The Black Magician Trilogy [alternate ending]

The High Lord - Chapter 39: A New Position (Part 3)

   The room fell silent as Akkarin walked through the door into the Night Room, Sonea stood behind him, unnoticed.

   'Good evening everyone. I hope we are not late.'

   'We?' Lord Garrel asked from somewhere near the back of the room. Akkarin stepped further into the room to allow Sonea to enter and then closed the door behind her. Sonea blinked in surprise at the vast number of magicians situated around the room. To cover her nerves, she bent at the waist, offering a bow to the room.

   'Good evening Lords and Ladies of the Guild.' A smatter of whispering graced her ears. She was not going to be afraid of their judgement and decisions and stood tall meeting the eyes trained on her.

   'The request was for you alone, Akkarin.' Garrel continued. 'Sonea, please return to your—'

   'Sonea has as much of a right to be here as I do,' Akkarin interrupted. 'The decisions regarding the fate of Black Magicians affects her too and she should get to hear them and voice her opinions.'

   'He's right, Lord Garrel,' Lord Balkan injected as Lord Garrel opened his mouth to argue. 'Sonea should be here to hear our plans.'

   'Fine,' Lord Garrel grumbled, 'but Sonea, why are you wearing full robes? You have not earned them.'

   'That was at my behest,' Akkarin said before Sonea could make a sound. 'She was about to choose a discipline before we were exiled, and since I have taught her everything I know about Black Magic then I determined that she has become a full Magician in the discipline of Black Magic. If you wish to change this, we would be happy to do so.'

   'Yes, that was one of the points we were going to bring up this evening.' Lord Balkan answered. 'We might as well start with it.' 

   Lord Balkan gestured for Akkarin and Sonea to take a seat near the centre of the room where a circle of chairs was set out. Sonea stayed within touching distance of Akkarin's robes, ignoring the stares that followed them through the room. Within the circle of chairs sat Lords Garrel, Balkan, Telano, Peakin, Osen, and Rothen, who offered her a warm smile, as well as Lady Vinara and Director Jerrick. The rest of the Magicians in the room were sat in other chairs or stood around the them. A quiet hum of talking had begun around the room. Rothen stood as they neared the circle of chairs, and enveloped Sonea in a hug.

   'How are you?' He asked quietly, only Akkarin was close enough to hear their conversation.

   'I'm ok, still rather tired even though we slept until after noon,' Sonea paused, 'and nervous. Are we to be exiled again, Rothen?'

   'No, you are not. Do not worry, Sonea, I have a feeling that you'll both be quite happy with the decisions that have been discussed.' A weight lifted off Sonea's chest, one that she had not realised had been there, and she felt like she could breathe again.

   Akkarin retrieved a chair from somewhere and placed it next to Rothen's chair. Then he sat, leaving a space between him and Rothen's chair for Sonea to sit. Sonea sank into the armchair and tried not to let her tiredness show, despite all the sleep and lounging in bed, the past few days had really taken its toll both mentally and physically, and she was not sure if she was going to stay awake through the whole meeting. She looked around the circle at the eyes observing her and Akkarin, they all looked rather nervous. Apart from Lady Vinara who gave her a warm smile, Sonea tentatively smiled back before a light brush of fingertips on her hand bought her attention to Akkarin.

   —Are you alright?

   —There's a lot of people here.

   —You've faced almost all of them before.