Read Online The Spell Realm by Dima Zales, Anna Zaires - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dima Zales, Anna Zaires
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headed in the direction of the noise.
Letting the hunters walk ahead, Blaise spoke the words of the shielding spell again, casting a protective bubble around the tent. It wouldn’t last long, but it was better than nothing.
Then he hurried to catch up with the others, looking through his spell cards on the way. He was not prepared for encounters with wild creatures, but he was sure he could improvise.
As they got closer to the source of the noise, Blaise held up his finger, warning the hunters to be careful. “I can only hear one of them now,” he whispered to Kostya. “Maybe the other ones left?”
“Let’s see what we’re up against,” Kostya whispered. “How far is it?”
“Not far now. It sounds like it’s heading in our direction.”
The hunters got their bows ready.
Two minutes later, a powerful roar split the air. Blaise felt a chill skitter down his spine. Whatever this creature was, it sounded big and vicious.
It was also running straight at them.
The hunters spread out in a semi-circle and drew back the strings of their arrows. They looked scared, but determined.
And then the creature was upon them.
Bursting through the bushes, it was a blur of dark fur, claws, and teeth, with small yellow eyes that had some kind of a reflective sheen.
It was also massive. For a second, Blaise thought it was a bear—but the creature was even larger, with a thick tail, long pointed snout, and movements reminiscent of a jackal or a fox.
The archers released their arrows.
Only two reached their target, and the hide of the beast seemed too thick for the arrows to penetrate. One of the arrows fell harmlessly to the ground, while the other one got lodged in the creature’s massive paw.
The sound it made was hair-raising. And before anyone could react, the thing jumped onto a nearby tree, making a leap over the stunned hunters’ heads, and disappeared into the forest.
“We must go after it,” Kostya yelled, apparently emboldened by their success. Before Blaise could object, the hunters took off at a run, forcing him to sprint after them to keep up.
“What was that?” Blaise managed to ask, catching up to Ara. He had no idea how the hunters were able to move so quickly through the dark forest. Even with his enhanced vision, he found it difficult to keep such a fast pace.
“It’s a bearwolf,” she panted in response, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch.
“A bearwolf? Do you mean a wolf-bear hybrid? I didn’t know those things still existed.” Blaise remembered the old stories about the sorcerer who had done experiments on living creatures. Augusta had been obsessed with those tales at some point, using them as an example of the dangers of hubris in sorcery.
“Oh, they exist,” Ara muttered, breathing heavily from the run. “The Dark Woods swarm with them. I think a couple of those things got there at some point, and they bred like rabbits. That’s partially why so few people get through those forests—that and all those poisonous plants.”
“How did you and the others get through it, then?” Blaise jumped over a thick tree root, barely managing to stay upright as his foot sank into a hidden hole. Yanking it out, he hurried after Ara, who continued running at a breakneck pace.
“Long story,” she panted, apparently reaching the limits of her endurance. He could see beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.
At that moment, they reached a large clearing. Bursting through the bushes, they stopped abruptly when they reached the middle.
The other hunters were already there, standing frozen in place.
The creature they followed was not running anymore. It had turned to face them, standing its ground on the other end of the meadow.
And all around the edges of the clearing, Blaise could see more of its kind standing in a circle around the hunters, their yellow eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
The bearwolf had led them to an ambush.
* * *
The cool, rational part of Blaise
Letting the hunters walk ahead, Blaise spoke the words of the shielding spell again, casting a protective bubble around the tent. It wouldn’t last long, but it was better than nothing.
Then he hurried to catch up with the others, looking through his spell cards on the way. He was not prepared for encounters with wild creatures, but he was sure he could improvise.
As they got closer to the source of the noise, Blaise held up his finger, warning the hunters to be careful. “I can only hear one of them now,” he whispered to Kostya. “Maybe the other ones left?”
“Let’s see what we’re up against,” Kostya whispered. “How far is it?”
“Not far now. It sounds like it’s heading in our direction.”
The hunters got their bows ready.
Two minutes later, a powerful roar split the air. Blaise felt a chill skitter down his spine. Whatever this creature was, it sounded big and vicious.
It was also running straight at them.
The hunters spread out in a semi-circle and drew back the strings of their arrows. They looked scared, but determined.
And then the creature was upon them.
Bursting through the bushes, it was a blur of dark fur, claws, and teeth, with small yellow eyes that had some kind of a reflective sheen.
It was also massive. For a second, Blaise thought it was a bear—but the creature was even larger, with a thick tail, long pointed snout, and movements reminiscent of a jackal or a fox.
The archers released their arrows.
Only two reached their target, and the hide of the beast seemed too thick for the arrows to penetrate. One of the arrows fell harmlessly to the ground, while the other one got lodged in the creature’s massive paw.
The sound it made was hair-raising. And before anyone could react, the thing jumped onto a nearby tree, making a leap over the stunned hunters’ heads, and disappeared into the forest.
“We must go after it,” Kostya yelled, apparently emboldened by their success. Before Blaise could object, the hunters took off at a run, forcing him to sprint after them to keep up.
“What was that?” Blaise managed to ask, catching up to Ara. He had no idea how the hunters were able to move so quickly through the dark forest. Even with his enhanced vision, he found it difficult to keep such a fast pace.
“It’s a bearwolf,” she panted in response, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch.
“A bearwolf? Do you mean a wolf-bear hybrid? I didn’t know those things still existed.” Blaise remembered the old stories about the sorcerer who had done experiments on living creatures. Augusta had been obsessed with those tales at some point, using them as an example of the dangers of hubris in sorcery.
“Oh, they exist,” Ara muttered, breathing heavily from the run. “The Dark Woods swarm with them. I think a couple of those things got there at some point, and they bred like rabbits. That’s partially why so few people get through those forests—that and all those poisonous plants.”
“How did you and the others get through it, then?” Blaise jumped over a thick tree root, barely managing to stay upright as his foot sank into a hidden hole. Yanking it out, he hurried after Ara, who continued running at a breakneck pace.
“Long story,” she panted, apparently reaching the limits of her endurance. He could see beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.
At that moment, they reached a large clearing. Bursting through the bushes, they stopped abruptly when they reached the middle.
The other hunters were already there, standing frozen in place.
The creature they followed was not running anymore. It had turned to face them, standing its ground on the other end of the meadow.
And all around the edges of the clearing, Blaise could see more of its kind standing in a circle around the hunters, their yellow eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
The bearwolf had led them to an ambush.
* * *
The cool, rational part of Blaise
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