ESCAPEE

Lorkin opened his eyes, saw that Tyvara was sitting beside the bed, and smiled.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to see me?”

Her eyes widened and snapped to his, and she leaned forward.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Good. Better. Have you been sitting there all the time I was asleep?”

She shrugged and looked around the room. “Not much else to do.” Then she turned back and her lips twitched. “Better than watching a sewer.”

“I’m glad you think so.” He sat up and stretched, remembering just in time that he was naked under the bedcovers. Tyvara’s gaze dropped to his chest and her eyebrows rose.

She stood up and gestured to a chair, where a fresh set of trousers and tunic were draped. “You had better wash and get into those. The judgement of Kalia is about to begin, and you smell as bad as a sewer.”

She slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Getting out of bed, Lorkin found a large bowl of water and washing cloths in an alcove and made use of them. His abductors had provided him with a bucket, but had made no attempt to assist him in relieving himself, which had been difficult blindfolded and with hands bound behind his back. He wasn’t surprised that he stank.

He’d had only energy enough after his rescue and some food to peel his clothes off and collapse into the bed before falling asleep. Now he looked around, wondering where he was. The room was small and two chairs were the only other furniture apart from the bed.

Once dressed, he opened the door to the room and blinked in surprise. It opened onto a corridor, which was filled with people. Tyvara was standing beside the door, and hooked a hand under his arm as he emerged.

“Good timing,” she told him, guiding him to the right. People turned to watch him pass. Some looked friendly, others hostile. Kalia’s kidnapping of him was more than a mere scandal and, in the middle of winter with everyone stuck indoors most of the time, it would be attracting attention in a way it might not at other times.

It has probably created more division among the Traitors, he thought. I hope that doesn’t lead to worse problems for them, which become yet another thing they’ll blame me for.

Before long he and Tyvara reached the entrance to the Speakers’ Chamber. They passed through and were immediately pulled aside by a magician and asked to stand by the wall to one side of the lower section. Once in place, Lorkin looked around the room.

All of the Speakers were in their seats except for Kalia, who was standing on the opposite side of the room to Tyvara and Lorkin, flanked by two magicians. The rest of the room was crowded with people, all standing up, their voices combining into an intense chatter.

A bell rang out. Heads turned and the sound of voices dropped. Lorkin saw that Director Riaya was holding a bell much smaller than would normally have been needed to produce the sound. Those of the audience standing in the tiered part of the room began to sit down, while the rest retreated to the walls. When nearly all were settled, another person entered the room. At once almost complete silence descended, the last of those standing among the tiers sat down hastily, and the Speakers rose from their seats to greet the queen as she walked stiffly to her chair.

Before sitting down, Zarala turned to face her people. All placed their hands over their hearts. Lorkin followed suit. The queen bent into a nod toward the audience, then toward the Speakers, and then she sat down. The Speakers took their seats.

“We begin the judgement of Speaker Kalia, who is accused of abduction and forcibly reading the mind of a Traitor. I call forward Lorkin.”

All eyes turned to Lorkin as he walked forward and stopped before the Speakers.

“Tell us what happened to you.”

Lorkin told his tale from the point where he was pounced upon in the dark. He described waking to find himself bound, blindfolded and unable to call out mentally. Holding out his arms to show the cuts – Tyvara had told him not to Heal them away – he explained that his captors had kept him weak by draining him of power frequently.

He pushed aside reluctance to describe Kalia reading his mind, recalling how she had extracted knowledge of how to Heal with magic as well as searching through his memories for anything that might be used against him. This roused a muttering among the audience. He went on to tell them of Kalia’s intention to kill him and claim he’d left Sanctuary. This, strangely, caused the room to fall silent. He saw shock on many faces, but disbelief on others. He finished by relating how Tyvara and Savara had found them.

“You did not give or insinuate permission for anyone to take magic from you, or read your mind.”

“No.”

“Were you given food and drink?”

“No.”

“How many magicians watched over and drained you?”

“I don’t know. Two were always there, but I don’t know if they were the same two. They must have been working in shifts, as the draining continued through the nights.”

Riaya gave the Speakers a meaningful look, then turned back to him.

“Will you consent to a mind-read to prove your story?”

