Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan

The High Lord's Study

Sonea became aware that her tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth as she tried to concentrate. Even though she was alone, she popped it back inside immediately. Akkarin often teased her about it, saying it wasn't the sort of thing a magician should do, so she was trying to break the habit. She grimaced and went back to her task. You have to admit he's good, she thought to herself. I've been struggling with this lock for ages and I still can't un do it!

She was crouched by the door at the end of the flagstone passage under the Residence's kitchens trying to open it. She had learned that Balkan was away from the Guild for a day or so and decided that this would provide a good opportunity to search the Residence. She was confident she could get back inside as she had watched everything Akkarin had done the last time. She had had no problems getting into the passages and even opened the first door without any trouble. But then she hit a snag.

Akkarin had set an additional lock on the door without a handle or lock and, try as she might, she had been unable to open it. She could just about see the intricate weave he had created, but exactly how to unpick it was a mystery to her. It was all very frustrating. After all, she had been studying with him ever since they had come to live at their mountain home, spending day after day working through his collection of books of magic, practising the tasks he gave her and, until now, she had been perfectly satisfied with her progress. But, it seemed, he still had his secrets and setting unbreakable magic locks was one of them.

She sat back on her heels and thought for a moment. There must be a way! She cast her mind back to a lesson he had given almost five years ago. She concentrated on trying to remember the sequence of something he had taught her. They had been weaving air, making intricate patterns, wrapping one thread around another. Yes! That was it!

She bent once more to her task, unravelling the tiny weave but this time, the threads came away and vanished, one after the other until there was an almost soundless pop as the last of them disappeared. She'd done it. Now there was only the more traditional lock to do and it was a matter of moments to deal with that. The door vanished and she was through to the stairs. Of course, she thought ruefully, there's another one of his special locks on the next door!

Akkarin's magic was subtle and quite unlike any of the magic she had seen from other magicians, even her teachers' magic had been fairly ordinary in comparison. He was the strongest magician in the Allied Lands, but it wasn't simply a question of power, it was what he could do with it. The lock she had just undone, for example, appeared to be something quite frail, just a series of weaves, but it was the subtlety of the pattern which made it difficult to unravel. If she had not been studying with him, she would never have been able to unwork it. She hoped the second weave was like the first one.

However, when she reached the second door, she found it almost impossible to even see where the weave started or ended. She concentrated as hard as she could, keeping her eyes closed as she sent out her magic to try to identify the pattern. Nothing happened. She was unable to see anything.

After some minutes of unsuccessful effort, she sat down on the floor of the passage to recover. She felt tired and miserable and her head ached. I shall never be able to open this door, she thought. He's much too good at magic and my talent is weak compared to his. She dropped her head in her hands and felt the trickle of tears slip through her fingers as she realised she couldn't undo it. Why did I think I could do this? She became more and more convinced that she would never break the lock and after several minutes, decided to give up and go back to her room. It was a silly idea anyway!

She had gone halfway down the stairs when she suddenly stopped. What am I doing? she asked herself sharply. There's only one more difficult lock and I'm in. She turned back up the stairs, but by the time she'd reached the door, her mood had darkened again and she remembered the difficulty she'd just had trying to see the weave. It was true, her magic was good, but not good enough. She would never be able to deal with the lock and it was a foolish waste of time to even think she could. She half-turned to leave, then a quiet laugh escaped her. Oh, you cunning man! You've included a mood spell!

She steeled herself to ignore the dark thoughts of failure and pressed on. The mood spell was strong and she couldn't prevent the feelings of worthlessness entirely, but she persevered. After a few minutes, the mood spell seemed to lose its power and she found she was able to brush its remaining influence completely aside. Now she could see the weave. It was more complicated than the first one, but now she knew how it was composed, she was able to slowly and carefully unwork it. It took a lot longer, but eventually her patience was rewarded and the door vanished and she was in the High Lord's study.

She wasn't entirely clear about what she was looking for, only that Balkan's absence gave her an opportunity to investigate. She looked around, finding it difficult to reconcile this uninspiring arrangement of rather dull furniture with the warmth and comfort of the study during Akkarin's time. Balkan seemed uninterested in things like comfort but perhaps that was simply a reflection of his time as a Warrior. But Akkarin is a Warrior too, she thought, and he knows how to create a welcoming atmosphere. Balkan's taste seemed to run to very basic furniture. There were no decorative pieces dotted around and the only paintings on the walls showed battle scenes.

She went over to the desk. It was bare, except for a few pens and a loose pile of papers, pushed to one side. She sat down in the chair and pulled the papers towards her. Most of them were routine pieces of information and she was able to skim them quickly. However, towards the bottom of the pile, she found several sheets which looked much more interesting. They were lists of names, mainly of Warriors, but with the occasional Alchemist's name included, some she was very familiar with, but others she had only vaguely heard of. There was nothing to indicate why Balkan would have such lists. They were written in his own spidery hand, so he must have had a reason, and hopefully she would be able to figure it out later. Sonea pulled some paper from her pocket, and borrowing one of Balkan's pens, made a rough copy.

