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

New Beginnings

Akkarin glanced surreptitiously across at Sonea. She was coping well with the horse for which he was very grateful. There was a long hard journey ahead of them and he could not be sure that there wouldn't be search parties looking for them, once their absence was discovered, so speed was important. He didn't want to have to slow down if it could possibly be avoided. As a more than competent rider himself, he still could not understand how, after so many years of practice, Sonea still had trouble with horses. He smiled to himself, remembering her masquerade as Jalette. To choose to pretend to be someone who was well known as an excellent rider with a liking for headstrong horses, when you rode like Sonea was the height of madness. Still, he had to admit, she had stuck to her task and in the end had had something of the measure of the horse.

That was one of the things he admired about her, that she put herself completely, body, heart and soul, into her task, whatever it was, and kept going until she succeeded. It had been difficult for a man like himself, one used to a lonely path without the emotional ties other men had to lovers, to find himself unsettled by the hostile young Novice who had come to live in his home. As time went on, his feelings of disquiet had grown until one day, to his complete surprise, he realised that he desired his Novice, a desire which showed no signs of abating, indeed it seemed to grow stronger day by day.

He had concealed his desires and fought long and hard against them. He had succeeded too. All the time they had been Guardian and Novice, he prided himself on the fact that she had no idea what he was thinking when he looked at her. Even after he had initiated her into the practice of black magic, there was nothing in his demeanour beyond that of a Warrior grateful for an ally in his battles against cunning foes.

It was exile that changed everything. Thrown together with nothing but each other, in a hostile environment where death was only a moment away, had brought Sonea's feelings for him to a new level. He had watched her and seen in her surface thoughts and in her body language the old familiar stirrings of infatuation he had seen in many other young magicians, both male and female, over the years. In the Guild, it was easy to distance himself from those affected but this tactic was not available to him in the wastelands.

So he had fallen back on coldness, refusing to acknowledge her contribution to their partnership, trying to force her to hate him again. All to no avail. He saw with increasing dismay how her feelings for him grew deeper and stronger, despite everything he did to discourage her. That left only one option – to abandon her immediately they reached Kyralia again. Cut her out of his life quickly and cleanly. But in the end, even that was not possible. Once the dying Ichani had seen her face, and transmitted that image through the blood gem she wore, he knew he could not leave Sonea alone to face an Ichani attack.

At this point in his musings, Akkarin noticed that the sky was lightening as the Eye set and the sun began to rise. They had been riding for some hours now and all of them felt it was time to stop and eat. He had previously decided to avoid inns close to Imardin just in case there were people watching out for them, so Taken had brought sufficient supplies to meet their needs for a day or so.

As soon as he called a halt, Sonea slid gratefully from the saddle and stretched out on the grass, ignoring the dampness. Akkarin felt the slight tingling which told him she was using Healing. Leaving Sonea to her aches and pains, and Taken to his food preparation, Akkarin slipped away unnoticed.

He headed for an area of rising land close by. It was not really high enough to be called a hill, it was more of a hillock, but it would suit his purpose. When he reached the top, he slid a hand into his clothing and fumbled until he found the talisman, which hung on a chain around his neck. It was the one he had recently made from stone he had taken from Corres Fort. The stone held a powerful magic put there hundreds of years ago when magicians built the Fort, using a form of higher magic now lost to the Guild. It was this potent magic hidden deep within each block of stone which made the Fort almost impossible to conquer. Only an experienced black magician would have been able to drain the magic from the stone to render the Fort vulnerable, and to do that he would need to crumble the Fort, stone by stone. As Akkarin grasped the talisman, he felt it grow much warmer in his hand as its magic reached out to him. This magic within the stone merged with and intensified his own and enabled him to wield even more power than usual. Using it as a focus, he sent his magic out to listen for any mental conversations.

At first, the sendings were a jumble of different mental voices, some very distant, others closer to hand, but it didn't take him long to untangle the various conversations. He listened for a few minutes until he was satisfied that there was nothing which related to Sonea or himself. He spent some more time questing for other magic users nearby. There were a few some distance away, but none close by except Sonea who, it appeared was still in need of some Healing.

By the time he returned to their temporary camp, Taken had prepared platters of bread, cold meat, cheese and fruit. He had also made tea, heating water over a small fire. Justen was sitting nearby, concentrating on the food in front of him. Sonea too was already eating and looked up as he came to sit down next to her.

"If you want first choice, you shouldn't go wandering off," she said with a grin as another slice of bread topped with meat disappeared into her mouth. She always seemed to have a good appetite and today was no exception.

Takan pushed a mug of tea into his hand and edged the platters closer to him.

"Eat!" he growled. Akkarin pulled a face, Takan was always complaining that he didn't eat enough. Takan stared back at him, "Eat!" he repeated.

After they had eaten, and Takan had packed away his equipment, they set off again. They skirted the town of Coldbridge and continued their quick pace. Akkarin wanted to reach home as quickly as possible. His absence from the Guild would soon become apparent to those who wished him ill. It was certain they would spread dark tales of where he was or what he was doing. Others, aware of the rule that prospective High Lords had to be present for the election, would consider looking for him. It wouldn't take long either for Merin to hear about it and there was no telling then what he would do. Akkarin couldn't rule out the idea that Merin might try to have him kidnapped and held in the Guild until after the election.

It had been a long time since Akkarin had seen Merin in a rage, but when he realised that nothing he could say or do would make his old friend offer himself for re-election, the King's eyes had narrowed and his face became white. Then he had become very quiet, always a bad sign. Not wishing to add more fuel to the fire of Merin's anger, Akkarin had bowed deeply and left without waiting for permission. He had a feeling that if he saw the king again, it would not be a pleasant experience.

