Thinking about it like that, it sounded a crazy scheme with far too many ways it could all go wrong.
What’s the worst that could happen? I might have to go all the way to the mine. The Steelbelt Ranges run along the border between Sachaka and Kyralia. How hard would it be to free myself with magic, and travel the rest of the way to Kyralia?
How hard depended on whether Sachakan magicians ran the mine. Or if Ichani lurked in the mountains.
I should leave the cart before I get there, when there are no Sachakan magicians around, but we are close to the mountains. If only I knew what Sachaka was like down in the southern corner. Does the wasteland extend as far as the sea? Do the Ichani roam that far?
The cart began to slow. Opening his eyes, Lorkin glanced around to see both fear and hope in the faces of the other slaves. He heard the sound of a stomach growling. Perhaps they were going to be given food and water.
The cart stopped and he heard voices outside.
“The well’s likely to collapse. I don’t want to risk one of mine. They’re healthy and useful,” a haughty voice said.
The driver replied in a low, wheedling voice. Lorkin could not make out the words.
“Name the price,” the haughty one commanded.
A pause, then the cart shifted and two sets of footsteps moved around to the rear. The lock rattled, then the doors opened. Bright light flooded in, blinding Lorkin.
“That one will do.”
“He’s trouble.”
“Then you’ll be glad to be rid of him. If he survives and is troublesome, I’ll sell him back to you. Here.”
The clink of coins followed. Lorkin’s eyes had begun to adjust to the light. He could see an Ashaki standing next to the driver, who was leaning in to unlock the chains of one of the slaves.
Lorkin’s heart stopped as he realised those chains were his own.
For a wild moment he considered blasting his way out of the cart with magic, but stopped himself with an effort. Wherever you end up, there will be Traitors, he told himself. They will find you. They will free you.
Whatever work this Ashaki planned for him sounded dangerous, but at least Lorkin could use magic to protect himself. At least none of these other poor slaves will have to risk their lives doing it.
“Come on,” the driver said, grabbing Lorkin’s leg and pulling. Lorkin hauled himself to his feet, stepping over the legs of other slaves between him and the open doors. He had to jump to the ground, and the restraining chains prevented him keeping his balance. He fell face first on the ground.
Well, at least that saves me the humiliation of throwing myself on the ground before my new owner.
“Stay there,” the haughty voice said.
The man waited until the cart had driven away before he spoke again. By then Lorkin had stolen enough glances to either side to see there were two burly male slaves standing alongside him and the Ashaki.
“Get up. Follow me.”
Lorkin obeyed. The chains rattled and shortened his stride as he followed the Ashaki and his two slaves through a small gate and into a courtyard. Another slave waited with a large hammer.
“Get rid of those,” the Ashaki ordered.
The slave pointed to a bench. Lorkin sat down and obediently positioned the leg chains where the man directed. After a few nerve-wracking but accurate blows, the chains fell from Lorkin’s ankles.
The Ashaki watched it all, looking bored. He then gestured for Lorkin to follow and led the way into the building. Damp, freshly scented air surrounded them as they entered a bathhouse. The Ashaki gestured to a pile of cloth on a wooden seat.
“Clean yourself and put those on. Don’t take too long. We don’t have much time.”
Lorkin glanced behind to find that the two burly slaves hadn’t followed them into the building. The Ashaki smiled, all haughtiness gone, then left the room. Alone, Lorkin stared after the man.
Something isn’t right about this.
Moving over to the seat, Lorkin lifted the topmost piece from the pile of cloth. His heart skipped, then soared, and he found himself grinning.
They were the simple, comfortable clothes of a Traitor.
Chapter 14
Another Change of Plan
“Safe journey,” Watcher Orton said, as the carriage pulled away from the Fort. Above him, an array of small windows looked out from the Sachakan side of the building, some bright squares of light, some dark and near-invisible. Sonea gazed back at the building until it was swallowed by darkness.
Then she extinguished the small globe light she’d set hovering inside the carriage. The darkness in the cabin felt appropriate for discussing secrets, yet she hesitated. “It’s a relief to hear Lorkin has escaped the city,” Regin said.
“Yes,” Sonea replied, seizing the opportunity to delay. “Dannyl will be pleased, too. I don’t know how he arranged it, exactly, but it involved taking a big risk. Though... we have to trust that the message did come from the Traitors, and is true.”
“Do you think it might be a lie?”
Sonea shook her head. “Not if it came from the Traitors. I can’t help worrying that this whole thing is some elaborate ruse set up by King Amakira. Lorkin would have to have been deceived as well, as I detected no feeling of deceit from him when we spoke via the blood ring.” She frowned. In fact, I didn’t detect anything of his thoughts and feelings. That’s odd. The ring should have allowed me to do so. It’s as if... aah, of course. Lorkin’s thoughts were being protected somehow. Possibly the same way hers were protected by Naki’s ring. Was he carrying a similar gemstone? Did Naki’s ring originally come from the Traitors? If it had, how did it get to Kyralia? She said it had been passed down through the women in her family. Was one of them a Traitor?
“He has the ring now?”