He considered the question. While the idea of having another person roaming about his memories sent a chill down his spine, he’d rather endure that than risk that Kalia might remain free and unpunished for her crimes. Every Traitor he let into his mind was another who would gain knowledge of Healing, but that knowledge was already stolen. Had Kalia passed it on? Perhaps she hadn’t had a chance to. But if she allowed a mind-read, the knowledge would be given to another anyway.

He could feel eyes on him. Gain some time, he told himself. Make them try other ways of gaining the truth first.

“I will, but only if there is no other way,” he replied.

Riaya looked at the Speakers again. “Any further questions?”

The women shook their heads. Riaya nodded to Lorkin. “You may go.”

He walked back to stand beside Tyvara. She gave him a nod and a smile.

“I call upon Speaker Savara to tell her part in this.”

Savara stood. As she spoke, Lorkin learned that Evar had alerted her to his disappearance. She had investigated whether he had left Sanctuary and searched for him within it, but also arranged for any person who had been heard speaking against him recently to be followed. This led her to an abandoned cave near an unstable part of the city, where she found Kalia in the process of reading Lorkin’s mind.

The Director told Savara she could be seated, then turned to Kalia.

“Speaker Kalia, step forward and be judged.”

Kalia strode to the centre of the room and turned to face the Table. Her back was straight and her expression haughty.

“Is Lorkin’s account true?” Riaya asked.

Kalia paused and nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you innocent or guilty of abduction of a Traitor, and reading a Traitor’s mind against her or his will?”

“Guilty – if you consider him a Traitor, that is.”

Riaya folded her hands together. “Then there is no need to investigate the matter further.”

“May I address the people?” Kalia asked.

Riaya looked at the Speakers. The six women did not look surprised. They all nodded, some eagerly, some with resignation.

Kalia turned to face the audience. “My people, I felt driven to break our laws for your sakes. I have a duty, as your Carer and Healer, to ensure that when you come to the Care Room no harm is done to you. Recently Lorkin the Kyralian has taken to administering magical Healing, a skill he has refused to teach us. How could I be sure what he was doing was safe? That it would not do more harm than good? He claimed that it has limitations, but how can you or I know if this is true, should his magic ever harm or kill one of us?

“I have taken him in and given him occupation out of kindness to a newcomer. I have offered him all the lore and training that I and my predecessors have always shared. In return he has disobeyed and defied me, using untested magic without guidance or permission.

“If he refuses to follow Traitor custom, is he truly one of us? I say he is not. And if he is not a Traitor, then what I did was not unlawful. It was justified and necessary, in the defence of our people.”

Lorkin saw many thoughtful expressions among the audience. He looked at the Speakers, who were frowning.

“May I speak, Director?”

The voice was Savara’s. Kalia turned to stare at her enemy with narrowed eyes.

“You may, Speaker Savara,” Riaya replied. “Speaker Kalia, please leave the floor.”

Once again, Savara rose. Her mouth was set in a determined line. She waited until Kalia had returned to her former position, then lifted her chin.

“When Lorkin decided he would come to Sanctuary I had my doubts about him,” she began. “Why would a magician from a sophisticated, powerful nation sacrifice the wealth and power that he possessed and accept the restrictions we would put on him? He knew little about us. It was a great risk he took, trusting that we were a fair and good people.

“Why did he do it? To defend a Traitor. To save someone of a nation that was not even his, simply because it was the right thing to do. How many of us would do that?

“The secret of Healing is not his to give. If one of us were in the situation he is in, we would not expect to give away our secrets. We would expect our hosts to respect that, and not demand or steal them.”

Savara’s voice grew loud and stern. “This is not only a crime of an individual against another. This is an unlawful act of one nation against another. Kalia has not only stolen knowledge from Lorkin; the Traitors have stolen secrets from Kyralia, and the lands Kyralia is allied with – one which lies just over the mountains. Lands that are not our enemies, though they would be justified in considering us one after our treatment of Lorkin. Let’s hope that Kalia has not secured us a long future of hiding from lands on all sides, instead of just the rest of Sachaka.”

Faint whispers were all that stirred the quiet that followed. Savara sat down and nodded to Riaya.

“Speaker Kalia admits to the crimes she is accused of,” the Director said. “We Speakers must now discuss her punishment.”

As the Speakers and Director began to talk, the room exploded with sound as all discussed what had been said. Lorkin felt Tyvara’s shoulder brush his as she leaned close.

“Don’t get your hopes too high,” she murmured.

He looked at her. Her expression was sour. “What do you mean?”

