it
. He had expressed admiration for her risking her life to save Anyi, and she had seen his frustration and shame that he hadn’t
been
able to find and deal with Skellin.
He did try very hard. I know that now. I can forgive him for failing
.

He’d also warned her that, if Lord Telano was guilty, she might have an unpleasant time reading his mind. Lilia turned to
the magician. The man looked around the room, then scowled and stood up. He held himself stiffly as she reached out to touch
his temples.

It wasn’t pleasant. He tried to block her. He tried to think only of other things – things that might shock her into turning
her attention away. He tried to show her lies. But she saw through everything. She saw where it had begun, at brazier houses.
She saw that suppliers had suggested he avoid purchasing through the Houses and buy direct. She saw how he had grown concerned
that the Guild would disapprove of the drug, so he had begun to encourage its use by more and more magicians so they would
resist a ban. All his thoughts were laced with a ferocious ache for roet. He feared he wouldn’t be able to buy it now that
Lilia had killed Skellin. He hated her for that. His only consolation was that so many other magicians would be suffering
the same pain.

It was a relief to withdraw her mind and return to the room. As she relayed what she had learned to the Higher Magicians she
wondered how it could be that roet could do this to Telano, who must have been a man of integrity to have become a Higher
Magician – and a
Healer
– while Kallen hadn’t been corrupted, and she hadn’t become addicted.
It would have been easier for the Guild to decide what to do about roet if the results were always the same
.