capper – man who frequents brothels
clicked – occurred
client – person who has an obligation or agreement with a Thief
counter – whore
done – murdered
dull – persuade to keep silent
dunghead – fool
dwells – term used to describe slum dwellers
eye – keep watch
fired – angry (got fired about it)
fish – propose/ask/look for (also someone fleeing the Guard)
gauntlet – guard who is bribeable or in the control of a Thief
goldmine – man who prefers boys
good go – a reasonable try
got – caught
grandmother – pimp
gutter – dealer in stolen goods
hai – a call for attention or expression of surprise or inquiry
heavies – important people
kin – a Thief’s closest and most trusted
knife – assassin/hired killer
messenger – thug who delivers or carries out a threat
mind – hide (minds his business/I’ll mind that for you)
mug – mouth (as in vessel for bol)
out for – looking for
pick – recognise/understand
punt – smuggler
right-sided – trustworthy/heart in the right place
rope – freedom
rub – trouble (got into some rub over it)
shine – attraction (got a shine for him)
show – introduce
space – allowances/permission
squimp – someone who double-crosses the Thieves
style – manner of performing busi-ness
tag – recognise (also means a spy, usually undercover)
thief – leader of a criminal group
watcher – posted to observe something or someone
wild – difficult
visitor – burglar
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of this book was blissfully free of the stresses and distractions that made the previous one so difficult to complete, and so these acknowledgements are short and sweet.
Thanks to Paul.
A big cheer to the Orbit team, especially Darren Nash and Joanna Kramer, who have always been patient and delightful to work with even during times of frustrating technical glitches. An extra nod of appreciation to the local Orbit team and especially Adele, Amy, Linda and Todd, who took me on signing tours of bookshops in their respective Aussie cities and were such great company.
A special thanks to Marianne de Pierres for launching The Magician’s Apprentice with style, and statistics even I was amazed to hear.
Thanks, as always, to Fran and Liz, and all the agents around the world, doing the hard part for me.
And the feedback readers: Donna, Nicole, Jenny, Mum and Dad.
Finally, as always, to the readers. May you never run out of good books to read.
Trudi Canavan
