The Smoke-Scented Girl (43 page)

The stiflingly hot, high-ceilinged room in
Mistress Gavranter’s cooperative wasn’t much of an improvement over
Evon’s old room at Elltis and Company, whose windows couldn’t be
opened more than a crack, winter or summer. He couldn’t remember
Matra ever being this hot in early autumn before. Knowing that the
room was closed off by his own choice didn’t make matters any
better. He stood with his back to the maple-paneled wall and
regarded the shielded table at the other end of the room. Putting
it off was simply cowardly, but he was tired of being thrown all
over the room. He sighed and picked up an old-fashioned military
saber and approached
presadi
. It had an opalescent, mostly
opaque look to it; he probably ought to correct for that, knowing
from experience how unsettling it was to be inside a shield you
couldn’t see out of. That could wait until later. He took a deep
breath, tensed in anticipation, and swung the saber at the shield
as hard as he could.

The backlash took him off his feet and sent
him skidding on his rump over the smooth tiled floor. When he
finally came to a stop, he checked the marks chalked along the
floorboards. Eleven feet. Enough to dissuade an attacker without
the magician using up all of his or her reserves on the shield.
He’d finally done it. The government would have its spell, and Evon
would have one more defense against Valantis, if he ever appeared
again. Piercy assured him that the government had enough evidence
of Valantis’s crimes that he didn’t dare return to Dalanine,
especially since Speculatus had disavowed any awareness of said
crimes to protect itself from prosecution, but Evon didn’t intend
to take his safety, or Kerensa’s, for granted. He got to his feet
and winced at the pain in his backside. That was probably another
bruise to add to his impressive collection. Kerensa was either
going to make sympathetic noises or laugh at him, and he would bet
on the latter. He loved hearing her laugh.

“By the Gods, Lore, this room smells of sweat
and...what
is
that?” Piercy said, putting a cautious head
round the door. He’d been present for Evon’s earlier, ill-advised
experiment with firearms.

“An herbal concoction that’s the key to this
new spell. Its components are a state secret.”

“I cannot believe anyone might want to know
anything about anything that smells that bad except, perhaps, how
to stay far away from it.”

“It won’t smell that bad out in the open. And
I’m certain the government will find many uses for this spell. I
hope to earn a good deal of money from it.”

“Enough to pay for a wedding, dear
fellow?”

Evon put his hand on his trouser pocket. “If
she agrees.”

“Evon, only you could possibly believe your
suit might be rejected.”

“It was important that we learn to know one
another under more normal circumstances. Suppose we discovered we
didn’t actually like each other? I haven’t even met her family yet,
Piercy—what if they won’t give their blessing? And now she knows
how impossible I am to be around, and how obsessed I can be about
my work, and there are all those men at university who share her
interests—”

Piercy crossed his arms over his chest. “You
are my best friend, and I have seen you at both your best and your
worst, so you must know that when I tell you that you are out of
your very talented mind I do so out of love.”

Evon took a deep breath and let it out
slowly. “I know you’re right and I’m being stupid. I’m just nervous
about this evening. It’s not as if I’ve proposed marriage to anyone
before.” He mopped his forehead with his sleeve. “I feel as if I’ve
sweated enough for two men.”

“You should open a window. Or, and this is
simply speculation on my part, but isn’t there some spell to cool a
room?”

“I had to keep the windows shut when I was
doing the projectile tests. I didn’t want bullets flying out into
the streets. And there isn’t any such spell. Yet.”

“I heard that,” Kerensa said, pushing the
door open wider and smiling at Piercy as she passed. “That was the
sound of Evon Lorantis adding yet another project to the roster.
Don’t you ever get tired of being brilliant?” She was dressed in a
lightweight gown patterned in blue and wore a modish hat rather
than a bonnet and looked, to Evon’s eyes, more beautiful than ever.
She kissed him lightly on the cheek, wrinkled her nose and added,
“What is that
smell
?”

“Herbs and Evon,” Piercy said. “He says it
will make him rich, though in my opinion such an aroma will not
sell well to the ladies.”

“The smell is a side effect,” Evon said. He
took a few steps away from Kerensa, conscious of his state of
undress, his neckcloth and frock coat discarded on the deep window
casement behind him, and of the awful smell he was sure came off
him in waves. “The new shield works, more or less. It should be
done by this afternoon.”

She followed him. “Not too late, I hope,
because you’ve promised to dine with me tonight and I’ll be
embarrassed for you if you come to the table dressed like
that.”

Evon had to stop himself putting his hand on
his pocket again. “I haven’t forgotten,” he said. “And I promise I
clean up nicely.”

“I know,” Kerensa said, with a mischievous
smile on her lips and a look in her eyes that dispelled all his
uncertainty.

“Will you join us for dinner now?” Piercy
asked. “Though since Evon will need to clean himself up it could be
a rather late dinner.”

“Can’t,” Kerensa said. “I have a lecture in
an hour. But thanks for the invitation.”

“Getting, or giving?” Evon said, picking up
his neckcloth.

“Very funny. I’m sure Master Killiter would
have kittens if one of his first year students took his lectern.
But I’ve been invited to speak on the meaning of Alvor’s descent
into the Underworld to one of the university literary organizations
next week.”

“Prodigious work from our prodigy,” Piercy
said. “Evon, I’ll meet you at my club in...shall we say one hour?
I’d rather not loiter in your front hall where your odious cousin
might find me. She is an unholy terror and quite makes me believe
in compulsory year-round schooling. Kerensa, my dear, always a
pleasure.” He bowed and shut the door behind him.

