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

Elias let out a low whistle. “That,” he said, “is an incredible plan. Really well thought out.”

“Well—”

“The book you’re searching for,” Elias interjected, “is in the Head’s office.”

Alex was silent for a long time. That was probably the least accessible place for a book they so desperately needed.

“But how do I get to it?” he asked at last.

Elias reached up, and his arm extended grotesquely to grip the branch of the tree before hoisting the rest of him skyward. The shadows swirled, then coalesced into the form of the cat once more.

“You’ve got your own little talents,” he said. “Naughty interloper that you are. Why don’t you use them?”

Alex had already opened his mouth when the cat lay down and melted into the tree. He knew before any words came out that Elias had disappeared once again, lost in the manor. What was Elias in his previous life? And why was he following him around, spying on him, giving semi-helpful advice?

Wondering how he would even begin to research something like that, never mind sneak into the Head’s office, Alex looked at the world around him. Ruins as far as the eye could see. Dreams that had stopped. A manor, ruled by a man who appeared to keep its rightful lord as an undead slave.

Alex made his way back inside, his hands brushing the Ouroboros handles. He walked slowly toward his room, thinking.

But if he thought his adventures were done for the day, he was wrong.

Chapter 22

A scream pierced the air just as Alex was turning past the door to the library. Suddenly alert, he stared down the vacant hallway in the direction the noise had come from.

The scream came again, jolting Alex forward. Before he knew what he was doing, before he could think, he was pelting off down the hallway, skidding around the corner to find a horrible scene.

A girl pressed herself against the wall, recoiling from where a boy lay, crumpled on the floor. Alex recognized him as Blaine Stalwart, a boy Aamir admired for his magical skill. His arms and legs were stiff, his face hidden in shadows.

At his feet ran a small, golden line.

“Oh my,” came a leisurely voice from behind them. “Somebody’s been bad.”

Alex spun to see Professor Derhin approaching with long, uncharacteristically graceful strides. He strode up to where Stalwart lay, then shifted a viperous gaze onto the girl.

“H-h-he said it wouldn’t be as bad as people made out,” she stammered. “That it’d sound an alarm. Some foolish nonsense.”

“Just sound an alarm?” Derhin said. “This isn’t a blue line, is it? It did sound an alarm, but messing with a golden line is exactly as bad as people make out. That’s why I’m here. To collect.”

He looked down at the body on the floor.

“Is he…?” the girl said.

“He broke the rules and got caught,” said Derhin pointedly. “He’ll be transferred to Stillwater House.”

Alex stared at Blaine. The boy wasn’t moving. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. Little curls of magical power spun over his skin, and Alex wrapped his coat tighter around himself. It was cold in the hallway. So cold.

Derhin turned, fixing Alex with a stare.

“Did you have anything to do with this, Webber?” he asked.

Alex shook his head.

“Heard the scream. Came running.”

Derhin nodded in satisfaction. “Very good. You may leave.”

Alex hesitated, staring at the body, and the terrified girl who seemed to be trying to disappear into the cracks in the stone. The eerie light streaming in through the distant window rippled and swirled over Derhin’s pale features.

“Now, Webber,” he said softly.

Alex turned and hurried away, too late to help, feeling the professor’s eyes following him as he went.

His thoughts went to the golden line he had somehow broken.

Chapter 23

True to Derhin’s word, Blaine Stalwart vanished from classes. The girl who had accompanied him, Claire Goldfield, did come back to class, her eyes low and distant, after missing several days. When her peers asked after Blaine, she said nothing, just grew pale and shook her head fervently.

Alex had been expecting a bigger deal to be made about the whole affair, but the other students had dropped the issue almost immediately. Aamir, for example, seemed more irate than afraid.

“Honestly,” he said one morning over breakfast, lowering his voice and glancing over at where Siren Mave was sitting like an imp behind the breakfast buffet, “he should have known better. Even the newest students know that crossing one of those golden lines is as good as a death sentence.”

Alex frowned at his toast, feeling Natalie’s curious gaze on him. He knew she must also be wondering how Alex hadn’t been caught and punished.

“Another one gone,” Aamir muttered, stabbing at his plate.

Jari entered the room, brushing his hair from his sleepy eyes and looking around to find his friends. When Aamir spotted him, he rose to his feet, excusing himself and slipping away. Jari took the newly vacated seat a moment later, staring after his friend with a tiny frown and hot eyes.

And so, life dragged on.

With Aamir mostly absent, and Jari constantly fretting over his friend, Alex and Natalie were left with a great deal of time to themselves over the coming weeks. Natalie continued to cover for Alex during class, and they sailed through their first practical exam with ease. Natalie showed off her pyromancy, which earned her an approving clap from Lintz and a disappointed sigh from Esmerelda, who had probably been hoping that she would find a more “womanly” way to apply her talents.

Alex, for his part, had decided to “learn” a modest spell from the illusion school of magic. It had been a bit tricky, and had required a lot of reading, but, with his assistance, Natalie had gone along with it happily enough. Alex had gone to the front of the class, made the gestures, and Natalie had wreathed him in shimmering light until he was surrounded by the appearance of rain, streaking