The Magician's Apprentice (22 page)

“It might be faster on foot.” Tessia peered at the crowd passing the wagon.

“Not a good idea, I’m afraid. Aside from all the shoving and pushing, we’d be robbed before we got there,” Avaria said, shrugging gracefully.

“Robbed?” Tessia looked at her hostess in alarm.

Avaria smiled crookedly. “Indeed – though it is unlikely we’d notice at first. Pickpockets are very skilled in Imardin. And most are children – small and fast in a crowd. Even if you see them, your servants have no hope of catching them.”

“Children?” Tessia looked more closely at the crowd. She’d seen some appallingly thin, dirty children the day before. No surprise they were desperate enough to turn to thieving.

Her father had told her about the poor of Imardin. When she had asked him why they had no money his explanation had been long and complicated. He’d offered a list of reasons – too little work for too many people, nobody willing to offer work to people who were a bit strange in the mind, or crippled. Some people had nobody to care for them when they fell ill, and if their illness led to their no longer having work they might starve before they recovered. Some people were injured while working, and if their employers didn’t care for them they ended up in a similar situation.

It was not the first time, and certainly not the last, that she’d been told that few lords were as caring of their people and conscious of their responsibilities as Lord Dakon and his father had been. Some were fools. Some only saw their people as commodities. Some were downright malicious.

“Poor things,” Avaria said. “Born into poverty, raised to be thieves. If the city is plagued by such ills, it serves it right for not taking better care of its people.”

Tessia nodded, wondering at this way of referring to the city as if it were a person.

“But it can’t be as easy to care for a whole city as it is a village.”

“No.” Avaria smiled and her eyes glowed as she looked at Tessia. Perhaps in approval. Tessia wasn’t sure.

The wagon began moving. Tessia braced herself, expecting it to stop again, but it rolled on. Then it swung round a corner and came to a halt again.

“We’re here!” Avaria announced happily. Rising, she pulled the wagon cover open and climbed out. One of the two male servants who had ridden on the back of the wagon was already there to help her down to the ground. As Tessia stepped down the tiny ladder built against the side of the vehicle, the second servant moved forward to offer a hand. She didn’t take it, but smiled at him in gratitude anyway.

He smiled back politely and followed as she moved to join Avaria, who hooked an arm through hers.

Tessia looked around and blinked in surprise. They weren’t in the market, as she’d expected. They were in a busy side street, narrower than the main roads and lined with small shops.

“Welcome to Vanity Street,” Avaria said, patting Tessia’s arm. “Where most of the best shops in Imardin can be found.”

“Not in the market, then?”

“Oh no. That’s full of vegetables and grain and smelly animals. The only cloth you’ll find there is for making grain sacks or saddles, and the closest thing they have to books is wax accounting tablets.”

Avaria guided Tessia to one side of the street. The closeness of the other woman was unexpected, but reassuring. The street was crowded with finely dressed men and women. Musicians in pairs and trios played and sang at the side of the road and occasionally a passer-by tossed a coin into the iron cups at their feet. The cups, Tessia noted, had numbers painted on their sides.

“Come in here,” Avaria said, drawing Tessia through the door of a shop. Inside, the street noises were muffled. Two women were examining rolls of cloth laid out on a table. More rolls leaned up against the walls, in a dazzling range of bright colours. A man was standing in the doorway to another room. As Tessia looked at him he smiled and nodded politely.

“Oh, look,” Avaria suddenly exclaimed. “Isn’t this beautiful!” She led Tessia to one of the walls and tugged off a glove so she could run her fingers lightly over some smooth cloth in a deep, vibrant blue.

“I must have some of this. What colours do you like, Tessia?”

Looking around at the range of brilliant colours, Tessia couldn’t help thinking they were all a bit too gaudy. She tried to imagine each individually forming a garment, and found herself drawn to a dark green. It reminded her of one of her father’s favourite wound-salve ingredients, an oil from a tree that grew in the mountains, which smelled delicious.

Avaria picked up the bolt and held it up to Tessia’s face.

“You have a good eye,” she told her. “That will suit you very well.” She turned to the seller. “We’ll take both. Oh, and that would look wonderful on Everran.” She picked up another bolt of dark red then winked at Tessia. “Thankfully, the only bit of Sachakan bloodline left in his veins is the good one – he has such enviable skin.”

