Free Spirit's Oath by Rachel Aaron Page A

sort of woman you push around. Have a nice wedding.”
    Gin growled as she finished, slamming his nose into Hapter’s chest so hard the man fell. For a moment, Miranda was afraid Gin would forget that killing Hapter wasn’t part of the deal, but the dog turned away and began running full tilt down the drive.
    “Thank you for not killing him,” Miranda said.
    Gin gave a loud snort that could have meant anything. “So, where to now?”
    “Home,” Miranda said, pointing across the fields toward Zarin.
    Gin picked up the pace, shooting across the fields so fast Miranda had to cling to his fur for dear life. After a few minutes, though, she got the hang of it. Finger by finger, she released her death grip, and then she lifted her hands out to her sides, throwing back her head with a laugh as Gin flew over the green hills toward the white towers of Zarin rising in the distance.
     
    * * *
     
    One month later
    “How many pigs can you eat?” Miranda said, leaning on the fence that was the only thing separating the world at large from the slaughter currently going down in the Spirit Court’s butcher yard.
    “I don’t know,” Gin said, eyeing the next squealing pig in the paddock. “How many do you have?”
    Miranda made a disgusted face and turned to Rector Banage, who was dressed for traveling and leaning patiently on the fence beside her. “I’m so sorry, Master Banage,” she said. “We’ll get on the road as soon as my glutton of a dog is full.”
    “A few more minutes won’t hurt,” Banage said. “We’re just going to confirm the death of an Enslaver and the freeing of his spirits, not to chase him down. If there weren’t so many spirits involved, I’d have left it to the local Tower Keeper.”
    “He won’t be long,” Miranda promised, glaring at Gin. “Will he?”
    Gin’s answer was a low growl as he started on his next pig.
    Miranda shuddered and turned away. “I will never get used to that.”
    “The price of keeping a predator,” Banage said sagely, glancing up. “I wonder what he wants?”
    Miranda glanced up as well to see Spiritualist Krigel coming toward them, a large, formal-looking envelope in his hand.
    “Oh, good,” he said when he reached them. “I thought I’d missed you. A letter just came for you, Spiritualist Lyonette.”
    Miranda frowned. “For me?” She never got letters, especially not such elegant looking ones.
    Krigel nodded and handed it over. The seal was that of the Council, and Miranda felt her stomach drop. Council letters were never good. She opened it quickly and pulled out a large stack of papers. There were so many, she wasn’t actually sure what she held in her hands until she caught sight of her father’s name at the top of a large, formal certificate.
    “I think I’ve been disowned,” she said, squinting at the elegant, slanted writing. “Yes, here it is.” She tapped the second sheet of the stack. “They’ve crossed me off the family register.”
    “Miranda.” Master Banage’s voice was gentle. “I can handle this trip myself. If you want some time—”
    Miranda didn’t let him finish. She folded the papers back up and tossed them in the rubbish bin beside the butcher’s shed.
    “I knew it was coming,” she said, dusting off her hands as she turned back to her master and Spiritualist Krigel. “I mean, I defied my father, made fools of my fiancé and my family, and trashed a very expensive party. What else could they do?”
    “But it is your family,” Banage said.
    “My family is right here,” Miranda said. “And if I had the chance, I’d do it all again. Don’t worry, Master Banage. I don’t mind being disowned because I didn’t care for being owned in the first place. I’ll take being a Spiritualist over being a Lyonette any day.” Especially since the only family she actually cared for wasn’t a Lyonette any more. Tima was a Whitefall, and Whitefalls could mix with whomever they wanted. But even if Tima had been unmarried,