The Magic Thief (24 page)

I nodded. I had a lot of work to do. I didn't have a locus magicalicus, so I'd have to figure out a way to get the magic's attention so I could talk to it and it could talk back to me. “I'm going to need slowsilver, too. And tourmalifine.”

Nevery paused at the top of the stairs leading down to the tunnel and shot me one of his keen-gleam looks. “But when tourmalifine and slow-silver mingle, boy, they explode.”

I grinned. Yes, Nevery, I know.

BENET
-A rather scary-looking guy, but one who loves to knit, bake, and clean. His nose has been broken so many times, it's been flattened. If he were an animal he'd be a big bear. His hair is brown and sticks out on his head like spikes. You wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, but you would want to eat his biscuits.

 

CONNWAER
-Has shaggy black hair that hangs down over his bright blue eyes. He's been a gutterboy for most of his life, so he's watchful and a little wary; at the same time, he's
completely pragmatic and truthful. He's thin, but he's sturdy and strong, too. He has a quirky smile (hence his quirked tail as a cat). Conn does not know his own age; it could be anywhere from twelve to fourteen. A great friend to have, but be careful that you don't have anything valuable in your pockets in reach of his sticky fingers.

 

NEVERY FLINGLAS
-Is tall with gray hair, a long gray beard, shaggy gray eyebrows, and sharp black eyes. He's impatient and grumpy and often hasty, but beneath that his heart is kind (he would never admit it). Mysterious and possibly dangerous, Nevery is a difficult wizard to read, but a good one to know.

 

PETTIVOX
-Very tall and broad, with white hair and beard, very white teeth, and red lips. He's Keeston's master. Conn dislikes them one both.

 

ROWAN FORESTAL
-A tall, slender girl of around fifteen, with short red hair and gray eyes. She is very intelligent with a good, if dry, sense of humor. She is the daughter of the Duchess. She is also very interested in studying swordcraft.

 

THE DUCHESS
-Willa Forestal is Rowan's mother and they are physically similar. She is a woman who bears a lot of responsibility, and it shows. She is highly intelligent but doesn't have a sense of humor, as Rowan does. The Duchess controls the Sunrise area of Wellmet, and she dislikes magic (though she realizes its necessity to the survival of Wellmet).

ACADEMICOS
-Set on an island in the river that runs between the Twilight and the Sunrise, the Academicos is a school for the rich students and potential wizards of Wellmet. Conn enrolls there after becoming Nevery's apprentice.

 

DAWN PALACE
-The home of the Duchess and Rowan. The palace itself is a huge, rectangular building—not very architecturally interesting, but with lots of decorations crusted on it to make it fancy.

 

DUSK HOUSE
-The home to Underlord Crowe. This fortresslike building is oppressive with narrow windows and a massive underground labyrinth. Dusk House is guarded by hulking minions. To enter without an invitation is a death warrant.

 

HEARTSEASE
-Nevery's ancestral island home. The middle of the house was blown up by Nevery's pyrotechnic experiments twenty years before this story. So the two ends of the house are left standing and the middle looks like it has a bite taken out.

 

MAGISTERS HALL
-Seat of power for the wizards who control and guard the magic of Wellmet. It is a big, imposing gray stone building on an island with a wall built all the way around it at the waterline.

In Wellmet, some people write using runes to stand for the letters of the alphabet. In fact, you may find some messages written in runes in THE MAGIC THIEF.