The Ambassador’s Mission

Dannyl shook his head. “You’re not going, Tayend.”

“Not going?” Tayend turned to stare at him. “Of course I’m going!”

“I wish I could take you, but…” Dannyl spread his hands. “All visitors to Sachaka must be approved, either by the Guild or their king.”

“I’ll apply to my king, then.”

Dannyl shook his head again. “No, Tayend. I… I’d rather you didn’t. Firstly, it’s a dangerous country and while magicians and most traders return alive, nobody knows yet how Sachakans will react to a non-magician noble venturing into their land.”

“Then we’ll find out.”

“There’s also decorum to consider. As far as I’ve been able to discover, Sachakans are neither accepting of lads, nor in a habit of putting us to death. They consider us low status, however, and they often refuse to deal with people they consider too far below them in the social hierarchy. That’s not going to be helpful in my role, or in my search for historical records.”

“They won’t find out, if we’re discreet,” Tayend said. Then he frowned and turned to glare at Dannyl. “That’s why you’re doing this, isn’t it? More research!”

“Of course. Did you think I’d suddenly manifested a desire to be an Ambassador again, or live in Sachaka?”

Tayend rose and began to pace the room. “It makes sense now.” He stopped. “How long does the position go for?”

“Two years, but I can return early if necessary. And to visit home.”

Resuming his pacing, Tayend tapped his chin with one finger. Suddenly he scowled.

“Who is going to be your assistant?”

Dannyl smiled. “Lord Lorkin has expressed an interest.”

Tayend’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, that’s a relief. He won’t have seduced you into leaving me.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Oh, Sonea’s son has quite a reputation among the ladies now – since that thing with that girl blew over. Probably highly exaggerated, as always. But there’s more than a few who’d like to find out for themselves.”

Dannyl felt a twinge of curiosity. “Really? So why haven’t they?”

“Apparently he’s choosy.”

Dannyl leaned back in his chair. “So will I have to keep an eye on him in Sachaka or not?”

A sly look stole over the scholar’s face. “I could watch over him. It would free you up to do your research.”

“No, Tayend.”

Anger and frustration crossed Tayend’s face, then he drew in a deep breath and let it out in a huff.

“You had better change your mind,” he said. “And you should also know that if you fail to change your mind I’ll…” He paused, then straightened his shoulders. “Then you might find I am no longer here, when you return to Kyralia in two years.”

Dannyl stared at his lover, suddenly unsure what to say. His heart had lurched at the threat, but something made him stay silent. Perhaps it was the fact that Tayend wasn’t trying to persuade him to stay. He only wanted the chance to go on another adventure.

The scholar gazed back at him, eyes wide. Then he shook his head, turned and strode out of the room.

CHAPTER 5 PREPARATIONS

Reaching out to touch the wall, Cery felt a wry affection. Once, the old outer city defences had been a symbol of the division between rich and poor – a barrier beyond which, after the Purge had driven all the homeless and the occupants of overcrowded safehouses out of the city and into the slums each winter, only Thieves and their friends could pass.

Now it was meaningless to Imardians except as a lingering reminder of the past. It formed part of the structure of one of Cery’s properties, this time a sprawling storehouse for importers to keep their wares, both legal and smuggled. There were still a few entrances to the underground network of passages known as the Thieves’ Road, but they were rarely used. He’d kept them only as possible escape routes, but these days a Thief using the Road was as likely to meet trouble as escape it.

Cery moved away from the wall and sat down. He had decided that the well-appointed apartment on the second floor of the storehouse was as good a place to settle as any. Returning to his old hideout was unthinkable. Even if it hadn’t contained painful memories, it clearly hadn’t been secure enough. Not that any of his other hideouts were better protected, but there was a chance, at least, that their location wasn’t known by his family’s killer.

But he had no intention of hiding away. As always, every time he ventured out into the city, whether in his own district or not, someone could attack him. Which made him wonder if he was wrong to assume he had been the killer’s true target.

No. Even though they waited until I was gone to kill my family, the true target was me. Selia and the boys had no enemies.