So that explains the golden tone of his skin
, Tessia thought. She’d noticed interesting physical differences between the rich and powerful men and women in the city and the commoners. There was a greater variety in their height, stature and colouring, whereas commoners were more likely to be slight and pale-skinned, the more typical Kyralian characteristics.

Avaria beckoned over the man and much haggling ensued; then, from the embroidered bag tucked into the waist of her dress, she counted a sum that made Tessia slightly breathless. The cloth was wrapped and given to the servants to carry. With a satisfied sigh, Avaria led Tessia outside, hooked her arm round Tessia’s again, and continued down Vanity Street.

“What else can we buy? I know! Some shoes.”

Several shops later Avaria had bought more cloth, some shoes that were going to make Malia squeak with admiration, a bag for Tessia to store her coin in because “that thing Dakon gave you is too manly’, and some hand mirrors. When Tessia hesitated before a shop window filled with fine writing tools, paper and books, Avaria wordlessly pulled her inside. Tessia bought her father some quills and ink in a box inlaid with different types of wood. Avaria complimented her on her choice of gift.

“He’ll think of you every time he uses it.”

Next a shop filled with books caught Tessia’s eye and she was glad when Avaria headed towards it. A quick examination told her there was nothing that her father didn’t already have among the healing tomes, though. Lord Yerven had always brought back a book or two for her grandfather, after his trips to Imardin.

“Do you read novels?” Avaria asked.

“I found some when I first moved into Lord Dakon’s house,” Tessia answered, moving to join her. A small row of slim volumes sat within a long narrow display box.

“Did you like them?”

“Yes – they’re a bit… unrealistic.”

Avaria laughed. “That’s what’s so fun about them. What have you read?”

“
Moonlight on the Lake
.
The Ambassador’s Daughter
.
Five Rubies
.”

“Old ones.” Avaria waved a hand dismissively. “Honarand has written much better ones since then. You’ll find his island series quite enchanting.”

“The author is a man?”

“Yes. What’s so strange about that?”

“They’re always from a woman’s point of view.”

Avaria smiled. “You’d not think that so strange if you knew him. Here.” She handed over two books. “These are his best.”

Taking the two books, Tessia looked at the bookseller. “How much are they?”

“For you, twenty silver for the two,” he said.

She stared at him in astonishment. “Twenty silver? That’s more than a year’s wage for—”

Avaria laid a gloved hand on her arm and leaned close, her expression serious. “Those books are copied by hand. It takes weeks to make one. Books are expensive because they take time and paper – which is also time-consuming to make.”

Tessia looked down at the slim volumes. “Even something as, well, frivolous as this?”

The woman smiled and shrugged. “Whatever there’s a market for is worth making. There are plenty of love-lonely women in Imardin with way too much spare money to spend, stuck in marriages arranged by their parents.” She shrugged. “How much is a comforting daydream worth? But don’t pay more than ten silver for the two. I’d start haggling at five.”

Unused to bargaining, Tessia only managed to argue the man down to twelve silver, but she bought the books anyway. It pleased her hostess. Avaria had already bought her several expensive items and, Tessia suspected, would buy these as well if Tessia didn’t. And there might be times when Avaria wasn’t free to entertain Tessia while Dakon and Jayan were occupied with their important meetings.

As they left the shop Avaria gasped. “Oh, look! There’s Falia!” Suddenly she was pulling Tessia by the arm, her wandering steps lengthening to strides. “Falia sweet!”

A blonde woman in a pale pink and cream dress turned, her face lighting up with a wide smile as she saw Avaria.

“Avaria sweet!”

“This is Apprentice Tessia, who is staying with us at the moment, along with Lord Dakon from Aylen ley and Apprentice Jayan of Drayn. It’s Tessia’s first visit to Imardin.”

Falia’s eyebrows rose. “Welcome to Imardin, Apprentice Tessia.” Still smiling, she tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Are you apprenticed to Lord Dakon?”

“Yes.”

“With Jayan as your co-apprentice.” The woman’s nose wrinkled. “Poor you! He was such a brat as a child. I hope he’s improved.” She regarded Tessia expectantly.

“I’m hardly able to judge since I didn’t know him as a br-ah-child,” Tessia managed.