Kerensa looked around for a seat and failed
to find one. “Did you really have to remove all the chairs?”

“After I was flung into one the third time, I
learned how stupid it was to keep unnecessary furniture in here.
But it’s wonderful about the speaking invitation! What do people
think, about your radical interpretation of the stories?”

“That they’re radical. It’s been so difficult
to find historical support for what little I learned from Alvor,
since I can’t say that my knowledge came from the source.” The
smile vanished. “And yet I wish we’d had even more time.”

“I wish we could tell anyone that you were
responsible for defeating the Despot.” Evon shrugged into his
waistcoat and began buttoning it up. “Or that Alvor really did
return. I suppose I could tell the
Weekly Gazette
, but it
seems like sullying his good name to let that rag have more fuel
for their ridiculous theories.”

“Isn’t it better that people don’t think
we’re mad? The idea that the military had an experimental weapon is
slightly more believable, if you don’t look at it too closely.”

“Piercy and Mistress Gavranter know the
truth, and so do the ministers responsible for spreading the cover
story. All those magicians and Mrs. Petelter’s Home Defense agents
who saw the weapon activate at the Speculatus manor must have
guessed what happened. And the government hasn’t been able to
explain the thirty-foot pillar of fire at the center of a new place
of power,” Evon said. He put on his frock coat and hat and wished
summer dress for men weren’t so much like winter dress for men.
“But the idea of Alvor’s return is so fanciful, no one would
believe it no matter how much evidence we had. It just seems a
shame that there’s no way for the truth to be told.”

“We know the truth. That satisfies me.”
Kerensa held out her arm to Evon. He looked at it. “Kerensa,” he
began.

“I want you to escort me back to campus. It’s
on your way home.”

“I’m sweaty and unkempt—”

“And still the most handsome man of my
acquaintance.” She hooked her arm through his and drew him close to
her. “Whenever you meet me on campus, all the women have the most
jealous expressions.”

“And all the men wish I were dead.”

She laughed and put her free hand around the
back of his neck. “Don’t be silly,” she whispered, “they all know
I’d never look at anyone but you, even if you were dead,” and
kissed him. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
She smelled of strawberries and fresh air and her lips tasted of
sunshine.

“Even if I were dead?” he murmured in her
ear. “Waxy and cold like Carall?”

“I’d rescue you before that happened.”

“I’m happy to know you’d come after me,
because I’d do the same for you.”

“I know,” Kerensa said. “You already
have.”

ademi
—“same,” duplication spell.

cleperi—
“hear,” in combination with
other command words alters hearing or sound.

cucurri—
“move,” limited telekinesis;
with
vertiri
, used in healing spells.

desini—
“stop,” turns off a working
spell, among other things.

desini cleperi—
“stop hear,” silence
spell.

desini cucurri
—“stop move,” paralysis
spell.

desini spexa
—“stop see,” limited
invisibility; with
vertiri,
causes blindness.

eloqua
—“speak,” long-distance
communication spell; requires both parties to have a mirror, but
can be performed by even the least experienced magicians

epiria
—“reveal,” make a spell visible.
Usually requires a lens of some kind, but can be done with a rune
circle for larger areas.

epiria sepera
—“reveal go,” preparation
for mapping spell.

forva
—“burn”

frigo
—“break,” make things shatter.
Only works on relatively dry things, like wood or bone.

madi
—“center,” specifically the human
heart or other vital organs when used with
vertiri.

misca
—“mix,” complicated spell in
which two objects interchange certain physical traits.

olficio—
“smell,” in combination with
other command words, alters smells or the sense of smell
itself.

presadi—“
guard,” shield spells. Type
of shield depends on the gesture used.

recivia
—“reverse,” returns a spell to
affect its caster.

reperto
—“find,” locator spell.
Requires item belonging to or identified with whatever you're
seeking, or thorough knowledge of subject.

resarva
+ sense—“close” sense,
decrease the sensory enhancement.

retexo—“
annul,” cancels a spell before
it can take effect.

sepera
—“go,” used mostly as a trigger
to make very complicated spells with multiple command words operate
at the right times. Also the command word for a lost ancient spell
that dismisses
desini cucurri
.

solto
—“open” in the sense of making
something greater. Magnifies the effect of certain command
words.

solto epiria—
“open reveal,” more
powerful and complex version of
epiria.

solto spexa
—“open see,” cast on lenses
for distance viewing. Can be cast on eyes, but this is not
recommended.

spexa
—“see,” alters vision. Basis for
clairvoyance spell. Can be cast on walls or doors to see through,
and on air to see at a distance when you know the subject or
location well.

spexa madi
—“see center,” x-ray
spell.

torpia
—“body,” used in healing spells
to link other command words to specified parts of the body.

torpia auctata
and
torpia
adenuo
—“body grow” and “body shrink,” commands for manipulating
a
spexa madi
oculus.

vertiri
—“change,” used in
biokinetic/healing spells. A kind of preparatory word to attune the
spell to something living.

vertiri + trattuci
—“change +
transfer,” move something from one place to another. Used in
healing spells to increase blood flow and align bone, among
others.

Melissa McShane lives in the shelter of the
mountains out West with her husband, four children, and three very
needy cats. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years
before turning to fiction, which is much more fun than anyone ought
to be allowed to have. You can visit her at her website
www.mmcshane.com
for more
information on other books and upcoming releases.