Kaveh nodded again, but he was tired of being on the defensive. He thought of the Daevas that Ghassan had already executed, the merchants beaten up in the Grand Bazaar, the girl raped in front of the Royal Guard. Of his son—nearly killed defending a Qahtani and then denied treatment. Of the martyrs in the Grand Temple. Of all the other ways his people had suffered.
Kaveh was tired of bowing to the Qahtanis.
A small flicker of defiance bloomed in his chest, the first he’d felt in a long time. His next question came out in a desperate whisper. “If I can get the ring to her . . . do you really think she can bring him back?”
Nisreen gazed at Jamshid. Her eyes were filled with the type of quiet awe most Daevas felt in the presence of one of their Nahids. “Yes,” she said firmly. Reverently. “I think Manizheh can do anything.”
Acknowledgments
This book began as a private project that would never have seen the light of day were it not for the support and encouragement—sometimes rather forceful!—of the wonderful people below.
First, to my friends and faculty at the American University of Cairo: thank you for sharing your country’s awe-inspiring history, for guiding me through the sites that would have made up Nahri’s world, and for renewing my faith in a way I didn’t realize until much later. Any mistakes or misrepresentations are mine alone.
To my husband, Shamik, whose curiosity about what I was always typing on my computer started this entire journey, thank you. You’re the best friend and beta reader a fellow nerd could ask for, and you’ve been my rock.
The fantastically talented people of the Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers’ group—particularly Rob Cameron, Marcy Arlin, Steven R. Fairchild, Sondra Fink, Jonathan Hernandez, Alex Kirtland, Cynthia Lovett, Ian Montgomerie, Brad Park, Mark Salzwedel, Essowe Tchalim, and Ana Vohryzek—who whipped this manuscript into shape and became friends in the process.
Jennifer Azantian, my wonderful agent and Nahri’s and Ali’s greatest cheerleader, thank you for taking a chance on some random writer from Twitter; for making what seemed a dream become reality; and for being a steadying presence the many times I needed one.
Priyanka Krishnan, my amazing editor, who helped guide me through the rough patches, and whose warmth and diplomatically worded comments always make me smile—I’ll try not to kill too many of the characters you love.
To the rest of the Voyager team, including Angela Craft, Andrew DiCecco, Jessie Edwards, Pam Jaffee, Mumtaz Mustafa, Shawn Nicholls, Shelby Peak, Caro Perny, David Pomerico, Mary Ann Petyak, Liate Stehlik, and Paula Szafranski: I will always appreciate the hard work that went into making this book, and the enthusiasm everyone had for it. And to everyone else at Harper who loved and supported this book, I thank you. You have been a great group to work with. A very sincere thanks to Will Staehle, as well, for designing a cover that literally took my breath away the first time I saw it.
I’d never have gotten this far without my extraordinary parents—my mother, Colleen, who shared her love of reading with me, and my father, Robert, who then drove me to the library and bookstore what must have seemed every weekend of my childhood—your love and hard work made me the person I am today. Thanks go to my brother, Michael, as well, for teaching me the meaning of sibling love without having to battle for a throne. To Sankar and Anamika, who stepped up to help the moment this all became real; you will always have my deepest gratitude.
To my daughter, my greatest source of happiness: you’re too young to read this now, but thank you for letting me work on this at home, albeit with a level of toddler negotiation that is frighteningly reminiscent of a certain con artist. I love you.
And last, but certainly not least, a sincere thank-you to my ummah: to the past that inspired me, the present that embraced me, and the future we’ll build together . . . jazakum Allahu khayran.
Glossary
Beings of Fire
Daeva: The ancient term for all fire elementals before the djinn rebellion, as well as the name of the tribe residing in Daevastana, of which Dara and Nahri are both part. Once shapeshifters who lived for millennia, the Daeva had their magical abilities sharply curbed by the Prophet Suleiman as a punishment for harming humanity.
Djinn: A human word for “daeva.” After Zaydi al Qahtani’s rebellion, all his followers, and eventually all daevas, began using this term for their race.