“They won’t execute Kalia,” she told him, looking away.

“Well …” He looked over at Kalia and shuddered. “That’s probably a good thing. Even if she did plan to kill me. It means the rest of the Traitors are better people than she is.”

A bell rang out and he looked over to the Speakers in surprise. That was quick.

“We have decided,” Riaya declared when the room quietened. “Speaker Kalia will be stripped of her title, and will never be considered for a Speaker’s position again. She will be given menial duties for a year, for the benefit of the city. She is forbidden to use or teach Healing magic unless ordered to. If she is deemed to be trustworthy, she may apply to return to working in the Care Room, but never in a position of leadership.”

Protests were voiced in the audience. Lorkin felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. That’s not a punishment. It’s a delay. Eventually, when they’ve made a good enough act of looking contrite, they’re going to let her use the knowledge she stole from me. He felt betrayed. Tricked. Maybe this was the plan all along. He thought of Tyvara’s warning …

The protests stopped and he looked around to see the cause. The queen had risen from her seat, one hand on the arm of the chair to steady herself.

“In compensation for the abuses he has suffered,” she said, “and the secrets that were taken, Lorkin is to be taught the art of stone-making.”

Lorkin stared at the queen in surprise. She met his gaze, her eyes bright with amusement. Realising he was gaping at her, he quickly stopped himself and lowered his gaze. A thrill of excitement ran through him. At last! New magic to bring back to the … As quickly as it had come, the excitement faded. He could not take the knowledge to the Guild. He was stuck here in Sanctuary, forbidden to leave. And besides, leaving Sanctuary would mean leaving Tyvara.

With the Traitors in possession of Healing, he no longer had anything to use to lure them into trading with the Guild and Allied Lands. Looking at it that way, he realised he had failed. The Traitors had gained Healing, the Guild still did not have stone-making.

But I must not lose hope. Perhaps, one day, they’ll let me go. I could run away, but if I fail they will never trust me again. I must be patient.

He looked up at the queen again. She nodded once, then turned back to the Speakers.

The six women wore vastly different expressions. A few looked aghast, a few approving, and Savara actually looked surprised and a little worried. The audience was abuzz with chatter. Lorkin caught looks of worry and disgust, as well as smiles of agreement.

Riaya’s bell rang out again. She stood up.

“The judgement of Kalia is made. The punishment decided. This trial is concluded and the laws of Sanctuary upheld. May the stones keep singing.”

The audience murmured the reply with enthusiasm, then a cacophony of voices and footsteps filled the room and people began to move toward the doors. Lorkin heard shouts from outside the room as news was passed along the corridors.

“Well, I’m glad that’s over with,” he said.

“Not quite,” Tyvara replied.

He looked at her.

“Someone has to teach you stone-making.”

“You?”

She shook her head. “You don’t teach your greatest secrets to the people you send out to live as spies among the enemy. And I never had the patience for it.”

“You preferred pretending to be a slave than stone-making?” He frowned. “How difficult is it?”

She patted his arm. “Don’t worry. It’s really not that dangerous, once you know what you’re doing. Come on. Unlike you, I haven’t had an enormous breakfast and a sleep-in. Let’s get some food.”

She hooked a hand under his arm again, and drew him into the stream of people pouring into the corridor where, to his surprise and delight, he received many apologies and sympathetic pats on the shoulder. For all their faults, they were a good people, he decided. Especially when he remembered that what Kalia had done to him was done to thousands of slaves every day down in the rest of Sachaka.

“And yes, I am allowed to see you now,” Tyvara told him. He grinned at her, and she smiled.

Sonea knocked on the door of the treatment room. It opened and, to her amusement, Dorrien looked relieved.

“Ah, good,” he said. “End of my shift, then?”

“Yes. How are you doing?” she asked.

He sighed. “It’s quite draining, isn’t it? By the end of the day I can feel how depleted my reserves of magic are.”

“Yes, on busy days.” Sonea shrugged and sat down on one of the chairs for patients. “If we don’t use our power each day, it goes to waste.” Though if he is draining himself too much he will be of no use to me should we confront Skellin. I must have a chat to the Healers here about his work load.

“Oh, I’m not complaining. I agree. I’m just not used to it.” He grimaced. “Alina and the girls aren’t used to it either.”

