The High Lord (10 page)

He stopped three more times to dismantle barriers. After they had passed the fourth, Akkarin turned and re-created it behind them. Sonea looked back. If she had dared to continue past Akkarin’s underground room during her previous exploration, she would have encountered these barriers.

The passage curved slightly to the right. Side passages appeared. Akkarin turned into one without hesitation, and their path twisted through several crumbling rooms. When he stopped again they faced a fall of rocks and earth where the roof had caved in. She looked at him questioningly.

His eyes glittered in the lamplight. He stared at the blockage intently. A dry scraping sound filled the passage as stones crumpled inward to form rough stairs. A hole appeared at the top. Akkarin set his foot on the first tread and began to climb.

Sonea followed. At the top was another passage. The lamplight revealed rough walls made from a patchy mixture of small low-quality bricks. The air smelt damp and familiar. This place reminded her strongly of… of…

The Thieves’ Road.

They had entered the tunnels under the city used by the criminal underworld. Akkarin turned and gazed back down the stairs. The treads slid forward to block the stairwell. Once they were in place, he started down the passage.

Questions began crowding Sonea’s thoughts. Did the Thieves know that the High Lord of the Magicians’ Guild used their passages, and that there were tunnels under the Guild that connected with their own? She knew they guarded their domain carefully, so she doubted he had avoided their notice. Had he gained their permission to use the road, then? She considered his rough clothing. Perhaps he had gained it using a false identity.

Several hundred paces on, a thin man with bleary eyes stepped out from an alcove and nodded to Akkarin. He paused to stare at Sonea, obviously surprised at her presence, but said nothing. Turning away, he started down the passage before them.

Their silent guide set a rapid pace, taking them on a long journey through a twisting, complex labyrinth of passages. Slowly Sonea became aware of an odor she knew but could not put a name to. It changed as much as the walls, but something about the changeability of the smell was also familiar. It wasn’t until Akkarin stopped and rapped on a door that Sonea realized what she was smelling.

It was the slums. The smell was a mix of human and animal waste, sweat, garbage, smoke and bol. Sonea swayed as memories rushed over her: of working with her aunt and uncle, of sneaking out to join Cery and the gang of street urchins they hung about with.

Then the door opened and she returned to the present.

A large man filled the doorway, his rough shirt stretched over a broad chest. He nodded respectfully at Akkarin, then, as he looked at her, he frowned as if he recognized her face but wasn’t sure why. After a moment he shrugged and stepped aside.

“Come in.”

Sonea followed Akkarin into a tiny room, barely large enough to fit the three of them and a narrow cupboard. On the opposite side was a heavy door. Sonea detected a vibration about it and realized it was strengthened by a strong magical barrier. Her skin prickled. What, in the slums, could possibly need such a potent binding?

The man turned to regard Akkarin. From his hesitant and anxious manner, Sonea guessed he knew who his visitor was—or at least enough to know he was facing someone important and powerful.

“He’s awake,” he rumbled, casting a fearful look at the door.

“Thank you for watching him, Morren,” Akkarin said smoothly.

“No rub.”

“Did you find a red gem on him?”

“No. Searched him good. Found nothing.”

Akkarin frowned. “Very well. Stay here. This is Sonea. I will send her out in a while.”

Morren’s eyes snapped to hers.

“
The
Sonea?”

“Yes, the living, breathing legend,” Akkarin replied dryly.

Morren smiled at her. “Honored to meet you, my lady.”

“Honored to meet you, Morren,” she replied, bemusement overcoming her anxiety for a moment. Living, breathing
legend?

Taking a key from his pocket, Morren inserted it in the door’s lock and twisted. He stepped back, allowing Akkarin to approach. Sonea blinked as she sensed magic surround her. Akkarin had created a shield about them both. She peered around his shoulder, tense with curiosity. Slowly the door swung outward.

The room beyond was small. A stone bench was the only furniture. On the bench lay a man, his legs and arms manacled.

