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

A Desperate Plan

Only a day and a half until Freeday and Sonea still didn't know exactly what she was going to do…..except that a glimmer of an idea had occurred to her after breakfast this morning. She had joined Irun for rolls, honey and raka, not really in the mood for the Healer's chatter, but unable to think of an excuse quickly enough to avoid her. She had been thinking of her problem, only half listening, when her attention was caught.

"What did you say?" she asked, then realising how peremptory that sounded, added, "I got some seeds caught in my teeth and missed the end of your sentence."

Irun smiled sympathetically, "That often happens to me, it's a real nuisance isn't it?"

"Yes, but they're gone now. What were you saying?"

"Only that the High Lord has asked for Healers and some Alchemists to join him on his inspection. Kelda has been asked. I saw her yesterday and she is very excited. It'll be her first trip away from Imardin since she came here to be a novice."

"Have you been asked, Irun?"

"No," she replied cheerfully, "I'm pleased in a way because I have an important experiment I'm working on and it would have been very difficult to stop it and then start it again."

Their conversation moved on to other things, but Sonea was thinking very hard about how she could use this information. The Guild hadn't been told the reason for Balkan's sudden decision to go to Corres Fort, but the general gossip was that he was starting a series of inspection visits to magicians who worked away from Imardin. It was something High Lords did from time to time, so the news hadn't created much talk.

The fact that Akkarin was going too, on the other hand, had caused a lot of whispering. As far as Sonea could tell, the general view was that Balkan had insisted he come, because he didn't trust him enough to leave him behind. The fact that the forty or so Warriors that Akkarin had been training were also going lent credibility to the view that Akkarin was a potential source of trouble who had a powerful influence over a group of Warriors, and everyone knew what that meant.

Gradually her idea crystallised until she had the makings of something that might work, but in order for it to come together, she needed the help of a Healer she could trust completely and that left her with only one option, Lorlen. He didn't spend much time at the Guild as he was still running his little clinic in the city. She would have to go and see him there. That was the easy part. Trying to persuade him to help her with the rest was much more difficult.

She set off for the city just before the mid day meal. Again, no one queried her leaving the Guild, so she was able to make good time. Once out of sight of the gates, she pulled on her blue cloak, just in case anyone wondered why a magician would need to go to a city clinic to see a Healer, and found her way easily to Lorlen's small set of rooms. The waiting room was almost empty, with only an old man left still to see the Healer. Sonea kept her head down when Lorlen came to take the old man through and he simply glanced at her quickly before turning all his attention to his patient. The pair disappeared through the door and Sonea looked up again. Hopefully, whatever was wrong with the old man wouldn't take long to deal with.

It was about half an hour later that she heard the old man leave and Lorlen came to collect her. She followed him through to the back room, keeping her head down until the door closed behind her.

"Sonea!" Lorlen exclaimed when she pushed back her hood, "why am I not really very surprised to find you in my room again?"

She smiled at him, "I needed to talk to you and this seemed like the best place."

"Because….?"

"No one is likely to be anxious to find out what we are talking about."

Lorlen laughed softly, "What sort of trouble are you in this time?"

"Not trouble exactly, but I do need your help."

The Healer sighed, "A glass of wine to help you explain what this is all about?"

Lorlen poured two glasses of pale rose-coloured wine and motioned her to a seat. He sank down in a chair opposite and raised his glass to her before taking a sip. She did the same, enjoying the crisp fruity flavour of the sweet wine, before putting her glass down and collecting her thoughts as to how she should best describe her plan.

Lorlen, to his credit, heard her out to the end without making any comment, although she could see at times he wanted to do just that. After she had finished speaking, there was silence for a moment, before Lorlen looked at her with a frown then said faintly, "You want my help to kidnap a Healer?"

His tone was incredulous rather than angry, which Sonea took to be a good sign. Whilst she was explaining just what she wanted to do, part of her mind was worrying about the many weaknesses in her idea, but after hours of thought, it was the best she had been able to come up with.

"Yes," she said baldly, "I need you to help me kidnap a Healer so I can take her place in Balkan's party. I also need you to teach me the sort of things a Healer in an inspection party might be required to do, so if I am called for I can carry out any task reasonably well. It's quite simple really."

This last was said with as much conviction as she could muster, hoping her tone conveyed a confidence she was far from feeling. She took a quick glance at Lorlen. He was still frowning but appeared to be thinking deeply, or at least she hoped he was. But it seemed his thoughts had taken him in another direction.

"Absolutely not!" Lorlen's voice was quite firm when he eventually spoke. "It's a stupid idea, full of dangers. You might be able to disable a Healer and hold her sufficiently long enough to take her somewhere. But what then? You want me to keep one of my Guild sisters a prisoner for an unspecified length of time so that you can spy on the High Lord? And afterwards? How will you prevent her remembering what has happened to her? No! Absolutely not!"

"It's not so stupid as you might think, Lorlen. I can use some of the higher magic I know – that's black magic to you – to resemble another person for long periods, providing she is roughly the same size as me. I wouldn't harm the Healer, you could look after her and then afterwards I can remove her memory of what happened. It would be perfectly safe."

But Lorlen shook his head, "I said no and I mean no. I will not under any circumstances help you with such a crack-brained scheme. There must be something else you can think of which doesn't involve kidnapping a magician."

Lorlen got up to refill their glasses and Sonea used the time to frantically think of some argument which would persuade Lorlen to help. She couldn't and despite herself, had to admit her plan was rather perilous. Without Lorlen's help it stood no chance of success at all.

Lorlen made her repeat her reasons for wanting to join the High Lord's party. She glossed over Akkarin's insistence that she remain behind, but it didn't fool Lorlen.

