Merénylő – assassin (Lit. Hungarian) A formal position, in the exclusive service of the Örökös Főnök.
Örökös Főnök – See Főnök.
sertés – pig (Lit. Hungarian)
simavér/simavérek – flat blood/flat bloods (hosszú életek) Pejorative. A person of non-hosszú életek descent.
sorozat – inheritance (Lit. Hungarian) Old hosszú életek law, extending the sentence of kirekesztett to an offender’s descendants. Abandoned early in the twentieth century.
szar – shit (Lit. Hungarian) Vulgar.
Szeretlek – I love you (Lit. Hungarian)
tanács – council (Lit. Hungarian) The eight elected governors of hosszú élet society. Advisors to the Örökös Főnök.
te jó ég – my goodness (Lit. Hungarian)
végzet – fate/fate night (Lit. Hungarian) A series of four formal masked balls (kezdet, második, harmadik and negyedik) that mark the entrance of hosszú életek youth into adulthood and provide a venue for ritualised (and compulsory) courtship.
Vének Könyve – Book of Elders (hosszú életek) The oldest hosszú életek text in existence, dating to AD 748. Sets out the laws of governance strictly enforced by the Örökös Főnök until the events of the Aséjszakai Sikolyokor. Viewed as outdated by some, its doctrines are the cause of a growing ideological split.
Food and Drink
halászlé – A river fish soup spiced with paprika.
kürtőskalács – A sweet chimney-shaped pastry, made by winding a sugared dough around a tapered spit and hanging above a fire.
paprikás krumpli – A simple potato and sausage stew, usually cooked with green peppers, onions and tomatoes.
pálinka – A brandy made from orchard fruits.
békési szilvapálinka – A plum pálinka from Békés.
Acknowledgements
It’s been a memorable journey these last four years, following the exploits of Hannah and Leah Wilde, but it hasn’t been one I’ve walked alone. Fitting, then, that I should mention some of the people who came along.
Thanks first to my fantastic editors, John Wordsworth, Josh Kendall and Claire Baldwin. Thanks also to the rest of the team at Headline and Mulholland, past and present: Anna Alexander, Jason Bartholomew, Marlena Bittner, Pamela Brown, Catherine Cullen, Nicole Dewey, Siobhan Hooper, Keith Hayes, Joanna Kaliszewska, Elizabeth Masters, Garrett McGrath, Wes Miller, Michael Noon, Caitlin Raynor and Lynsey Sutherland. Thanks too to my agent, Sam Copeland, and all the others who offered guidance along the way.
Éva Pallaghy did a fantastic job educating me in the Hungarian language – all mistakes are, of course, my own. Köszönöm, tanárnő.
Special thanks to my family for tolerating me throughout: my endlessly patient wife, Julie, and our three boys. In order of age, Obi-Wan Kenobi Skywalker, Hulk Smash and Hulk Smash Baby. Their names, not mine.
Finally, to you, the reader, for getting this far: my heartfelt gratitude. Books without readers are like roads without travellers. Thanks for taking the trip.
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