The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 3 by Bella Forrest (recommended ebook reader txt) 📗

back, but the curiosity was simply too great. Alex was almost certain he would never get another opportunity like this, to observe the secret behaviors of the Head and Headmistress.

As he made his way farther into the villa, torches began to appear on the walls, lighting the way. Good to see by, but also good for being seen, Alex thought wryly. Hanging back slightly at each corner, he watched the duo as they continued to walk through a series of winding corridors, each one looking the same as the last. It worried Alex slightly, as he tried to memorize the route for the return trip; if he took one wrong turn, he knew he could find himself lost in the labyrinth of the place. The Headmistress, however, knew exactly where she was going as she marched elegantly ahead of her strange little brother, who hurried to keep up. Alypia had the limbs of a gazelle and took one stride for every two of the Head’s.

Waiting tentatively at the corner of a shorter corridor, Alex ducked behind the wall as Alypia came to a halt in front of a door in the wall. He held his breath, wanting to peer around but not daring to. Instead, he listened for the sound of a key grating in the lock and the scuffle of footsteps on the stone as they entered the room beyond.

Once he was sure they had gone inside, Alex glanced down the corridor, checking the coast was clear before he moved stealthily over to the door and crouched down beside it. As his head came level with the door’s lock, his heart skipped a beat as the shrill, scraping sound of the key being turned on the other side rattled through his ear. They were separated only by the width of the wood the door was hewn from. He only hoped they would continue to be oblivious to his presence.

Hunkering down against the wall, Alex scanned the corridor leading away from left to right. The shadows made him nervous. Sitting in the very center of the hallway, he was extremely aware of how exposed he was. If somebody appeared at either end, they would see him silhouetted in the torchlight that beamed down from the two brackets outside the room he was keeping vigil over—and he couldn’t use his anti-magic to try to conceal himself because Alypia and the Head were likely close enough to sense it.

Yet, to him, the risk still seemed worth the reward.

Turning toward the small keyhole, he pressed his eye up against it just in time to see Alypia walking away from the door, clutching a jangling set of keys on a large golden ring. Beyond the limited view of the spyhole, Alex could make out a fairly modest, windowless room—a study of some sort, he guessed, as he noted a series of well-stocked bookshelves along each wall and a broad, imposing marble desk which Alypia had just sat behind. On it were stacks of paper and an enormous yellow, blue, and green feather in a glass case, the brightly colored fronds curving over at the top toward a disc of gold plumage, like a peacock’s feather, but much more exotic. There was a brown armchair to one side, in front of the desk, into which the Head slowly sank down.

Within a few moments, Alex could hear the murmur of speech filling the air between them, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. With his senses on high alert, he scanned the corridor once again, praying that nobody would creep up on him from behind as he turned and pressed his ear to the keyhole instead of his eye, so as to eavesdrop better on their conversation.

“And what state is it in now?” he heard Alypia ask.

“It is still in utter disarray,” the Head sighed. “There were some very powerful teachers at Spellshadow, as you well know, and they were not easy to overcome when they chose to move against me. I am still trying to fix what they have done. One decided to scramble the corridors to hide the students, and each time I am almost at them, she moves them again. I know she’s getting weaker—she has to be. That amount of magic is enough to drain anyone of strength, but she’s proving more difficult to wrangle than I ever imagined she would be. A tough old bird, that one.”

Gaze, Alex thought sadly.

“You sound almost fond of her,” scoffed Alypia.

“It is familiarity, not fondness, sister. Do not get them confused.” There was a warning in the Head’s voice, though Alex could not see his expression to confirm it. They had raised their voices slightly compared to the beginning of the conversation, and Alex turned to look back through, curiosity getting the better of him. From the keyhole, Alex could only make out the side of the Head’s sunken face.

“Did you manage to instill loyalty in any of them?” she taunted.

The Head’s long fingers picked agitatedly at the armrests. “Two. One is dead, and the other has caused me no end of trouble.”

“In what respect?” asked Alypia, frowning.

A low, reluctant sigh rattled from the back of the Head’s throat. “Professor Renmark made the reckless decision to kill a lot of the students, rather than round them up.”

“How many?” Alypia growled. There was a twinge of annoyance in the curve of her delicate lips.

“Almost half, if I am not mistaken.” The Head sagged in his chair.

“So much wasted essence! How could he be so foolish? How could you be so foolish?” she hissed. “Tell me you have at least punished the man?”

The Head shook his head. “Renmark is my only ally, sister.”

“You are weak! You should never have been placed in charge!” she roared. “I told them so, but would they listen? I hope they’re turning in their graves now!”

Goosebumps ran along Alex’s skin as he beheld the fury of Alypia. He could feel it surging palpably from her, her eyes burning with rage.