The Spirit Thief(39)

“What’s the matter, enslaver?” Miranda crowed from behind the wall of flame. “Weren’t you going to put your boot on his neck?”

If Renaud answered, it was lost in Kirik’s crackling laughter. Grinning triumphantly, Miranda raised her voice to command the attack.

Just before she spoke the words, the prince fell to his knees. Miranda squinted against Kirik’s bright light. No, Renaud hadn’t fallen; he’d sunk up to his thighs in the sandy ground. As she watched, more sand poured up his chest, pinning his arms and pulling him toward the ground. He struggled frantically, but for every handful of sand he tossed away, five more took its place. Within seconds he was buried up to his shoulders, completely trapped in the shifting, buzzing ground.

“So sorry,” said a smug voice.

Miranda whirled around, her eyes wide and astonished as a gangly, dark-haired figure stepped out of the dust. “Can’t have any of that.” He snapped his fingers and a torrent of water shot up from the ground at his feet.

Miranda had no time to react, no time to do anything except stare stupidly as the water arched through the air and struck her fire spirit full on. Kirik roared and steamed, but there was nothing he could do against the endless deluge. The column of flame shrank to an ember in the space of a breath, and Miranda barely managed to pull him back into his ring before the water extinguished him altogether.

For the next few moments, Miranda was so furious she couldn’t do more than sputter and clutch the dimly glowing ruby on her thumb. When she did find her voice, however, she made up for lost time.

“What do you think you are doing?!” she roared so violently that even Gin flinched back.

Eli raised his hands. “Easy, Lady Spiritualist, I couldn’t let you bake him just yet. You see”—he glared down at Renaud, still pinned by the dirt—“this man still owes me some money.”

If possible, Miranda looked even angrier. “He tried to kill his brother, enslaved my spirit, threatened the entire spirit world, and you’re worried about money?”

“Of course.” Eli looked at her innocently. “I’m a thief. What else is there for me to worry about?”

“You could start worrying about your hide,” she growled, “because I’m about to flay it off you.”

“Charming!” Eli said, grinning. “But give me two seconds first. I need to make a point.” He crouched down in the dirt beside Renaud. “Hello, Lord Whoever-You-Are. I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, but I’m Eli Monpress, the greatest thief in the world.”

Eli put his arm around Renaud’s sand-covered shoulder. “I’m going to let you in on a secret. I didn’t get to be the greatest thief in the world by letting hack wizards like you cheat me out of my hard-earned money. However, I’m a generous man, so I’m going to offer you a choice: Either you give me my money or I take it from you. Now, while five thousand may seem like a hefty sum, please take my word on this”—he smiled sweetly—“you don’t want me in your treasury.”

Renaud’s eyes widened. “Aren’t you the pair?” he said, spitting the sand out of his mouth. “The thief and the officer of the Spirit Court working together.”

“We’re not together!” Miranda shouted. “Enough of this nonsense! Gin, bite the thief’s head off.”

Gin charged forward, but all he got was a mouthful of sand as the ground in front of Eli sprang up to protect him.

“An impressive spirit, Mr. Monpress,” Miranda said as Gin coughed up dirt.

“Oh, it’s not mine,” Eli said, grinning. “This particular stretch of ground was getting frustrated that a certain Spiritualist’s wind spirit was whipping bits of it up into the air. I simply offered to help it stop the wind if it helped me.”

Miranda stared at him in disbelief. “You offered? What, you mean you just had a chat with the ground, without opening your spirit or having a servant spirit to mediate, and it listened, just like that?”

Eli shrugged. “More or less.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she scoffed. “You can’t just sit down and talk to the ground.”

“Some of us don’t need slaves or servants to get things done,” he said.

Miranda sputtered, but Renaud burst out laughing. Miranda and Eli both turned to stare at him, but the prince paid no mind, laughing until he was nearly choking on the sandy dirt.

“That’s it?” he said when he could speak again. “That’s the famous Eli’s great secret that every bounty hunter is after? You just asked?”