The Spirit Rebellion(62)

She was still staring when the sound of something heavy landing in the sand behind her made her spin around. Gin crouched behind her, panting as if he’d run the whole cliff line. “What’s going on? What was that enormous wind?”

“Wasn’t it amazing?” Eril said before Miranda could even open her mouth. “It was one of the great winds who serve the west. I’ve never met a wind so large!”

“What was a great wind doing here?” Gin growled, glaring at the sky.

“Trying to give us a job,” Eril said, whirling so that his words blasted into Miranda’s face. “I can’t believe you turned him down! Illir is the greatest of the Wind Lords, and you passed up the chance to do him a personal favor?”

“Wait, what?” Gin looked at the wind. “What kind of job?”

“One we’re not taking,” Miranda said firmly, sending a poke of power at Eril. “If it had been anywhere else, maybe, but there isn’t a spirit in the world who could make me go to Gaol.”

As she was saying this, Eril was talking under her in a frantic rush, filling Gin in on the particulars of Lelbon’s request. Gin listened, the fur on his back standing up in a ridge by the time the wind finished.

“Is it true?” he said, orange eyes flashing as he looked at Miranda. “You turned down a plea of help from a spirit who sought you out?”

“Don’t look at me like that!” Miranda shouted. “I didn’t make us fugitives to turn around and walk straight into Hern’s backyard! Would you have me make everything we went through in Zarin worthless?”

“Better than making your entire career as a Spiritualist worthless!” Gin shouted back. “We are your spirits, Miranda. We serve you because we believe in you. The Miranda I follow would never turn down a spirit’s plea for help.”

“Weren’t you listening to anything I’ve said?” Miranda cried. “Master Banage—”

“Banage would never forgive a Spiritualist who turned her back on her oath to the spirits in order to serve the Court.” Gin was snarling now. “And you know it.”

“That’s not fair!” Miranda said. “This isn’t that simple!”

“Isn’t it?” Gin growled, turning away. “You told me not too long ago that there was right and there was wrong, and no amount of words could bridge the gap between the two. Maybe it’s time you considered your own words, and what those prized oaths of yours really mean.”

With that, the dog took off down the beach. Miranda could only stare after him, fuming. She felt Eril slide back into his pendant, curling back into place with a long, disappointed sigh, leaving her alone on the long, thin stretch of rocky beach. Suddenly too tired to go back into the cave, Miranda sat down in the sand, digging her bare feet under the smooth rocks and staring out at the pounding waves.

To serve the spirits, to protect them from harm, to uphold their well-being above all else, that was the oath all Spiritualists took the day they received their first ring. Miranda looked down at the heavy gold ring on the middle finger of her left hand, tracing the smooth, perfect circle stamped deep into the soft metal. It was supposed to represent the circle of connection between all things, from the smallest spirits to the greatest kings, and the Spirit Court’s duty to promote balance within that connection.

The ocean spray blew her hair wild around her face as she turned to look where Gin had gone. Balance and duty, right and wrong. Even as she thought about it, she could almost feel Banage’s disdainful look. After all, Banage’s deep voice echoed in her head. What greater shame could there be for the Spirit Court than a Spiritualist who turned her back on a spirit in need?

She reached into her pocket and took out the flat, folded square of colored paper Lelbon had given her. She turned it carefully, unfolding the delicate paper again and again until she held nearly four feet of colorful tissue streaked with reds, greens, and golds in her hands. There was nothing written on it, no note, no instructions, but when she reached the center of the square, the paper ended in a sharp point tied to a long string. Feeling a bit silly, Miranda stood up, careful to hold the fluttering paper out of the water. She walked to the edge of the beach and released the paper into the wind. It whipped up, colored streamer flapping as it soared into the sky, anchored by the string Miranda wrapped around her fingers. For a long moment the colored kite danced in the sea wind, dipping and bobbing. Then, without warning, a wind snatched the kite out of her hand. The bright, colored paper flew up into the sky, turning little cartwheels as the wind blew it off, dancing and dipping westward, over the sea.