Sonea frowned. “You need to use magic at home? I guess we could reduce—”

“No, that’s not it. I’m … I guess being tired makes me a little grumpy. Alina can be …” He waved a hand, frowning as he searched for the right word. Sonea waited. Though there were a few words that came into her mind – jealous, possessive, insecure – they weren’t exactly the polite way to describe his wife’s manner.

“She has a lot to adjust to,” Sonea told him. “A tired husband who is absent more than he used to be, a city she doesn’t know, being far from people who know and understand her – and I’m sure she’s not a little afraid for you.”

Dorrien nodded. “Sometimes …”

Sonea waited, but Dorrien looked pained and shook his head.

“Sometimes what?” she urged gently.

He looked down at the table. “Sometimes,” he said in a low, guilt-ridden voice, “I wish I hadn’t married her.”

Sonea stared at him in surprise. She had urged him to speak because she had assumed he wanted to admit he was afraid as well. He looked up at her, his eyes shadowed and unreadable.

“I should have married a magician. We’d have had … more in common.”

Looking away, Sonea grabbed at the first thing she could think of to shake him from this line of thinking. Much as she didn’t like Alina, she did not want to see Dorrien hurt his family. Moving to the city had highlighted the differences between him and his wife. They had distracted him from the similarities.

“You have the village in common and the love of the country. That may seem less significant now, but it is where you have always felt you belonged.”

Dorrien gazed at her unhappily, then his shoulders dropped and he nodded. “You’re right. It’s like Alina’s distrust makes me wonder if she sees something I can’t. I’m tired of her questions.”

“About the hospice? And the search?”

He nodded. “Among other things.”

“Then bring her here one day. Show her what we do. At least you can take the mystery out of one aspect of your work.”

A thoughtful look crossed his face, then he looked at her and got to his feet. “Well, I guess we should swap places.”

She nodded and stood up, waiting until he had stepped out from behind the table before she slipped past and sat down in the chair he’d been sitting in.

“No messages from Cery?” she asked.

“No,” he replied.

She sighed. “The Administrator has decided to check on our progress as many times a day as he can,” she warned him. “Don’t be surprised if he drops by your home.”

Dorrien winced. “Alina will love that. Goodnight, Sonea.”

She smiled. “Goodnight, Dorrien.”

When the door closed behind him, she looked around the room once to ensure she had all the cures, bandages and tools at hand that she might need, then she sat down again. Before long the first knock came at the door.

Drawing magic, she sent it out to the door. To her surprise, Dorrien stood there with Healer Nikea.

“A message just arrived,” he told her.

“Bring it in.”

Nikea handed a slip of paper to Dorrien, then smiled at Sonea and headed back down the corridor. Dorrien stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He handed the paper to Sonea.

Big meeting tonight. Come for dinner. Bring sweets.

She looked up at Dorrien, her heartbeat quickening.

“This is it,” she said. “The opportunity we’ve been hoping for.”

She’d agreed with Cery that they’d refer to any confirmed arrangement between Skellin and Anyi’s new boss, or the Thief that he worked for, as “big”. “Dinner” meant an hour after sundown. A request for sweets meant to join him at the room under the sweet shop.

“I should be more pleased about that than I feel,” Dorrien murmured.

Sonea smiled grimly. “Don’t worry. I’ll see if one of the Healers here can join us. I’d rather send for someone at the Guild, but we don’t have the time. Though perhaps we can send a message anyway, to see if someone from the Healers’ Quarters of the Guild can help out here tonight.”

Dorrien nodded. “Worth a try.”

Lilia felt much calmer about everything now that she’d had a few hours’ sleep and a meal among people who she hadn’t recently seen beat a man half to death. Worries about the consequences of not returning to the Lookout were easier to push to the back of her mind. Instead, worries about the people she was trusting began to seem more important.

While she felt confident that they couldn’t hurt her, since she had magic, there could be other ways they might take advantage of her. She could only hope that Lorandra would stick to their deal. Though the old woman appeared to be doing that, Lilia doubted she would continue to do so if the search for Naki brought her into conflict with an ally, or came with too high a cost.

The effort she is going to, to help me, seems to be greater than what I did to help her. All I did was bust her out of prison. I didn’t need to ask favours of anyone. Now that I’ve seen the world she belongs to, I don’t think she’s going to value the sacrifice I made by doing something that’ll get me in more trouble with the Guild. She doesn’t understand that I want to return, and hope to rejoin the Guild some day, because she never wanted to join it in the first place.

