The Traitor Queen (4 page)

“Did you gain any impressions of their fighting strength?”

Once again, Lorkin shook his head. “I never saw them fight. Some are magicians. You know that already. I can’t tell you numbers,
their strength or how well trained they are.”

A movement among the Ashaki near the throne attracted Dannyl’s attention, and his heart skipped at he recognised Achati. The
man met Dannyl’s eyes briefly, but his only expression was one of thoughtfulness. He leaned closer to the king
and murmured something. The king’s stare didn’t waver from Lorkin, but his eyebrows lowered slightly.

“What did you do while with the Traitors?” he asked.

“I helped treat the sick.”

“They trusted you, a foreigner, to heal them?”

“Yes.”

“Did you teach them anything?”

“A few things. I learned a few things, too.”

“What did you teach them?”

“Some new cures – and I learned several from them, though some require plants we don’t have in Kyralia.”

“Why did you leave them?”

Lorkin paused, obviously not expecting the question so soon. “Because I wanted to return home.”

“Why didn’t you leave sooner?”

“They do not usually let foreigners leave. But they changed their minds in my case.”

“Why?”

“There was no reason not to. I hadn’t learned anything important, so I couldn’t reveal anything important. When I left, they
made sure I’d never be able to find my way back.”

The king regarded him thoughtfully. “Even so, you’ve seen more of the Traitors’ base than any non-Traitor has before. There
may be details you do not understand the significance of. These rebels are a danger to this country, and may one day be a
danger to other lands in this region, including yours. Will you consent to a mind-read?”

Lorkin went very still. The hall was quiet as he opened his mouth to answer.

“No, your majesty.”

“I will enlist only my most skilled mind-reader. He will
not search your thoughts, but will allow you to present your memories to him.”

“I appreciate that, but I am obliged to protect the knowledge taught to me by the Guild. I must refuse.”

The king’s gaze moved to Dannyl. His expression was unreadable. “Ambassador, will you order Lord Lorkin to cooperate with
a mind-reader?”

Dannyl took a deep breath.

“With respect, your majesty, I cannot. I do not have the authority to do so.”

The king’s eyebrows lowered. “But you have a blood ring that allows you to communicate with the Guild. Contact them. Get the
order from whoever has the authority to give it.”

Dannyl opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. He must look as if he was trying to be cooperative. Reaching
into his robes he took Osen’s ring from his pocket and slipped it on a finger.

—
Osen?

—
Dannyl
, came the immediate reply. The Administrator had said he would arrange to be unoccupied while the meeting with the Sachakan
king took place, and Dannyl detected no surprise at his communication.

—
They want the Guild to order Lorkin to submit to a mind-read
.

—
Ah. Of course. They won’t believe a word he says
.

—
What should I tell them?

—
That only Merin has the authority to order it, and he will only consider it once he has had a chance to interview Lorkin personally
and privately
.

Dannyl felt a chill. The only way the Kyralian king could make his wishes clearer would be to abandon formality and demand
Amakira send Lorkin home. —
Nothing else?

—
Not for now. See what Amakira says to that
.

Dannyl slipped off the ring and, keeping it in one hand, looked up at the king of Sachaka and conveyed Osen’s message.

Amakira stared at Dannyl for what felt like a long, long time. When he finally moved, it was preceded by a shifting of his
jaw muscles that hinted at the anger the message had roused.

“That is inconvenient,” he said quietly. “And forces me to question whether I must cast aside efforts at cooperation between
our nations for the sake of protecting my own – or at least reduce my efforts to match that of Kyralia’s.” He pursed his lips,
and turned to look at two of the Ashaki. “Please escort Lord Lorkin to the prison.”

Lorkin took a half-step backwards, then stopped. As the two Ashaki approached, Dannyl moved forward.

“I must protest, your majesty!” Dannyl exclaimed. “I ask on behalf of the Allied Lands that you honour the agreement—”

“Either Lord Lorkin goes to prison, or Lord Lorkin goes to prison and Ambassador Dannyl leaves Sachaka,” the king said, loud
enough to drown Dannyl’s words.

