As soon as they were all bunched together, the trap sprang.
CHAPTER 11
T he ground erupted at their feet, sprouting four enormous walls that grew ten feet before they could react. At first, the walls appeared to be made of dirt, but as soon as they reached their full height, the dirt shifted and became solid, slick stone, caging them in on all sides save for a tiny, open square of sky at the very top. Then, as suddenly as the walls had grown, they stopped, leaving the king and his kidnappers squashed together like fish in a square, stone barrel.
“Eli,” Josef whispered. “Please tell me this is one of your spirits.”
“No such luck,” came a voice from above. A shadow fell over them, and the captives looked up to see a red-headed woman smirking down through the opening.
“Eli Monpress,” she said, “I am Spiritualist Miranda Lyonette. You are hereby under arrest by order of the Rector Spiritualis, Etmon Banage, for the improper use of spirits, treason against the Spirit Court, and, mostrecently, the kidnapping of King Henrith of Mellinor. You will surrender your spirits and come quietly.”
“Now wait a minute,” Eli yelled up at her. “Treason against the Spirit Court? Don’t you have to be a member of something to commit treason against it? I don’t recall ever joining your little social club.”
The woman arched her eyebrow. “The Spirit Court preserves the balance between human and spirit. When you used your abilities to ruin the reputation of all wizards by turning to a flamboyant life of crime, you committed treason against all spirits and the humans who care for them. Does that answer your question?”
“Not really,” Eli said.
“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about it later,” Miranda said, smirking. “Will you surrender the king and come quietly, or must I ask Durn here to march you all the way to the Spirit Court’s door?”
The stone prison jerked several feet to the left, knocking its occupants in a pile on the dusty ground.
“You make a strong argument, Lady Miranda,” Eli said, untangling himself from the king. “But I’m afraid there’s a slight problem.”
“Oh?” Miranda leaned forward.
“You see, we already had his royal dustiness here order his people to write a letter pledging thirty-five thousand gold toward my bounty. You know how the Council is; they never go back on something once it’s been through the system, so you must agree it would be frightfully rude of me to just go off with you and forfeit all of Mellinor’s money to the Spirit Court, especially considering the country’s general aversion to practitioners of the magical arts.”
“I fail to see how that is my concern, Mr. Monpress.”Miranda waved her hand dismissively. “Why don’t we wait and ask the Rector Spiritualis what he thinks?”
“Ah,” Eli said. “That sounds lovely. Unfortunately, I must refuse. You see, I have a pressing prior obligation to take his highness home and pick up a rather disgusting amount of money.”
“You might find that difficult, considering the circumstances,” Miranda said, patting the wall below her. “I don’t know how you charm your spirits, sir, but Durn here only answers to me, and he says you’re coming with us.”
“Really?” Eli rapped his knuckles against the hard stone. “Let’s see if he won’t have a change of heart. Nico, if you would?”
Nico nodded and stretched out her hand, pressing her long fingers delicately against the stone wall. For a moment, nothing happened. Then her eyes flashed under the shadow of her hat, and the wall beneath her fingers began to vanish. Not pull back, not crumble, but vanish, as if it had never been there to begin with.
After that, things happened very quickly. The stone walls of the prison collapsed with a thundering scream, falling over in an avalanche of rubble, including the wall Miranda had been so confidently perched on only seconds before. Suddenly without purchase, the female
CHAPTER 11
T he ground erupted at their feet, sprouting four enormous walls that grew ten feet before they could react. At first, the walls appeared to be made of dirt, but as soon as they reached their full height, the dirt shifted and became solid, slick stone, caging them in on all sides save for a tiny, open square of sky at the very top. Then, as suddenly as the walls had grown, they stopped, leaving the king and his kidnappers squashed together like fish in a square, stone barrel.
“Eli,” Josef whispered. “Please tell me this is one of your spirits.”
“No such luck,” came a voice from above. A shadow fell over them, and the captives looked up to see a red-headed woman smirking down through the opening.
“Eli Monpress,” she said, “I am Spiritualist Miranda Lyonette. You are hereby under arrest by order of the Rector Spiritualis, Etmon Banage, for the improper use of spirits, treason against the Spirit Court, and, mostrecently, the kidnapping of King Henrith of Mellinor. You will surrender your spirits and come quietly.”
“Now wait a minute,” Eli yelled up at her. “Treason against the Spirit Court? Don’t you have to be a member of something to commit treason against it? I don’t recall ever joining your little social club.”
The woman arched her eyebrow. “The Spirit Court preserves the balance between human and spirit. When you used your abilities to ruin the reputation of all wizards by turning to a flamboyant life of crime, you committed treason against all spirits and the humans who care for them. Does that answer your question?”
“Not really,” Eli said.
“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about it later,” Miranda said, smirking. “Will you surrender the king and come quietly, or must I ask Durn here to march you all the way to the Spirit Court’s door?”
The stone prison jerked several feet to the left, knocking its occupants in a pile on the dusty ground.
“You make a strong argument, Lady Miranda,” Eli said, untangling himself from the king. “But I’m afraid there’s a slight problem.”
“Oh?” Miranda leaned forward.
“You see, we already had his royal dustiness here order his people to write a letter pledging thirty-five thousand gold toward my bounty. You know how the Council is; they never go back on something once it’s been through the system, so you must agree it would be frightfully rude of me to just go off with you and forfeit all of Mellinor’s money to the Spirit Court, especially considering the country’s general aversion to practitioners of the magical arts.”
“I fail to see how that is my concern, Mr. Monpress.”Miranda waved her hand dismissively. “Why don’t we wait and ask the Rector Spiritualis what he thinks?”
“Ah,” Eli said. “That sounds lovely. Unfortunately, I must refuse. You see, I have a pressing prior obligation to take his highness home and pick up a rather disgusting amount of money.”
“You might find that difficult, considering the circumstances,” Miranda said, patting the wall below her. “I don’t know how you charm your spirits, sir, but Durn here only answers to me, and he says you’re coming with us.”
“Really?” Eli rapped his knuckles against the hard stone. “Let’s see if he won’t have a change of heart. Nico, if you would?”
Nico nodded and stretched out her hand, pressing her long fingers delicately against the stone wall. For a moment, nothing happened. Then her eyes flashed under the shadow of her hat, and the wall beneath her fingers began to vanish. Not pull back, not crumble, but vanish, as if it had never been there to begin with.
After that, things happened very quickly. The stone walls of the prison collapsed with a thundering scream, falling over in an avalanche of rubble, including the wall Miranda had been so confidently perched on only seconds before. Suddenly without purchase, the female
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