The Thief, whose name was Jemmi, had arranged a meeting with another Thief who might know where Naki was. He, Lorandra, Lilia, and a man and a woman who appeared to be bodyguards had left an hour or so ago and travelled an underground route to a warehouse. From there they’d emerged into dark streets and huddled in heavy, hooded coats as they walked through the rain to a bolhouse.

All filed up a flight of stairs and into a small room containing two small chairs and a table. It was cold in the room and Lilia was tempted to warm the air, but Lorandra had warned her not to use magic unless she had to. The male bodyguard moved closer to Jemmi and said something. The Thief frowned and turned to Lorandra.

“We need to discuss a fee before we move on.”

“What fee?” Lorandra’s odd-shaped eyes narrowed. She looked at Lilia. “Stay put,” she said. “We won’t be far away.”

She headed for the door. Jemmi looked at the male bodyguard and jerked his head to indicate he should accompany him out. The bodyguard looked at his female colleague and made a quick signal, before stepping into the corridor and closing the door.

Bemused, Lilia sat down in one of the chairs.

The female bodyguard moved to the door, clearly listening to the faint voices beyond. Lilia watched her, wondering how a woman could end up in a job like this. She’s younger than I first thought, Lilia mused. Looking even closer, she noted a few scars on the woman’s hands and one on her neck. The way the fabric of her coat hung and moved suggested that objects were contained within. Knives, perhaps? Surely not a sword …

The woman turned to look at Lilia. Her expression was one of indecision. She shook her head, then sighed.

“Do you know who you’re about to be given to?”

Lilia blinked. “Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“They’re taking me to see another Thief.”

“So that’s how they put it.” The woman’s lip curled. “The Thief’s name is Skellin. Do you know who he is?”

Skellin? Lorandra’s son was a Thief? Lilia felt cold fear prickle her skin. Why hasn’t Lorandra told me she is taking me to her son? Did she think I’d realise he was a magician, and be scared and try to run away? She swallowed. I suppose she’s right. He is scarier than she is, because he has control of his powers.

The woman was staring at her expectantly.

“I thought she’d help me find Naki before joining him,” Lilia explained. “She said we were going to meet someone who would have a better chance of finding her, and maybe he is the best—”

“Skellin is a magician.” The woman moved away from the door and grasped the arms of Lilia’s chair, staring down at her.

“I know—”

“And you know black magic. Do you really think he’s going to find your friend for free? He’s not going to do anything for you until you teach him black magic.”

“I’ll refuse unless he finds Naki.”

The woman’s stare was unfaltering. “Assuming he lets you, what then?”

Lilia could think of no good answer. The bodyguard glanced back at the door, then sighed again.

“You don’t need to betray everyone to find your friend,” she said. “There are others who can help you. Others who won’t blackmail you, because they know it’s better for everyone if the Thieves have no access to magic. Especially black magic.”

“I … I didn’t know.”

The woman let go of the chair and straightened. “I guess you wouldn’t.”

Lilia shook her head. She felt foolish and helpless and frightened. “I … it’s too late now, isn’t it? What else can I do?”

The woman glanced at the door, then at Lilia. “It’s not too late.” Her whisper was full of urgency. “I can get you out of here and introduce you to people who can find your friend without asking you to teach anyone black magic. But only if you come with me now.”

Lilia looked at the door. Lorandra had agreed to help her. She’d made a deal and appeared to be sticking to it. But to get Skellin’s help … he’ll probably want to make a deal of his own … if there’s a chance I can get out of here, I have to try.

“Are you sure you can find Naki?”

“Yes.” The woman’s gaze was steady and her voice full of confidence.

Hoping she wouldn’t regret it, Lilia got to her feet.

“All right.”

The woman gave her a feral grin.

“Follow me.”

In one graceful movement, she stepped up on the table, then reached to the ceiling. Lilia hadn’t noticed the hatch there. It opened silently. The woman held a hand out to Lilia and helped her up, then grabbed her by the thighs and lifted. Lilia bit back a gasp of surprise at being so man-handled. Or is that woman-handled? Her head and shoulders were in a roof space. She braced herself on the frame of the hatch and, helped by a shove from below, pulled herself inside.

