The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(65)

Dara smiled, sitting down on the bed next to Hanta. “Not anymore, dear,” she said softly. “He’s about to be your king. And you can join him, or try to fight against him. Either way, the outcome will be the same—but with the first option, you will be richly rewarded for your loyalty, whereas with the second . . .” His sister let her voice trail off and glanced meaningfully at the dagger in Barson’s hand. Hanta’s eyes followed her gaze, and she visibly flinched.

“Now,” Barson said calmly, stepping toward the sorceress. “What do you choose?”

“I choose you,” Hanta said hurriedly, scooting backward on the bed.

“I knew you would be reasonable,” Dara said reassuringly. “That’s why I kept your name off the list. Now let’s discuss the Life Capture surveillance program I came up with, a program that will make sure there is never a misunderstanding between us . . .”

For the next few minutes, Barson’s sister explained all about how sorcerers’ thoughts would be carefully watched and monitored via Life Captures, to prevent any treachery. Hanta kept nodding to show her understanding, tears running down her face, and Barson knew that this sorceress would be just like the others they’d dealt with on this bloody night—that she would fall in line with the new regime.

As Dara was finishing her explanation, the door to Hanta’s room opened, and Zanil walked in. “Larn sent me to tell you that we couldn’t find at least forty people on our list—some of them quite dangerous.”

Barson frowned. That was not good. He’d been hoping for a swift and controlled operation, and it looked like things were about to get messy.

His thoughts were interrupted by an ear-splitting noise that vibrated through the tower.

“The gong,” Dara said, jumping to her feet. “Someone has gotten into the Council Hall and is warning the rest of danger. They could be gathering there as we speak.”

Leaving Hanta crying over her roommate’s body, they ran down the twisted corridors of the Tower to the Hall, gathering soldiers and their sorcerer allies on the way. When they got there, they saw Larn and a group of soldiers standing in front of the giant doors.

“They’re locked,” Larn reported, coming up to Barson. “How do you want us to approach it?”

Barson turned to Dara. “Can you and our allies prevent anyone from teleporting, or otherwise leaving that hall?”

“Hmm.” She looked thoughtful. “It’s the biggest room in the Tower, so it will be tricky, but I’ve picked up a thing or two from Jandison. We can create this field of force—”

“No offense, sis, but I am not interested in details,” Barson said, waving in greeting at another group of soldiers that was coming down the hallway.

“Then the answer is yes, we can keep them there,” she responded, looking mildly annoyed.

“Good, then I will leave some soldiers outside with you, so if anyone runs out, you can deal with them.”

There were now at least fifty soldiers in front of the Council Hall doors. Thinking about the best course of action, Barson decided that he first needed some information about what awaited them in that chamber. “Dara, which one of our allies do you trust the most?” he asked, glancing at his sister.

She considered that for a moment. “Kira and I had been friends for a few years before I told her about our plans,” she said slowly. “I think I can trust her the most.”

“Do you think you can get her in and out of that room safely?” Barson asked.

Dara contemplated his request. “Does she need to move around, or can she be stationary?”

“It’s best if she moves around freely.”

“In that case, we could combine a locator spell with a cleverly written teleportation spell—” Dara began when Barson caught her eye, giving her a sardonic look. His sister had never been in a battle before and obviously didn’t understand the value of brevity in critical situations.

“Oh yes, sorry, master commander,” she said mockingly. “You don’t care about these details. The answer to your query is yes. We can get her in and out.”



*



“I have never done something like this before,” Kira said nervously, staring at Barson. “I don’t know a single thing about reconnaissance . . .”

“You don’t need to know,” Barson explained calmly. “You will be using Life Capture. When you get back, I will be able to look through your eyes at that room. And I know about recon. Just look around casually and appear to be scared. They won’t know that you’re with us.”

“I don’t think appearing scared will be hard to do,” she said wryly.

They had Kira start a Life Capture session, and Dara implemented the teleportation and locator spells, to get Kira in the room. Vashel, Mittel, Pavel, and Noriella had joined them too, and were frantically writing spells to strengthen the already-enhanced armor of the soldiers. Dara also insisted all members of the Guard get protected against psychological attacks. This involved temporary spells, unfortunately, but Barson made a mental note to work on something more permanent with his sister. Perhaps enhanced headgear of some kind, to protect his mind from sorcery when he was king.

Kira’s return distracted him from his musings. As soon as she appeared in front of them, she pricked her finger and put a tiny drop of blood on his Life Capture Sphere.