"We should expect this young woman to be more
powerful than our average novice, possibly even
more powerful than the
average magician."
This year, like every other, the magicians of
Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the
protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants
and miscreants who despise them and their work—until one enraged
girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated
invaders… and effortlessly penetrates their magical
shield.
What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has
finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who
possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must
be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with
a force she cannot yet control.
"Truly magical… a wonderfully and meticulously
detailed world and an edge-of-the-seat plot…
a must for lovers of good fantasy."
—Jennifer Fallon, author of Medalon
"Not far now," Cery assured her.
She followed him over a wall into a large, neat garden. The trees were tall and symmetrical. He led her along in the shadows of a wall that seemed to go on forever.
"Where are we?"
"Wait and see," Cery replied.
Something caught her foot and she stumbled against a tree. The roughness of the bark surprised her. She looked up and around. Endless trees stood like sentries before her. In the dark they looked strange and sinister, a forest of clawed arms.
A forest? She frowned. Then a chill seized her. There aren't any gardens in the North Quarter, and there is only one forest in Imardin …
Her heart began to race. She hurried after Cery and grabbed his arm.
"Hai! What are you doing?" she gasped. "We're in the Guild!"
His teeth flashed. "That's right." She felt his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Sonea. Think about it. Where are the magicians? In the slums. You're actually safer here than there."
She drew in a sharp breath and shook her head. "But… the Guild, Cery!"
If this is a trap, I'm already doomed.
Books by Trudi
Canavan
The Black Magician Trilogy
The Magicians' Guild
The Novice
The High Lord