The Spirit War(132)
“Excellent,” Eli said. “Show him in.”
The guard opened the door for an elderly man whose elegant jacket was cut short at the sleeves to show off his four large, jeweled rings. He stepped into the tower and stopped, casting disdainful looks at the soldiers huddled around the maps, particularly Josef.
“Spiritualist,” Eli said, shaking his hand. “How nice to meet you.”
“It’s Tower Keeper,” the old man said with a sniff, snatching his hand back. “Who are you? I was told the king wanted me.”
“The king doesn’t deal with ‘wizard things,’ ” Eli said with a smile. “He leaves those to me.”
He glanced pointedly down at Eli’s empty fingers. “And again I say, who are you?”
“We have a bit of a crisis on our hands here,” Eli said, ignoring the question. “I need you to send a message to Zarin.”
“Why?” the Tower Keeper said suspiciously. “What’s wrong with the Relay?”
“I’ve heard that Spiritualists have their own way of communicating with Zarin,” Eli said. “Outside the Relay.”
“Yes,” the old man said testily. “They’re called letters.”
“I’m not talking about letters,” Eli said. “I’m talking about emergency messages.” He stopped and looked around pointedly, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Look, chum, the Relay’s down and the Empress is about to fall on us like a hammer. We need to call for reinforcements immediately.”
“The Relay, down…” The Tower Keeper’s lined face turned ashy. “Powers, man, why didn’t you call the Council earlier?”
“If we could have, we would have,” Eli said. “If you Spiritualists have something up your sleeves, now’s the time to show it.”
“And I’m telling you we use letters!” the Tower Keeper cried. “An express courier switching horses can get a letter to Zarin in a day.”
Eli stared at him. “You’re kidding. The great and mighty Spirit Court uses couriers? That’s it? What about wind spirits?”
“Wind spirits?” the Tower Keeper said, aghast. “Do you know anything about wizardry? There aren’t five Spiritualists in the Court who’ve bound wind spirits. It’s not like I’m just keeping one in my pocket.”
Eli leaned back with a groan. “Please don’t tell me I had it good with Miranda.”
“Miranda?” The Tower Keeper jerked as though he’d stepped in something. “Lyonette? How do you know Banage’s favorite?”
“I can hardly seem to avoid her,” Eli said, ears perking up. “But why so bitter, Mr. Tower Keeper?”
“Bitter?” The man drew himself up to his full height. “Hardly, sir. Say what you like about our letters, but you’re the one out of touch if you haven’t heard that Banage’s turned traitor. He refused to help the Council fight the Empress and shut himself up in the Tower. I imagine Lyonette is in there with him, along with all the other traitors.”
Eli paused for a moment. “That is actually very interesting,” he said finally. “And not entirely surprising.” He sighed loudly. “Well, Mr. Tower Keeper, I’m afraid I’ve wasted your time. Thank you very much for coming. I’m sure someone will show you out.”
The Tower Keeper looked at Eli with utter confusion, but Eli just turned him around by the shoulder and pushed him toward the soldiers. “See he gets home safely!”
The soldiers saluted and began to escort the Tower Keeper down the stairs. The old man recovered his wits about three steps in and began protesting loudly that the prince had sent for him personally. That was all Eli heard before the door slammed shut.
He caught Josef’s eye and motioned him over.
Josef nodded to the admiral and stepped away from the map, joining Eli by the window. “Well?”
“No dice,” Eli said. “I keep forgetting what a gulf in power there can be between Spiritualists.”
“What about a broker?” Josef said. “They talk to each other, right?”
“Actually, that’s a phenomenal idea,” Eli said. “I never thought of using a broker to send information instead of finding it.” He thought for a few seconds and then shook his head. “If we had more time I’d try it, but brokers go to ground when trouble comes, and I’m not about to waste the few hours we have trying to root one out now.”
“What about Nico?” Josef said. “She can jump there.”
“Who’d believe the Daughter of the Dead Mountain?” Eli said, biting his lip. “There’s nothing for it. I’m just going to have to send a message myself.”