was pushing her back behind him. Even the new cat, Sable, reacted, going from her sleek black fur to the gray shadow where Julija could see spots of transparency, as if she was so worn she was starving and perhaps her fur was falling out.
“What is it, Belle?” She dropped her hand on top of the cat’s head and took her eyes off her brother for just a few seconds to stroke reassuring caresses through Sable’s fur. She realized, the moment she put her hand on the cat’s head, that she was totally exhausted. She could barely move her arms.
A hiss answered her inquiry. Julija stiffened. That wasn’t a cat’s hiss. She stared at the ground. All around the borders of the boxlike shield Isai had constructed were snakes. Large and small, they coiled, hissed and rattled, knocking their heads against the invisible barrier as they did so. Tongues touched the see-through material. One overly provoked snake left streaks of venom running down the side, just about knee-high.
A shudder ran through her. Isai. Snakes. We’re completely surrounded by snakes. It’s freaking me out.
Woman, you make no sense at all. Scorpions didn’t bother you, but snakes do?
For a moment she couldn’t think. Snakes had never bothered her before. If anything, she liked them. She could even speak to them. She could scorpions as well. She had been born with a mage mark. Not just any mark, but the mark of the high mage. The scorpion and snake were intertwined and there for anyone to see right on her arm.
She ran her finger over the mark. It looked more like a tattoo than a birthmark. The snake and scorpion were very distinct. She’d always felt her affinity with the scorpion because she knew her magic, her stubborn willpower, grit and determination rose from that source. The snake awoke that force of energy inside her so that her gifts and abilities exploded through her entire body, building her strength fast and feeding her source of knowledge.
She looked at the snakes surrounding the small place of safety. Instead of cowering in a corner behind the cats, she stepped to the very corner of the box and crouched low, putting her face level with the snakes.
Watch Vasile, Isai. He knows I am occupied. He will try something new.
I am close to him now. As soon as Blue lures Phantom away, I will strike. Your counterspell was so efficient I just walked my way in. I am impressed with your skill.
She knew that wasn’t exactly true, no way had he just walked through the various traps her brother had devised, but she’d take it. He was alive. In her lifetime, there had been no compliments or acknowledgment of anything she’d done. It mattered little that she was top in her class for practically everything. She didn’t have time to bask in his statement, but she let herself feel good.
Julija turned her attention to the snakes. Not wanting to agitate them any more than her brother had already done, she lifted her hands very slowly.
Brothers by birth
Surrounded by walls
Release yourself from evil’s call
I surround you with warmth
Return to your dens
Be at rest with no harm to defend.
It was necessary to keep Vasile’s attention on her—at least until Blue was clear with the male cat. She also had to be ready to defend Isai should there be need. She intended to steal Vasile’s magic. She’d practiced hundreds of hours, but she’d never dared try it on her brothers or father. She had done so with other mages, without letting them know.
Stealing magic could have enormous repercussions, especially if the magic practiced was that of the dark arts. She’d worked up her courage on more than one occasion and stolen Crina’s. Her stepmother thought she had done a misstep when casting and had messed up her carefully wrought spell. It had never occurred to her that Julija would ever dare to try such a thing.
Stealing from Crina was one thing, but stealing from Vasile was a far different proposition. Her heart pounded hard with the enormity of what she planned to do. She rose slowly, keeping one eye on the snakes. Most had already uncoiled and begun to slither away, sliding silently across rock and grass to return from wherever Vasile had called them.
She moved out of the box, around one large snake and just narrowly missed stepping on a baby snake. Facing her brother, she stayed very still.
“I am awaiting your next juvenile attack.” Provoking him was