Part 10 (1/2)
”Maybe if it wasn't such a stupid idea to begin with, you wouldn't have had so much trouble pulling it-ow.” Josef s.n.a.t.c.hed back the fist he'd been hammering on the ground to make his point. ”What the-?”
Nico took his hand before he could mangle it further and deftly pulled a long, gla.s.s splinter out of his palm.
”Where did that come from?” He glared at the gla.s.s, then at Nico. Nico just shrugged and nodded over his shoulder. Josef turned, and his eyes went wide. The forest, the piebald gra.s.s of the clearing, the injured soldiers, the broken weapons, the arrows-they were all gone. The three of them were at the center of a smooth, black dust bowl that bore no resemblance at all to the clearing they had left just a few hours earlier. The dust lay in undulating patterns, ground so fine that the slightest breeze stirred up a miniature tornado. Other than their rock, nothing else remained, not even the natural slope of the ground.
A hundred feet back from its original position, the forest started again, but the new tree line was unnaturally straight. Some trees were missing limbs; others had entire sections of their trunks ripped away. The damage was surgically clean, as if some giant had taken a razor and simply cut away a circle of the forest using their rock as a center mark.
”I take it back,” Josef muttered. ”The rock was a great idea. How did you know it would be the only survivor?”
”I didn't,” Eli said, leaning in to examine the stone's face.
The boulder itself looked worse for wear. Long, sharp-edged gashes pitted the stone's surface. When Eli brushed his hand over them, a shower of gla.s.s dislodged and toppled to the ground, raising a sparkling cloud that sent them all into painful coughing fits.
When he could speak again, Josef asked, ”What was that thing, anyway?”
”A sandstorm spirit,” Eli wheezed.
”I've never seen a sandstorm that could do this.”
”Normally, it couldn't,” Eli said, covering his mouth with his hand. ”But this one wasn't in its right mind. Did you see that Ronald guy drop the sphere?”
”Renaud,” Nico corrected, casually pulling gla.s.s splinters out of her coat.
”Whatever,” Eli said. ”That ball wasn't a gem or anything you normally store a spirit in. It was was the spirit. He used his will to overpower the sandstorm, like a bully crus.h.i.+ng ants together. He forced it to press itself down into that tiny ball, and what do you get when you put sand under high pressure?” the spirit. He used his will to overpower the sandstorm, like a bully crus.h.i.+ng ants together. He forced it to press itself down into that tiny ball, and what do you get when you put sand under high pressure?”
Nico held up one of the dark gla.s.s shards.
”Exactly,” Eli said and nodded. ”Compressing it into a size he could carry around completely altered the spirit's form. Considering the color, he's probably had it like that for a very long time.” He frowned, and his next words were uncharacteristically gentle. ”It must have been very painful for the storm.”
”Well, if it hurt so much, why didn't the spirit just escape?” Josef said, leaning over to knock the gla.s.s dust out of his hair. ”I've never been clear on all this wizard talk, but a sandstorm's a lot bigger than he is. Couldn't it have just up and run?”
”It's not that simple,” Eli said. ”A sandstorm isn't a whole spirit to start with, not like other spirits. A rock, for example, has been a rock for a long time. It may have been part of a mountain in the past, but it's always been stone. The rock's spirit has a strong sense of ident.i.ty. It's fully developed. Sandstorms are different. They're born when air spirits and sand spirits rub each other the wrong way, kind of like a spirit brawl. As the sand is thrown up into the air, both spirits merge into one violent storm. Eventually, they blow their anger out and the sand falls back down, separating the spirits again, but while they're fighting, the sand and air spirits together are a sandstorm spirit. Believe me, neither side is very happy about it. Storms like that are impossible to talk to.
”Unfortunately,” Eli continued, ”storms like that are also very stupid. Both spirits are battling for control of the storm, so there's a lot of raw spirit power, but no control. That's probably why Renaud was able to dominate it so completely. It didn't have the presence of mind to resist.”
”So where is the storm now?” Josef said. ”Did he roll it back into a ball and take it with him?”
”No,” Eli said, shaking his head. ”If there's anything left, we're standing on it.” He nudged the sand gently with his foot, stirring up a small cloud of glitter. ”Once a spirit degrades that far, it's only good for one last blow. Renaud knew that, so he used the last of its self-control as a leash to sic it on us, and then left it to blow itself out, taking all the evidence of his double cross with it.” Eli ran his finger delicately over one of the long scars on the rock face. ”It would have worked too, if not for my brilliant plan.”
”Very brilliant,” Josef said stiffly, pressing his injured chest. ”Where's Renaud now, then?”
”Back at the palace, I'd say.” Eli nodded toward the spires that poked above the treetops, dark and flat against the evening sky. ”Princes who have just overthrown their brothers probably have better things to do than wait around for the likes of us. Maybe we should-”
He stopped as a strong wind blew across the clearing, swirling the loose gla.s.s dust into a biting whirlwind. Eli, Josef, and Nico huddled in the lee of the stone, trying not to breathe.
