The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(8)

Now Gala began to feel nervous. She could see that the situation could easily escalate into violence, and she felt sick at the thought. She didn’t want to see blood or death ever again.

“I said, put down your weapons,” Blaise repeated, his expression darkening. She saw him cast a quick glance in her direction, and she knew that he sensed her anxiety. “Put them down. Now. I have a protective spell over us, so your arrows are useless. If you release one, however, I will boil all the water in your body with a simple incantation.”

“He’s bluffing, Kostya,” Shram said, but his voice was uncertain.

“No,” Gala said, stepping forward. “He’s not. We are all enclosed in a protective bubble, like he said. Try throwing something at us.”

The archers hesitated for a moment, but then the female archer bent down and picked up a small rock. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she threw it, aiming at Esther. The rock flew through the air and bounced off some invisible barrier a foot away from the old woman.

At this demonstration, the newcomers appeared even more uneasy.

“We are not your enemies,” Blaise said, more calmly this time. “If you don’t try to harm us, we won’t hurt you.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Shram muttered, coming to stand next to Kostya. “He’s lying. You know how cunning their kind is.”

The lion growled, taking a couple of small steps forward and causing the men to look increasingly apprehensive.

“Enough,” Kostya said sharply, lowering his bow. “We’ll let you get dressed, and then we’ll talk. Just call off your beast for now.”

“Sure,” said Gala, suddenly seeing the humor in the situation. “I’ll call him off.” Turning to Blaise, she joked with a straight face, “Blaise, please don’t hurt them.”

Maya and Esther burst out laughing, and some of the men smiled too. Apparently sensing the easing of the tension, the lion flicked his tail and stalked off into the forest with one last roar.

Blaise chuckled, walking over to get his clothes. He didn’t seem the least bit upset over Gala’s jest. When he was fully dressed, he came up to stand next to Gala, putting his arm protectively around her shoulders. Esther and Maya joined them, still instinctively seeking their protection.

“So who are you, and what do you want?” Esther asked, addressing the men as soon as they were all together.

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Kostya retorted, staring at Esther.

“I asked first,” the old woman insisted.

Blaise opened his mouth, about to say something, when Kostya decided to respond to Esther’s question. “We’re from Alania,” he said, giving the woman a displeased look, “and we’re out on a hunt.”

“I’ve never heard of Alania,” Maya said dubiously.

“Of course you haven’t,” Shram said caustically. “That’s why we live here, so we can have freedom from the likes of him.” He pointed his thumb toward Blaise.

“I respect your freedom,” Blaise said evenly. “I’m not a fan of the way the Council runs things—”

“It’s true,” Maya interjected. “He treats his people with nothing but respect.”

“She’s right.” It was the young female archer who stepped forward this time. Tall and slim, she had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. “I used to live in Kelvin’s territory, and we heard rumors about Blaise. They say the laws in his lands are fair. And his brother was the one who shared the Life Capture magic with everyone—”

“Fat lot of good it did us, Ara,” muttered Shram, looking not the least bit convinced. “Just brought us more trouble—”

“Nonetheless,” Ara insisted. “He’s not like the others.”

“So what are they doing here then?” Shram objected. “How did they get here?”

“We flew,” Gala said helpfully, pointing at the large chaise standing near the forest a small distance away.

The men gaped at it in shock. “They can fly now,” Shram whispered loudly to Kostya, tugging on his sleeve. “Did you hear that?”

Kostya nodded, a frown appearing on his face.

Ara turned toward Kostya. “I heard about this invention right before I left,” she said, “but I didn’t know if it was true or not. I certainly didn’t expect this thing to be so big.”

“Now they can come here whenever they want,” Shram hissed, his face contorting with fury. “They can cross the forests and enslave us, make us all into their serfs again—”

“I doubt they even know of your existence,” Blaise interrupted, cutting short the man’s diatribe. “I certainly had no idea that there were people living in the mountains.”

“Well, if you’re here, what makes you think they won’t come too?” Kostya asked, giving Blaise a challenging look.

“We’re here because we have no other choice,” Blaise explained. “Like you, we are counting on the fact that they won’t look for us here. This is as far from Turingrad and the Tower as it gets.”

“Even if they come here, they probably won’t find us,” Ara told Kostya. “Not easily, at least. Even from the air, Alania is well hidden by the trees.”