The Rogue (37 page)

“I’m sorry. It came a few hours ago,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do with it. You never said I might get messages, or where to send them.”

“I never expected you to have to,” he said. “But thank you for keeping it safe.”

She looked relieved and made a quick retreat from the room. Cery read the note and sighed with relief.

“She’s alive and safe,” he told them. “But they’ve discovered that she was a spy.” He shook his head. “I wish I’d been able to arrange writing lessons for her.” He held out the slip of paper, with two scrawls on it. “We worked out a code, but it doesn’t give much detail.”

“You’ll be able to meet with her and find out what happened?” Dorrien asked.

Cery nodded. “How soon will depend on how much her employer and the Thief that controls him know about her, and if they are hunting for her.” His expression became grim again. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

Sonea put a hand over his. “I hope she’s all right. And pass on our thanks to her.”

He managed a wan smile. “All this, and we didn’t catch Skellin.”

“Well, let’s hear what she says before we call it a complete failure. Maybe she’s picked up some information we can still use.”

He nodded. “Then I had better get you back to the Guild with your own identities still concealed.” He beckoned. “Come on. I’ve made some arrangements.”

After a nervous night waiting silently in the attic of the house they’d broken into, when the occupants – a family with noisy young children – had returned, followed by a day of restless sleep in a tiny room below a bolhouse, Lilia was beginning to wonder if her life was going to permanently switch to a nocturnal routine.

If it was, then she hoped that she would adjust to it quickly. Though Anyi had assured her that she knew the bolhouse owner, and was confident enough to fall asleep straightaway on one of the narrow beds, Lilia woke at every noise. And sleeping under a bolhouse meant there were a lot of noises to wake her. She must have grown used to it, because Anyi eventually had to prod her into waking up.

“Time to get up,” Anyi said. “I’ve got some clothes for you, then we’ll be having dinner with the woman that runs this place.”

Lilia sat up, yawned, then picked up the topmost piece of clothing in the pile at the foot of the bed. A heavy tunic top. She frowned. It was clean, but threadbare at the elbows.

“Your clothes are too good,” Anyi told her. “People will spot that you’re out of place as soon as they see you. If you want to stay hidden until we find your friend, you’re going to have to dress like you belong here.”

Lilia nodded. “If Black Magician Sonea can do it, so can I.”

Anyi chuckled. “I’ll slip out while you get changed.”

The old clothes smelled of wood smoke and soap. Though they were of coarser fabric than the clothes Lilia had been given to wear at the Lookout, something about them brought a feeling of comfortable familiarity.

They remind me of my life before I became a novice. They are like the clothes the servants wore who did the rougher, dirtier duties.

Once she was done, she moved to the door and opened it a crack. Anyi was waiting outside, and beckoned as she saw Lilia.

“Come upstairs,” she said. The little room was underneath a staircase, and they climbed to a floor two storeys up. Anyi knocked on a door and a voice called out, “Come in.” Smiling at Lilia, she opened the door and moved inside.

“Here she is, Donia,” she said, waving at Lilia. A middle-aged woman was standing in front of a half-circle of guest room chairs. “This is Lilia.”

The woman bowed. “Lady Lilia, I think is the correct title.”

Lilia flushed. “Not exactly. I’m not a magician any more. At least, not a Guild one.”

Anyi gestured to the woman. “This is Donia, the owner of this bolhouse and a childhood friend of Black Magician Sonea.”

Lilia glanced at Anyi in surprise. “Is that true?”

“Not exactly.” Donia shook her head and smiled sadly. “I became the wife of one of her friends, and he died some years ago. Please sit down. I’m having some food brought up. Would you like some wine?”

Lilia hesitated. The last time she’d drunk wine had been the night before Naki’s father had died. Memories of that night were interrupted as Anyi shooed her toward the seats. Lilia let herself be herded into a chair.

“I’ll have some bol,” Anyi told Donia. “If you’re offering.”

Donia smiled. “Of course. Would you prefer bol, Lilia? I’m afraid the water here isn’t as drinkable as it is in the nicer parts of the city.”

“Wine would be nice,” Lilia replied, remembering the sickly sweet drink the thugs had given to her and managing not to shudder.

