Disclaimer: I do not own these characters – they belong to Trudi Canavan.

FEAR

Lorlen finished speaking and looked round the table. The men gathered there wore a variety of expressions, horror, fear, hopelessness and worry. The ashen-faced King perhaps fared the worse. He had already looked tired and drained when he came to the meeting. What he had heard there had not improved his state of mind.

"Are you sure of your facts, Administrator?" One of Merin's advisors asked.

Lorlen sighed. "There can be no doubt, the Fort has been captured. We heard the mental cries of the Warriors as they fought the invaders…and died."

"And none survived?"

"No. None survived."

The King stared straight at Lorlen. "Were they able to kill any of the invaders before they were overcome?"

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but our magic was unable to defeat them. They use a powerful magic we have not encountered before."

"Black magic?" Merin looked grim.

"Black magic." Lorlen agreed.

There was silence as each man tried to come to terms with what he had heard. It was unheard of for an entire company of Warriors to be overcome in such a way, with no means of defeating the enemy. Whether they liked it or not, the reality of enemies with black magic had to be faced. The invaders were on Kyralian soil and would make for the capital. War could not be avoided.

"It seems the Guild was rather hasty in dealing with the former High Lord." Merin's other advisor stated dryly. "From recent events, it is clear that his explanation was correct and his actions had been keeping Kyralia safe for some years."

"And now he is gone, perhaps even dead, and we have no defence." The first advisor added gloomily.

Lorlen tried to sound encouraging, "We have the books he used and two of our most trusted magicians have been studying them. It is hoped they will be able to discover the secrets of black magic and help the Guild defend against attack."

"What success have they had?" the King asked hopefully.

"None, so far. It seems that black magic is most successfully taught mind-to-mind, rather than through books. Sonea, for example, learned it very quickly. She has very strong powers, so perhaps it was easier for her. Of course, she had access to Akkarin's mind to help her."

"Well, Administrator, keep trying with the books, perhaps somewhere in them is a clue to developing black magic skills. We must have Black Magicians of our own, if we are to stand any chance of success." The King stood up, signalling the end of the meeting.

Just as Lorlen reached the door, his name was called and he turned to find Merin gesturing him to stay behind. The King walked over to the sideboard and poured two large glasses of wine. Lorlen felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He couldn't face another session with Merin like the last one.

As he sat down in the comfortable fireside chair, the King glanced up at Lorlen and held out a glass.

"I am sorry, Lorlen, about the other night. I'm afraid I had too much wine and may have said too much." Merin gazed at his glass and then set it down untasted. "Sit down, I have more to discuss with you."

"My advisors are right. It is clear Akkarin spoke the truth and the Guild, and I, were foolish to ignore him. We were even more foolish to send him away, when we need him.

But what's done is done. What do we do from here?"

"It is worse than you think, Your Majesty. When we exiled Akkarin and Sonea, we shouted to the world what they had done and what was going to happen to them. Akkarin's actions over several years had preserved the fiction that the Guild still practised black magic. The Ichanis as a group would never have dared attack us because we were too many and, they thought, too powerful. Now they know we are weak and our only Black Magicians are gone."

Merin looked at his wine glass for a long time, before picking it up. "The one bright spot in all this mess is that my faith in Akkarin has been restored." Merin smiled without humour, "He did not betray me, in truth he saved my country. It is I who betrayed him and I have sent him to his death." The King twirled the glass in his hand for a moment, before swallowing its contents.

Lorlen noticed tell-tale tears appear at the corners of the King's eyes and looked quickly away. It would never do for Merin to suspect that his secret affection for his former High Lord was no longer a secret.

"Akkarin should be recalled. If he is not too far away, he could be here in a day or so." Lorlen took a sip of his wine, to give Merin time to control his emotions. "Once he is back, he can train enough magicians to hold the invaders at bay, so they can be killed. Sonea, too, can play her part – she has killed Black Magicians before."

Merin looked up. "Yes, recall him and the girl. You were right the other night; we have to fight fire with fire. Once the battles are over and we are victorious, we will need to decide what to do about black magic. But for now, our survival and the survival of the Guild must take priority."

"I shall inform the Higher Magicians immediately." Lorlen got to his feet. "If Your Majesty will excuse me, I must return to the Guild at once and arrange for Akkarin's recall."

The King, looking a little more cheerful, stood up and put his arm around Lorlen's shoulder, "Thank you Administrator. When Akkarin returns, tell him…" Merin was silent for a moment, "…... Tell him I wish to see him."

"Recall Akkarin! Whatever is the King thinking of?" Lady Vinara sounded aghast. Some of the other Higher Magicians murmured in agreement. "He broke his vows, he broke the law and he was lucky not to have been executed."

Patiently, Lorlen repeated again the reasons why the Guild must do as the King ordered. Although not many looked convinced, the fact that the two magicians who had been studying the old books had so far failed to even begin to understand how to practise black magic had made an impression.

"So, I shall call him now." Lorlen looked at each magician in turn and his gaze did not waiver until he received a reluctant nod.

Akkarin?

Akkarin? The King bids you return.

Akkarin?

Lorlen and the other Higher Magicians suddenly turned pale. They had not heard a reply from Akkarin, but they had heard a number of unknown mental voices chanting loudly

AKKARIN! AKKARIN! AKKARIN!

to a background sound of mocking laughter.