Ink Black Magic

by Tansy Rayner Roberts

  Egg looked at her, a little excited. “Don’t move.”

  “What?”

  “Stand right there.” He pulled out his sketching pad and a scratchy pencil, sitting on the bed. “I want to draw you.”

  “Egg,” she said impatiently, giving up on hints altogether. “I was hoping you wanted to kiss me.”

  He glanced up and grinned at her, his pencil scratching across the page. “I know. And I do. I just want to draw you first.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I can wait.” A thought occurred to her. “Are you drawing me as a hero or a villain?”

  “Wait and see,” he promised.

  ***

  As the noon light shone brightly over Cluft and Drak, a sheep took flight out of a window of the administration cottage, his purple wings pumping wildly. He wheeled around in the sky, baaing triumphantly, relishing the glory of flight and freedom.

  A few minutes later, clouds passed in front of the sun. Thunder rumbled, and the clouds cracked open. Live salmon tumbled from the sky, spattering over the two cities along with cold, hard rain and the occasional slice of lemon.

  In Drak, the population stared in absolute horror at the weather conditions that they were going to have to get used to.

  In Cluft, students ran for cover, laughing and screaming. Mistress Brim emerged from the Mermaid Tower, armed with several wide nets and a recipe for salmon pie. Across the river, three picnickers sheltered under the pine tree. None of them had stabbed each other yet, which had to be a good sign.

  Singespitter just kept flying, dodging the falling salmon with practiced ease, grinning all over his fleecy face. Things were as they should be. Even the weather was back to normal.

  This was going to be a really great semester.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tansy Rayner Roberts was first published in 1998 with Splashdance Silver, the first of the Mocklore Chronicles. Since then, she has had seven more novels published (one under the name of Livia Day), travelled overseas, won a bunch of awards including a shiny chrome rocket, gained a PhD in Classics, and had two children. She lives in a messy house with lots of bookshelves. Sometimes the Tasmanian landscape still looks like Mocklore to her, but she is yet to spot a flying sheep.

  Tansy's website can be found at http://tansyrr.com/ and you can follow her on Twitter at @tansyrr. She is a co-host on two all-female podcasts: Galactic Suburbia, talking about books and the SF publishing industry, and Verity! talking about Doctor Who.

  ALSO IN EBOOK FROM FABLECROFT PUBLISHING…

  Epilogue (edited by Tehani Wessely)

  After the Rain (edited by Tehani Wessely)

  Worlds Next Door (edited by Tehani Wessely)

  One Small Step, an anthology of discoveries (edited by Tehani Wessely)

  The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories by Joanne Anderton

  Focus 2012: highlights of Australian Short Fiction

  Splashdance Silver by Tansy Rayner Roberts

  Liquid Gold by Tansy Rayner Roberts

  Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts

  The Aware by Glenda Larke

  Gilfeather by Glenda Larke

  The Tainted by Glenda Larke

  Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart

  Canterbury 2100: pilgrimages in a new world (edited by Dirk Flinthart)

  Coming in 2014…

  Cranky Ladies of History edited by Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely

  Insert Title Here edited by Tehani Wessely

  fablecroft.com.au