The Secret of Spellshadow Manor by Bella Forrest (classic english novels txt) 📗

do to a corpse, but it’s not like that. You kill your target, and then their ghost—the remnant of their life magic—becomes your thrall, your slave, bound to your will.”

Alex took that in. He thought again of the little plinth in the catacombs, where only the Head was allowed, and the unnatural extra eye carved into the skull that lay upon it. He swallowed.

Lintz, seemingly of the opinion that Alex was disturbed by the magic itself, nodded. “Grotesque, is it not?” he said.

Alex tried to organize his racing thoughts. “So when you say necromancy is the cousin of anima,” he said, “do you mean that you steal a person’s life magic, then use that essence to form a homunculus?”

Lintz blinked. “You…are marvelously well-informed,” he said, eyes narrowing.

Too far, a little voice in Alex’s mind cautioned. “Just something I overhead,” he said quickly. He glanced at the clock on the wall, then pretended to be surprised.

“Is it already three?” he said. “I told someone I would meet them.”

Lintz’s eyes remained narrowed, but he only took another sip of his drink before folding his hands over his large belly. “Be on your way, then. And leave this necromancy nonsense alone.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

Alex rose from his seat, but hadn’t gone two steps before Lintz called after him.

“Webber.”

Alex turned back, a politely inquisitive expression on his face.

“Sir?”

For a moment, Lintz seemed unsure of himself. He chewed at his lip, one eyebrow twitching. Then he spoke.

“Do not speak to Professor Derhin of this.”

Alex blinked. He had been meaning to talk to Derhin the next day. “Why not, sir?”

Again, it took a moment for Lintz to reply. “It’s not that he’s a bad man,” he said carefully. “He’s a good man. Great, even. I am happy to call him a friend, it’s just…” He trailed off, his words jumbling together.

The sky outside flickered, and then turned suddenly gray. Rain began to slash the window, filling the air with a hard pattering sound.

“He has had to do things to get where he is,” Lintz said, and there was a strange look on his face. Alex noticed the way his lips tightened, the way the veins on his neck seemed to bulge. Before he could speak, Lintz continued. “Things that, frankly, I wish he hadn’t done. He did them for me, some of the time, but all the same, I…well. Take me at my word and do not speak to him of this. Nothing good will come of it.”

Alex licked his lips, nodded once, then turned away and stepped out into the hallway beyond. Students walked along it, some laughing with their friends, some with their noses in books. Alex recognized the strange expression on Lintz’s face. It had been similar to Aamir’s.

Fear.

Alex was sitting in the library, watching the rain sweeping the grounds, when Natalie finally found him. She sat down opposite him, and it wasn’t until he looked up that he noticed the sleek gleam of her hair, her darkly lined eyelids, and the vivacious shine of her cheeks.

“What…?” he began, staring at her. She looked like she was made of plastic, or porcelain. More like a doll than a person. It was unsettling. “What happened to you?”

She burst into angry tears, covering her face.

“Esmerelda tried to teach me beauty magic,” she wailed. “Don’t look at me! It is not my face!”

“But why on earth would she do that?” he asked, bewildered.

“I asked her about necromancy. But she thought I was trying to learn something daunting, to impress a boy. And then she did this to me!”

Alex frowned. “That seems like a strange thing to do, change your face so much. Makeup is one thing, but this…I mean, I thought you looked pretty before.”

She glanced at him through her fingers, then lowered her hands.

“Really?” she asked, the natural sparkle in her eye visible through the glamor.

“Yeah,” he said, feeling suddenly embarrassed but glad at least that she’d stopped crying. “This looks weird to me. I hope it wears off soon.”

“Well,” she sniffed, “I hope so too.” But she looked a little happier.

“Did she say anything about necromancy?” Alex asked, hoping it had at least been a productive visit.

Natalie let out a long sigh, drooping and leaning her chin on her hand. “No. It was a dead end.”

The two of them had spent the entire previous day scouring the library for anything on the subject. There wasn’t so much as a book referencing the topic, however. Ultimately, it had been Jari who’d confirmed that the magic did exist, but that the methods had simply been locked away from students.

“It’s a mystery,” he’d said with his usual theatrical tones. “Nobody knows why!”

Alex, of course, had some idea why. It had to do with a long-dead lord of the manor continuing to walk around.

Alex heard the sound of footsteps approaching them, and swiveled. He was surprised to find Jari looking down on them with a frown on his face. He strode up to the table, and Natalie rolled her head to look at him.

“Sorry to interrupt, uh, whatever this is,” Jari said, “but can I borrow Alex for a bit?”

Natalie could probably use some more cheering up, but Alex rose anyway. There was something off about Jari. The boy’s usual vigor had vanished, leaving him strangely listless. Also, outside of class, it was somewhat rare to see him without Aamir.

“We’ll have to finish our talk later,” Alex told Natalie apologetically, and she nodded, her eyes flicking to Jari. He was staring outside at the rain, his eyes shrouded. Alex had to take him by the sleeve and give him a shake to get his attention.

“Huh?”

“Jari. What’s wrong?”

Jari smiled. “Just something I wanted you to take a look at. Come along!”

He made his customary grab for Alex’s hand, and Alex followed him out of the library. A glance back told him that Natalie was attempting to remove the “beauty charm” herself, looking focused. She would be fine.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Alex realized