—
Let them take him
.

Dannyl almost gasped aloud in surprise at the voice in his head. He realised he was gripping the ring tightly, allowing the
gem to touch his skin and therefore conveying his thoughts to Osen.

—
Are you sure?

—
Yes
, the Administrator replied.
We hoped this wouldn’t happen, of course, but we’d rather not lose Lorkin
and
have you expelled from Sachaka. Go back to the Guild House and start nagging Amakira to let Lorkin go. We’ll be doing everything
we can from this end
.

Dannyl felt his heart sink as the two Ashaki stepped past him and stopped on either side of Lorkin. The young magician looked
resigned and worried, but when he met Dannyl’s eyes he managed a wan smile.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. Then he let the two men lead him away.

Dannyl turned back to the king.

“Take him if you must, your majesty, but do not harm him,” he warned, “or any chance of a peaceful alliance between the Allied
Lands and Sachaka will be much harder to achieve in the future. That would be a great shame.”

Amakira’s stare did not waver, but his voice was quieter as he spoke.

“Go back to the Guild House, Ambassador. This meeting is over.”

Even before Sonea opened her eyes, she knew it was too soon for her to be waking up. Turning toward the screen over her bedroom
window, she frowned as she saw early morning light reflected on the wall behind it. The light at this time of day always had
a quality that distinguished it from the late evening glow, and told her that she had only been asleep for an hour or two.

A knocking from the main room told her why she was awake.

Groaning, she threw her arms over her eyes and waited. Every morning, except on Freedays, Black Magician Kallen stopped by
to escort Lilia to lessons. Most of the time the novice prepared for her day at the University quietly enough not to wake
Sonea. But it had taken Kallen some time to work out, after Sonea pointedly mentioned several times that she
usually took the night shift at the hospice, that he should knock
softly
.

He appeared to have forgotten this morning.

The knocking came again, even louder. Sonea groaned again. Why wasn’t Lilia answering the door? Sighing, she threw off the
bedclothes and forced herself into a standing position. She ran her hands through her hair to straighten it, grabbed an overrobe
and threw it on over her bedclothes. Entering the main room, she headed for the door, tossing a little magic out to turn the
handle.

As the door swung inward, a frowning Kallen looked up and saw her, and his eyebrows lowered further. His gaze flickered to
her overrobe and back up to meet her gaze, his expression not changing.

“Good morning, Black Magician Sonea,” he said. “Sorry to disturb you. Is Lilia here?”

Sonea looked toward Lilia’s closed bedroom door on the other side of the room, then walked over to it. She knocked quietly,
then louder, then opened the door. The room was empty. The bed was made, however, so clearly Sonea’s aunt and servant, Jonna,
had been and gone.

“No,” she said, returning to the main door. “And no, I don’t know where she is. When I do, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.” Kallen looked decidedly unhappy, but he nodded and stepped away from the door.

Closing the door, Sonea headed back towards the bedroom, then stopped. It was unusual for Lilia to be absent of a morning.
It was not in her nature to misbehave or cause trouble, but she still needed watching over because she had proven to be easily
led astray by others.

Perhaps not as easily as in the past, though. After all, being tricked
into learning black magic by your closest friend so she could frame you for the murder she committed has got to make you consider
carefully who you trust
. Not to mention discovering that Lorandra, the rogue magician who had helped Lilia escape from prison, intended to return
that favour by turning Lilia over to her son, the infamous Thief, Skellin, so that Lilia could teach him black magic.

While Sonea trusted Lilia not to
willingly
get into serious trouble again, she might unwillingly do so. Sonea was also obliged to look as though she was keeping an
eye on all other black magicians. Though she wasn’t officially Lilia’s guardian – that was Kallen’s role – letting the girl
stay in her rooms had given everyone the impression she had taken responsibility for her.

Looking around the room, Sonea saw the corner of a slip of paper under the water jug on the side table. She walked across
the room and picked it up.

Sonea sighed and rolled her eyes, but her annoyance soon passed. The message was probably not for her, but Jonna. The servant
hadn’t seen it – or wasn’t able to wait around to meet Kallen – or else had tried and failed to find him.

