"Give me some time to talk to him alone."
Fergun hesitated, then shrugged. "Very well. A few minutes, no more."
He gestured and the door swung shut, leaving them in complete darkness.
Cery sighed. "Well, we're trapped together."
"He won't leave me here. He needs me."
"What for?"
"It's complicated. He wants me to agree to join the Guild so he can have me break a law and get kicked out. I think it's his way of getting revenge for me knocking him out in the Purge - but I'm guessing it's also about convincing the Guild that they shouldn't take in dwells. It doesn't matter. If I do what he says, he'll let you go. Do you think he will?"
Cery shook his head, though he knew she couldn't see him. "I don't know. He hasn't been nasty. Thieves would've been worse." He hesitated. "I don't think he knows what he's doing. Tell someone."
"No," she replied. "If I tell someone, Fergun will refuse to reveal where you are. You'll starve."
"Someone else must know about these passages."
"They might take days to find you, Cery. We walked a long way to get here. You could even be outside the Guild."
"It didn't seem far to m -"
"It doesn't matter, Cery. I wasn't going to stay, so there's no sense in risking your life."
"You weren't going to join the Guild?"
"No."
His heartbeat quickened. "Why not?"
"Lots of reasons. Everyone hates magicians, for a start. I'd feel like I was betraying the people I know if I joined them."
He smiled. It was so like her to see it like that. He took a deep breath. "Sonea, you should stay. You need to learn how to use your magic."
"But everyone will hate me."
"No they won't. Truth is, they'd love to be a magician if they had half a chance. If you turn the magicians down, everyone will think you're mad, or stupid. They'd understand if you stayed. They wouldn't want you to give it all up." He swallowed hard, and forced himself to lie. "I don't want you to give it all up."
She hesitated. "You wouldn't hate me?"
"No."
"I would."
"The people who know you wouldn't think it was wrong," Cery told her.
"But... I'd still feel like I'd changed sides."
Cery sighed. "Don't be stupid, Sonea. If you were a magician, you could help people. You might be able to do something about stopping the Purge. People would listen to you."
"But... I belong with Jonna and Ranel. They need me."
"No they don't. They're doing fine. Think how proud they'd be. Their own niece in the Guild."
Sonea stamped her foot. "It doesn't matter, Cery. I can't stay. Fergun said he'll kill you. I'm not going to abandon a friend just so I can do a few magic tricks."
A friend. Cery's shoulders drooped. Closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh. "Sonea. Do you remember the night we spied on the Guild?"
"Of course." He could hear the smile in her voice.
"I told you that I knew someone, a servant in the Guild. I could have gone back to that man, and asked him to find out what the Guild planned for you, but I didn't. Do you know why?"
"No." She sounded puzzled now.
"I didn't want to find out that the Guild really wanted to help you. You'd just come back and I didn't want you going away. I didn't want to lose you again."
She said nothing. Her silence told him nothing. He swallowed, his mouth dry.
"I've had lots of time to think here," he told her. "I've ... well, I've told myself to face up to it. There's nothing between us 'cept friendship, so it's unfair ..."
A soft gasp escaped her. "Oh, Cery," she breathed. "You never said anything!"
He felt his face burning, and was grateful for the dark. Holding his breath, he waited for her to speak, hoping she would say something to show she felt the same, or, perhaps, that she would touch him ...
The silence stretched on until he could stand it no longer.
"Well, it doesn't matter," he told her. "What matters is that you don't belong in the slums. Not since you found your magic. Now you might not fit in real well here, either, but you have got to give it a go."
"No," she told him firmly. "I've got to get you out of here. I don't know how long Fergun intends to use you to blackmail me, but he can't keep you down here forever. I'm going to make him bring me messages from you so I know you're alive. If he doesn't, I'll stop cooperating. Remember the story about Hurin the carpenter?"
"Of course."
