Akkarin had breakfast with Lorlen and used the opportunity to ask him about the progress of the search. "I actually just heard from Lord Rothen that they discovered an old inn where there were traces of recently-performed magic, so I think they've discovered her hiding place."

"So soon?" Akkarin was grateful that the search would not last much longer, for he knew that the girl's strength was increasing every day–along with the potential for destruction. However, he had wanted a bit more time to plan his own presence at her capture. As it was, he would have to reschedule a couple meetings.

"Yes. I think we're all eager to have her safely in the Guild."

"I will certainly be happy once she learns Control," Akkarin agreed. He ate quickly after that, keeping the conversation light. When he finished, he excused himself for a meeting, telling Lorlen to finish as much of the breakfast as he wanted. It was not unusual behavior, so Lorlen did not question it, instead assuring Akkarin that he would not let Takan's cooking go to waste.

Akkarin grabbed a cloak hanging near his door, using it to hide his robes well. One benefit of the High Lord's black robes, he thought wryly, was that they were easier to hide under a cloak than green, red, or purple would be. He headed toward the gate just in case Lorlen was watching, turning off the main path at the last minute. He made his way quickly through the forest to a large stone which bordered a small copse of trees. It took him a minute to find the catch in the crack on one side of the stone, for it was not a tunnel entrance he used often. Once he did, he slipped into the tunnels, quickly descending the steps and heading towards Imardin. He doubted they had caught the girl yet, for he would have expected more mental communication between magicians if they had, but he also did not think it would be too much longer before they did.

He exited the tunnels in the northern section of the Slums and immediately let his senses wander, searching for nearby magical signatures. He found them easily enough–a large group just to his west–and he set off in that direction, sticking to shadows as much as possible. He reached an area swarming with magicians and stayed in the shadows, watching as they searched a crumbling brick building across the street. After a few minutes, he felt a now-familiar magical presence join the group, and he let his eyes roam the area for the girl who had caused him so many headaches in the past couple days–both literally and figuratively. Even with his keen senses, it took him some time to find her, and he smiled to himself when he did. She was clever, that much was certain, but he supposed she would have to be given where she lived. Concentrating his will, he caused a couple bricks to crumble from the building on which she was standing–not enough to cause any serious destruction or even alert her to what was happening but certainly enough to draw the attention of the magician standing just next to the spot where they fell. The man frowned at them for a moment before looking up, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the figures jumping between rooftops. Akkarin heard the mental call to the other magicians, and they spread out to begin pursuing the girl. Interestingly none of them took to the roofs as well despite the fact that they could use levitation, but Akkarin supposed they would likely move quicker on the ground. The girl would eventually reach a point where she needed to descend.

Akkarin followed behind the other magicians, still keeping himself hidden. If he truly needed to reveal his presence, he had a couple excuses ready, but he was hoping to avoid using them. The less he needed to tell people, the better. As expected, it was not long before the girl reached a point where she needed to descend to the street again, and Akkarin watched the magicians slow, approaching her cautiously. They all had shields up, so it seemed they had at least learned from their last confrontation. As Rothen assured her they would not hurt her, she suddenly turned and ran away from her pursuers. She was surprisingly quick, and Akkarin would not have been surprised if she managed to outpace the other magicians–but, after all, they were magicians, so they did not need to rely on their running skills. One of them put up a shield between the girl and her companion, and she bounced off it before spinning around, her eyes roving wildly as she searched for another escape. Rothen was still trying to placate her, to assure her they would not harm her, but she did not seem to believe him. Akkarin supposed he was to blame for that attitude at least partially though he tried to console himself that she likely had no fond thoughts of magicians even before their encounter. After all, in her mind, magicians were responsible for driving her out of her home during the Purge.

Akkarin sensed the magic building, and he knew the strike would be powerful. It would likely level some of the nearby buildings. It was undirected, so all the magicians would be fine beneath their shields, but the girl was likely to hurt herself with falling debris. Shield the girl, Akkarin thought though he did not communicate that thought mentally, still unwilling to alert others to his presence. The other magicians seemed to realize that the girl was about to release some sort of magic, for Akkarin noted their shields grew stronger. Still, no one thought to shield the girl herself. The power coiled tighter, and Akkarin suddenly found himself with what looked like double vision–he was still seeing the scene in front of him from his own vantage point, but now he was seeing it from hers as well. He could also sense her intense fear which was rapidly snowballing out of control.

Suddenly, the power roared out of her. As Akkarin expected, it was undirected, but it still caused a good deal of damage to the buildings around them. He quickly threw a shield over her, watching as debris rained down on top of it. The other magicians had stepped back despite their shields, their mouths open in horrified fascination. Without warning, Akkarin's vision changed, and he was seeing an older man standing over him, a belt in his hand and rage on his face. Akkarin frowned, not recognizing the man. He was likely from the lower classes given his dress, but, though Akkairn had more interaction with men in the Slums than most magicians given his self-imposed mission, he had never seen anyone like him. He blinked, forcing himself to focus on what was happening on the street. The two scenes superimposed themselves on each other for a moment before he was finally able to push the second away. He watched the other magicians approach the drained girl cautiously. Rothen reached her first, checking her pulse before levitating her to take her back to the Guild. Satisfied that things were well in hand, Akkarin turned and left.

