Daja's Book (15 page)

Polyam wiped her face on her sleeve, then turned to Daja. “This is more than payment—”

“No,” Daja interrupted. “You gave me the chance to clear my name. Now we don't owe each other a thing.” Looking at the carpet, she added softly, “I
would
like to be friends.”

Rough arms swept her up in a hug. “We are friends,” Polyam assured her in a fierce whisper. “We will
always
be friends.”

The next day the mages roused themselves at dawn and joined the duke and Lady Inoulia in seeing Tenth Caravan Idaram off. It made Daja breathless to see
Polyam, in trousers and boots, swing into the saddle of a brown gelding as the ride leader signaled for the caravan to move out. Polyam followed him with the other riders, half-turned in the saddle so that she could wave, until the turn of the road hid her from sight.

Frostpine slung an arm around Daja's shoulders. “Even if you never made another thing, the Traders will sing your name for generations,” he said cheerfully. “Of course, you're going to make plenty more things.”

“I am?” she asked, looking up into his laughing eyes.

“Yes indeed—starting with nails.” He ignored Daja's groan. “I believe you've made only a single bucketful the whole time we've been here, and I need a way to measure how much you've changed since our arrival. Nails will serve that need quite well.”

“Can they wait?” asked the duke, soft-voiced. “If the snows fall in five days, I would like to go myself—tomorrow.”

“
Home
,” said Lark with a happy sigh. “That sounds
wonderful
.”

“I'll make nails all winter, if I can just do them at home,” Daja told Frostpine.

He sighed. “Oh, all right. We can make nails as well at Winding Circle as we can here.”

“Better,” Tris muttered to Daja. “At least at home
it's warm.” Her breath steamed in the icy mountain air.

Daja grinned. Not only would they be warmer, but they would be near the sea again. “Last one to the rooms gets to do all the packing!” she cried, and ran for the castle.

Blue Traders —Traders who work from boats, either in fresh water or at sea

daka
—high-caste negotiator; brings profit to the caravan

gilav
—caravan leader, about the same rank as a mayor

hamot
—idiot, chump

kaq
—lowest kind of non-Trader, literally “dirt under foot”

lugsha
—craftsperson, artisan, one who provides goods that earn money

mimander
—a Trader mage, always robed and veiled in bright yellow

pijule fakol
—afterlife for those who don't pay their debts

qunsua(nen)
—to cleanse—literally “to wash/ward off bad luck so it does not stick”

saati
—a non-Trader friend of the heart, as dear as family

trangshi
—outcast, unclean, cursed, nameless

Tsaw'ha
—Trader name for themselves, literally “the People”

White Traders —land Traders, those who travel in sand or on snow

wirok
—low-status person who spends money on needed items like food, repairs

xurdin
—a non-Trader mage

yerui
—hungry ghost-devil that feeds and destroys

zokin
—balance in money on the Trader books, or a person's stock of honor

Circle of Magic quartet:
Book One: Sandry's Book
Book Two: Tris's Book
Book Three: Daja's Book
Book Four: Briar's Book

The Circle Opens quartet:
Book One: Magic Steps
Book Two: Street Magic
Book Three: Cold Fire
Book Four: Shatterglass

The Will of the Empress

Melting Stones

Thanks are due to my husband, Tim, for the help, encouragement, and advice that saw me through a most worrisome first draft; to Rick Robinson once again for fast-turnaround proofreading and intelligent reader reaction; to my agent, Craig R. Tenney, the personification of grace under fire; and to my editor, Anne Dunn, who took time from her own hectic schedule to help me get this book out the gate and who gave me leeway when it came to handing in the first draft. As always, thanks go to Thomas Gansevoort, this series's creative godfather.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Copyright © 1998 by Tamora Pierce
Cover art by Jonathan Barkat
Cover design by Steve Scott

All rights reserved.Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

First Scholastic trade paperback printing, March 2000

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher

e-ISBN 978-0-545-40592-8