Trudi Canavan - The Rogue

Naki was breaking the law – but she knew that. Pointing it out was not going to persuade her to return to the Guild. However, if she knew Skellin was after her she might. She’d need the protection of the Guild. Unless … what if Naki was happy to switch from one Thief employer to another? Lilia realised that she needed to take a different approach. One that appealed to Naki’s nature.

“Are you truly free?” Lilia asked. She looked at the fat Thief pointedly.

Naki smiled. Clearly she had expected this argument. “As free as I want to be. Freer than I’d be in the Guild.”

“But for how long?” Lilia asked. “There are people after you. Not the Guild. Powerful rogue magicians.”

“Great.” Naki shrugged. “Then we’ll have a drink and swap stories.”

“They’re not after conversation,” Lilia told her, annoyed at Naki’s refusal to see the danger. “They’ll force you to tell them what was in the book, then they’ll kill you.”

Naki frowned. “The book?” A piercing whistle rang out from the direction of the warehouse, and the girl glanced in that direction before turning back to Lilia. “Oh, you mean black magic? Really, do you think I’d teach them that?”

Something began to bang against the shield Lilia was holding around Cery’s allies. She glanced to the side to see that Cery’s Thief friend and his companion were trying to get out of the barrier. Then she noticed that the fat Thief and his men were moving away toward the fishing boat. Hoping that there was nobody left to harm Cery’s allies, she let the shield around them fall.

Naki was walking toward her. The shadows made her smile look like a crazed grin.

“You know …” She tilted her head to one side and her expression became thoughtful. “… if the price was right, working with the rogues might be tempting.”

She was a few steps away. Her stare was predatory and dangerous. Lilia found herself backing away and strengthening the shield around herself.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, of course not. It wouldn’t be smart, would it? I’d be creating potential enemies as powerful as me.”

“As powerful as …” Lilia stopped backing away. “You did learn black magic that night!”

“No.” Naki’s beautiful mouth widened into an ugly, selfsatisfied smile. “I taught myself before we even met.”

She spread her fingers, and a bolt of magic clashed against Lilia’s shield. This was no cautious practice strike in Warrior classes. It was a blast that forced Lilia back, then to desperately draw forth more power than she’d ever needed to before to hold her shield up.

I ought to strike back. Lessons returned to her. A shield took more magic than a strike. If two combatants were equal in strength, the one who shielded more would fail first. But this is Naki. What if I hurt her? What if I kill her?

Clearly, Naki wasn’t having any of the same doubts. Her words echoed in Lilia’s mind. “ I taught myself before we even met. ” That meant Naki had known the instructions in the book would work. She had known she was ruining Lilia’s life. Lilia felt her heart shrivel away from the thought. Why would Naki do that? To share the crime with another? Which meant Lilia hadn’t been the only person in the house who knew black magic the night Lord Leiden had died.

But surely she wouldn’t kill her own father …

Who else could it have been? Suddenly Lilia had to know for sure – and the only way she could do that was to ensure Naki was captured, so that Black Magician Sonea could read her mind. Or me. I could read her mind.

The best chance she had at that was to fight back. Carefully. She’d never know the truth if Naki died. So she threw magic back at Naki. At first the strikes were meagre things compared to Naki’s, and the other girl laughed, but Lilia found she rapidly grew used to using this much power. Naki’s strikes were careless, which sent a trickle of fear through Lilia.

If she’s known black magic for so long, has she been strengthening herself? I haven’t used black magic once. I’m only as strong as I naturally am, and I’ve been levitating a lot …

That thought sent a rush of panic through Lilia. She pushed it aside as best she could. Though she could feel herself trembling, she managed to keep her strikes accurate and her shield steady. A part of her was amused to see that Naki, despite being best at the Warrior discipline, wasn’t bothering to do anything tricky or cunning, but her amusement fled as she realised this was because she didn’t have to. She wanted this over as soon as possible.

Abruptly, Lilia reached for power and found her strength depleted. She gasped with horror and disbelief as her shield faltered, and braced herself for the blow that would kill her. Naki gave a crow of triumph, but the strike did not come. To Lilia’s immense relief, the girl stopped striking and started toward her.

“You haven’t taken magic, have you?” Naki said, snaking a hand out and grabbing Lilia’s arm. She shook her head. “All this time you were free and you never took power. You always were stupid and gullible.” With a push, she turned Lilia around and twisted her arm behind her back. Pain shot through Lilia’s arm and shoulder.

“If you’re so smart, why are you working for a Thief?” Lilia replied. “Why isn’t he working for you?”

Naki laughed quietly. “Oh, I’m just learning the ropes.”

She shifted, and something cold and sharp touched Lilia’s neck. In the corner of her eye Lilia could see the moonlight catch the edge of a knife. A chill rushed through her body as she realised what Naki intended to do, followed by a deep, rending hurt in her chest. She’s going to kill me after all. All along I’ve been hoping she has been caught up in one of her crazy schemes. That she’s being reckless, and doesn’t really want to hurt me. But she doesn’t love me. She probably never did.

She’s right. I am a fool …

Then Naki yanked Lilia backwards and let her go. Lilia heard a crack as she staggered, off balance, tripped and fell onto her backside.

From somewhere nearby, someone uttered a curse.

Shouts rang out, then the sound of running. Looking around, Lilia saw Anyi, Gol and Cery hurrying toward her. From another direction came a magician, black robes snapping.

Sonea?

The Black Magician did not look at Lilia as she ran past. Turning, Lilia saw Sonea throw herself onto her knees next to Naki, who was lying on the wharf, and grasp the girl’s head. Which was bent at a strange angle.

As she watched, the head slowly moved back to a natural position, colour returning to Naki’s face. The girl groaned and opened her eyes. She looked up at Sonea and groaned again.

“Yes. Me.” Sonea’s expression changed from relieved to grim. She got to her feet. “You may not want to thank me for saving your life.”

Naki sat up and rubbed at her neck. “Why should I? You nearly killed me.”

Sonea looked at her as if she wanted to say more, then changed her mind. She took hold of Naki’s arm and hauled her to her feet, then turned to Lilia. “Cery assures me you’ll come back to the Guild willingly now.”

Following her gaze, Lilia saw that Cery, Anyi and Gol were standing right behind her, along with two other magicians in green robes who she had never seen before.

“Yes,” Lilia replied. “Now that I’ve found her.” Anyi held out a hand and helped Lilia climb to her feet.

“Anything broken?” Anyi murmured.

“Just my pride.”

“And your heart, I think.”

Lilia stared at Anyi, who gave her a knowing look before stepping away. “Well, I guess you’ll be going back to the Guild now. Drop around from time to time. You’ll always be welcome.”