The Magicians' Guild (49 page)

Sonea frowned. “So Gorin was the one who told the Guild where to find me, not Faren.”

Cery turned to stare at her. “They
betrayed
you?”

She shrugged. “They had no choice. It was a good thing they did, actually.”

“That’s not the point.” A gleam had entered Cery’s eyes. Guessing what he was thinking, Sonea smiled.

I do love him,
she thought suddenly.
But right now it’s a friend’s love.
Perhaps, if they had time together, without all the distractions they’d had for the last months, it would grow into something more. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not now that she was joining the Guild and he was returning, most likely, to the Thieves. Knowing this, she felt a small pang of regret, but pushed it away.

Glancing around the hall, she was surprised to see that it was nearly empty. Fergun still stood nearby, among a group of magicians. As she looked toward him he caught her eye and sneered.

“Look at them,” he said. “One consorts with beggars, the other with Thieves.” His companions laughed.

“Shouldn’t he be locked up or something?” she mused aloud.

Rothen, Dannyl and Cery turned to regard the magician.

“No,” Rothen replied. “He’ll be watched, but he knows that there’s a chance he won’t be expelled if he appears repentant. Most likely he’ll be given a duty to perform that nobody wants, probably one that will involve working in some remote place for several years.”

Fergun scowled, then turned on his heel and strode toward the door, his companions following. Dannyl’s smile widened, but Rothen shook his head sadly. Cery shrugged and turned to regard her.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Sonea is free to go,” Rothen replied. “She’ll have to stay another day or two, however. By law she must have her powers blocked before she returns to the slums.”

Cery looked at her, his brows knitting. “Blocked? They’re going to block your magic?”

Sonea shook her head. “No.”

Rothen frowned, then looked at her closely. “No?”

“Of course not. It would make it a bit difficult to teach me, wouldn’t it?”

He blinked. “You’re really staying?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “I’m staying.”

In the air above the table floated a speck of light. It slowly expanded until it was a globe about the size of a child’s head, then rose up to hover near the ceiling.

“That’s it,” Rothen told her. “You’ve made a globe light.”

Sonea smiled. “Now I really do feel like a magician.”

Rothen looked at her face and felt his heart warm. It was hard to resist the temptation to keep teaching her magic when it obviously gave her so much pleasure.

“At the speed you’re learning, you’ll be weeks ahead of the other novices when you start lessons in the University,” he told her. “At least in magic. But …” Reaching to a pile of books beside his chair he started to sort through them. “Your calculation skills are far behind,” he said firmly. “It’s time we got stuck into some real work.”

Sonea looked down at the books and sighed. “I wish I’d known what tortures you were going to put me through before I decided to stay.”

Chuckling, Rothen slid a book across the table. He paused, then narrowed his eyes at her.

“You haven’t answered my question yet.”

“What question?”

“When did you decide to stay?”

The hand reaching for the book froze. Sonea looked up at him. The smile she gave him did not extend to her eyes.

“When it occurred to me that I should,” she said.

“Now, Sonea.” Rothen shook a finger at her. “Don’t get evasive on me again.”

She leaned back in her chair. “I decided at the Hearing,” she told him. “Fergun made me realize what I was giving up, but that wasn’t what changed my mind. Cery told me he’d think I was stupid if I went home and that helped, too.”

Rothen laughed. “I like your friend. I don’t approve of him, but I like him.”

She nodded, then pursed her lips.

“Rothen, is there any chance at all that someone might be able to hear us?” she asked. “Servants? Other magicians?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She leaned forward. “Are you
absolutely
sure?”

“Yes,” he said.

