The Traitor Queen (33 page)

Her lips pressed into a grim smile. “No. She will be well away from me, watched closely.” She sighed. “I suspect whatever
she did backfired and got Halana killed, and she doesn’t want to risk making the same mistake.”

“I hope so, though it will make proving what she did impossible. Unless you want me to reveal what I can do?”

“Not when I am her only target.” She looked down and let out a bitter laugh. “However, you may find your life’s task is to
keep an eye on her until she dies. If we win this battle.”

He shrugged. “I’d do it anyway,” he admitted. “If not for your safety, then for mine and Tyvara’s. And …”

The queen put up a hand to silence him. The sounds of the room abruptly returned as Tyvara rejoined them.

“Lorkin was just telling me that he can heal away tiredness,” she told Savara. “It would give you an advantage, going into
battle with your mind fresh and sharp.”

The queen’s eyebrows rose. “It would.”

“Is that wise?” another voice said. Lorkin turned to see Speaker Lanna step closer. She looked apologetic but also determined.
“Mere hours before the final battle, can you afford to put that much trust in someone not born a Traitor?”

As Tyvara turned to glare at the woman, Lorkin placed a hand on her arm. “It’s a fair question.”

Savara nodded. “It is. And entirely unnecessary. After Halana learned what she could of Healing from Kalia, she and I have
been –
were
, in her case – experimenting.” A look of pain flashed across her face. “She succeeded in working out how to Heal weariness
a few days ago.” She straightened and turned to Lorkin. “But if she had not, I would accept your offer. The benefit is worth
it, and there are competent people ready to take my place, should trusting you prove a bad decision.” Her gaze shifted to
something behind him. “And here’s another messenger.”

Lorkin turned to see a tired-looking man hovering behind him, and felt a jolt of recognition.

“Evar!” he exclaimed.

The man grinned. “Lorkin. I was hoping I’d run into you one last time.” He turned back to the queen and placed a hand over
his heart. “The Ashaki are gathering in the parade, your majesty, and look ready to advance.”

Savara’s eyes widened a little, then she straightened her back. “It is time.” She looked around the room. “Gather everyone
outside the gates. I will say a few words, then … then we’ll finally confront our enemy directly.”

Lilia followed her sixth guide for the morning out of a cluttered alley behind several smaller shops and into the tidier one
between two large buildings. The alley was shadowed and she tried not to flinch at the stares of a group of men leaning against
the walls. She was dressed in threadbare servants’ clothing and probably looked as tired, nervous and vulnerable as she felt.

The journey had begun before dawn. The guides had taken her all over the city, through all of the main districts. At first
there had been few people about, then only servants and the employees of businesses with jobs that required early rising.
Slowly the city streets had filled as more people emerged.

Though only a few hours had passed, it felt like far longer. Lilia longed for the journey to end. Wanted the exchange with
Skellin over with. And yet she dreaded the confrontation.

She’d spent most of the night awake, imagining every possible way things might go badly. The few times she’d fallen asleep,
she’d started awake again from dreams in which Anyi was calling for her, but couldn’t hear her replies. Remembering the dreams
sent a shiver down her spine, so she thought back to Rothen, Gol and Jonna’s discussion the previous night.

“
Sonea once killed an Ichani with Healing power
,” Rothen had told her. “
He imprisoned her within his shield, thinking her too weak to be dangerous and not realising that Healing magic can overcome
the body’s natural barrier. She stopped his heart. It would be better if you didn’t kill Skellin, even if it means letting
him escape,
so we have a chance to catch him and find out who his allies and sources are. But if you have no other choice
…”

To kill with Healing magic, Lilia would have to touch Skellin’s skin and have time to send her mind within. If he detected
what she was doing it would only take a small effort to push her out. The Ichani hadn’t known anything about Healing magic,
but Skellin did. He would be suspicious of any attempt she made to touch him anyway, in case it was an attempt to use black
magic.

No. My plan is better. Not much better, and I have to ignore the fact that, unlike using Healing to kill, I have no idea if
it will work
.