Lorlen called to him as he entered the tunnels. Akkarin, they found the girl and are bringing her back now.

Good. Have Lord Rothen take her for now. We need to teach her Control as soon as possible, and he's the best candidate to do so. Akkarin sensed Lorlen's assent before his presence left Akkarin's mind. Quickly, Akkarin made his way to the tunnels beneath the Guild, exiting them into his Residence. He pulled off his cloak and made his way to his study, still thinking about what he had seen when they captured the girl. It did not take his sharp mind long to come to the only possible confusion. He had never seen the man before, but that did not mean she had not. Somehow, without intending to do so, Akkarin had seen her memories.

The realization worried him more than he expected. Though he was the only member of the Guild who could read an unwilling mind, Akkarin himself had to be willing–and had to work–in order to slip into another's mind. And even when he did so, without a great deal of effort, he generally only sensed surface thoughts. The vision–No, memory, a voice in his mind corrected immediately–he had seen was certainly not a surface thought. So how had he seen it? Could it be another result of the uncontrolled nature of the girl's magic? After all, Akkarin rarely spent any time around an uncontrolled magician. The last occasion was likely when he himself was a Novice, but he was barely trained then as well, so it was possible he simply had not recognized what he was seeing. Or perhaps he had not even seen it–maybe sensing an uncontrolled mage's feelings and visions was a side effect of another skill he had picked up since his time as a Novice. That would explain a great deal, including why he had not been able to find any more information on the phenomenon in the books he was reading.

Satisfied that he finally had a direction to pursue, Akkarin settled behind his desk to deal with the correspondence he had let pile up there. He would continue his research, but he would switch to different sources, ones that he preferred to only use late at night when the likelihood of interruption was low. Maybe they would provide the answers he sought.

A week later, Akkarin still had not discovered an answer to his problem, but he also had not had any more visions or strange feelings, so he was growing ever more certain that they had something to do with the girl's lack of Control. Most novices learned Control in a week, two at the most, so he was likely in the clear now. It would certainly make his life easier if the extreme headaches no longer plagued him.

He was having lunch with Lorlen–for once, their schedules permitted them some free time together, and they had even managed to use part of it to talk about something other than the Guild. Of course, such conversation did not last long; both men were much too committed to their "little family" to have many interests outside of it. They discussed a number of items of Guild business, some important, some less so, mostly letting themselves relax and enjoy the conversation and let it flow more naturally. It was rare that they could do so; often, they had to cover as many topics as possible in a short period of time, so they were only able to focus on the most important ones.

"You will also be happy to know that Rothen mentioned the girl–Sonea is her name–is finally coming out of her shell," Lorlen remarked, placing his fork carefully on his plate and sitting back in his chair contentedly. "He said it took quite awhile to gain her trust, but he thinks he can begin teaching her Control very soon."

Akkarin's eyebrows rose, for he had expected the older magician would have already started those lessons. "He has not started teaching her yet? That seems rather risky."

"I told him the same thing, but he's been monitoring her magic levels and helping her drain her power before it gets overwhelming again. He pointed out that he cannot help her learn Control if she will not willingly let him in her mind, and I cannot say I disagree."

"True." Interesting. If the girl–Sonea, Akkarin corrected–had not yet learned Control, why had the visions and feelings stopped? Was it because she had less power?

"I think he's also delaying because he doesn't want to see her go, however," Lorlen remarked, sipping his wine. Akkarin glanced at him, confused.

"Leave?"

"Ah, yes, the most surprising news of all. Apparently, the girl merely wants to learn Control and then plans to leave the Guild."

"She knows her powers will be blocked, right?"

"Rothen assures me that he has told her as much, but she apparently is not too concerned. I suppose for someone who just realized her powers, it would not be too great of a loss to have them blocked."

Akkarin's mind raced though he kept his face carefully neutral. A magician as powerful as Sonea without the ability to use her powers would be far too attractive a target for any future court magicians. He could not allow her to return to the Slums. "She would rather live in the Slums than the Guild?" Akkarin let the incredulity show in his voice.

Lorlen shrugged. "As we suspected from the beginning, she is terribly frightened of us. I suppose that she prefers familiarity over the greater opportunities at the Guild." Akkarin let the subject drop after he spoke, knowing it would be too suspicious to continue to question his old friend. He also suspected that he would not learn much more from Lorlen anyway. He would simply have to come up with a different plan.