"We'll do what he did. I don't know how long it will take before he frees you but I -"
She stopped as the door clicked open. The magician's light fell upon her face and Cery felt his heart twist.
"You've been in here long enough," Fergun snapped.
Sonea turned back to Cery, gave him a quick hug, and stepped away. He swallowed. Somehow the brief encounter hurt more than her earlier silence.
"Stay warm," she told him. Backing away, she stepped past Fergun into the passage. As the door closed, Cery hurried forward and pressed his ear to the wood.
"Do what I tell you and you'll see him again," Fergun said. "Otherwise ..."
"I know, I know," Sonea replied. "But just you remember what Thieves do to those who break their promises."
You tell him, Cery thought, smiling grimly.
It was clear from the moment Dannyl entered the Night Room that he was worried about something. Extracting himself from a circle of questioning magicians, Rothen walked across the room to greet his friend.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't tell you here," Dannyl said, his eyes flickering about.
"Outside then?" Rothen suggested.
They walked out into falling snow. White flakes fluttered all around them, hissing as they met Rothen's shield. Dannyl moved to the fountain and stopped.
"Guess who I saw in the University just now."
"Who?"
"Fergun and Sonea."
"Sonea?" Rothen felt a twinge of anxiety, but pushed it away. "He has the right to talk to her now, Dannyl."
"Talk to her, yes, but take her from your rooms?"
Rothen shrugged. "There is no rule against it."
"Aren't you concerned?"
"Yes, but it will do no good to protest, Dannyl. It's better that Fergun is seen to overstep his welcome, than I protest at his every move. I doubt she would have gone with him if she didn't want to."
Dannyl frowned. "Don't you want to know where he took her?"
"Where?"
A look of vexation crossed Dannyl's face. "I'm not sure, exactly. I followed them into the University. Fergun took her into the inner passages. After that I lost them. They just disappeared."
"They vanished before your eyes?"
"No. I could hear Fergun talking, then everything was silent. Too silent. I should have heard footsteps, or a door closing. Something."
Once again, Rothen pushed away a feeling of unease. "Hmm, I would like to know where he took her. What could he possibly have to show her in the University? I'll ask her tomorrow."
"And if she doesn't tell you?"
Rothen stared at the snow-covered ground, considering. The inner passages of the University led to small, private rooms. Most would be empty, or locked. There was nothing else there ... except...
"I don't suppose he's shown her the underground passages," he murmured.
"Of course!" Dannyl's eyes brightened, and Rothen instantly regretted his words. "That's it!"
"It's highly unlikely, Dannyl. Nobody knows where the entrances are except -"
Dannyl wasn't listening. "It makes sense now! Why didn't I think of them?!" He pressed his hands to the side of his head.
"Well, I would suggest strongly that you keep out of them. There are good reasons for the ban against using them. They're old and unsafe."
Dannyl's eyebrows rose. "So what about the rumors that a certain member of the Guild uses them on a regular basis?"
Rothen crossed his arms. "He can do as h
e pleases, and I'm sure he's capable of surviving if a passage collapsed. I'm also sure he wouldn't approve of you snooping around. What will you say if he discovers you in there?"
The light in Dannyl's eyes faltered as he considered that. "I'd have to time it carefully. Make sure I knew he was elsewhere."
"Don't even consider it," Rothen warned. "You'll get lost."
Dannyl snorted. "It can't be any worse than the slums, can it?"
"You're not going, Dannyl!"
But Rothen knew that, once Dannyl's curiosity was roused, nothing would deter his friend but the threat of expulsion. The Guild wasn't going to cast him out for breaking a minor rule. "Think carefully, Dannyl. You don't want to ruin your chance to become an ambassador, do you?"
Dannyl shrugged. "If I can get away with negotiating with the Thieves, I doubt a little snooping around under the University will earn me much disapproval."
Defeated, Rothen turned and started back toward the Night Room. "That may be so, but sometimes it matters whose disapproval you earn."
