The High Lord (63 page)

Why should I risk my life for this man?

The moment the question ran through her mind she hated herself for asking it. She could not abandon anyone to the Ichani, no matter how much she disliked them. Straightening, she stepped aside.

“Go,” she told them.

The three men hurried past. As they moved out of sight, Sonea heard a noise in the room beyond the far wall. Turning around, she saw the Ichani returning. His eyes met hers, and he smiled.

It was not hard to feign terror as he started toward her. She backed toward the doorway and felt the sting of a barrier. The Ichani waved a hand and she felt a force push her forward. Resisting the urge to throw it off, she allowed herself to stumble toward him. When he was a mere step away, he looked her up and down.

“So there
are
a few Kyralian women here,” he said.

Sonea struggled as the force enveloped her, holding her arms against her body. Her heart began to race as the Ichani moved closer until she could feel his breath on her face. He slid his hands under her shirt. She stiffened with alarm and horror as she saw his expression change to a lecherous sneer.

A wave of panic rushed over her. She couldn’t move, so she couldn’t touch him. If she couldn’t touch him, she couldn’t use her Healing powers on him. And if he proceeded much further, he would discover the black robes beneath her ordinary clothes.

—
Fight him,
Akkarin urged.

She sent out a wave of force. The Ichani’s eyes widened in surprise as he was pushed away. Striding after him, she attacked quickly and rapidly. He planted his feet, raised his hands and sent a strike in return. She staggered backward as it pounded her shield.

He laughed. “So they
were
robes I felt under that shirt. I wondered where all the magicians went.”

Sonea felt a surge of hope. He thought she was an ordinary Guild magician. She could still attempt to trick him if she pretended to grow weak with exhaustion.

—
I’m outside the door,
Akkarin sent.
What do you want me to do?

—
Wait,
she told him.

When the Ichani struck again, she let herself stagger away until her back met the wall. He advanced, and she cringed as he struck again. At the fourth strike, she let her shield waver. He smiled maliciously as it fell, took out his knife and held it between his teeth.

She moved as if to dodge as he reached for her. Catching her arm, he hauled her back and pressed her against the wall with one hand. She grabbed his wrist, closed her eyes and sent her mind into his body.

She found his heart at the same time as pain flashed across her arm. Deciding she could not Heal herself and harm him simultaneously, she concentrated on his heart. Once it stopped, what could he do?

His grip tightened as she exerted her will. She heard him gasp in pain and opened her eyes to see his face turning white. He glared at her accusingly. A hand shifted to her arm.

A terrible lethargy spread from her arm through her body. Though she tried to move, no muscle would obey her. At the same time, she felt magical strength draining from her at a frightening speed. A movement in the corner of her eye beckoned, but she could not even summon the strength to shift her gaze. Then the draining eased. The Ichani’s expression had changed from anger to confusion and horror. She saw the knife slip from his hand. He let her go and clutched at his chest.

Control came back to Sonea in an instant. She picked up the knife and slashed it across his neck. As blood sprayed down, she grabbed his throat and drew in his strength.

Power flooded into her, but not as much as she had gained from Parika. The fight with the Guild had weakened this Ichani. As his strength ebbed, he fell backward onto the floor and lay still.

Behind him stood Akkarin. He gazed at her with an odd expression. She looked down at her blood-splattered clothes and shuddered in disgust.

After it’s all over,
Sonea thought, I
will never use this power again. Never.

“I felt the same when I returned from Sachaka.”

She looked up at him. He extended a hand.

“There’s bound to be something in the house for you to change into,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Getting up was difficult even with his help. Though she wasn’t tired, her legs were shaky. She stood still for a moment, swaying. Looking at the dead Ichani, she felt shock change to relief.
It worked. And he didn’t get a chance to call to Kariko.
She had survived, and had even saved…

“The King?” she asked.

“I sent him to the house across the road, and Takan warned Ravi to be prepared to receive him.”

As she imagined what that encounter would be like, Sonea felt her mood lighten a little. “The King rescued by the Thieves. Now that’s something I’d like to see.”