”Well, I think that does it,” Eli wheezed when the wind finally died down. ”Cowering in a gla.s.s dust bath with no gold, no king, and no easy way to get either. This is, officially, our worst job ever.”
”It was your idea,” Josef said. He dug out one of his spare bandages and tied it over his mouth. ”Here,” he said and handed one to Nico and another to Eli. ”Let's go.”
They secured the cloth over their faces and began their trek out of the dustbowl. It took much longer than it should have, for the dust was knee deep in places and so fine it got under their improvised masks within minutes, caking anywhere there was moisture. The b.l.o.o.d.y front of Josef's s.h.i.+rt was black with it, and even Nico grimaced when it got in her nose. The dusty circle was deathly silent. In the forest ahead, crickets chirped and evening birds called out, but inside the clearing the only sound was the shuffle of their feet sliding through the dust and the wheezing of their own labored breathing.
”Faster,” Eli mumbled, trying to speak without opening his mouth. They picked up the pace, and by the time they reached the forest's edge, they were almost running.
As soon as they reached the trees, they tore off their masks and collapsed panting on the ground.
”There should be a stream or something around here,” Eli said, spitting the dust out of his mouth. ”If I don't get this mess off me soon, I'll be Eli jerky.”
A leather canteen flew through the darkness and landed with a wet slap as his feet. Eli jumped back with a sound that was half obscenity, half squeal. Josef whirled in the direction the canteen had come from, blades out. In the last dim light, a pair of amused orange eyes flashed down from the shadows.
Eli recovered in the blink of an eye, slouching into a carefully nonchalant pose. ”How long were you waiting?”
”Long enough,” Miranda said, not fooled for a moment by his sudden cool att.i.tude. Below her, Gin choked back a laugh. ”You can call off your pet swordsman. My intentions are peaceful for the moment.”
Josef looked nonplussed at his new t.i.tle, but he put the knives away. Eli just grinned. ”Such a.s.surances!” He waved at the king sitting behind her. ”h.e.l.lo, Your Majesty! Couldn't live without us, could you?”
The king went scarlet and opened his mouth to protest, but Miranda cut him off. ”You will refrain from hara.s.sing King Henrith any further, Mr. Monpress.” Her voice would have frozen a boiling pot.
Eli gave her a wink and reached for the canteen. ”So, Miss Spiritualist, to what do we owe the honor of this peaceful chat?”
Miranda folded her arms over her chest. ”I want to know what your plans are for fixing this mess you've made.”
”I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about,” Eli said, and took a long drink. ”I'm just a thief.”
”Just a thief?” Miranda gave him an incredulous look. ”You kidnapped the king of a council kingdom.”
”I was going to give him back,” Eli said, splas.h.i.+ng a handful of water on his face. He took another swig and then pa.s.sed the canteen to Josef. ”Actually, that makes me better than a thief, since they don't normally return what they steal.” He grinned. ”I guess I'm moving up in the world.”
”I don't care what you were going going to do. I care about what you to do. I care about what you did did.” Miranda leaned forward, resting her elbow on Gin's forehead. ”Did it not cross your mind, even for a second, what kidnapping a king might do to his country?”
”For your information, I chose Henrith very carefully. How was I supposed to know he had a crazy wizard brother?”
”If you used half the time you spend talking on research, you would have known Mellinor's entire family tree,” Miranda snapped. ”Now, because of your shameful incompetence, that 'crazy wizard brother,' who also happens to be an enslaver and an attempted murderer, is in spitting distance of the throne, and it's All. Your. Fault.”
”Now hold on,” Eli said. ”You can't blame all that on me.”
”By the Powers, I can!” Henrith yelled. ”Everything was fine before you came! Even Renaud stayed in line. Then you appear and turn things upside down and expect us to let you walk away?”
Josef finished his swig and handed the canteen to Nico. ”I understand Dusty's concern.” He nodded to the king, who fumed. ”But I don't understand why you're involved.” He fixed his eyes on Miranda. ”You were sent here to catch Eli, right? So why aren't you attacking us and leaving the king to fend for himself? Mellinor doesn't even like wizards. Why should the Spirit Court care who's on the throne?”
”Because an enslaver king is bad for everyone,” Miranda said. ”He cannot be allowed to secure his power.”
”Seems to me like you've already got the answer to that.” Josef looked at the king.
”It's not that simple,” Miranda said. ”Renaud wouldn't take a chance on this brother surviving without some kind of cover. Henrith tells me that Renaud has probably already convinced the masters that anyone resembling Henrith who approaches the castle is a phantom I've summoned to trick them.”
”A phantom?” Eli cackled. ”Where did they get that that idea?” idea?”