There didn't seem to be anything else of much interest, so she carefully replaced the papers where she had found them. As she did so, she dislodged the pen she'd been using and it rolled under the desk. She scrambled to find it; there must be nothing to show someone had been searching the study. As she reached for it, she noticed the telltale gleam of paper which had fallen to the floor. She picked it up. It was rather crumpled as if Balkan had made a half-hearted attempt to screw it up into a ball before throwing it away.

She regained her seat and smoothed the paper out. It was another series of names, but this time she had no difficulty in recognising any of them. Carefully set out on the paper in large capital letters were the names of Akkarin, Sonea, Lorlen, Regin and Irun. The names were connected with a series of arrows. Sonea frowned. Why was Irun's name on the list? It was shown with an arrow pointing at her name, so Balkan obviously knew of their meetings. Why wasn't Kelda's name on the list? Or Neeve's? Sonea couldn't work it out. She made a copy and decided she would worry about it later.

She made sure there was nothing else on or around the desk. She tried to open the drawers, but they were locked and she didn't want to leave any trace of her magic by trying to open them. She went over to the bookshelves. They were mainly empty and what books were there tended to be fairly ordinary books with nothing to indicate that Balkan had an interest in any particular branch of magic. All in all, the study gave the impression that its owner was a rather dull person, uninterested in much beyond the duties of his office and his Warriors.

She was still looking around when she heard the unmistakable sounds of someone approaching the study. There was no time to reach the hidden door behind the shelves, so she needed to find somewhere to hide and quickly. There were no large pieces of furniture which provided cover and she couldn't simply crouch under the desk. The only place was behind the heavy curtains which shrouded the windows. She rushed over to them and scrambled behind just as the door opened. She sent a quick prayer to the Eye pleading that no one would find her hiding place.

"…the High Lord should be back shortly," she heard someone say, then a second, more familiar voice said, "It is important that I speak with him immediately he returns."

Osen! she thought, Let's hope he doesn't decide to wait!

"I'll tell him, Administrator," the servant replied.

"I'll leave this for him. Ask him to look through it as soon as he returns."

She heard footsteps move towards the desk, then after a short pause, move away again. Then, to her relief, the door closed and she heard them retreat down the corridor. She stayed where she was a few minutes longer, just in case either returned. When she was sure she was safe, she came out from behind the curtain and looked at what Osen had left.

It was a thick sheaf of papers, tied between leather covers. She undid the bindings and examined the contents. At first glance, she was unsure what it was, but as she read on, it soon became clear.

'Zenna spent ten minutes in conversation with two others, before leaving the garden…'

'After Warrior training, Habin was seen meeting with final year novice, Marre…'

There were dozens of similar entries recounting meetings and the length of time spent in conversations. Reports from Balkan's spies! Sonea flicked through them quickly, trying to spot her own name. She found several entries, all describing the people she'd met and where she had gone. Luckily, it seemed, no one had followed her into the Library and found her hiding place, although they had recorded the times she had visited.

Akkarin was also mentioned, but his entries were concerned with his training sessions, who had gone to them, whether or not they'd had private conversations, and how long the sessions lasted.

She would have liked to have spent more time reading, but she was aware that Balkan was expected back soon. She had to leave and she had to be careful to cover her traces. She rebound the papers and used magic to remove any trace of her presence, concentrating on the desk area and its contents. When she was satisfied, she returned to the passages. Her first task was to return the door and reseal it. She had no problem with the first part, the door slid into place and a traditional magic lock only took her seconds to create. The more difficult part was to replace Akkarin's second lock. She contemplated not bothering, but it was important that Balkan didn't discover any more of the secret passages, especially one which led to his private study.

She spent precious time trying and failing to recreate Akkarin's weave. In the end, she substituted one of her own and hoped it would be sufficient. She did the same at the second door and breathed a sigh of relief. Now to bed and a good night's sleep, she thought.

She regained her rooms unseen and set her usual lock. The room was in darkness, with only a weak beam of light from the Eye penetrating the window. Suddenly, Sonea knew she was not alone. Someone else was waiting for her, still as a stature, but she could sense the presence clearly. She reached carefully under her robe until her hand rested on the handle of her black magician's knife. As she did so, a black shadow rose silently from the corner.

Then a very familiar voice murmured, "And where have you been, Sonea?"

Akkarin! How like him to just appear inside a locked room and sit in darkness for however long until she returned.

"I have been exploring the passages," she said with a smile. "I thought it would be useful."

He made no reply but came up to her and tilting her chin, kissed her lightly on the lips. "And I thought you would be here, waiting…" his tone was teasing and she could feel the first stirrings of desire.

"If I'd known you were going to visit, I would have been…waiting….' Her tone matched his, as she reached up to pull his face towards her. She felt his arms slip under her robes and round her back. After that, she ceased to think about anything other than the pleasure of lying in a warm and tender embrace, for somehow, they were in her bed, their clothes gone, with the heat of desire overwhelming them both.