Moving to a narrow table, Donia tapped a small gong. Footsteps sounded outside the door, then it opened and a younger woman peered inside, an eyebrow raised in question.

“A mug of bol, two glasses and a bottle of the good wine,” Donia said. The woman nodded and closed the door. With a sigh, Donia sat down. “She won’t be long. So … Lilia. Can you tell us how you came to be in the city, heading for a meeting with Skellin?”

The question was asked gently, and Lilia guessed that if she said she couldn’t answer, the woman would accept that. But she felt an urge to speak, to tell somebody what had happened to her, and to find out if her decisions had been right or not. Was it wise to talk to this stranger? It seemed that every time someone wanted her to do something, it brought more trouble. First it was Naki, urging her to try to learn black magic, then it was Lorandra, talking her into escaping from the Lookout.

I don’t know Donia. I don’t know Anyi either, yet for some reason I trust her. She could have taken me straight to the Guild, but she didn’t.
Doing what Anyi had told her to do had actually got her
out
of trouble, so far.
I don’t have much choice but to trust her, anyway. It’s that, or try to find Naki on my own.

“You can trust Donia,” Anyi said. “She’s looked after me for years. The more we know, the better chance we’ll have of finding your friend.”

Lilia nodded. She started at the night she and Naki had gone to the library and tried the instructions on using black magic. She started there, because she had to tell them about the murder of Naki’s father, which might be connected to Naki’s disappearance. From there she told them everything up to the point where Anyi had rescued her from the impending meeting with Skellin. The only times she paused were when the servant woman returned with the drinks, and two male servants brought in the food. The wine loosened her tongue even more, and she confessed to some darker thoughts that she had kept to herself, like the fear that she
had
killed Naki’s father and somehow the roet and wine had made her forget it.

“Rot,” Anyi said with unhidden disgust. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it made you kill him.”

Lilia winced. “So you think I did?” she asked in a small voice.

Anyi’s eyes widened. “No! I don’t think you could do that. It’s just … it makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do. I don’t think it makes them forget that they’ve done it, though.” Then her expression became thoughtful. “Have you had any rot since that night?”

Lilia shook her head.

“And do you … want more. Do you crave it?”

Lilia considered, then shook her head again.

Anyi’s eyebrows rose. “Interesting. It’s not supposed to be different for magicians.”

“Some people aren’t as affected by craving as others,” Donia said.

Anyi looked at the woman. “You sound sure of that.”

Donia nodded. “I’ve seen it with the customers. Some people can’t stop, others can. It’s the same as drinking, though I’d wager that rot hooks more people than drink does.” She shrugged. “It’s rotten luck if you’re one of those people, or their family.” She looked at Lilia, and her brows creased in consideration. “That’s quite an adventure you’ve had. Lots of things don’t make sense. You say you learned black magic easily, but your friend followed the same instructions and didn’t. Her father was killed by black magic, but neither you nor your friend did it – which must be true because Sonea read her mind, too. There are only two other black magicians, but the Guild doesn’t think they did it. So there must be another black magician out there.”

“If there is, Skellin isn’t controlling them or Lorandra wouldn’t have been so keen to get Lilia to him,” Anyi reasoned. “And he can’t be the black magician, for the same reason.”

“Naki’s father was killed after Lorandra was imprisoned,” Donia pointed out. “If Lorandra knew Skellin had learned black magic, Sonea would have learned that when she read her mind. If Skellin learned black magic
after
her capture she wouldn’t know about it.”

Anyi’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that. Who knows what he would have done with Lilia if he hadn’t needed her? Probably killed her.”

“If he could. She is a black magician, too,” Donia reminded her.

“Ah, but Lilia hasn’t been strengthening herself by taking magic from others.” Anyi turned to Lilia. “Have you?”

Lilia shook her head.

“And this other black magician has, because he killed Naki’s father.” Anyi grimaced. “Maybe it is a good thing the meeting didn’t take place. What if there had been a black magician there, and he was stronger than Sonea and the other magicians?”

Donia spread her hands. “What’s done is done.”

Lilia looked from the older to the younger woman.

