and make an entire fleet disappear with a single motion not two days ago.”
“Everyone has their time to shine,” Eli said, careful to keep his expression bored.
Sara saw right through him. “All you do is shine, or so I hear,” she said, smiling down at him as she swung her legs, clunking her low heels against the back of the desk. “You forget. I’ve been keeping tabs on you for years. I knew something was different about you almost from the beginning. Even if I hadn’t had a personal interest in you, the stories of your thefts were too grandiose to ignore. Even after accounting for the sort of exponential embellishment one expects in such tales, your exploits went far above even the flare for the dramatic you inherited from your father. And then there’s the matter of Miranda.”
Eli frowned. “Miranda?”
“Banage’s little pet is no slouch wizard,” Sara said grudgingly. “She has the loyalty of several very large spirits and the personal power to back that up, not to mention her unassailable dedication to the Court. The perfect apprentice for Etmon, truly.” Sara smiled brightly. “She’s the child he always wanted you to be.”
“How lucky for them,” Eli said, though the words came out more sulky than he’d meant. Thankfully, Sara didn’t seem to notice.
“When I first heard she was chasing you to Mellinor, I thought it was over,” she went on. “Other than Banage himself, Miranda’s the best the Court has to offer. But I was wrong. You ran circles around her, even to the point of convincing the Great Spirit Mellinor to move into her body.”
“You’ve got that bit backward,” Eli cut in. “She convinced me.”
“But you gave her the idea,” Sara countered. “No Spiritualist would ever think of using their own mortal shell to hold a spirit.”
When he didn’t deny it, Sara slid off her desk. “Almost from the moment of your birth, I knew you’d be a strong wizard,” she said, walking toward him. “How could you fail to be, with your parentage? But what you do goes beyond wizardry, Eliton. I can’t explain the way the world reacts to you, or how the spirits talk of you, when they’ll say anything at all.” She leaned over him, eyes flashing. “That sparks my curiosity.”
Sara reached out and touched his chin, gently lifting his head until he was looking at her. Eli let her move him, meeting her studying look with a flat glare.
“Something happened to you, didn’t it?” Sara said. “After you ran away, but before you became a thief. The signs were there from the first time I heard the name Eli Monpress, but Mellinor sealed it. You command Great Spirits like they’re pebbles. I want to know how you do it.”
“Easy,” Eli said breezily. “I ask. It’s amazing how obliging the world can be when you’re not being an overbearing, pompous jerk.”
“Really?” Sara said. “And did you just charm the Lord of Storms into letting you use his portals as you see fit?”
Eli shrugged. “The Lord of Storms is another matter, isn’t he?”
“I don’t think he is,” Sara said, straightening up to reach for her pipe again. “Something’s watching out for you, Eliton. Something bigger than any spirit, and that intrigues me greatly. So, I’m going to make you a deal.”
“A deal?” Eli asked, incredulous.
Sara just smiled as she blew the embers in her pipe back to life. “I may not have spent much time with you, but even I remember how you always did love a deal.”
“Go ahead then,” he said, smiling back. “Dazzle me.”
Sara gave him a droll look and took a fresh draw of smoke. “I’m prepared to offer you a clean slate,” she said after she’d blown the smoke at the ceiling. “Officially, you’ll be hung as a thief for your crimes against the noble members of the Council. This is a huge waste of time, but in order for Alber to keep his precious bounty system flowing, I’m afraid you have to die, at least in the public eye. It’s amazing how much of politics is nothing but theater.” She stopped for a long sigh. “Anyway, after the farce, you’ll come here and live with me as a part of my team. I’ll get you a nice salary, a suite in the citadel, and anything else you desire within reason. You’ll be an agent, not a prisoner, and you’ll answer only to me. Otherwise, you’ll have complete freedom within the Council.”
“That’s quite the large piece of bait,” Eli said. “What will it cost me?”
“Only the truth,” Sara answered. “I have dedicated my entire life to the study of spirits. What are they really? Why do humans have power over them? Why are we blind? So many questions, but no matter how hard I press, there are some things spirits won’t talk about. That’s where I think you can help me. I think you know the answers, or enough of them to point me in the right direction.”
“And that’s what you want?” Eli said. “Answers?”
“That’s it,” Sara said, nodding. “Help me, Eliton. Work with me. Tell me what you know and I’ll make all your problems with the Council go away. Together we might finally be able to unravel the mysteries that have held wizardry back, and who knows? You are my son, you might even enjoy it.”
“I doubt that,” Eli said, settling back into the chair again. “I don’t care much for work of any sort. But let me ask you a question, Sara. Supposing you’re right, and I am so greatly in the know, what’s to stop me from letting you fake my execution and just vanishing through a portal as soon as it’s done?”
Sara laughed. “Because, silly boy, you’re still here. If you could have escaped you would have done it ages ago.”
Eli’s smile grew wider. “And what if I’m bluffing?”
“Then you proved you care enough about me to bluff your way into this conversation,” Sara said. “And as much as such a thing would warm my heart, I’m not so blinded by mother love to think you’d waste your time on sentiment.”
Eli looked away. He didn’t have anything to say to that.
Sara took a final puff and tapped out her pipe in the bowl. “Either way, the offer stands,” she said, sliding the pipe into the pocket of her long jacket. “I don’t care about justice or restitution or any of that backward-looking nonsense. You could be the worst murderer in the Council and it wouldn’t matter a jot. All I want are answers. You don’t even have to stay here if you don’t want to. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll let you go free tonight.”
Eli almost laughed at that. “How lucky the Council is to have such a loyal servant. Would you open the Whitefall treasury for me as well?”
“If you wanted,” Sara said. “Don’t be mistaken, Eliton. The Council needs me far more than I need it. I have no qualms about doing whatever is needed in order to reach my goals.”
“I don’t doubt that for a moment,” Eli said. “Thank you for the generous offer, Sara, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline for the time being. Let me think it over in my cell for a bit and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
Sara scowled. “What makes you think this conversation is done?”
“Because I’m not going to give you anything,” Eli answered. “That means any further effort on your part would be a waste, and one of the few things I can remember about you is how much you deplore wasting your time.”
Sara’s mouth twitched. “Fair enough,” she said. “Sparrow!”
The door clicked open and Eli winced as a canary-yellow coat came into view.
“Mr. Monpress and I are done for the moment,” Sara said. “Could you escort him to his room?”
“My pleasure.” Sparrow leaned over and snatched up the rope that bound Eli’s hands. “Together again!” he said cheerily. “Do I have to drag you this time, or will you deign to walk?”
“I’ll walk, if it’s all the same to you,” Eli said, standing up. “It’s much easier now that Mellinor’s not trying to drown me.”
“I’m sure,” Sparrow said. He smiled at Sara and turned Eli around, marching them out of the office. The last thing Eli saw was Sara reaching for the box of blue Relays on her desk before the heavy door closed, blocking her off completely.
Sparrow gave him a little shove, and Eli picked up the pace. As they walked across the broad wooden platform, he arched his neck to get a good look at the details he’d missed on the way down. They were at the center of a large cavern below the Council Citadel. It was almost certainly not natural. He’d never seen a cave with walls this straight, but there were no chisel marks on the stone. Wizard-made, then, he realized with a low whistle. He’d thought only Shapers could craft things this large. Sara had been busy indeed.
But high as the ceiling was, Eli wasn’t even standing on the floor. Sparrow was leading them down a
