A Business of Ferrets — Beth Hilgartner

A Business of Ferrets, a fantasy done in the style of the Thieves' World series. For those who remember and love the magic, intrigue, and honor among friends of that series: In the decadent Empire of Bharaghlaf, the Scholar King Khethyran sits uneasily on the throne while in the Slums of his capital city an apprentice thief, Ferret, and her four young friends eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. When the beggar Owl disappears, Ferret and the others set out to learn his fate. Sold as a slave to the powerful House Ghytteve, Owl is destined to be the bait at the center of a complicated grab for power. But Owl, whose gifts as a Seer are just beginning to emerge, is far more than the helpless pawn he seems. As Ferret and her friends come closer to the truth, they too are inexorably drawn into the vicious intrigues of the Council Houses. From the enigmatic longshoreman, Sharkbait, to the Emperor's foreign witch, the friends enlist a formidable and varied band of allies-and set out to beat the scheming nobles at their own, ruthless game.