Ifrit: The original daevas who defied Suleiman and were stripped of their abilities. Sworn enemies of the Nahid family, the ifrit revenge themselves by enslaving other djinn to cause chaos among humanity.
Simurgh: Scaled firebirds that the djinn are fond of racing.
Zahhak: A large, flying, fire-breathing lizard-like beast.
Beings of Water
Marid: Extremely powerful water elementals. Near mythical to the djinn, the marid haven’t been seen in centuries, though it’s rumored the lake surrounding Daevabad was once theirs.
Beings of Air
Peri: Air elementals. More powerful than the djinn—and far more secretive—the peri keep resolutely to themselves.
Rukh: Enormous predatory firebirds that the peri can use for hunting.
Shedu: Mythical winged lions, an emblem of the Nahid family.
Beings of Earth
Ghouls: The reanimated, cannibalistic corpses of humans who have made deals with the ifrit.
Ishtas: A small, scaled creature obsessed with organization and footwear.
Karkadann: A magical beast similar to an enormous rhinoceros with a horn as long as a man.
Languages
Divasti: The language of the Daeva tribe.
Djinnistani: Daevabad’s common tongue, a merchant creole the djinn and shafit use to speak to those outside their tribe.
Geziriyya: The language of the Geziri tribe, which only members of their tribe can speak and understand.
General Terminology
Abaya: A loose, floor-length, full-sleeved dress worn by women.
Adhan: The Islamic call to prayer.
Afshin: The name of the Daeva warrior family who once served the Nahid Council. Also used as a title.
Akhi: Geziri for “my brother,” an endearment.
Baga Nahid: The proper title for male healers of the Nahid family.
Banu Nahida: The proper title for female healers of the Nahid family.
Chador: An open cloak made from a semicircular cut of fabric, draped over the head and worn by Daeva women.
Dirham/Dinar: A type of currency used in Egypt.
Dishdasha: A floor-length man’s robe, popular among the Geziri.
Emir: The crown prince and designated heir to the Qahtani throne.
Fajr: The dawn hour/dawn prayer.
Galabiyya: A traditional Egyptian garment, essentially a floor-length robe.
Hammam: A bathhouse.
Isha: The late evening hour/evening prayer.
Maghrib: The sunset hour/sunset prayer.
Midan: A plaza/city square.
Mihrab: A wall niche indicating the direction of prayer.
Muhtasib: A market inspector.
Qaid: The head of the Royal Guard, essentially the top military official in the djinn army.
Rakat: A unit of prayer.
Shafit: People with mixed djinn and human blood.
Sheikh: A religious educator/leader.
Suleiman’s seal: The seal ring Suleiman once used to control the djinn, given to the Nahids and later stolen by the Qahtanis. The bearer of Suleiman’s ring can nullify any magic.
Talwar: An Agnivanshi sword.
Tanzeem: A grassroots fundamentalist group in Daevabad dedicated to fighting for shafit rights and religious reform.
Ulema: A legal body of religious scholars.
Wazir: A government minister.
Zar: A traditional ceremony meant to deal with djinn possession.
Zuhr: The noon hour/noon prayer.
Zulfiqar: The forked copper blades of the Geziri tribe; when inflamed, their poisonous edges des
troy even Nahid flesh, making them among the deadliest weapons in this world.
About the Author
S. A. Chakraborty is a speculative fiction writer from New York City. You can find out more about her work at www.sachakraborty.com or follow her on Twitter at @SChakrabs. The City of Brass is her first novel.
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the city of brass. Copyright © 2017 by Shannon Chakraborty. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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first edition
Map by Virginia Norey
Frontispiece Art by Aza1976/Shutterstock, Inc.
Cover illustration and design by Unusual Corporation
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Chakraborty, S. A., author.
Title: The city of brass / S. A. Chakraborty.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY: Harper Voyager, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017020068 | ISBN 9780062678102 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780062678126 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Imaginary places—Fiction. | Jinn—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Fantasy / Historical. | FICTION / Fantasy / Epic. | FICTION / Action & Adventure. | GSAFD: Adventure fiction. | Fantasy fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3603.H33555 C58 2017 | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017020068
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2017 ISBN: 978-0-06-267812-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-267810-2
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