“There’s …” she paused, then slipped out of her chair and knelt down beside him, her voice dropping to a murmur. “There’s something Lorlen said I had to tell you.”

blood money
—payment for assassination

boot
—refuse/refusal (don’t boot us)

capper—
man who frequents brothels

clicked
—occurred

client
—person who has an obligation or agreement with a Thief

counter
—whore

done
—murdered

dull
—persuade to keep silent

dunghead
—fool

dwells
—term used to describe slum dwellers

eye
—keep watch

fired
—angry (got fired about it)

fish
—propose/ask/look for (also someone fleeing the Guard)

gauntlet
—guard who is bribeable or in the control of a Thief

goldmine
—man who prefers boys

good go
—a reasonable try

got
—caught

grandmother
—pimp

gutter
—dealer in stolen goods

hai
—a call for attention or expression of surprise or inquiry

heavies
—important people

kin
—a Thief’s closest and most trusted

knife
—assassin/hired killer

messenger
—thug who delivers or carries out a threat

mind
—hide (minds his business/I’ll mind that for you)

mug
—mouth (as in vessel for bol)

out for
—looking for

pick
—recognize/understand

punt
—smuggler

right-sided
—trustworthy/heart in the right place

rope
—freedom

rub
—trouble (got into some rub over it)

shine
—attraction (got a shine for him)

show
—introduce

space
—allowances/permission

squimp
—someone who double-crosses the Thieves

style
—manner of performing business

tag
—recognize (also means a spy, usually undercover)

thief
—leader of a criminal group

watcher
—posted to observe something or someone

wild
—difficult

visitor
—burglar

Animals

aga moths
—pests that eat clothing

anyi
—sea mammals with short spines

ceryni
—small rodent

enka
—horned domestic animal, bred for meat

eyoma
—sea leeches

faren
—general term for arachnids

gorin
—large domestic animal used for food and to haul boats and wagons

harrel—
small domestic animal bred for meat

limek
—wild predatory dog

mullook
—wild nocturnal bird

rassook
—domestic bird used for meat and feathers

ravi
—rodent, larger than ceryni

reber
—domestic animal, bred for wool and meat

sapfly—
woodland insect

sevli
—poisonous lizard

squimp
—squirrel-like creature that steals food

zill
—small, intelligent mammal sometimes kept as a pet

Plants/Food

anivope
vines—plant sensitive to mental projection

bol
—(also means “river scum”) strong liquor made from tugors

brasi
—green leafy vegetable with small buds

chebol sauce
—rich meat sauce made from bol

crvts
—large, purple beans

curem—
smooth, nutty spice

curren
—coarse grain with robust flavor

dull
—long fruit with tart orange, seedy flesh

gan-gan
—flowering bush from Lan

iker
—stimulating drug, reputed to have aphrodisiac properties

jerras—
long yellow beans

kreppa
—foul-smelling medicinal herb

marin
—red citrus fruit

monyo
—bulb

myk
—mind-affecting drug

nalar
—pungent root

pachi
—crisp, sweet fruit

papea
—pepper-like spice

piorres
—small, bell-shaped fruit

raka/suka
—stimulating drink made from roasted beans, originally from Sachaka

sumi
—bitter drink

telk
—seed from which an oil is extracted

term
—grain that can be cooked as is, broken into small pieces, or ground to make a flour

tugor
—parsnip-like root

vare
—berries from which most wine is produced

Clothing and Weaponry

incal
—square symbol, not unlike a family shield, sewn onto sleeve or cuff

kebin
—iron bar with hook for catching attacker’s knife, carried by guards

longcoat
—ankle-length coat

Public Houses

bathhouse
—establishment selling bathing facilities and other grooming services

bolhouse
—establishment selling bol and short-term accommodation

brewhouse
—bol manufacturer

stayhouse
—rented building, a family to a room

Peoples of the Allied Lands

Elyne
—closest to Kyralia in position and culture, enjoys a milder climate

Kyralia
—home of the Guild

Lan
—a mountainous land peopled by warrior tribes

Lonmar
—a desert land home to the strict Mahga religion

Vin
—an island nation known for its seamanship

Other Terms

cap
—coins threaded on a stick to the value of the next highest denomination

dawnfest
—breakfast

midbreak
—lunch

simba mats
—mats woven from reeds

TRUDI
CANAVAN
lives in a little house on a hillside, near a forest, in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully in Australia. She has been making up stories about things that don’t exist for as long as she can remember and was amazed when her first published story received an
Aurealis
Award for Best Fantasy Short Story in 1999. A freelance illustrator and designer, she also works as the designer and Art Director of
Aurealis,
a magazine of Australian fantasy and science fiction. You can e-mail her at
[email protected]
or find out more about Kyralia and the Magicians’ Guild at
www.spin.net.au/~trudi
.