The corner of Akkarin’s mouth curled upward. “I’m sure there will be some interesting consequences.”

Cery ran down yet another corridor and skidded to a halt beside a door. He tested the handle. Locked. He moved to the next. The same. The sound of distant footsteps grew louder. He bolted for the door at the end of the corridor, and gasped with relief as the handle turned.

Beyond was a long room with windows facing the gardens at the center of the Palace. Cery hurried past chairs decorated with gold and sumptuous fabrics to another door at the end of the room. Savara’s pendant hammered against his chest under his clothes.

Please don’t be locked,
he thought.
Please don’t be a dead end.

He grabbed the handle and twisted, but it would not turn. A curse escaped him and he fumbled through his coat for picks. He drew them out, glad that he had never lost the habit of carrying them. Selecting two, he inserted them into the lock and began to feel for the mechanism.

Behind him, the faint sound of footsteps grew louder.

His breath rushed in and out of his throat. His mouth was dry and his hands sweaty. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, then gave the picks a quick turn and push.

The lock clicked open. Cery grabbed the picks, pulled open the door and dashed through. He yanked the door behind him, stopping it just as it was about to slam, and drew it closed as quietly as he could.

A quick glance told him that he had entered a small room filled with mirrors and small tables and chairs. A dressing room for entertainers, Cery guessed. There was no other door or entrance to the room. He turned his attention back to the lock and set to work on closing it again.

The mechanism was easier to trigger now he knew the type. It closed with a satisfying click. Sighing with relief, Cery moved to a chair and sat down.

As he heard footsteps outside the room, his relief evaporated. If Harikava had been following him, he would guess that there was nowhere else that Cery could have gone but through the door—locked or not. Rising, Cery took a step toward the small windows on one side of the room. He had to get out somehow.

Then the lock clicked and his blood turned to ice.

The door swung open with a faint squeak. The Ichani peered inside. As he saw Cery, he smiled.

“There you are.”

Cery backed away from the door. Reaching inside his coat pockets, he felt the handles of his knives against his palms. He grasped them tightly.

This isn’t good,
he thought. He glanced toward the windows. I
won’t get to them. He’ll stop me.

The Ichani took a step closer.

If he catches me, he’ll read my mind. He’ll find out about Sonea and Akkarin.

Cery swallowed hard and loosened the knives from their sheaths.
But he can’t read my mind if I’m already dead.

As the Ichani took another step, Cery felt his determination weaken. I
can’t do it. I can’t kill myself.
He stared at the Ichani. The man’s eyes were cold and predatory.

What’s the difference? I’m going to die anyway.

He took two quick breaths, then whisked out the knives.

—
No, Cery! Don’t!

Cery froze at the voice in his mind. Was this his fear speaking? If it was, it had a woman’s voice. A voice much like…

Harikava turned to look out of the room and his eyes widened. Cery heard swift footsteps. As a woman stepped into the doorway, he caught his breath in surprise.

“Leave him, Harikava,” Savara said. Her voice was commanding. “This one is mine.”

The Ichani backed way from her. “What are your kind doing here?” he snarled.

She smiled. “Not making our own claim on Kyralia, as you probably fear. No, we are merely watching.”

“So you say.”

“You are in no position to say otherwise,” she replied, stepping into the room. “If I were you, I’d leave now.”

As she moved toward Cery, Harikava watched her carefully. When she was several steps away from the door, he strode to it and out of the room. Cery heard the man’s footsteps stop outside.

“Kariko won’t have your kind here. He will hunt you down.”

“I will be long gone before he has the time to spare.”

The footsteps moved away, then there was the sound of the door in the next room closing. Savara looked at Cery.

“He’s gone. That was close.”

He stared back at her. She had saved him. Somehow she had known he was in trouble, and appeared just in time. But how was that possible? Had she followed him? Or had she been following the Ichani? Relief changed to doubt as he considered her words. The Ichani had been afraid of her. Suddenly he was sure he ought to be, too.

