The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(44)
Jandison would pay for this. Ganir would make sure of that.
In the meantime, there was another, more urgent problem that required handling. Barson made a fatal error by pretending to be dead . . . because now Ganir would make sure that the lie became reality.
Stepping toward the captured men, he pulled out his Interpreter Stone and began loading the cards he’d prepared earlier. This was a spell he was quite proud of; it was unfortunate that nobody would ever learn of it. This degree of mind control was the most advanced psychological sorcery, and Ganir didn’t know anyone else who could do something of this magnitude.
No, that wasn’t true, he corrected himself. Gala, Blaise’s creation, could do this and more. She had literally changed the brain of Davish without forcibly controlling his thoughts, as Ganir was about to do with these soldiers. And the effect of her spell was permanent in nature, while Ganir’s was temporary at best—though a few hours was all he needed to achieve his goal.
He desperately wished he could talk to her, to learn about how her mind worked and how she had come to be. He wanted to delve into the mystery that was this Spell Realm-born creature, and it was frustrating to him that Blaise was so overprotective of her. The young man saw her as a desirable woman—which Ganir could still understand on some level—but her beauty blinded Blaise to her true potential. With someone like Gala at his side, Ganir would be unstoppable. He would never need to use intrigue or subtlety with the Council again. One touch of her pretty hands, and they would think whatever he wished them to think.
As the spell he’d unleashed on the soldiers finally took effect, Ganir could see the glazed look in their eyes. It was safe to let them go. Their programming was simple: kill Barson and then themselves. If, by some chance, the last part didn’t work out, they would not remember any of it anyway, as the spell was designed to suppress their memory of this mind manipulation.
Untying the soldiers, Ganir ushered them out of his room, taking a look outside first to make sure nobody saw them leave.
Then, just as he was about to sit down and figure out how best to solve the Jandison issue, he heard a knock on the door. Annoyed, he pricked his finger and touched the bloody spot to his sphere, ending the current recording.
*
Coming out of the Life Capture, Augusta felt the heavy pounding of her own heart. So that was why she’d encountered Barson’s men in the hallway; Ganir had set them against her lover. Her blood ran cold as she remembered seeing them in practice; as good as Barson was, his men were also well-trained—and, most importantly, he would not be expecting any treachery from them.
Jumping to her feet, Augusta ran out of the room, desperate to find Barson. Regardless of their differences, she needed to warn him about this. She didn’t know why Ganir hated Barson so much. Her lover had once hinted that the Council Leader had purposefully misinformed them about the larger-than-expected peasant rebellion, but she’d forgotten about it, too distracted by Blaise’s creature. It didn’t matter now, though. She had to find Barson before Ganir’s plan could come to fruition.
She couldn’t stand to lose him again.
Chapter 27: Gala
As soon as they heard the word ‘storm,’ the villagers sitting around Gala jumped to their feet with panicked expressions on their faces.
Gala stared at them curiously. “A storm? Are you talking about one of the ocean storms from beyond the mountains?” She had seen a regular storm before—had, in fact, inadvertently created one—and it hadn’t seemed all that bad to her. The upcoming weather had to be something different to warrant such reactions.
“Yes,” Liva said tersely, bending down to collect the remnants of the food. “We need to take shelter in our homes and hope that we don’t get a direct hit.”
“What happens if you do?” Blaise asked, looking more intrigued than worried. “Are these storms truly as bad as they say?”
“Worse,” the old man said succinctly. “Far worse than you can imagine, sorcerer. You may not believe in the Thunder Creature, but you are about to witness its power.”
Within minutes, all of the villagers left the clearing, heading back to their homes. Blaise took Gala’s hand, and they hurried after Liva, who was all but running at this point. “We need to close the shutters and board up our windows,” she told Blaise. “I don’t know when the storm is getting here, but we might have less than an hour, given how loud that thunder was.”
“Why don’t I help?” Blaise suggested. “If you can gather everybody, I should be able to put a protective shield around them. It would be more effective than just boarding up the windows.”
“How strong is your shield?” Liva asked doubtfully. “These storms tend to be very, very powerful.”
Blaise considered it, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. “All right, how about this?” he suggested after a moment. “We’ll board up the windows, and I will strengthen the walls of a couple of houses. Everybody can gather there, and then I will also put a protective shield around those houses.”
Liva nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll go tell the others, get them to come to my house. It’s one of the larger ones, and between my house and that of my neighbor, we should be able to accommodate everyone. I’ll meet you back home.”