Prize of Night

by Bailey Cunningham

  Dazed, they began to file outside.

  Pharsia and Pulcheria joined their sister. The lares followed them, putting out flames and floods as they went.

  Sirens moaned around them. Firefighters stared in confusion. Reporters were looking around in wonder, as if they’d just seen something out of their dreams. Hours might have passed inside Darke Hall, or centuries. Now the city was responding.

  They crossed the street and stepped into the park. It was alive. It had been built, but that didn’t make it any less a part of the planet. It was an improbable, moonlit jungle. Salamanders perched in the trees, flicking their tongues in search of low-hanging fruit. Monsters played games in the water. Clouds moved above them, no longer ominous, but drenched in subtle fire.

  They gathered in the night, before the water, now streaked with light from police cars. Andrew stood next to his mother, while Latona placed a hand on Pulcheria’s back. The silenoi were watching the skies. The princeps leaned on his spear. A reporter had begun to approach them. Shelby could only imagine what form that interview might take.

  Ingrid joined her. “Should we explain to the reporters about the silenoi—and the fire lizards? Oh, wait.” She winced. “One of them just found the scrap-metal chariot. It’s cranky.”

  “Not just yet,” Pharsia said.

  They listened to the ducks and the startled cries of onlookers.

  Andrew smiled.

  He couldn’t wait for the new semester to begin.

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS

  aditus: An intersecting avenue.

  Anfractus: A city controlled by Basilissa Latona.

  artifex: A member of the Gens of Artifices. They build machines, which they can occasionally infuse with life.

  arx: The palace of the basilissa and the seat of the court.

  auditor: A member of the Gens of Auditores. They are able to speak with lares (though they cannot see them).

  baculum: A ceremonial staff carried by some auditores and oculi.

  basia: A brothel that serves a diverse clientele.

  basilissa: A hereditary position and a vestige of the former empire. City-states such as Anfractus and Egressus are governed by a basilissa. The position is matrilineal.

  caelum: A lar whose natural habitat is smoke.

  carcer: The dungeon beneath the Arx of Violets.

  caupona: An inn that offers food and entertainment.

  chlamys: A ceremonial robe fashioned of leather and worn by the basilissa.

  cloaca: The extensive sewer system beneath Anfractus, which contains a system of tunnels.

  domina/dominus: A wealthy landowner who administers a large house (domus).

  Egressus: A city controlled by Basilissa Pulcheria.

  Fortuna: The goddess of chance, whose wheel determines fate.

  fur: A member of the Gens of Furs. They are thieves or peddlers who serve the Fur Queen.

  gens: A guild or “family” of members devoted to a particular mastery. There are six gens devoted to the day (miles, sagittarii, auditores, trovadores, medica, and artifices) and six gens devoted to the night (spadones, meretrices, sicarii, furs, oculi, and silenoi, the last constituting a wild gens).

  gladius: A short sword generally carried by a miles.

  gnomo: A lar whose natural habitat is earth. They are rarely seen.

  Hippodrome: A complex that features chariot racing, duels between miles, and performances.

  hypocaust: A furnace designed to heat a domus (larger versions heat public baths).

  impluvium: A basin in a house designed to catch rainwater.

  insula: A block of apartments, often with shops on the ground floor.

  lar: An elemental spirit.

  lararium: A roadside or indoor shrine to lares.

  lupo: A slang term for meretrices, meaning “wolf.”

  machina: An automaton built by an artifex.

  medicus: A member of the Gens of Medica. They are surgeons and chemists.

  meretrix: A member of the Gens of Meretrices. They are courtesans and sex workers who offer their services at the basiorum.

  miles: A member of the Gens of Miles. They are soldiers and law keepers who also guard the grounds of the palace.

  nemo: An individual who does not belong to a gens.

  oculus: A member of the Gens of Oculi. They can see lares (though they cannot hear them).

  oecus: A great hall with windows.

  Oscana: The territory covered by Wascana Park.

  pedes: A servant under the protection of a wealthy dominus or domina.

  popina: A street-side bar that offers food.

  sagittarius: A member of the Gens of Sagittarii. They are archers who patrol the battlements of the arx and are considered the first defense against intruders.

  salamander: A lar whose natural habitat is fire. They are generally amenable.

  sicarius: A member of the Gens of Sicarii. They are assassins who sell their services.

  silenus: A satyr (half humanoid, half hircine) who hunts at night. They comprise the Gens of Silenoi, though they do not respect the tradition.

  spado: A member of the Gens of Spadones. They are eunuchs who serve as palace officials in addition to supervising archives and libraries.

  Subura: The entertainment district of Anfractus.

  tabularium: A room for storing books and parchments.

  triclinium: A formal dining room, which is named after a style of slanted couch upon which guests can recline while eating.

  trovador: A member of the Gens of Trovadores. They are musicians, entertainers, and poets.

  undina: A lar whose natural habitat is water. They are natural tricksters.

  via: A main road.

  vici: A neighborhood.

  Learn more about the work of Bailey Cunningham by visiting his website: cunningbailey.com.

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