Trudi Canavan - The Rogue

What if their experiment had worked, and she had learned black magic from a book?

— Oh, you most certainly did , Sonea’s voice spoke into her mind. It’s not supposed to be possible. Not even Akkarin believed it was. But there has been at least one other novice in history who learned it without the help of another magician, and the magicians of that time must have had reason to be so determined to destroy anything written about it. Unfortunately, being the one to prove we were wrong is not an achievement anybody is going to look favourably on. Why did you attempt it when you knew it was forbidden?

— I don’t know. I just went along with Naki. She told me … She’d told Lilia she trusted her. Would she ever again? I love her and she hates me!

Suddenly the loss and shock welled up and she burst into tears. Sonea’s touch disappeared from her head and moved to her shoulders, rubbing them gently but firmly as Lilia struggled to regain control of herself.

“I won’t tell you everything will be fine,” Sonea said, sighing. “But I think I can persuade them that it wasn’t exactly deliberate, and to choose a more lenient punishment. That will depend on what Naki remembers, though.”

A more lenient punishment? Lilia shivered as she remembered what she had been taught in history classes. Akkarin was exiled only because the Guild didn’t know if it could defeat him. They would have executed him otherwise. But then, he had killed people with black magic. I haven’t … I hope.

If she hadn’t, Sonea would find no evidence in Naki’s mind. Suddenly Lilia badly wanted Sonea to go and find that out. The last urge to cry vanished.

“Are you all right now?” Sonea asked.

Lilia nodded.

“Stay here.”

The wait was torture. When Sonea finally returned, with Black Magician Kallen and the two other magicians following, her expression was grim.

“She did not witness the death of her father,” Sonea told her. “Nor is there any proof in her mind that you killed him, other than the manner of death and the blood on your hands. Either could be coincidence.”

Lilia sighed with relief. I didn’t do it , she told herself.

“Her memories of last night are very different to yours,” Sonea continued. “But not in ways that a misunderstanding would not explain.” She shook her head. “Despite what you recall sensing, she has not learned black magic.”

A bittersweet relief rose at that. At least Naki had not committed as great a crime as Lilia had, though she had tried to learn black magic, so Lilia doubted she would escape punishment completely.

Perhaps, now she knows I didn’t kill her father, we can face this together.

But when the magicians escorted Lilia out of the room, Naki was there, glaring at Lilia with an intensity that set her hopes withering.

The sound of the underground river surrounded Lorkin as he stepped out of the tunnel. Tyvara was sitting on the bench seat, as before, gazing thoughtfully at the sewer waterwheel. He was tempted to call out to her mentally, but even if it would not reveal that they were meeting, the Traitors had even stricter rules forbidding mental communication than the Guild, since they could not risk that even the shortest call would be picked up by other magicians, and lead searchers to Sanctuary.

So he waited until she noticed him and beckoned.

“Lorkin,” she said as he stepped onto the ledge. “I wasn’t expecting you to have time to visit for a while. Isn’t the chill fever in the second stage?”

He nodded and sat down beside her. “It is. It’s why I’m here. But first, how are you?”

Her eyebrows rose in amusement. “You Kyralians. Always so formal. I’m fine.”

“Bored?”

She laughed. “Of course. But I get visitors. And …” She pulled a ring from one of her fingers and held it up for a moment before stowing it into a pocket. “People keep me informed on what’s happening in the city. I’ve just been told that Kalia is furious at you leaving, by the way.”

He shrugged. “I don’t have time to wait for things to quieten down.”

Tyvara frowned. “You’re not neglecting my people because of me, are you?”

“Yes and no.” He grimaced. Even with magician volunteers helping out in the Care Room, there was a lot of work to do. He couldn’t stay long. It was time to get to the point. “I need your advice.”

Her gaze became wary. “Oh?”

“It was inevitable that someone would get sick or be injured so badly that the only way they’d survive is if I Healed them,” he said. “I’ve always planned to help them. I’ve always known there would be consequences. I want to know what you think they’ll be, and if I can avoid or reduce them.”

She regarded him in silence, her expression serious, then nodded. “We have discussed this,” she said, and somehow, by a subtle change in her tone, he knew that she did not mean her and him, but her faction within the Traitors.

“And?”

“Savara thought you would refuse to Heal them. Zarala said you wouldn’t, but you’d wait to be asked.”

“ Should I wait? Is Kalia ruthless enough to let the girl die?”

“She might be.” Tyvara scowled. “Her excuse will be that you made it clear Healing wasn’t something you were willing to give, and she was respecting your decision by not pestering you. People will have to decide if it was worse that she did not ask you, or that you did not offer, and they will probably favour her. You haven’t used your Healing powers before, and have not indicated that you would do anything but refuse if asked to.”

“So I shouldn’t wait. Will people regard my using Healing as flaunting what I refuse to teach them, and what my father failed to?”

“Perhaps. Not so much if you use it only in greatest need, when the patient would die otherwise.”

“What about those in pain?”

“It would show you have compassion, if you helped them, too.”

“A toothache hurts. As do many everyday ailments. At what point will people feel it is reasonable for me to refuse Healing? Will they expect I treat everything, once I start?”

She frowned, then suddenly grinned. “It might be worth the trouble, if it put Kalia out of a job.” Then she grew serious again and shook her head. “But that would be foolish. Kalia has too many supporters.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a sigh he couldn’t hear over the rushing water. “There will be different opinions on when it is reasonable for you to refuse to Heal with magic, and a person’s opinion may change if they happen to be the one with the toothache. I think most people will agree that there’s a point where you are right to refuse, but it will be interesting to see if they allow you to be the one to decide that.”

He nodded. “Anything else?”

“Make sure you get the patient’s or parent’s permission before you do anything,” she added.

“Should I ask Kalia?”

She winced. “Zarala was most concerned about this. If you ask Kalia, she will forbid you to use magic to Heal anyone, insisting that you teach her how to instead. Then if the patient dies, it is still your fault for refusing. If you do not ask her, you will not have respected her as your superior, and as a man that is especially bad. But if you save someone’s life, people will forgive that disrespect. As many people dislike Kalia as support her.” She spread her hands. “In your defence, point out that nobody here has to seek permission from Kalia before treating a sick or injured Traitor. Patients choose to go to the Care Room.”

Lorkin sighed. “I can’t avoid annoying Kalia, but so long as I annoy as few other people as possible I’ll have to live with that.”