Chapter 28
The Hearing Begins
"Don't worry, Sonea," Tania whispered as they reached the front of the University. "You'll be fine. The magicians are just a gaggle of old men who'd rather be sipping wine in their rooms than sitting in a drafty old hall. It will all be over before you know it's started."
Sonea couldn't help smiling at Tania's description of the Guild. Taking a deep breath, she followed Tania up the stairs of the grand building. As they passed through the huge open doors, she caught her breath.
They had entered a room full of staircases. Each was made of melted and fused stone and glass, and looked too frail to support a man's weight. The stairs spiraled up and down and around each other like an elaborate piece of jewelry.
"The other side of the University isn't like this!" she exclaimed.
Tania shook her head. "The back entrance is for novices and magicians. This is the way that visitors come, so it has to be impressive."
The servant continued through the room and started down a short corridor. Sonea could see the bottom half of another pair of enormous doors ahead. As they reached the end of the corridor, Sonea stopped and stared around in awe.
They stood at the threshold of an enormous room. White walls stretched up to a ceiling of glass panels that shone brightly in the gold light of the afternoon sun. At the level of the third floor, a web of balconies crisscrossed the room - so delicate that they seemed to float in the air.
Before her stood a building. A building within a building. The rough gray walls made a dramatic contrast to the airy white of the Hall. A row of slim windows was spaced, like soldiers, along its length.
"This is the Great Hall," Tania said, indicating the room. "That," she pointed to the building, "is the Guildhall. It's over seven centuries old."
"That's the Guildhall?" Sonea shook her head in disbelief. "I thought they replaced it."
"No." Tania smiled. "It was well made and has historical value, so it would have been a shame to tear it down. They took the inside walls out and made it into a hall."
Impressed, Sonea followed the servant around the building. Several more openings led out of the Great Hall. Tania pointed to a pair of doors in the side of the Guildhall. "That's where you'll go in. They're having their Meet now. The Hearing will start when it's finished."
Sonea's stomach began to flutter again. A hundred magicians sat inside, waiting to decide her fate. And she was about to stand before them all... and deceive them.
She felt a sickening wave of apprehension. What if, despite her cooperation, Fergun did not win the claim? Would he still let Cery go?
Cery ...
She shook her head as she remembered his halting admission in the dark cell. "I didn't want to find out that the Guild really wanted to help you. You'd just come back and I didn't want you going away. I didn't want to lose you again."
He loved her. Surprise had left her speechless at first, but when she thought back to the times she had noticed him watching her, how he would sometimes grow hesitant when talking to her, and how Faren had occasionally behaved as if Cery was more than just a faithful friend, it all made sense.
Did she feel the same way? She had asked herself the question countless times since their meeting, but she could not answer with certainty. She didn't feel like she was in love, but perhaps the fear that gripped her when she considered the danger he was in meant she was. Or would she feel that concern for anyone she loved, whether as a friend or more than a friend?
If she loved him, wouldn't her heart have leapt with joy at his admission? Wouldn't she feel gratified that he had tried to rescue her, rather than guilty that his regard for her had led to his capture?
Surely, if she did love him, she wouldn't have to ask herself these questions.
Pushing the thought aside, she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Tania patted her shoulder. "Hopefully it won't be long, but you never know ..."
A firm click echoed through the Hall, then the doors Tania had pointed to swung open. A magician stepped out of the building, then another. As more appeared, Sonea began to wonder why so many were leaving. Had the Hearing been cancelled?
"Where are they going?"
"Only the ones who are interested in watching the Hearing will stay," Tania told her.
While some of the magicians left the Great Hall, others gathered into small groups. A few looked at her, their eyes bright with curiosity. Unsettled, Sonea avoided their gaze.
- Sonea?
She started, then looked toward the Guildhall.
- Rothen?
- It was a short Meet - over quickly. You'll be called in soon.
Looking toward the Guildhall doors, Sonea saw a dark figure emerge. Her heart skipped as she recognized him.