Her own shield would have earned her the mockery of any first-year novice, but not for its lack of strength. It had taken
her a while to work out how to stop hiding her use of magic so that Rothen could sense it. The magician was somewhere in the
centre of the city. He’d guessed that Skellin’s men would realise he could track Lilia if he was spotted following her around,
so he was waiting with Gol until she let them know she was about to meet Skellin. Once she did, he would move as close as
he could without attracting attention, so that if something went wrong he could, hopefully, get to her in time to help.

She could sense Gol’s mind at the edge of her own. It was less distracting than she’d feared. He and Rothen were in a quiet
room of a house belonging to a friend of Rothen’s. A rather nice house, judging the impressions she was getting from Gol.
With his mind so constantly open to her, it was easy to forget that he could not see into hers, and she had to speak to him
consciously in order to communicate.

Emerging from the alleyway, Lilia paused as a gust of
fragrant air battered her. She looked around and felt her stomach twitch in anxiety. The docks stretched before and to either
side of her.

The guide noticed that she’d stopped and made an impatient gesture. Taking a deep breath, Lilia followed him toward a long
pier. They skirted around stacks of goods and wharf workers. Ships rocked gently on either side. As the guide started along
the pier, she framed a question in her mind.

—
Gol! What if he tells me to get on a ship?

There was a pause before Gol answered.

—
Rothen says he’s thinking about it
.

After they’d passed four ships, the guide stopped before a plank leading up to one of the vessels and pointed to it. She looked
up at the vessel. The crew stared back down at her expectantly.

—
They look ready to sail. What should I do?

—
Get on board. You may only get one chance to save Anyi
, Gol replied.

Which was better than no chance. She drew in a deep breath, let it out, then started up the plank. Nobody spoke to her. As
soon as she had reached the deck the crew turned away and set to work.

How will Rothen follow? Does the Guild have a ship? Will he be able to use it without having to tell the Higher Magicians
what I’m doing?

She moved down the deck, searching the faces. Skellin was not there. Nor Lorandra. Nor Anyi. The crew must be taking her to
meet Skellin – but how far away was he? Surely not in another country. It would take weeks to get there.

She imagined what she might feel like if she had been a lone young servant girl surrounded by these tough-looking
men. Their expressions were not leering, though, but cold. They avoided her gaze. Nobody paid attention to her except to skirt
around her when she got in the way.

Which happened a lot. There wasn’t much room on the deck of a ship. Certainly not on a small vessel designed for transporting
goods rather than people. By noting the movements of the crew, she found a place to stand out of their way. From there she
watched as the ship drifted away from the pier, out of the Marina and towards the sea.

The deck began to rock under her, and she had to brace herself. Many more ships surrounded them, sailing to or from the mouth
of the Tarali River, but as their vessel drew further from land they pulled away from most of the others. All but one, which
had its sails furled. The man who was barking out most of the orders – from which she guessed he was the captain – pointed
in its direction.

She stared at the tiny figures on the other ship. Details grew clearer as they sailed closer. Among the people on board was
a trio standing together at the railing. Soon she could tell that one was male and the other two female. She recognised Anyi
first. How could she not?
I would know her by her shadow. By her presence
. Her heart twisted.
I can’t mess this up. She’ll die. Perhaps I should abandon my plan and do whatever Skellin orders. But will he really let
her go if I do? Will he keep her and force me to stay and teach him everything I know about magic?

Steeling herself, she looked at the other two people. The vessels were close enough now for her to see that the woman was
Lorandra. Which meant the other man was her son.

So this is Skellin
. He was tall like a Lans but dark like a Lonmar.
But since both peoples are known for their honour and strict moral code, I doubt they’d like the comparison. Still, he’s
probably not the best example of his own people. I wonder … It took an outsider, someone willing to break our rules and laws,
to show us our weaknesses. What could we have learned about ourselves if the first people to visit us from Igra had been decent
and law-abiding?

