“The only spirit I trust him with is Mellinor,” Miranda said through gritted teeth. “He’s not leaving my sight. And don’t call me dearest.”
“She can get very touchy,” Eli said, his voice somewhat burbled by the watery prison sloshing at his chin.
Sparrow gave him a dashing smile. “The greatest thief in the world. It is quite the honor to meet you, Mr. Monpress.”
Eli grinned back. Miranda glowered and snapped her fingers, giving Mellinor a nudge that sent Eli’s head back underwater.
“Don’t encourage him,” she said pointedly.
She let Eli bubble a bit before bringing him up again. “I told you,” she said quietly, glaring down at the thief. “You’re here because I can’t leave you alone, not because we like your company, so keep your big mouth closed.” She straightened up, pushing a stray curl out of her face. “Honestly, what part of ‘prisoner’ don’t you understand?”
“Oh, I understand,” Eli said with a wet grin. “I’ve just never been in agreement with the concept.”
Miranda rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, or stick him underwater again, the iron gate rattled as Izo entered the room. He was dressed far finer than before, with a scarlet silk jacket over polished chain mail and a black cape edged extravagantly in gold thread. Miranda grimaced. He looked like every tacky minor lord in the Council district of Zarin, which was probably his intent. He was grinning like a cat as he stalked over to his chair, flanked on one side by the thin man in black, Sezri, and on the other by the enormous brawler with the ever- present cape over his shoulders, the man called Sted.
“Well,” Izo said, settling down into his throne. “Well, well, well. Let it not be said that Izo doesn’t deliver. Monpress kneels before me while his pet swordsman lies unconscious in my infirmary. I hope you understand now, friends, the power of the Bandit King. I have given you the uncatchable thief on a platter, as promised. Now we’ll discuss the details of how you mean to hold up your end of the bargain.”
Miranda started to point out how they had been the ones doing the actual catching, but Sparrow cut her off.
“Of course,” he said, “we could not have asked for a better outcome, and the Council always keeps its bargains. We will leave for Zarin first thing tomorrow, and I will return personally to hand you your invitation to the Council within the month, King Izo.”
Sparrow looked up, obviously expecting a smile at this new title, but Izo wasn’t smiling. He lounged back on his throne, his eyes lidded and dark as he looked Sparrow over.
“No, no, pretty messenger bird,” Izo said slowly. “That’s not how this works. I may be king, but I’ll always be a bandit, and bandits don’t get to be kings by blindly trusting the word of Council dogs. No member of the Monpress party leaves my camp until I have the writ from the Council acknowledging my kingship in my hand.”
“My lord,” Sparrow said, his voice buttery and soft. “That’s simply not possible. It would take two weeks at least for me to return to Zarin. Without Monpress, it could take months to convince the Council to act, even for someone as connected as Sara.”
“Then I will keep him for months,” Izo said. “But he’s not going anywhere until I get my price.”
“That’s unacceptable,” Miranda said. “Every moment the thief spends outside of the Spirit Court’s full security is a chance for him to escape. This isn’t some cat burglar you can just lock in a cell. This is Eli Monpress we’re talking about, the man who broke into, and escaped from, the great citadel of Gaol. Even if I stayed in your camp to guard him, I couldn’t promise I could keep him safely bound for months. If he doesn’t leave for Zarin immediately, we could all lose.”
“Miranda,” Eli said gently, “I’m touched. Praise from you is praise indeed.”
Miranda waved her hand, and Mellinor’s water went over Eli’s head again. She held it there until his face was blue. “Shut up,” she muttered, keeping her eyes on Izo. The Bandit King was leaning on his throne, scratching his scarred chin thoughtfully.
“I understand your complaint, Spiritualist,” he said. “But my terms stand. Monpress goes nowhere until he is paid for. If you want to get him back to Zarin, I suggest you convince your Council to move quickly.”
Sparrow smiled. “May I have a moment to discuss this with my colleague?”
Izo shrugged and waved his hand. Sparrow bowed in thanks before grabbing Miranda’s arm and dragging her back to the gate.
“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” he whispered harshly, though the calm smile never left his face.
“But we have to get Eli out of here,” Miranda whispered back.
“Yes,” Sparrow said. “And now he knows that. Never give information away, Miranda. Fortunately, the deal he just offered isn’t bad. Eli is still only one half of this operation. If you stay to make sure he remains caught, there’s a good chance you’ll come into contact with Slorn at some point. I’m going to take his deal to Zarin. You and Tesset will stay here. With Tesset doing the hunting, Slorn should be in hand by the time I get back, and then we can all leave together with our missions complete.”
“No,” Miranda said. “You’re not listening. If we wait, Eli will escape. I’ve caught him twice before, Sparrow. He’s slipperier than Zarin’s bookkeeping. I’ve put aside too much and worked too hard to accept a risk like this.”
“This is a negotiation, Miranda,” Sparrow said, and though his pleasant expression never changed, his voice was starting to sound annoyed. “You don’t get to just make demands. Sted has most of the cards. We have to compromise. Stay here, keep the thief underwater, look for Slorn, and I’ll be back in a month. Everything else is details.”
Miranda glared at the floor. He didn’t understand that this whole situation was going to fall apart if it depended on keeping Eli caught. But before she could think of another way to explain things, Eli spoke up, his voice ringing loud and clear through the throne room.
“What about my swordsman?”
Eli smiled smugly as everyone turned to look at him. “My head may be worth more than some kings see in a lifetime,” he said, “but Josef carries the Heart of War. The Head Wizard of the Council is a collector of oddities, isn’t she? She would never forgive you if you let the greatest awakened blade ever created go without a fight.”
Sted lurched forward, but Izo’s voice stopped him.
“The sword is already spoken for.”
Eli’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Is that so? King Izo, you’re a cleverer bargainer than I gave you credit for, keeping the best prize safely off the table.”
“Will you shut up?” Miranda hissed, knocking Eli down with a wave of water.
“That’s because it’s not Izo’s to give!” Sted roared. “Liechten and the Heart were promised to me!”
“Sted!” Now it was Izo’s turn to shout. He glared down from his throne at the enormous man, red-faced with rage. “Everything in my domain is mine to give if I please! I am king here!” He whirled to face Sparrow. “I’ll make you another deal. You need the thief out quickly? Fine, I’d rather not wait to be king. I know you have a Relay link on you that allows you to talk directly to your mistress in Zarin. Tell her that she can have everything— Monpress, the Heart of whatever, freedom to hunt down your rogue wizard, everything, if Merchant Prince Whitefall himself comes up to welcome me as an equal to the Council by the next full moon.”
“Merchant Prince Whitefall?” Miranda almost laughed out loud. “You want the Head of the Council of Thrones, the Grand Marshal of Zarin, to come here? Have you lost your little bandit mind?”
“No,” Izo said coldly. “But you will lose your Spiritualist tongue if you speak to me that way again.”
Miranda bristled, but snapped her mouth shut when Sparrow’s hand grabbed and nearly crushed her arm.
“Forgive my companion,” Sparrow said, his voice honeyed and dripping with sincerity. “She is a Spiritualist and a native of Zarin, and as such suffers from an overinflated sense of importance.” Miranda shot him a sharp look, and the grip on her arm tightened until she could no longer feel her fingers before he let go.
“It’s late,” Sparrow said. “Minds are tired and tempers are running short. I will bring your offer to my mistress and have an answer for you by morning. Thank you so much for your generous hospitality, King Izo.”
He bowed genteelly and turned on his heel, marching out of the hall. Miranda followed a second later, dragging Eli behind her. The thief went with a bemused grin on his face and a little wink at Sted, who was in the