Sonea sat in the magician's rooms–Lord Rothen, she had learned, though he had insisted she drop the formal title when they were in private–frowning at the page in front of her. Rothen had begun teaching her to read, but though she had picked up the basics quickly, she was still having considerable difficulty reading more than a sentence or two in the rather dense books in his library. By the time she finally managed to sound out all the words, she had forgotten the early ones, leaving her confused as to the meaning of the line. The door opened, and she looked up from her task, smiling slightly at the familiar figure of Rothen. She had to admit that in the week she had known him, she had come to like him much more than she ever expected to like a magician. Though she had been extremely wary of his motives at first, she had sensed nothing but genuine concern for her welfare. Since she generally considered herself to be a good judge of character, she decided to allow herself to open up to him a bit more. "How is the reading going?" he questioned, nodding to the book she held.

Her smile turned down into a frown. "Not good. I just don't understand any of this."

"Well, you're in luck. I managed to secure these." He held up a few thin volumes. Sonea frowned at the cover of one before managing to sound out the words.

"Kids' books?"

"Some of the better ones out there. I read them to my son all the time when he was small. One of the other magicians with younger children had them stored away since his kids only recently outgrew them, so he was happy to give them to me. I think you'll find them a bit easier to parse than the material I've given you so far."

"Thank you," Sonea said, trying to sound grateful. She knew he was only trying to help, and he was likely correct that the kids' books would be far easier to read than her current material, but she could not help but feel slightly insulted given the content of them.

Rothen smiled at her, taking a seat in the armchair across from her. "I was talking with Administrator Lorlen just now, and he and I both believe you are ready to start learning Control."

Sonea perked up at that news. Rothen had promised that once she learned Control, she would be free to go as long as she allowed them to block her powers. Since her powers had brought her nothing but trouble so far, she did not mind that condition too much, so she was eager to meet the other. So far, however, he had hesitated to even try and teach her, claiming he wanted her to grow more comfortable with him first. "When can we start?"

Rothen laughed at her eagerness. "First thing tomorrow morning. I want you to be well rested when we start." Sonea nodded, accepting that answer easily. "Now, I have promised some others that I would join them in the Night Room today, so I will need to leave soon. Is there anything else I can get you before I go?"

Sonea shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Just let Tania know if that changes." Sonea nodded at him, already perusing the cover of one of the books he had brought. Perhaps she should give them a chance. Maybe they would not be as bad as she feared.

Sonea was not sure how much time had passed after Rothen left when she suddenly became aware of another presence in the room. She had not heard the door open, but she had been quite enthralled by her reading, so she supposed that was not overly surprising. She looked up from her book. "Rothen? I didn't expect you back until later," she remarked, squinting at the dark figure in the corner. Immediately, she frowned, for whoever it was seemed too tall and bulky.

"I'm not Rothen," a low voice said, confirming her suspicions. Sonea let the book slip from her hands as she gasped in shock, but she quickly forced herself to calm as she began to consider how she might escape.

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"It does not matter." The person stepped closer though whoever it was stayed in the shadows. Sonea could not see many details though both the voice and shape of the body indicated the person was male. He wore a hooded cloak, concealing most of his facial features, though she caught a glimpse of the pale skin common to many Kyralians. Something nagged at the back of her mind, however, and Sonea could not help but think that she had seen this person before. She peered more closely at him, trying to place him. She had not seen many magicians, for she had spent all of her time since coming to the Guild in Rothen's rooms. And in the Slums, the only magicians she had ever come across were the ones trying to capture her and. . .

"You're the man who fought that magician that attacked me, the one who threatened my family!" Sonea realized suddenly.

"And have you done what I told you to do or do I need to carry out those threats?"

"I haven't told anyone about you if that's what you're asking. Is that why you're here? To make sure that I didn't reveal whatever dirty secret you're trying to keep? Well, I haven't and I'm not going to either. As soon as Lord Rothen teaches me this Control, I'm out of here."

"No, you're not."

"What?"

"You're not going to leave until you have graduated as a full magician."

"I don't see as how you have any say about that."

"Have you forgotten that I know where you are from, where your family is?"

Sonea peered at him incredulously. "You're threatening me again? I thought you would have been glad to get rid of me. I can't tell anyone your secret if I'm not here."

"You cannot go back to the Slums until you are fully trained."

"Why? What does it matter to you?"

"I have my own reasons."

"Don't you think I have the right to know what they are?"

"All you need to know is that if you go back to the Slums without graduating, you put your family and friends in grave danger. Is that really what you want?"

"Am I ever going to see the last of you? Or are you just going to keep coming back and threatening my family whenever it suits your purpose?" Sonea saw a flash of something in his eyes that, in other circumstances, she might have called regret. However, she simply could not fathom how someone who had threatened her family twice could possibly feel any regret. Surely if he felt such emotions, he would not have come back to her again. His next words confirmed her assessment.

"I will be back if I need to be. Just remember what is at stake." With that, he swept from the room as quietly as he entered, leaving Sonea to wonder if he traveled by magic. Given where she was, perhaps he did.