The friend was probably Anyi, who had saved Lilia from being handed over to Skellin. Since Anyi was Cery’s daughter, Sonea
wasn’t entirely convinced the girl wouldn’t lead Lilia astray in some way.

Cery wouldn’t let the girls get into trouble. Even so … I wonder why Lilia is meeting Anyi at this time of day – and where
. Sonea
put the note down. She knew that Anyi was entering her rooms the same way that Cery occasionally did: through a hidden doorway
in the guest room. But for Lilia to leave to meet Anyi meant they were getting together elsewhere, and that
was
something to worry about. As a new black magician, Lilia was forbidden to leave the Guild grounds.

Perhaps she went back through the hatch with Anyi
. The passages beneath the Guild were forbidden to all but the Higher Magicians, officially because they were unstable and
dangerous but mainly because there was never any
good
reason for anybody to be down there. That wasn’t what worried Sonea the most about Lilia leaving to meet Anyi, however.

Skellin wanted Cery dead. That meant that anybody who helped him was a target. So far Cery had been able to conceal the fact
that Anyi was his daughter. Officially she was still a bodyguard, but that still meant she was a target. Lilia might be able
to protect herself with magic, but if the attacker was Skellin or his mother, Lorandra, she would be in trouble since both
were magicians.

Has she left because Cery needs her help? But surely he’d contact me first
. She frowned. Lately Cery had been hard to find, and when they did manage to meet he looked gaunt and anxious. She suspected
he was polishing the truth about his efforts to find Skellin, and was only succeeding in keeping himself out of the rogue
Thief’s reach.

Sighing for a third time, Sonea went back into the bedroom, but not to sleep. It was unlikely she would do more than lie awake,
now that she had both Cery and Lilia to worry over. She washed and dressed, drew a little magic to soothe away weariness,
and was making a cup of raka when someone knocked on the main door again.

Catching herself about to sigh again – she had sighed far too much already today – she looked over her shoulder and opened
the door with magic.

Administrator Osen stepped into the doorway. She blinked in surprise.

“Administrator.”

“Black Magician Sonea,” he said, inclining his head politely. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” she replied, turning to face him. He closed the door. “Would you like some raka or sumi?”

He shook his head. “I have some bad but not entirely unexpected news.”

She felt a sensation uncomfortably like all her inner organs turning to water.
Lorkin
.

“How bad?”

Osen’s lips thinned in sympathy. “Not the worst news. I’d be more direct, if that was the case. Lorkin refused a mind-read.
King Amakira demanded he be ordered to submit to one. King Merin refused. Amakira sent Lorkin to prison.”

A chill ran down her spine and her stomach flipped over. An image of Lorkin chained up in a dank, dark cell sprang into her
mind and she felt nauseous. In her mind’s eye he was a frightened boy.
But he isn’t. He’s a grown man. He knew this might happen, and still refused to betray the Traitors. I have to trust his judgement
that they are worth saving
. She forced her attention back to Osen.

“What now?” she asked, though the Higher Magicians had discussed this eventuality many times before.

“We work towards freeing him. We being the Guild, the king, and the Elyne king. If Lorkin is right, and he can prevent them
reading his mind, then we must convince
Amakira that letting him go is the easiest path towards learning more about the Traitors. That’s where your role begins.”

Sonea nodded and felt a belated relief. Her task to meet the Traitors on behalf of the Guild had become more complicated when
it became clear King Amakira wouldn’t let Lorkin leave Sachaka until he had learned all he could from him. The Guild had decided
to send her to Arvice as well to negotiate her son’s release. This worsening of Lorkin’s circumstances could have made them
change their minds.

Because the Higher Magicians had decided that only a black magician would receive the respect needed to negotiate with the
Sachakan king, that meant choosing between her and Kallen – Lilia being too young and still a novice. They had good reasons
not to choose either of them. While the Sachakans regarded women as having less status than men, and being Lorkin’s mother
might leave her open to blackmail, Kallen’s addiction to roet made him potentially unreliable and just as vulnerable to coercion.