She turned her thoughts back to the conversation. “Yes.”
“So that’s how you knew the messages were from the Traitors,” Regin said, more to himself than her.
She looked at him, or rather, what she could see of him in the dark. They had a couple of hours before they had to leave the carriage. She considered her hesitation to tell Regin what their other purpose was in Sachaka. The Traitors had assured her the pass was safe, though they’d recommended she travel at night and as quietly as possible. Once she told Regin, he would have questions. If she didn’t tell him until it was time to leave the carriage, she might not have time enough to answer them before they would be forced to stay silent. Yes, I think it has to be now.
“Lord Regin,” she began, and in the near-darkness she saw his head turn quickly toward her. “Freeing Lorkin isn’t the only task we are undertaking. There is another.”
He hesitated before answering. “I thought there must be. So. What is this other task?”
“We’re to meet with the Traitors. They want to discuss the possibility of an alliance and trade.”
Over the rattle of the carriage, she heard him exhale.
“Ah.”
“The driver will stop in an hour or two. We’ll get out and walk from there, north of the road. The Traitors left me instructions on where to go. In a few days they’ll meet us, and Lorkin will be with them.”
“You left this to the last moment to tell me.”
“Yes, and I would have waited longer if I could have. You couldn’t be told before now in case we were waylaid by King Amakira’s men and your mind was read.”
“And your mind?”
“Is protected.”
She waited for him to ask how, but the question never came. He did not speak at all. The silence in the cabin felt a little reproachful.
“It isn’t that we – the Guild – didn’t trust you with the information,” she began. “We—”
“I know,” he interrupted. “It doesn’t matter.” He sighed. “Well, one thing does. Do you trust me?”
She paused, not sure how to read the tone of his voice. It wasn’t accusing, but it did hold a hint of demand. To avoid answering could make matte
rs unnecessarily strained between them.
“I do,” she told him, and felt the truth of it. At the same time she realised he had cornered her somewhat, and it was only fair to do the same in return. “Do you trust me?”
Again she heard him exhale, but slowly this time.
“Not completely,” he admitted. “Not because I regard you as untrustworthy, but... I know you do not like me.”
She felt her heart skip. “That’s not true,” she told him quickly, before old memories rose to argue their case and make saying it awkward. “I haven’t always. You know why. We don’t need to go over that again. It’s in the past.”
He was quiet for a short space of time. “I apologise. I should not have brought it up again. Sometimes I find it hard to believe you have forgiven me, or could even like me.”
“Well... I have. And I do. You are... a good person.”
“You made me that person.” His tone was warmer, now. “That day, during the invasion.”
Sonea caught her breath as a wave of sadness washed over her. And another good person died that day. Suddenly she could not speak, and dread rose – not for the first time – at the memories she knew would return when she walked in the darkness over the bare rock of the mountains. But with a different companion. A different man.
“What’s wrong?”
She blinked in surprise. How had he even known she was upset? Then she realised that the rock wall on one side of the carriage was gone and the faint light of a crescent moon filtered into the cabin. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, gathering all her self-control.
“We both changed that day. You for the better, me for the worse.”
“Only a fool would think that of you,” he told her, misunderstanding her meaning. “You saved us and the Guild. I have admired you ever since.”
She looked at him, but his face was mostly in shadow. How could he understand the bitterness and self-loathing that had come after Akkarin’s death? No matter how much my mind knows it wasn’t my fault, my heart never quite believes it.
The moonlight reached his face and revealed an expression she had rarely seen before. There had been a hint of a smile in his voice, she realised. What had he said? ‘I have admired you ever since.’
She looked away. All his rivalry and hatred of her and what she represented had changed to something almost completely opposite. And just as undeserved. But it would be unkind and ungrateful to say so. I’ll take admiration over distrust and contempt any day.
Admiration and friendship were very different. As different as friendship and love. I’ve seen novices who hated each other become friends after graduation. That didn’t happen with us. I’ve also seen people who hate each other skip the friendship bit in the middle and fall in love. Her heart skipped a beat. Wait... Surely not. No, he doesn’t mean that sort of admiration.
Glancing at him again, she did not have a chance to search his expression. Regin’s attention had fixed somewhere outside the carriage. He shifted across his seat and leaned forward.
“So that’s the wasteland,” he said in a hushed voice.
She peered out the window. The faint moonlight touched the edges of the landscape below, the ridges of many, many dunes creating eerie patterns.
“Yes,” she explained. “It goes all the way to the horizon.”
“So far. How did we do it?” Regin wondered. “Where has that knowledge gone?”
“Ambassador Dannyl has unearthed some interesting records, from what Osen had told me.”
“Any ideas on how to restore the land?”
She shook her head. “If a magician ever manages to return this to fertile land, it will be the greatest act of healing anyone has ever achieved.”
Regin gazed a little longer at the view, then leaned back in his seat again. “A few hours, you say?”
“Yes. The driver knows the landmark to look for. He’ll drop us there, then continue on to Arvice and the Guild House with the mail and supplies. I told him we didn’t need to go to Sachaka now that Lorkin was free, but we wanted to see the sun rise over the wasteland and would walk back to the Fort.”