As the man saw Akkarin his eyes filled with terror. He began to struggle weakly. Sonea stared at him in dismay. He was young, probably not much older than her. His face was broad and his skin a sickly brown. His thin arms were covered in scars, and a fresh cut fringed in dried blood ran down one forearm. He did not look as if he could harm anything.

Akkarin moved to the man’s side, then placed a hand on his forehead. The captive’s eyes widened. Sonea shivered as she realized Akkarin was reading the man’s mind.

His hand shifted abruptly and he grasped the captive’s jaw. At once the man closed his mouth tightly and began to struggle. Akkarin prised open the man’s mouth. Sonea caught a glimpse of gold, then Akkarin tossed something on the floor.

A gold tooth. Sonea took a step backward, appalled, then jumped as the man began to laugh.

“They have stheen your woman now,” he said in a thickly accented voice, hampered by the missing tooth. “Kariko sthays sthee will be histh after he killsth you.”

Akkarin smiled and glanced at her. “What a pity neither you or I will be alive to see him try that.”

He lifted a foot and stamped on the tooth. To Sonea’s surprise, it crunched under his boot. When he stepped away, she was surprised to see that the gold had split, and tiny fragments of red littered the floor.

Sonea frowned at the twisted lump that had been the tooth, trying to make sense of the exchange. What had the man meant?
“They have seen your woman.”
Who were “they.” How could they have seen her? Clearly it had something to do with the tooth. Why put a gem inside a tooth? And it obviously wasn’t a gem. It looked as if it had been glass. As she considered the fragments, she remembered that Akkarin had asked if Morren had found a red gem. The famous murderer wore a ring with a red gem. And Lorlen.

She looked at the captive. He was completely limp now. He stared at Akkarin fearfully.

“Sonea.”

She looked at Akkarin. His eyes were cold and steady.

“I have brought you here to answer some of your questions,” he told her. “I know you will not believe me unless you see the truth for yourself, so I have decided to teach you something that I never intended to teach anyone. It is a skill that can too easily be abused, but if you—”

“No!” She straightened her back. “I will not learn—”

“I do not mean black magic.” Akkarin’s eyes flashed. “I would not teach you that, even if you were willing. I wish to teach you how to read minds.”

“But…” She drew in a quick breath as she realized what he meant. He, of all the magicians in the Guild, was able to read another person’s mind whether they were willing or not. She had experienced his mind-reading skills herself, when he had first discovered that she, Lorlen and Rothen knew that he practiced black magic.

And now he wanted to teach her how to do it. “Why?” she blurted out.

“As I said, I want you to know the truth for yourself. You would not believe me if I told you.” His eyes narrowed. “I would not trust you with this secret if I did not know you have a strong sense of honor and morality. Even so, you must vow never to use this method of mind-reading on an unwilling recipient unless Kyralia is in great danger, and there is no other course of action.”

Sonea swallowed hard and kept her gaze steady. “You expect me to restrict my use of it as you say, when you have not yourself?”

His eyes darkened, but his mouth widened into a humorless smile. “Yes. Will you make the vow, or shall we return to the Guild now?”

She looked at the captive. Obviously Akkarin intended for her to read this man’s mind. He would not have her do it if what she saw would endanger him. But would she see anything that would endanger herself?

It was impossible for the mind to lie. Conceal the truth, perhaps, but that was difficult—and impossible with Akkarin’s mind-reading method. If he had arranged for this man to believe certain lies were truth, however, she could still be deceived.

But if she kept that in mind and carefully considered all she learned…

Knowing how to read minds could be a useful skill. Even if she did make this vow, it would not stop her using it in the fight against him. Kyralia was already in great danger just by having a black magician at the heart of the Magicians’ Guild.

The captive stared back at her.

“You would have me vow never to read a mind unless Kyralia was in danger,” she said. “Yet you want me to read his. Surely he is not a threat to Kyralia.”

Akkarin smiled. He seemed pleased by her question. “He isn’t now. But he was. And his claims that his master will enslave you after he kills me should prove there is a possible future threat. How can you know whether his master is capable of it, if you do not read his mind?”