The assassin!
She stared at him, sure that this was the man she had seen the night she had spied on the Guild. He wore the same grim, brooding expression she remembered. His black robes snapped around him as he strode across the room.
A few magicians turned and nodded to him, offering the same wary respect she had seen Faren give an assassin of the Thieves. He inclined his head in reply but did not stop. Though she knew she would draw his attention if she kept staring, she could not take her eyes from him. His gaze flickered to hers, lingered a moment, then shifted away.
She jumped as a hand touched her shoulder.
"There's Lord Osen." Tania was pointing toward the Guildhall doors. "The Administrator's assistant."
A young magician stood there, watching her. As she met his eyes, he beckoned.
"Go on," Tania whispered, patting Sonea on the shoulder again. "You'll be fine."
Sonea took a deep breath and forced herself to walk across the Hall to the door. When she reached the young magician, he inclined his head politely.
"Greetings, Sonea," he said. "Welcome to the Guildhall."
"Thank you, Lord Osen." She quickly sketched an awkward bow. Smiling, he gestured for her to follow him into the Guildhall.
The scent of wood and polish filled her senses as she stepped inside. The hall seemed larger than it had appeared on the outside, the walls rising up to a dark ceiling high above. Several magic globe lights hovered under the rafters, filling the room with a golden glow.
Rows of tiered wooden seats extended down the length of the building on each side. Sonea felt her mouth go dry as she saw the robed men and women watching her. Swallowing, she looked away.
Osen stopped and indicated that she should stay where she was, then climbed a steep arrangement of tiered seats to her right. These, she knew, were for the Higher Magicians. Rothen had drawn a diagram of the seating arrangement so she could memorize the magicians' names and titles.
Looking up she saw that the topmost row was empty. Rothen had assured her that the King rarely attended Guild ceremonies. His chair at the center was larger than all others, and the royal incal had been stitched onto the cushioned back
.
A single chair stood below it. Sonea felt a vague disappointment as she saw that it was empty. She had hoped to catch a glimpse of the High Lord.
Administrator Lorlen sat at the center of the middle row. The seats on either side of him were empty. He was talking to Osen and a long-faced man in the seat below him who wore a black sash over his red robes. This, Sonea recalled, was Lord Balkan, the Head of Warriors.
To Balkan's left sat the stern Lady Vinara, the Head of Healers, who had visited Rothen after he had announced that Sonea would be staying. To his right was an old man with an angular face and a large nose - Lord Sarrin, the Head of Alchemists. Both were watching Lorlen intently.
In the lowest row of seats were the Principles - the magicians who controlled and organized lessons in the University. Only two seats were occupied. Sonea frowned as she struggled to remember why, then looked up at Lord Balkan. The Warrior held both positions, she recalled.
Osen straightened and descended to the floor again. The Higher Magicians turned to regard the hall. Rising, Administrator Lorlen lifted his chin and surveyed the magicians in the hall.
"The Hearing to decide the guardian of Sonea will now begin," he intoned. "Would Lord Rothen and Lord Fergun, as claimants to that role, please approach the front."
Hearing the scrape of booted feet, Sonea looked up at the rows of magicians. A familiar figure was making his way down to the floor. As Rothen stopped a few steps from Osen, he looked at her and smiled.
She felt an unexpected pang of fondness and started to smile in return, but then she remembered what she was about to do and she looked down at the floor. He was going to be so disappointed in her ...
Another set of footsteps filled the hall. Looking up, she saw that Fergun had stopped a few paces from Rothen. He, too, smiled at her. She quelled a shudder and looked at the Administrator instead.
"Both Lord Rothen and Lord Fergun have claimed guardianship of Sonea," Lorlen told the audience. "Both believe they were the first magician to recognize her potential. We must now decide which claim shall be honored. I leave the proceedings of this Hearing to my assistant, Lord Osen."
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