“Brave man, travelling without magicians on board,” Regin said. “I suppose none of us would be safe if the Sachakan king decided to attack us. Or the Ichani. Or the Traitors.”
“No, but we have to hope that the Traitors are on our side. They’ve assured us they’ll keep the Ichani and the king’s spies out of our way.”
“Really? I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
She nodded. I am, too. Not only because I’ll finally get to see Lorkin, and ensure he gets home safely, but I want to meet these people who impressed him so much that he agreed to go to their secret city, despite knowing he might never leave it again.
* * *
With Anyi and Lilia gone, the underground room was silent but for the sound of breathing. Gol was sitting on one of the mattresses he’d made, his back to the wall. Cery remained on one of the stolen chairs. He considered what Lilia had told him about Kallen and the Guild’s reason for seeking roet seeds.
“He said he would get rid of Skellin after they had seeds, and that they might accept your help then, if you’re still prepared to give it,” she’d told him.
“Can we trust them?” Cery asked aloud.
Gol grunted. “I should ask you that. You’re the expert on the Guild. What do you think?”
Cery drew in a deep breath and sighed. “They’ll look after themselves and the Houses first, and their notion of ‘the Kyralian people’ second.”
“Which doesn’t include Thieves and criminal types.”
“Not unless those Thieves have helped them, and then only in ways the public doesn’t get to hear about.”
“They’ll feel obliged to help us.” The bodyguard looked at Cery. “Even though we aren’t helping them now, and Sonea’s gone. Because we helped them in the past.”
“I hope so.” Cery sighed. “The sooner Sonea gets back, the better,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “I don’t like having to trust Kallen if he’s as addicted to roet as Lilia says.”
“Hmm,” Gol nodded. “If he wanted to sell us out to Skellin he’d have agreed to your plan and said nothing about waiting. He’d have arranged a meeting and Skellin would have arrived instead.”
“That’s true. Even so, I’d rather be here, where we can leave if we have to, than stuck in a room in the Guild.”
God nodded. “At least we can keep an eye on that cellar so we know when they’ve got roet seeds. We should wait until the plants get to the same size as the ones we saw, which was big enough for the magicians to tell they weren’t roet.”
“Do you know what roet plants look like?”
Gol frowned and shook his head. “Anyi might. Didn’t her boyfriend smoke it?”
“Or girlfriend. She never did say.”
The bodyguard’s face darkened in the dim light and he looked away. Is he blushing? Cery couldn’t help smiling.
“They might try other ways to find Skellin before they consider our plan.” Gol drummed his fingers on the sides of the chair. “If they’re reluctant to work with a Thief.”
“If they don’t like working with a Thief, I doubt they’ll be reluctant to use a Thief as bait,” Cery pointed out.
Gol chuckled. “True.”
“If they do want to try our plan...” Cery considered. “I guess we ought to make sure we’re ready for them. We should have a trap all set up, ready to go.”
“It’ll be a waste of effort if they decide not to work with us?”
“What else are we going to do?” Cery sighed. “We’re right underneath the Guild. Surely that’s to our advantage. I wish... I wish there was a way to trick Skellin into walking right into their hands, whether the Guild wants it or not.”
“A trap that’s as much for them as for Skellin.”
“A trap that will get their attention when – and only when – Skellin comes snooping.”
The bodyguard’s eyes
brightened. “I know just the thing. It’ll get the magicians’ attention for sure.” He looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to go into the city to get supplies. And we’ll have to set it up somewhere strong, so we don’t accidentally bury ourselves. What’s the sturdiest area down here?”
“I think I know just the place.” Cery picked up a lamp. “Come with me.”
Getting to his feet without even a grunt of effort, Gol followed Cery out of the room. Good to see he’s healed up so well, Cery thought. Between him and Anyi, I feel twice as old as I am. If I ever get my former life back I’m going to keep some grizzled old men around to make me feel younger.
He led Gol out of the room. Soon they arrived at the cluster of rooms where Cery had run into Lilia and Anyi. Gol took the lamp from him and entered the first one, lifting it to illuminate the sturdy brick walls and vaulted ceiling.
“This is in much better shape than the room we’re living in,” the bodyguard said. “Why haven’t we been staying here?”
“Anyi only found the rooms recently.” And there was something about this one that bothered Cery. It set his heart beating a little too fast. As Gol lowered the lamp, a dusty, broken plate caught the light. Cery picked up one of the pieces. A Guild symbol marked the glaze. He shivered as memories wafted up like smoke. Is this the room Fergun locked me in all those years ago? I didn’t get to see it much. I was stuck in the dark for days.
“This is closer to the Guild buildings. A shorter run to escape, if we need to, and not so far for Lilia to travel to see us. Let’s move our stuff in here,” Gol said.
Sighing, Cery pushed away the memories and his discomfort and nodded. “Yes, but let’s choose another room. This is the first one anyone comes to. We’ll want a little bit more warning when someone is approaching.”
* * *
As the last of the food-bearing slaves left the Master’s Room, Tayend looked at Dannyl.
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