“Who
are
you?” he whispered.

Her shoulders lifted. “A servant of my people.”

“He… he ran away. From you.
Why
?”

“Uncertainty. He has used a great deal of power today, and can’t be sure he would defeat me.” She smiled and moved toward him. “Bluff is always the most satisfying way to win a fight.”

Cery backed away. She had just saved his life. He ought to thank her. But there was something too strange about all this. “He recognized you. You know his name.”

“He recognized what I am, not who I am,” she corrected.

“What are you, then?”

“Your ally.”

“No, you’re not. You say you want to help us, but you won’t do anything to stop the Ichani, even though you’re strong enough to do it.”

Her smile vanished. She regarded him solemnly, then her expression hardened. “I’m doing everything I can, Cery. What will it take to convince you of that? Would you trust me if I said I have known for some time that Akkarin and Sonea had returned? Obviously I haven’t told the Ichani this.”

Cery’s heart skipped a beat, then began to pound. “How did you find out about that?”

She smiled and her eyes flickered to his chest. “I have my ways.”

Why the glance at his chest? He frowned as he remembered the pendant. Reaching under his shirt, he pulled it out. Her eyes flickered and her smile faded.

What sort of magical properties did it have? Looking at the smooth ruby at the center, he felt a chill go down his back as he remembered Sonea and Akkarin making their rings for each other. Rings with red glass baubles…

“With these rings, we will be able to see into each others’ minds…”

He looked at the ruby. If this was a blood gem, then Savara had been reading his mind… and he had been wearing it since just after Akkarin and Sonea arrived.

How else could she know they were in the city?

Drawing the chain over his head, he tossed the pendant aside.

“I
have
been a fool to trust you,” he said bitterly.

She regarded him sadly. “I have known about Sonea and Akkarin since I gave you that pendant. Have I revealed them to the Ichani? No. Have I used this information to bribe you? No. I have not taken advantage of your trust, Ceryni, you have taken advantage of mine.”

She crossed her arms. “You told me you would keep me informed if I gave you advice on killing magicians, but you have kept much from me that I needed to know. My people have been looking for Akkarin and Sonea in Sachaka. They intended to help the former High Lord take back Kyralia from the Ichani. We do not want Kyralia ruled by Kariko and his allies any more than you do.”

Cery stared at her. “How can I believe this?”

Savara sighed and shook her head. “I can only ask you to trust me. It is too difficult to prove… but I think you have reached the limit of your trust.” She smiled ruefully. “What are we to do with each other?”

He didn’t know how to answer that. Looking at the pendant, he felt angry, foolish and betrayed. Yet when he looked at her, he saw a sadness and regret in her eyes that he did believe was real. He did not want them to part with ill feelings for each other.

But perhaps that was not possible.

“You and I have deals and secrets we can’t give away, and people we must protect,” he said slowly. “I respect that about you, but you didn’t respect that about me.” He looked at the pendant again. “You shouldn’t have done that to me. I know why you did it, but that doesn’t make it right. When you gave me that, you made it impossible for me to keep my promises.”

“I wanted to protect your people.”

“I know.” He managed a wry smile. “And I can respect that, too. While our lands are fighting, we can’t put each other’s feelings before our people’s safety. So let’s see how this turns out. When it’s all over, I might forgive you for doing that to me. Until then, I’m sticking to my own side. Don’t expect anything more.”

She looked down, then nodded. “I understand.”

The servants door to Zerrend’s mansion opened onto an alley just wide enough for a delivery cart to pass through. The lock was undone, but the door was closed. Both ends of the alley met empty, silent streets.

There was no sign of Tayend—no sign of anyone at all.

“What shall we do now?” Farand asked.

“I don’t know,” Dannyl admitted. “I don’t want to leave, in case he comes back. But he may have been forced to flee the city.”

Or he might be lying dead somewhere.
Every time Dannyl thought about the possibility, his blood turned cold and he felt ill with dread.
First Rothen, then Tayend…