Battle Magic (55 page)

To Bruce Coville, my writing partner, whose patience, good humor, and excellent advice helped keep the story on track and contributed some strong reality testing, and to Bruce and Kathy for admitting me to vacations at the lake, which soothe my brain.

To Cara Coville, Julie Holderman, Tim the Spouse-Creature Liebe, and the fans on my “Dare to Be Stupid” Live Journal, for bailing me out when I get stuck and remembering what I have forgotten. To Andy Samuel, who makes sure I can find things in my office.

And to Tim, who still puts up with me. It’s thirty-one years in August, and you haven’t come to your senses yet.

Tamora Pierce

March 12, 2013

TAMORA PIERCE
is the critically acclaimed author of nearly thirty novels, including the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets;
The Will of the Empress; Melting Stones;
and, most recently, the
New York Times
bestselling Beka Cooper trilogy. In 2013, she was honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. She lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Tim, her rescued cats, and two parakeets. Visit her online at
www.tamorapierce.com
.

Also by
T
AMORA
P
IERCE

C
IRCLE OF
M
AGIC
Book One: Sandry’s Book
Book Two: Tris’s Book
Book Three: Daja’s Book
Book Four: Briar’s Book

T
HE
C
IRCLE
O
PENS
Book One: Magic Steps
Book Two: Street Magic
Book Three: Cold Fire
Book Four: Shatterglass

T
HE
W
ILL OF THE
E
MPRESS

M
ELTING
S
TONES

Copyright © 2013 by Tamora Pierce

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920
.
SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS
, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pierce, Tamora, author.
Battle magic / Tamora Pierce. — First edition.
pages cm
Summary: When messengers arrive in Gyongxe “inviting” Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn and her two young companion mages, Evumeimei and Briar, to court to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Yanjing, Rosethorn is eager to go, but Briar suspects that there is an ulterior motive behind the invitation.
ISBN 978-0-439-84297-6 (jacketed hc)
1. Magic — Juvenile fiction. 2. Wizards — Juvenile fiction.
[1. Magic — Fiction. 2. Wizards — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.P
813.54 — dc23
2013013175

First edition, October 2013

Cover design and art by Christopher Stengel

e-ISBN 978-0-545-52035-5

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.