“
Sonea
was going to be at the meeting?”

Anyi winced. “Yes. Well, not so much
at
the meeting as interrupting it. You see, I was working as a bodyguard for Rek so I could spy on him. My real employer – the person who is going to help you find Naki – has been helping Sonea search for Skellin.”

Lilia frowned. “You work for the Guild?”

“No. I work for someone who works for the Guild – but don’t worry. I’m not going to turn you over to them.”

“Why not?” Lilia asked.

“Because … because I promised to find Naki for you, and I don’t break promises.” Anyi smiled crookedly. “She must be very special to you, for you to risk so much for her.”

Unexpectedly, Lilia’s face began to warm. She nodded and looked away, pushing aside the memory of a kiss. “She’s my friend. She’d do the same for me.”

“You need to tell Cery,” Donia said.

Anyi sat up straight. “No. He’ll just hand her over to Sonea.”

Donia smiled. “He’ll want to, but you’ll have to convince him otherwise.”

Leaning back in her chair, Anyi brought her hands together and drummed the tips of her fingers against each other. “I’ll tell him I promised Lilia he’d find Naki. Surely he wouldn’t want me to break a promise.”

Donia chuckled. “You clearly haven’t got to know him well enough yet, if you think that will work. You need to point out how keeping Lilia around will be more useful to him than giving her over to the Guild.”

Lilia regarded Donia with dismay. This person named Cery sounded more ruthless and self-serving than what Anyi had led her to believe.

Anyi’s eyes narrowed. “I can do that.” She looked at Lilia and an expression of concern crossed her face. “Don’t worry. It won’t involve using black magic. Or anything you’re not allowed or willing to do.”

Donia looked at Lilia and nodded. “She’s right. Unlike most men in his position, he has lines he will not cross.”

“They’re just a little more flexible than most people’s.” Anyi grinned and looked up at Donia. “Can Lilia stay here in the meantime?”

“Of course.” Donia looked at Lilia and smiled. “If you’d like to, you’re welcome to stay. You’ll have to sleep under the stairs again, though. We don’t have any other spare beds.”

Lilia looked from Anyi to Donia, then nodded. “Thank you. I’ll stay, and if there’s anything I can do to pay for my stay and food …”

Donia waved a hand dismissively. “A friend of Anyi is a friend of mine, and I’d never consider charging a friend.”

Anyi snorted. “I should tell Cery you said that.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at Anyi. “Not unless you intend to pay for the bol.”

Back in the main room of the guest wing, Dannyl was listening to Achati’s description of the escapades that he and the estate’s owner had got themselves into as young men. A movement at the door caught Dannyl’s attention, and he beckoned as he saw a slave hovering there.

The man threw himself to the floor. “Dinner is ready, master, if you wish to eat now.”

“Yes!” Achati said. He looked at Dannyl. “I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”

Dannyl smiled to himself, thinking of Achati’s silent promise. Though Tayend had kept the Ashaki occupied all day, he had to sleep some time.

Perhaps a liaison with Achati would be short, perhaps it would have awkward consequences in the future, but, for now, it felt right.
Besides
, Dannyl reasoned,
Tayend and I were together for years, and it still ended. And not without some pain and regret.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Tayend emerged from his room. He blinked at them, his gaze moving from Achati to Dannyl. “Aren’t you getting changed?”

Dannyl looked down at the bathhouse coat. Achati hadn’t made any move to return to his usual elaborate clothing, so Dannyl hadn’t either – and he was enjoying being dressed in something other than magician’s robes.

Achati chuckled. “There didn’t seem much point getting dressed. We’ll be retiring to bed in a few hours.”

Tayend’s nose wrinkled. “I reckon I’ll stay up. I’ve been sleeping so much lately.”

Dannyl felt his good mood beginning to sour as a suspicion came over him. He resisted the urge to look at Achati, to see if the other man was thinking the same thing. If Tayend stayed up late …

“Dinnertime!” Achati interrupted, beckoning as another slave appeared in the main room’s doorway. “Are you hungry, too, Tayend?”

A delicious smell wafted into the room. Tayend’s expression changed to one of interest as he eyed the tray in the slave’s hands.