The Spirit Thief(57)

Nico shook her head. “Eli needs them for his plan, and things like that stopped bothering me long ago, after you found me.” She reached into her coat and pulled out a clean shirt, which she held out to the swordsman.

Josef took it and pulled it over his head, ignoring the pain in his chest. “I’ll talk to Eli about it, then. You shouldn’t have to put up with that idiocy just so he can get another ten thousand on his bounty.”

“I’d put up with more for less,” Nico said. She caught his eye and gave him one of her rare smiles. “The higher we make his bounty, the better the bounty hunters get. Soon you’ll have the kind of fights you’ve been searching for.”

“Fights seem to find us no matter what Eli’s bounty is,” Josef grumbled, but he was grinning when he looked at her. “Still, that Coriano and his awakened blade will be a challenge worth remembering. If the higher bounty attracts more of that sort of opponent, all of this stomping around in the woods will be worth it.” He paused. “Which isn’t to say I’ll agree to another of your idiot kidnapping ideas, Monpress.”

He turned around and folded his arms over his chest. A moment later, Eli stepped out of the underbrush with an enormous sigh.

“Too much suspicion will lead to an early grave,” he said, strolling over to stand beside Nico.

“I would argue it’s the other way around,” Josef said. “So, did you need something, or did you just come out here to bother us?”

Eli made a great show of looking hurt. “For your information, I came out to see if you were all right. Nico was still putting your chest back together when I drifted off last night, so when you weren’t in the hut when I woke up, I decided to investigate. Now I’m glad I did. What’s this about an awakened blade?”

Josef plunged the Heart of War into the soft ground and leaned on it. “The swordsman I fought had an awakened blade.”

“Must be a good one considering it put a hole in your tough hide,” Eli said. “Good thing yours is better. We’ll make short work of him if we see him again.”

“I’m not going to use the Heart,” Josef said solemnly.

“Josef, not this again,” Eli groaned. “You’re the swordsman; you decide how you fight. I respect that, but every time you get this way, half your blood ends up on the ground. If things go down the way they’re looking like they will, we’re going to have to make a quick exit, and that’s hard enough without Nico having to drag your sword-riddled carcass across the countryside. The Heart of War chose you for a reason, and it wasn’t to get carted around the world on a strap. Can’t you just smash the swordsman and take the easy win for once in your life?”

“An easy win is meaningless,” Josef growled. “If I’m going to get stronger, I have to defeat Coriano on my own, the right way.”

“Nonsense!” Eli smiled. “We think you’re plenty strong already, don’t we, Nico?”

Nico stared at him. “Do you think your bounty is plenty high?”

Eli’s grin faded. “Point taken.” He shook his head. “Fine, do whatever you want. Just don’t do something stupid like die on us, all right?”

Josef snorted. “Who do you think I am?”

“For the sake of our friendship, I’m not going to answer that.” Eli met Josef’s glare with a wry grin. “Now, I’m going back to the hut to mind our guests. Can you two handle getting the costumes?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Josef said, pulling his iron sword out of the ground and resting it on his shoulder. “The real question is, will the Spiritualist follow orders?”

“Oh, yes,” Eli said, nodding. “She’s in this neck deep now. When Renaud showed his true colors, he put her duty to Spirit Court doctrines on the line. She’d break just about any law to keep her oaths to the spirits. So while she may try and moralize us to death, I think we can count on her not to flub the plan.”

“Just make sure you actually have a plan this time,” Josef called as he walked back toward the hut for the rest of his weapons.

Eli folded his arms over his chest, glaring at the swordsman’s bandaged back. “Do you believe that?” he grumbled. “And after all the scrapes I’ve gotten him out of.”

Nico shrugged. “With all the scrapes you get him into, I think it works out about even.”

“Don’t you start, too,” Eli sighed. “In the year you’ve been with us, have I ever let us down? Don’t you trust me yet?”

“Josef trusts you,” Nico said, starting toward the hut as well. “That’s enough for me.”