The ship slowed and turned so that the vessels now floated alongside each other. She could hear activity around her –the anchor
lowering and sails furling, she assumed – but she could not take her eyes off the trio on the other ship. They were only twenty
or thirty paces from her.

—
Rothen says do whatever you have to, to get Anyi away safe
, Gol sent.

Lilia nodded, then hoped that if Skellin had noticed her movement he’d taken it as a gesture of recognition. The rogue magician
beckoned.

“Come join us, Lilia,” he called.

She looked down at the gap between the ships, then at the crew watching her. They were making no move to direct her to a boat.
How was she supposed to transfer to the other vessel?

—
Can you levitate?
Gol asked.

—
Yes, but it will use up some of my magic
.

Which was probably Skellin’s intention. Still, levitation over that small distance wouldn’t use up too much magic, if she
was quick about it.

Drawing power, she created a small disc of force beneath her feet and lifted herself up and forward. Skellin, Lorandra and
Anyi stepped away from the railing to make room for her. Lorandra was holding onto Anyi’s arm. Once her feet were on the deck,
Lilia looked up and saw that the woman was holding a knife to Anyi’s throat. Her stomach clenched and a chill ran over her
skin. Anyi stood stiffly, braced against the rocking of
the deck, and as she looked at Lilia her eyes were full of apology, anger and fear.

“Lady Lilia,” Skellin said. “So glad you accepted my invitation.”

She made herself meet his gaze without flinching.
You may think you’re the king of the underworld
, she thought.
But I am a black magician, defender of the Guild
. The pride she felt was surprising and maybe a little inappropriate, but she didn’t care so long as it gave her the confidence
to stand up to him.

Unlike his mother, he had no unfamiliar accent. He paused as if waiting for a reply, and when she said nothing he smiled.
“Well, you have been up for some hours and early mornings don’t suit all of us. Perhaps we should get to business. I have
a proposition for you. A trade. Teach me black magic and I will hand this lovely young woman into your care. I believe you
know her?”

As he gestured to Anyi, the knife at the girl’s throat turned in Lorandra’s hand, reflecting a flash of sunlight into Lilia’s
eyes.

Lilia ignored it. “Let her go now.”

Skellin shook his head and laughed.

“How do I know you won’t kill her,” Lilia continued, “once I’ve given you what you want?”

“How do I know you won’t kill me, once I let her go? You are the black magician, after all.”

“And you are the murdering rogue magician and Thief.”

His eyebrows rose. “Now, now. When have you ever seen me kill someone?”

She opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She hadn’t. Not even Cery had. Anyi’s father had died when his heart
failed, though that was likely caused by the strain of being hunted by Skellin. Lorandra was the Thief Hunter.
But that was the way of Thieves, wasn’t it? They didn’t get blood on their hands. They got someone to do it for them.

She crossed her arms. “Let’s get this over with.”

He grinned. “My, aren’t we impatient?” He took a few steps towards her, then stopped. “But first you need to take off your
clothes.”

She stared at him. “
What?
” The word burst out of her.

His smile vanished. “I’ve done my research, Lady Lilia,” he said in a low voice. “I know black magic requires the skin to
be cut. I require assurance that you aren’t carrying any sharp objects. You can be sure I am not, since I would rather not
risk you’d turn them against me. I could get one of the crew to check you over, but you might kill him, and would probably
rather not be man-handled. I only need you to undress to the point where it is clear you are weaponless.”

Swallowing hard, she pulled off the worn old tunic and trousers. Then she glared at Skellin, daring him to insist she remove
the simple undergarments that Guild women wore beneath their robes. From the crew of the ships came low whistles, but they
fell silent as Skellin glanced around, his expression stern.

“Kick the clothes away and turn around,” he ordered. Sighing, she obeyed. “Now, to begin you will teach me how to read minds.”

Lilia froze, then cursed silently. If she protested that the deal was only to teach him black magic, he’d laugh. She was in
no position to argue.

“You need someone to practise on,” she told him.