Falia laughed. “Our families were close back then. Now they’re not.” She shrugged. “That’s life in the city. So what is he like as a young man?”

Tessia tried to search for the right word and failed. “Older.”

Both Avaria and Falia laughed, this time knowingly. “I guess not much has changed,” Avaria concluded. “Though he isn’t a strain to look at.”

“Really?” Falia’s expressive eyebrows rose again. “Not all bad, then. Are you two coming to the party at Darya’s?”

“Of course.”

“I was just going to buy some conecakes, then go. Would you like to come with me? There’s room in my wagon.”

“Why not?” Avaria smiled at Tessia. “I think we’ve spent all we need to spend for today, haven’t we?”

Tessia nodded. She hadn’t yet bought a present for her mother, but she was sure there’d be more shopping trips to come.

They followed Falia along the street to a shop selling spices and other food ingredients, as well as a multitude of sweet treats. Conecakes turned out to be little cone-shaped frothy breads dusted in fine sugar. Inside, Falia told her, was a little surprise of sweetened fruit puree. You could never tell which type of fruit it would be until you bit into it.

Somehow Tessia found herself holding a bag of salted tiro nuts while they waited for Falia’s wagon to arrive. When it did, Avaria sent one of her servants back to her wagon driver, who was apparently waiting on First Street, to tell him to return home without them and then be ready to collect them from Falia’s house later. The other piled their purchases inside Falia’s wagon and climbed onto the back.

The two city women chatted about people Tessia did not know during the ride to Darya’s house. Tessia was relieved that they did. She felt exhausted. Though she had only walked a distance she estimated was the length of Mandryn twice or three times over, she felt as if she’d run across the entire length of a ley.

She wasn’t so tired that she didn’t notice when they turned into Fourth Street, and drove along the opposite side of King’s Parade to the one on which Avaria’s house was situated. It wasn’t much later that the wagon stopped and the two women gracefully stepped out, making the awkward stepladder seem no more difficult than a mansion staircase. Tessia followed them to the door.

Once inside, Avaria hooked her arm in Tessia’s again. For a moment Falia looked disappointed, but then she gave a little shrug and led the way into the house.

Darya’s home was set out in what Tessia now recognised as the Kyralian style, like Lord Dakon’s Residence. The entrance opened into a greeting hall, from which stairs led up to the second storey and openings on either side invited access to the ground-level rooms.

A servant guided them to a room on the first floor with large windows overlooking the street. Three women were sitting about a round table, and rose to greet the newcomers. Tessia was surprised to see that the hostess was short, a little rounded, and clearly Sachakan. But when Lady Darya smiled her green eyes shone with friendliness.

“Avaria! Falia!” She lightly touched both cheeks of the women with her fingertips, then turned to Tessia. “And this must be Apprentice Tessia. Welcome. Sit down. Relax. Oh! You brought conecakes!”

The other women made appreciative sounds as the cakes were laid on the table. More chairs were brought by servants, and a silver platter to arrange the cakes on.

The conversation that ensued was every bit as noisy, gaudy and disorientating as the market. Tessia settled on listening, and for some time it seemed everyone had forgotten she was there. The other two women were Kendaria and Lady Zakia. Darya had married the magician son of a rich trader – and his entire family, she joked. Zakia’s husband was a city lord and magician. Kendaria’s was cousin to the king, and they lived with his older brother and their family. They spent a lot of time making fun of their husbands, Tessia noticed.

Then, when a piece of gossip had been milked of all its possibilities and everyone had fallen into a speculative silence, Avaria nodded to her guest.

“Tessia’s father is a healer, and she was his assistant before she stumbled on her powers.”

“You’re a natural!” Zakia nodded approvingly. “You must be very strong.”

Tessia shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but I’m told that is the way things work.”

“Kendaria is training to be a healer,” Avaria said, giving Tessia a meaningful look.

Tessia blinked in surprise, then looked at the small, slim woman sitting beside her. “You are?” She paused. “I thought… aren’t women…?”

Kendaria laughed quietly. “Money,” she said. “Power. And the fact that there is no actual rule or law anywhere that says we can’t
train
to be healers. Work as one?” Her shoulders lifted, but her eyes were sharp with determination. “We’ll see about that one when we get there, though I only started because I wanted to use my skills to help friends and family.”