After another rest break for a mid-day meal, they continued their journey, but this time at a slower pace. They were well away from Imardin and Akkarin didn't want to overtire the horses. Justen came to ride next to his father and was full of questions about everything they passed. Now that the boy had mastered the art of sending, it was as if he wanted to make up for lost time. Words tumbled out ceaselessly and Justen scarcely waited for a response before asking another question. All the while he dealt with his son's queries, on another level, Akkarin was straining to sense the Other.

He hoped that Sonea had not realised just how worried he was about Justen. It had been a tremendous shock to be confronted by the Other when he got to the centre of the boy's mind. What he found there was not what he expected at all. The longer the conversation between them went on, the more apprehensive Akkarin became. When Sonea eventually found her way to where they were, her surprise was apparent and it was only Akkarin's mental commands which prevented her from speaking out.

He didn't know why yet, but Akkarin strongly believed that the less the Other knew about their concerns, the better. Knowing Sonea's impulsive nature, he was anxious the whole time that she would blurt something out. Luckily, for once, she did not.

It was fortunate the Other did not want to join the Guild. Once there, Akkarin feared he and Sonea would have had a much looser relationship with their son. Justen would also have been open to the influences of others, for good or bad, which would have been difficult to handle. Now, however, by going back to the isolation of the Steelbelt Ranges, they would have time to try to unpick exactly what sort of magician the Other was and, Akkarin fervently hoped, find a way of dealing with him.

He mentally ran through the list of books he had ordered from his contact. There would be a delay before Takan would be able to collect them from the inn at Galia, but it was important that they did not wait for the books, but started work to understand exactly what it was that made Justen and the Other so different. Unfortunately, at the moment, he had no idea what it was or, more importantly, how to deal with it.

He glanced over at Sonea. She was a catalyst for change in all of his plans. He had called her his wild card, his unknown quantity, when discussing her role in defeating the Ichani at Corres Fort and it was true. Frequently, he only had a hazy idea of how she would act in a particular set of circumstances, all he knew was that her actions, in the end, would be successful and significant change would occur. It was his hope that in the case of Justen and the Other, Sonea's influence would lead them to success.

She looked over at him and saw him staring. He was amused to see the tell-tale blush start to creep up her face until she used magic to subdue it. How long has it been since I discovered such delight in her body? How long since I released the passion within her? So many years, and yet we do not tire of each other. He felt the beginnings of desire and ruthlessly crushed the emotion. There was no time for anything except the journey home.

They camped for the night on the edge of woodland, close to a stream. Takan was his usual efficient self with regard to meals. They ate quickly then Sonea went to collect dried grasses and leaves to make sleeping places. No one felt like talking, so as soon as the places were ready, they rolled themselves in their cloaks and tried to get some sleep.

Akkarin woke suddenly. He had been dreaming, but couldn't recall what about. Sonea was asleep next to him, her head on his chest and one arm flung across his body. He tried not to disturb her as he turned his head slightly to see if there was anything or anyone sniffing around their camp, but all seemed normal.

Did I wake you? The words were followed by a soft laugh. Akkarin felt a chill run up his spine. The Other!

Yes you did. Do you want something?

He heard the laugh again, then, Your dreams are interesting Verrin. I have walked in many dreams but none like yours.

Dreams are private, Justen. Like entering a mind, entering dreams should only happen by invitation.

There was silence for a moment and Akkarin wondered if the mild rebuke would deter the Other. It seemed it would because the boy responded with, I am sorry, Verrin, I didn't know. I have much to learn and you will teach me.

Akkarin let his breath out slowly, Yes, Justen, Syma and I will teach you everything you need to know. Sleep now, we have a long journey tomorrow.

He heard the boy turn over and soon his regular breathing indicated he had fallen asleep. But sleep would not come for Akkarin. Here was something else which demonstrated just how different Justen was. There was no recent history of dream walking as far as Akkarin knew. Older texts sometimes referred to it as something their more primitive ancestors had done, but it was a skill lost, like so many, to the Guild. He went over as much Guild history as he could remember, trying to recollect any reference there might have been to dream walking, but nothing came to mind. He was still awake when first light began to brighten the darkness.

The second day of their journey passed very much like the first. They kept up a moderate pace and avoided towns and villages. By afternoon, they were beginning to climb as the ground rose ahead of them and the first glimpses of the Steelbelt Ranges began to appear. They slept that night in the countryside not far from Galia, despite Sonea's pleas that they stay at the inn. Akkarin was still concerned that his whereabouts might be noticed and passed on, so he refused to even consider going into the town.

"But no-one knows you except as Captain Verrin," Sonea argued. "We all have a perfect right to be in Galia and staying at the inn!"

"No, Sonea. I said no and I mean it." He made his voice cold and dispassionate. "We will sleep outside until we reach our home."

Sonea could see there was no way he would change his mind, but she wasn't happy. When they settled for sleep, she kept her back towards him and refused to answer when he spoke to her. She is such a child, he thought in amusement, but I would not wish to be without her now,

It was late afternoon on the third day that they came up the mountain trail which led to their valley. Justen was in high spirits, eager to push on in front and even Takan seemed pleased at the thought of returning to his kitchen.

It wasn't long before they left the trail and entered their valley. The sun was shining and the air was fresh. It was only a matter of minutes for Akkarin and Sonea to undo the magic which had hidden the true state of their home behind a false image of ruins and neglect. The land and buildings were revealed once more, in excellent condition. Sonea, her bad mood of the previous night forgotten, turned to Akkarin, smiling broadly, "Home at last! Now we can look forward to a new beginning, just the four of us again."

"Yes," he replied, "a new beginning."