Rosemary Kirstein - Steerswoman 04 - The Language of Power.pdf - Rosemary Kirstein - widez2

THE LANGUAGE OF POWER

R O S E M A R Y K I R S T E I N

B A L L A N T I N E B O O K S

N E W Y O R K

The Language of Power is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagi-

nation or are used fictitiously.

A Del Rey® Book

Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Published in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a divi-

sion of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited,

Toronto.

Del Rey is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

www.delreybooks.com

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Kirstein, Rosemary.

The language of power / Rosemary Kirstein.—1st ed.

p. cm.

"A Del Rey book"—T.p. verso.

ISBN 0-345-46835-X

1. Women—Fiction. 1. Title.

PS3561.I78L36 2004

813'.6—dc22

2004046716

Map by Rosemary Kirstein

Manufactured in the United States of America

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

First Edition: September 2004

F O R

S H E L L Y S H A P I R O

who opened the road

for the steerswoman,

and

L I S A B A S S I

Warrior, Poet

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

he author is grateful to many people, but most especially the following: Laurie

Marks, Delia Sherman, and Didi Stewart ("The Fabulous Genrettes"), for know-

ing when to encourage and when to admonish; Shelly Shapiro, for indispensable edit-

ing; Brian Bambrough, for catching the dropped ball; Mary Ann Eldred, for approval

on technical details; Ann Tonsor Zeddies ("Toni Anzetti"), for reports from the

trenches; Geary Gravel, for tolerance of enthusiasms; and my sister, Sabine, for every-

thing

Rosemary Kirstein - Steerswoman 04 - The Language of Power.pdf