Thief’s Magic Read Free Page B

the scent of resin-coated cloth, polished wood and pipe smoke and smiled. Miko grabbed the rope railing strung around the chassis, ducked under it and stepped on board.
    “Sorry, boys,” Kilraker said. “Expedition’s over. No point sticking around when the locals get like this. Brace yourselves for some ear popping. We’re going up.”
    As Tyen swung his satchel around to his back, ready to climb aboard, he thought of what lay inside. He didn’t have any treasure to show off, but at least he had found something interesting. Ducking under the railing rope, he settled onto the narrow deck, legs dangling over the side. Miko sat down beside him. The aircart began to ascend rapidly, its nose slowly turning towards home.

CHAPTER 2
    I t was impossible to be gloomy when flying with a steady tail wind on a clear, beautiful night. The bright reds and oranges of the setting sun had ended the banter between Miko and Neel, and an appreciative silence had fallen. Leratia’s capital and home of the Academy, Belton, could put on some grand sunsets, but they were always tainted by smoke and steam.
    To Tyen’s senses, the aircart appeared to have a bow wave. Unlike a boat in water, the ripple in the atmosphere was caused by the removal, not displacement, of something: magic. In its place the dark shadow of Soot remained, and trailed behind them like smoke. Soot was hard to describe to anyone who couldn’t sense it. It was merely the absence of magic, but when fresh it had texture, as if a residue had been left in magic’s place. It moved, too – shrinking as magic slowly flowed in to fill the void.
    As Tyen drew in more magic to power the propellers and heat the air in the capsule he relished the opportunity to use magic without restraint. It felt good to use it, he reflected, but it wasn’t a physical pleasure
. More like the buzz you feel when something you’re making is all coming together exactly as you planned
, he thought. Like the satisfaction he’d felt when making Beetle, and the other little mechanical novelties he sold to help finance his education.
    While it was not difficult driving the aircart, it did demand concentration. Tyen knew that his skill with sorcery had guaranteed him a place on the expedition, as it meant Professor Kilraker didn’t have to do all the driving.
    “Getting chilly,” Drem said to nobody in particular. Kilraker’s manservant had dug around in the luggage earlier, careful to avoid losing any of it overboard, and found their airmen’s jackets, hoods, scarves and gloves. Tyen had been relieved to know his bag must be in the pile somewhere, not left behind in the rush to leave Mailand.
    A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see the professor nod at him.
    “Rest, Tyen. I’ll take us from here to Palga.”
    Letting his pull on magic go, Tyen rose and, holding the tensioned rope railing for balance, stepped around Kilraker so the man could take the driver’s seat. He paused, considering asking why Kilraker had let him dig where the Mailanders hadn’t wanted them to, but said nothing. He knew the answer. Kilraker did not care about the Mailanders’ feelings or traditions. The Academy expected him and his students to bring back treasures, and that was more important to him. In every other way, Tyen admired the man and wanted to be more like him, but he’d come to see on this journey that the professor had flaws. He supposed everyone had. He probably had a few as well. Miko was always telling him he was well behaved to the point of being boring. That didn’t mean he, or Kilraker, weren’t likeable. Or so he hoped.
    Miko and Neel were sitting with their legs dangling over one side at the central, widest, point of the chassis, while Drem sat cross-legged on the opposite side for balance, surprisingly flexible for a man of his age. Settling on the same side as the servant, but a small distance away, Tyen took off his gloves, tucked them in his jacket pocket and drew the book out of