The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(32)

“And I would think many spells require at least some basic understanding of the language,” Gala said, looking at Blaise, “to change the variables and so on.”

“Yes, indeed,” Blaise confirmed, and moved on to the demonstration of the spell itself. Just thinking about the way sorcerers tried to keep this knowledge to themselves made him furious.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he pulled out a blank card and started writing, explaining every word and symbol along the way. Here, at least, he could make a difference by teaching sorcery to someone who needed it.

The spell he chose to demonstrate was a simple one. It would just burn some of the dried bushes near them. When he was done, he slid the finished card into the stone.

As expected, the bush to his right flared up, burning quickly in the dry air of the canyon.

It was Liva’s turn next.

Blaise watched as she carefully wrote out her spell, changing the variables to target a different bush. At first, it looked like she wasn’t going to provide enough kinetic energy for the bush to ignite, but then she caught her omission and fixed it before feeding the cards into the stone.

Within seconds, the targeted bush caught on fire as well, causing the older woman to squeal in excitement. Gala clapped, and Blaise grinned at them, pleased with his students’ progress.

“Now let me try,” Gala said, clearly eager to get started, and Blaise handed her the writing implements. To his surprise, the code that she began writing was different from what he had taught them. Apparently she had decided to improvise. While she was busy, Blaise surreptitiously wrote out a protection spell for Liva and himself, just in case anything went wrong.

When Gala was finished with her code, Blaise looked over her cards. He was pretty sure he knew what would happen when the spell was cast, but he was still glad for the protection around them. “Go ahead,” he told Gala, and watched as she fed the cards into the Stone.

The targeted plant started to smolder, slowly and gracefully, one branch at a time. The pattern of this fire was unusually complex. Somehow Gala had managed to raise the temperature of the bush in parts, focusing on branches of specific length and dryness. And then, in what seemed like a coordinated way, the entire plant burst into flames.

“Beautiful,” Liva said, looking deeply impressed.

“Amazing,” Blaise agreed, echoing her sentiment.

“Thank you.” Gala’s cheeks glowed at their praise.

They kept discussing written spells until Liva confessed that she was tired. Gala and Blaise were not ready to quit yet, but Blaise graciously told Liva that they were done with lessons for the day. Gala looked slightly upset, and Blaise guessed that she wanted to stay in this starkly beautiful area for a while longer. “Why don’t you take the chaise?” he suggested to Liva. “Gala and I will remain here for a bit, look around. You can land it in the forest right next to the village, so the others won’t see you.”

Liva frowned. “But how will you get back?”

“I’ll summon the chaise when you’re done with it,” he told her, and spent the next couple of minutes convincing her to use this opportunity to practice her verbal spells. Liva finally gave in, climbing onto the chaise, and Blaise and Gala were left alone.

“I have a special spell I wrote for you,” he told Gala when the chaise disappeared into the distance. “It’s a gift.”

“A gift? Why?” Gala’s face brightened with excitement.

“Because you’re wonderful,” Blaise said softly, “and because I wanted to do something nice for you.”

“Oh, thank you—”

“First experience the gift, then decide if you want to thank me,” Blaise interrupted, smiling.

Taking a batch of cards, he loaded them into the Stone. He had conceived of this gift on the lake, when he was holding Gala in his arms. As the first strains of music sounded and Gala’s face took on a rapturous expression, he knew it had been a good idea. The spell was designed to vibrate the air in exactly the right way, to imitate the sound of instruments playing a tune.

“I wrote this melody for you,” he explained, watching as Gala closed her eyes, swaying to the music.

“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed after a few moments, opening her eyes to meet his gaze. “I heard your music before, in the village, but it was played with instruments. This seems more pure, somehow, and moves me even more. Can we dance to it?”

“Of course,” Blaise said, walking up to her. He had to agree with her in regard to the purity of the music. It was as though the dry yellow mountains decided to sing for them, as if nature itself wanted to express its love. The melody he created was meant to show how Gala made him feel, but it transcended something as simple as human feelings, resembling no earthly instruments.

Putting his hands on Gala’s waist, he slowly began moving to the tune. The beats of low frequency sounds echoed his racing heartbeat. She seemed to melt in his arms, their movement perfectly matching the slow, careful turns of the melody. It was as if they were attuned to each other, their bodies moving as one.

As the music reached a crescendo and started winding down, he leaned down and kissed her again, his breathing quickening as he felt the softness of her lips. His hands encircled her waist, pulling her even closer, when he heard something behind him.

Turning swiftly, he stared at the intruder, instinctively holding Gala pressed against his side.