The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(57)

Their first spell reached her as she half-ran, half-teleported toward the other end of the canyon. There was a powerful rumble deep within the earth, and a huge chunk of rock under her feet became liquid lava. For a moment, all she could feel was searing pain, accompanied by the sickening smell of burning flesh, but then Gala’s mind reacted defensively, changing the rocks back to their original cooled state.

She was now standing on a patch of solid lava, her feet already beginning to heal.

Panting, she looked up at her attackers and saw the light of the morning sun glinting off several Interpreter Stones. She felt both angry and resolute. She didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths, but this was not a confrontation she could run from. The Council would come after them, again and again, no matter where they went. The only way to end this was to show them the futility of violence. Gala just needed to make certain she didn’t lose control in the process.

She started relaxing the way Blaise had taught her. As her mind began clearing of worries, the next attack reached her.

This time, it was heat energy. Gala felt it gathering around her, about to be unleashed in a brutal explosion, and she stopped it, dissipating it with ease.

At the same time, she realized that she needed a strategy. A spell idea came to her. She would do unto them what they did unto her. Whatever someone cast upon her would get reflected and redirected toward its source. The beauty of the spell was that she would not be personally responsible for any harm that came to her attackers; they would be hurting themselves by trying to hurt her.

Quickly figuring out the logistics of the spell, Gala put it in place around her, like an offensive shield. She would still need to be vigilant, but now she could focus on remaining calm.

She was immediately glad she took this precaution. The next spell was as unfair of a move as anything she could’ve expected.

A swarm of birds blocked out the sky. Of numerous different species, from pigeons to hawks, they were all flying her way. Gala was not sure what she would have done without her reflective spell, as she would’ve been loath to hurt these innocent living creatures. Now, however, whoever controlled these birds’ minds was in for a surprise.

As the birds crossed a certain threshold of proximity to Gala, her reflective spell started working, and the flight path of the birds changed. At first they flew east, then northeast, then aimlessly around the canyon—as though the source of the spell was moving about. Feeling pity for the poor creatures, Gala freed them from the spell, and they began flying away.

She relaxed again, going so far as to close her eyes. Now that she was reasonably well protected, she needed to check on how Blaise was doing. Gently she reached for him, trying to touch his mind as she had last night. She had never been able to do that before, but their joining had changed something, establishing an even deeper connection between them, and she felt like reaching him now might be possible.

And she was right. Though she could not completely read his mind, she felt echoes of whatever emotions he was feeling. Blaise was not happy with her. In fact, he was so angry that she found his emotions distracting to her calm state of mind. Not wanting to lose control, she tried to dull the connection a bit. Blaise would be in the background of her mind, she decided, so she could keep a mental eye on him this way. In the meantime, she would focus on other matters.

Thinking back to the birds, she wondered why their flight pattern had been so erratic.

Suddenly, she felt Blaise’s emotions changing from frustration to fear. Her heart jumping in response, Gala opened her eyes and saw a rockslide heading for her. Relieved, she realized that Blaise was afraid for her, that it was his worry she was sensing. It was needless worry, she thought, her mind still dwelling on the puzzle of the birds’ unsteady flight.

As expected, the rockslide heading for her changed direction, Gala’s reflective spell pushing it back toward its origin. Amplifying her vision, Gala watched the rocks go up the canyon wall toward a small figure—a figure that immediately disappeared from that spot.

Now it was clear to her. The person who had cast the rockslide spell had teleported to another location. The rockslide hit the original spot where her opponent had stood, but didn’t do him any harm.

She had not calibrated her reflective spell finely enough to account for teleportation, Gala realized, finally comprehending why the birds had been flying so erratically. The Council members were teleporting around the canyon to avoid being hurt by her spells.

At that moment, a barrage of attacks came at Gala from all different directions, distracting her from that thought. Lightning bolts, ground shaking—it was like she was back in the middle of the storm, and it was becoming impossible to breathe calmly through it all. Gala wanted to yell at them. Didn’t they realize that if they upset her, it might mean their own doom? That if she lost control, it could end badly? On some level, she understood that retaliating at them directly would not be all that different from what her reflective spell was doing, but she still preferred it this way.

All of sudden, the attacks stopped. Before Gala could relax, however, she felt echoes of Blaise beginning some kind of struggle in the house.





Chapter 41: Blaise





His heart beating furiously in his chest, Blaise stared at the scene in front of him.

On the far end of the canyon, surrounded by rocky slopes, stood Gala. She looked calm and serene, the way she’d been when fighting the storm. The Council members were at the top of the canyon, spread out all around her. In a couple of places, Blaise saw the black, coal-like shine of their Interpreter Stones. They’d come prepared, and he had no doubt that their offense was planned with deadly precision.