Trudi Canavan - The Rogue

“Yes?”

The man bowed, handed her a folded slip of paper, sealed with wax, then flushed and hurried away.

She broke the seal and read the letter. A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine as she read Cery’s instructions, despite the fact that messages like these had led to disappointment in the past. She turned to Dorrien, who was eyeing her thoughtfully.

“You’re finished here for the day, Dorrien,” she told him. “But you’d best send Alina an apology for missing dinner. We’ve got work to do in the city.”

“Wait here.”

Though short and thin, the man sent to guide them to the meeting place by the Thief called Enka had exhibited a coldness and efficiency that made him more intimidating to Lilia than Cery’s big bodyguard.

There’s something about him that disturbs me , she found herself thinking. I reckon he’d do anything his boss told him to, and it wouldn’t bother him. Anything.

He’d led her, Anyi, Cery and Gol to a half-ruined empty warehouse on one of the less-used wharves of the marina. Anyi had assured her that there were more of Cery’s people involved, following at a discreet distance. They would be finding places to watch from, places they could emerge from quickly if Cery signalled for help.

“Where should we position ourselves?” Anyi asked. She was looking up. “Pity we can’t get up there.”

Lilia followed the woman’s gaze. The frame of the warehouse was exposed, and the huge beams looked more than solid enough to keep the building standing for a long while yet. The end of the building had once had a mezzanine floor, complete with a row of windows, but the floorboards had rotted away or been salvaged. She could see why Anyi thought it a good vantage point. The windows would allow a view of the rest of the dock.

Moonlight shone through the windows, making it hard to distinguish details of the wall. Shading her eyes, she saw that one of the large beams ran along bricks where it had once supported the floorboards.

“If we could, do you think we could balance on that beam?” Lilia asked.

Anyi moved closer, then shrugged. “Easy.” She looked at Cery and Gol. “What about you two?”

Cery looked at her and smiled. “I reckon I’d manage. Gol?”

“I s’pose. But how are we going to get up there?”

“Easily, with Lilia’s help,” Anyi said.

Lilia looked from Anyi to Gol and hid a smile. This wasn’t the first time she’d picked up a little competitive rivalry between the two of them. She followed Anyi to the wall with the first-floor windows. Then Anyi turned and grabbed Lilia’s arms.

“Do your thing, Lilia.”

Creating a disc of magic under their feet, Lilia lifted them both up to the beam. Anyi stepped onto it, grinning. Lilia descended again.

With the merest of shrugs, Cery took hold of Lilia’s arms. She levitated him up to the beam and when he was safely perched on it, holding the frame of the nearest window to steady himself, she dropped back down again.

Gol looked at her, then up at Cery, his eyes wide. He took a step back, palms outward.

“I’m not—”

“Get up here, Gol,” Cery ordered tersely. Lilia glanced up. Cery was peering around the frame of a window, looking outside the building.

She heard Gol step closer and turned her attention back to him. He was hesitating again. She heard footsteps outside the warehouse.

“Now,” Cery hissed.

Someone was coming.

Lilia stepped forward and grabbed Gol’s arms, hoping he wouldn’t cry out in protest or fear. She lifted them both upwards. To his credit, he made only a quiet yip of surprise. She moved to a place on the beam where an upright would give him something sturdy to grab hold of, and he immediately wrapped his arms around it.

With her own feet on the beam, she expanded the disc to form a shield surrounding them all, taking care to make it invisible.

The door below opened. Three men moved inside.

“Silent,” one man said. “The hinge has been oiled.”

“For this, or another meet?”

Nobody answered, and the three looked around the warehouse. One even glanced up at the windows, but didn’t appear to see them. Probably half blinded by the moonlight, like we were.

The men left. Lilia let out the breath she had been holding and moved to a window. The openings had long ago lost both glass and mullion framework. She peered around the edge of the hole, and what she saw outside made her heart stop.

A fishing boat was moored to the wharf. The three men who had inspected the warehouse were walking toward two pairs of people. The first pair was a slim old man who she guessed was Enka, because his companion was the man who had been their guide.

The other couple consisted of a rather fat, well-dressed man and a slim woman who, if anything, was more beautiful in the moonlight than daylight. Lilia’s heart felt as if it had begun to glow inside her.

Naki! I’ve found her at last!

Beyond the two groups were more men. She could not tell if they belonged with Naki’s Thief or Enka.

It doesn’t matter , she thought. They’re not magicians. They can’t stop me. She put a foot up on the sill of the window, then paused.

“Go on,” a voice whispered at her side. She turned to see that Anyi had shuffled along the beam to stand next to the window. “Cery says don’t forget to protect Enka and his second.”

Lilia nodded in gratitude, then drew magic and sent it out in two directions to surround Cery’s allies and Naki. She climbed up onto the sill, crouching to duck under the lintel, and stepped out.

The people outside didn’t notice her float to the ground, but Naki was looking around, having detected the shield around her as it bumped up against her own. Oh good , Lilia thought. She can protect herself. She let the shield drop. Something about Naki’s shield nagged at her, however. She began to walk toward the people, half hidden behind the three men who had investigated the warehouse.

“There’s another magician here,” Naki said in a warning tone.

At once all began to cast about, and spotted Lilia quickly. The three men parted, backing away in fear and uncertainty as Lilia passed between them.

“Naki,” Lilia said, then smiled. Her friend was staring at her in surprise. “It’s so good to see you. What trouble have you got yourself into this time?”

“Lilia.” Naki did not speak the name with hatred or accusation, to Lilia’s relief. But she didn’t speak it fondly, either. “Why are you here?”

“To help you.”

Naki sent a flash of light through her shield. “As you can tell, I don’t need your help.”

Lilia gazed at her friend and realised this was what had been nagging at her. She’s right. She doesn’t need my help. She has magic. Somehow she or someone else has removed the block. That’s what was so strange about her shield – she shouldn’t be able to raise one. And then the real meaning behind Naki’s words hit her.

Naki did not want to be rescued.

She’s quite happy working for a Thief. In fact, she probably disappeared deliberately. Unless …? Lilia did something risky then. She spoke with her mind, as softly as possible in the hope that nobody in the Guild would hear.

— Are you being blackmailed?

Naki laughed. “No, you slow-witted fool. This is what I planned all along: get away from the Guild and all their rules and suffocating judgement and be free to do whatever I want.”

Her stare was full of hatred now. Lilia felt a familiar wave of guilt, but she resisted the urge to look away. I did not kill her father , she told herself. She has no reason to hate me. But uncertainty remained. Naki clearly did not want to be rescued. What do I do now?