“Wizard,” the deep, deep voice shook the castle to its foundations, making little waves in the freezing shallows the throne room had become. “Thank you for freeing me from Gregorn’s legacy. You have saved me from a life of madness and servitude, and I owe you a great debt. To show my appreciation, I will hold back my waters until you and your companions have escaped.”
Miranda stared at the water, dumbfounded. “Hold back your waters?” She looked down at the shallow river lapping at her feet. “Spirit,” she whispered. “Who are you?”
The castle trembled again as the water chuckled, sending little waves splashing against her calves. “I forget,” he rumbled. “My imprisonment has been a long time by my reckoning, but how much longer is it for you humans, with your lives like mayflies? Very well, as another part of my thanks, I will give you my name.” The pillar of water twisted and brightened until its light banished the shadows from the room. “I am Mellinor, spirit of the inland sea.”
CHAPTER 26
The inland sea…” Miranda’s voice wavered.
“All of this land was once my basin,” the spirit rumbled. “From the foothills of the mountains to what is now desert, it was all mine. Until that man came.” The water’s light turned a deep, angry blue. “Though he trapped me deep in the cold stone and stinging salt, I remembered sunlight and moonlight, the wind on my waves, and the madness did not take me.” His voice trembled, and the water began to flow more quickly. “Now, thanks to you, I shall feel the sun and wind again. I shall retake what was stolen, and, after so long alone, my waters shall lap against my shores once more.”
“An inland sea,” Miranda said again. She looked up at the brilliant spirit, shaking to her toes with something that had nothing to do with the freezing water covering her feet. Now she understood how this spirit could have overpowered even the great Gregorn, and why the famous enslaver had used his own life to keep it trapped. The pillar of water floating over the ruined dais was no common spirit that could be trapped in a ring or compressed into a ball. This was the glowing heart of a Great Spirit, one of the masters of the spirit world. Miranda swallowed against the lump in her throat. A Great Spirit who wanted its land back.
“Wait!” Miranda stumbled forward. “Great Spirit Mellinor, wait. Mellinor, that is, the kingdom Mellinor, which now lies in your basin, is home to thousands of people. Millions of spirits have made homes there since you were trapped four hundred years ago. If you reclaim your land, then all of those people and spirits will drown.”
“And what concern is that to me?” Mellinor rumbled. “If it was not for that enslaver, those spirits would never have taken root here. They should be grateful for the time they had.”
“I know Gregorn did you wrong,” Miranda cried. “If I could undo your imprisonment, I would, believe me! But those people, those spirits are innocent! Please, you can’t just drown them!”
“Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, wizard!” The spirit’s deep voice was choppy with rage, and the column of water swelled into a breaking wave. “I take no more orders from your kind,” the water roared, and Miranda braced for impact.
“Now, just a moment.” Eli stepped in front of Miranda, hands in his pockets. His voice was bland and casual, but something in his tone was enough to stop the wave in midcrash. “Is that any way to talk to the Spiritualist who risked her own life to free you?”
The water retreated a bit. “And who are you to defend her?”
“Just a common thief who doesn’t like the idea of drowning.” Eli smiled. “But this girl here”—he slapped Miranda on the shoulder—“she teamed up with her enemies, disobeyed her orders, and stuck out her own neck, all to keep Gregorn’s descendant from enslaving you. Now,” he said, arching an eyebrow, “don’t you think you should at least hear her out?”
The wave fell a bit, almost as if it was embarrassed. “Very well,” it gurgled. “She may speak.”
Eli nodded and nudged Miranda forward. For her part, Miranda was too shocked to do much besides gape.
“You can’t talk to a Great Spirit like that,” she hissed when Eli nudged her again.
“I just did,” Eli whispered. “Now you’d better do your part, or we’re all in the drink.” He pushed her hard, and she stumbled out right in front of the wall of water.
She straightened up, squinting into the blinding light. The spirit loomed over her, and she wished more than anything she had not left her rings behind. Even if her spirits’ powers were nothing to the sea before her, maybe they would at least have some idea how to talk to it.