“With that reasoning, you could justify reading the mind of anyone who made a threat.”

His smile broadened. “Which is why I require you to make that vow. You will not use this skill unless there is no other choice.” His expression became serious. “There is no other way I can show you the truth—not without putting your life at risk. Will you make the vow?”

She hesitated, then nodded. He crossed his arms and waited. She took a deep breath.

“I vow never to read the mind of an unwilling person unless Kyralia is in great danger and there is no other way of avoiding that danger.”

He nodded. “Good. If I ever discover that you have broken that vow, I will ensure you regret it.” He turned to regard the captive. The man had been watching them closely.

“Will you let me go now?” the man said, his voice pleading. “You know I had to do what I did. They made me. Now the sthtone is gone, they can’t find me. I won’t—”

“Silence.”

The man cringed at the command, then whimpered as Akkarin crouched beside him.

“Put your hand on his forehead.”

Sonea pushed aside her reluctance and squatted beside the captive. She rested a hand on his forehead. Her heart skipped as Akkarin pressed his hand over hers. His touch was cool at first, but quickly warmed.

—
I will show you how to read him, but once you have the skill of it, I will let you explore as you wish.

She felt his presence at the edge of her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she visualized her mind as a room, as Rothen had taught her. She took a step toward the doors, intending to open them to greet him, then jumped back in surprise as Akkarin appeared within the room. He waved a hand at the walls.

—
Forget this. Forget everything you have been taught. Visualization slows and restricts your mind. Using it, you will only understand what you can translate into images.

The room disintegrated around her. So did the image of him. But the sense of his presence remained. Before, when he had read her mind, she had sensed little presence at all. Now she detected a hint of personality and a power that was stronger than anything she had encountered before.

—
Follow me
...

His presence moved away. Pursuing it, she sensed herself drawing close to a third mind. Fear emanated from this mind, and she encountered resistance.

—
He can stop you only if he can sense you. To prevent him sensing you, put aside all will and intent except for the single purpose of easing into his mind without disturbing it. Like this…

To her amazement, Akkarin’s presence
changed.
Instead of exerting his will on the man’s mind, he seemed to give up.

Only the faintest presence remained, a vague desire to drift into another’s thoughts. Then his presence strengthened again.

—
Now you
.

She had a lingering sense of what he had done. It had seemed easy, yet every time she tried to emulate him she bumped up against the captive’s mind. Then she felt Akkarin’s mind drift into hers. Before she could feel any alarm, he sent something---a concept—into hers. Instead of trying to separate and lose all the intentions but one, she should concentrate only on the one needed.

Suddenly she knew exactly how to slip past the captive’s resistance. In less than a heartbeat she had drifted into his mind.

—
Good. Now keep that light touch. Watch his thoughts. When you see a memory you wish to explore, exert your will on his mind. This is more difficult. Watch me.

The man was thinking about the tooth, wondering if his master had been watching when the girl had appeared.

—
Who are you?
Akkarin asked.

—
Tavaka
.

Abruptly, Sonea became aware that he had been a slave, until recently.

—
Who is your master?

—
Harikava. A powerful Ichani.
A face, distinctly Sachakan, flashed through his mind. It was a cruel face, hard and clever.

—
What are the Ichani?

—Powerful magicians.

—
Why do they keep slaves?

—
For magic
.

A multilayered memory flashed through Sonea’s mind. She had the impression of countless memories of the same incident: the slight pain of a shallow cut, the drawing of power…

The Ichani, she understood suddenly, used black magic to draw power from their slaves, constantly strengthening themselves.

—
No more! I am a slave no longer. Harikava freed me.

—
Show me
.

The memory flashed through Tavaka’s mind. Harikava sat in a tent. He spoke, saying that he would free Tavaka if he undertook a dangerous mission. Sonea sensed Akkarin take control of the memory. The mission was to enter Kyralia and find out if Kariko’s words were true. Was the Guild weak? Had it spurned the use of greater magic? Many slaves had failed. If he succeeded, he would be accepted among the Ichani. If he did not, they would hunt him down.