The woman appeared in the hatch opening, swung up and pulled it closed. She put a finger to her lips, then slowly and silently crawled along the cavity to the far wall. Following, Lilia concentrated on placing her hands and knees gently on the ceiling panels and not scraping her feet on them. She listened for sounds that might indicate their absence had been discovered, but no shouts or calls reached her.

What am I doing? I should have stayed with Lorandra. But something told her that this woman was right. Lorandra might have been able to help her find Naki, but the cost would have been terrible. This bodyguard had better be right, though. If she can’t find Naki I will tell her to take me back to Lorandra.

At the end of the building they reached a triangular wall. A single window opened in the centre of this and the woman headed for it. Cold air and wind-blown rain rushed inside as it swung inwards like a door. The woman rose into a crouch and put one leg through, bending almost double against her other leg as she carefully backed out through the gap.

Lilia followed and found herself on top of another roof. The bodyguard drew her coat close and walked along the peak, dropping back into a crouch as she neared the edge. Judging by the gap between the roof and the wall of the next building, Lilia guessed there was a road below. She chose her steps carefully. The rain had made the roof tiles slippery. The woman stepped back from the edge of the roof as Lilia reached her.

“I’d like to get us into that building.” She pointed across the road to a three-storey stone building. “See those ropes?”

The woman was pointing to a couple of ropes strung across the gap a few houses further along the road. Lilia nodded.

“We can get across on them, then make our way back across the rooftops, and in through that attic window you can just make out down the side there.”

Lilia looked at the ropes and felt an unexpected wave of admiration for the woman.

“You do this all the time, don’t you?”

The bodyguard smiled. “We put them there. Never know when you’ll need to get away from somewhere”

Lilia nodded toward the road. “Anybody watching?”

The woman leaned toward the edge, looked up and down the street, then shook her head.

“Then I have a better way for you,” Lilia told her. “Hold on to me and don’t shout.”

She drew magic and created a disc of it beneath their feet. The woman threw her arms out, unbalanced, and Lilia caught them to steady her. Willing the disc to rise, Lilia carried them out across the road to the roof on the other side. The woman was staring at her as their feet met the tiles.

“Rek was wrong. You do have your powers back.”

Lilia nodded, then looked back at the bolhouse roof. “She doesn’t.”

“That’s the best news I’ve had all night.” The woman moved to the attic window. It was boarded up on the inside. She unblocked it with one quick kick. As Lilia followed her into the dark room, she hurried to the door, opened it and listened. Then she crept further into the house, peeking through doors. “Nothing. Doesn’t look like anybody is home. That’s the second best news I’ve had all night.”

“You broke in without knowing if anyone was home?”

The woman shrugged. “I could have handled it.”

Lilia decided she didn’t want to know how. She followed her rescuer into a bedroom. The woman approached the window cautiously.

“Don’t get too close,” she warned. Then she tensed. “Ah. There they are. If we’d taken any longer, they’d have spotted us.”

Lilia moved to the side of the window and peered out. Figures roamed the street below. A movement higher up drew her attention to the roof, where two people were balancing, one pointing at the ropes and another staring around at the rooftops.

“I better go cover that window again,” the woman muttered. She hurried upstairs and Lilia soon heard a muffled banging she hoped wasn’t audible from the outside. Fortunately, the rain had begun to come down harder. Perhaps it would mask the sound.

The woman reappeared, this time carrying two chairs, which she set down either side of the window. She dropped into one, and Lilia took the other.

“We’re going to stay put,” she told Lilia as she scanned the street outside again. “They’re heading off along the known routes, not searching houses.” She grinned. “I suppose if I’d known you had your powers and Lorandra didn’t we could have just walked out of there, but then they would have followed us. And there’s something satisfying about disappearing from and then hiding right under the enemy’s nose.” Abruptly her smile faded and she frowned as if something bad had occurred to her.

“What is it?”

The woman grimaced. “Aside from just losing my job, I had other things I was supposed to be doing. People are going to be waiting for my message, and when it doesn’t come they’ll worry about me.”

“Oh.” Lilia felt a pang of guilt. “Well … thank you for helping me – and for offering to find Naki. You’re sure you can find her?”

“We will. We won’t ask you to betray the Allied Lands in the process.” The woman straightened. “In the meantime, we haven’t been formally introduced. Though I’ve guessed who you are.”

“Yes. I’m Lilia, the novice who accidentally learned black magic,” she said wryly.

“Honoured to meet you, Lady Lilia.” The woman bowed slightly. “My name is Anyi.”