"You know, Akkarin must have good reasons for wanting you to stay at the Guild," he said. "Perhaps you should just do what he says and let him get on with whatever he has planned. He needs to keep you somewhere safe where your skills may be needed if the Ichani do attack Imardin."

Sonea was annoyed that she had failed to foresee that Lorlen would take Akkarin's part. It was very remiss of her and she needed to plug that hole before Lorlen thought much more about it.

She sighed, a deep, heavy sigh, calculated to impress, "He tried to leave me behind before – you know at our Hearing, when the Guild asked me to stay but sentenced him to exile. I wouldn't do it then, and I can't do it now." She glanced under her lashes to see how Lorlen was reacting to her words, but his face was impassive. She went on quickly, "He needs me to watch his back. He wouldn't have survived in the wastelands without me. We were under constant attack from the Ichani and it took the two of us to defeat them and get back into Kyralia." Sonea conveniently forgot, in her anxiety to convince Lorlen, that Akkarin had known how to survive in the wastelands but she had not and had slowed him down, much to his annoyance.

"But Akkarin had a plan for your staying behind didn't he?" Lorlen asked pointedly. "You were supposed to remain with us and not go into exile."

She giggled suddenly, "Yes and he was furious for me for choosing exile. He didn't speak to me, other than to issue instructions, for days. I began to wonder if he would ever speak to me again." She paused, remembering the turmoil she had felt as she'd begun to recognise her deep feelings for her uncommunicative companion.

"Akkarin wants the Guild to have at least one magician who understands black magic, doesn't he? That's why it's important to him for you to do what he wants, isn't it?

"But he's wrong, Lorlen! He was wrong to try to leave me behind after the Hearing and he's wrong now! He needs me and I intend to be there when he does."

Lorlen didn't question her further, but remained sitting still, sipping his wine and continuing to frown. Sonea joined him in silence, still deep in her memories, so when he suddenly spoke, it made her jump.

"I've got it!" he said cheerfully. "We can use most of your plan, leaving aside the need to keep a Healer prisoner."

"How?"

"I have a friend, a Healer named Jalette. She was called back home suddenly a few weeks ago because her mother is very ill. You could impersonate her and no one would be any the wiser."

"That won't work, Lorlen. Everyone will know she was called away. My plan involved pretending to be someone who was actually part of the High Lord's entourage. Your friend isn't."

"We can deal with that. You need to see Vinara and get her to put Jalette on the list. She's already been asked to find three or four extra Healers to join the others, so adding Jalette will be easy."

Lorlen noticed Sonea's lack of interest in his plan, "What's wrong?" Then he remembered, "Is it Vinara?"

Sonea nodded, "She treated me badly after the Guild captured me and I cannot forget the dislike in her eyes or the methods she used to control me and remove my magic. "

"She warned me, before I went searching for Akkarin," Lorlen said slowly. "She told me that you were probably with him and would not trust anything she said or did. But you have to remember, Sonea, that she is the one who sent me off with the lock of hair. She is the one who wanted Akkarin back and she will help you now to keep him safe and able to do what she and many others want him to do."

Sonea thought for a moment. If she could convince Vinara that it was important for Akkarin's survival for her to be near him, the Healers' Leader would probably do what Lorlen suggested. It was the only way to rescue her plan and give it a chance of success. So she must curb her natural distrust of Vinara and be prepared to smile prettily if required and to promise anything she wanted, just so she would add Jalette's name to Balkan's list. Sonea, who didn't have a diplomatic bone in her body, would find it hard to hide her true feelings. But it was all for Akkarin, that was the only thing that mattered.

"What's Jalette like?" she asked. It wasn't simple curiosity although that played a part in her question; she had to know in order to assume Jalette's appearance and manner. "Do you have a picture of her?"

There was a faint colour in Lorlen's cheeks as he shook his head, "I'd asked for one, but she hadn't got around to giving me anything."

Sonea glanced quickly at him. So, Lorlen has a lady friend, she thought to herself with an inward smile. How nice.

"Then there's only one way," she said firmly, "You must show me in your mind."

Lorlen paled slightly, reluctant to let a black magician into his mind, especially after his experiences with Akkarin, but there was no other way. He could describe Jalette, but that wouldn't be enough. He nodded his agreement and managed to keep still as Sonea approached him.

It only took a moment, then Sonea was standing in Lorlen's mind. Show me, she sent and a pretty young woman took shape, not dressed in robes, but in a simple dark green gown, embroidered with flowers and set with tiny jewels. Sonea walked over to her. She was small, not quite Sonea's height and build, but close to it. There were other differences. Her face was heart shaped, rather than oval and her hair was straight. She had a teasing expression and a smiling mouth. Sonea imprinted the image in her own mind so she could refer to it later.

Show me how she speaks and moves, she ordered. Obediently, the image of Jalette began to speak. She had a musical voice, with laughter lurking close to the surface. Her movements were graceful, less ordinary than Sonea's usual steps. That will be hard to mimic.

When she had seen enough, Sonea left Lorlen's mind and opened her eyes. He was staring at her and she answered his unspoken question, "A very pretty girl, Lorlen, I wish you every success with her."

Lorlen smiled his thanks, but said rather ruefully, "Her father would gratefully receive an offer from the Guild's Administrator, but not a poorly regarded Healer with no prospects of advancement."

There was nothing Sonea could say to change the situation, so she quickly asked how soon it could be arranged to see Vinara. Learning that the Healers' Leader was expected to be in her rooms all day, Sonea, deciding that it would be better to get things over with as soon as possible, asked Lorlen to arrange a meeting.

She waited while Lorlen contacted Vinara, watching how his expression went blank as he sent his mental communication. After a few moments, he smiled at Sonea.

"Vinara will see us now."