The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 4 by Bella Forrest (best e book reader android TXT) 📗

a moment, Caius said and did nothing. Sitting in his chair, he remained perfectly still, a blank expression on his face, his eyes giving away no secrets, as he seemed to mull over what Alypia had just said. It was an unbearable wait, even though Alex had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.

Finally, Caius spoke. “That isn’t good enough.”

Alypia flashed him a look of disappointment, her tongue clicking in a crass tut-tut as she slowly shook her head in his direction. Alex could feel the tension growing even tauter between uncle and niece as they stared one another down, neither of them willing to shift the balance of their resolution. An immoveable force had met an immoveable object, and this could only end one way.

“Then you’re forcing my hand, Uncle,” Alypia hissed, her lips forming a petulant pout. “I came here today to give you the benefit of the doubt, hoping your time here might have changed something, but I can see you’re as stubborn and disrespectful of our kind as ever. I might have known, but I am warning you, if you don’t hand that boy over and give me what I want, I will send word to my father and make sure you pay a suitable price for your latest betrayal of our race. He is still your king, unless you had forgotten? You might not be so insolent toward him.”

With a reluctant sigh, Caius raised his palms in surrender. “Very well. You leave me no choice,” he murmured.

Alypia’s pale eyes widened in gleeful delight, clearly believing she was about to get what she wanted, thanks to the threat of her father’s involvement.

Caius stood, moved over to where Alex was sitting, and dragged him to his feet. “You’ll have to come and help me—if you’re going to get him through the portal, he’ll need sedating,” Caius explained.

She frowned. “What do you expect me to do?”

“You don’t want him running off, do you? Just come over here and help me hold him still,” Caius demanded.

“Fine,” muttered Alypia, as she came to where Alex was being forcibly held.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Caius dip into his pocket and pull out the small silver box. The warden handed it to Alypia, who took it tentatively, eyeing the object with some suspicion.

“Open it and take out the string inside,” Caius instructed.

Frowning, Alypia lifted the small silver lid. A bronze light sprang out of the tiny box, rushing at her face. It smothered her, pouring down her throat and running into her eyes. Alex leaned back instinctively, unable to look away. Alypia opened her mouth to scream, but the sound came out as more of a gurgle. Her eyes wide in horror, she sank to the floor.

Caius removed the handcuffs from Alex’s wrists and slapped them onto Alypia’s instead. Alex stood shakily, and, in the next instant, Caius guided him out of the room by the arm. Looking back over his shoulder, Alex could see Alypia still trembling on the ground.

Caius slammed the door shut and turned the key in the lock. There was no sound to be heard from within.

“My apologies,” the warden said solemnly, putting the keys back in his pocket.

“What the hell was that all about?” Alex snapped.

“It was the only way—”

Alex shook his head. “Why did you do that? I can’t believe you just did that!”

“I had to keep her here somehow,” Caius said, his expression utterly calm. “She kept insisting she was going to return to Stillwater, but I promised to find you and bring you to her if she would stay put and wait. I wanted to tell you my plan, but I couldn’t risk her detecting something amiss. And now she’s trapped—as you planned.”

“Next time you want to use me as bait, you could just ask!” growled Alex. “What was that thing, anyway? The silver box?”

Caius gave a small smile. “A personal barrier. It works the same as the one around the keep, and it will stay until I remove it.”

Alex shuddered. “I can’t believe… I can’t believe you didn’t say a word.”

“She suspected nothing, and that is what matters.”

Alex eyed Caius intently. “So you don’t really want to kill me?”

“Of course not… Forgive me, my boy, I only did what I thought was right,” Caius said, leaning forward with his cane. “I hope you can forgive me for that.”

Right now, Alex didn’t know what to think. He just knew there was a portal open in the courtyard of the keep, and now nobody stood in its way.

Chapter 28

Caius seemed troubled as they parted ways, insisting that Alex not tell the others what he had done. It had been for the good of all, the warden said, to successfully capture Alypia without raising any alarms or causing undue fuss. As much as Alex wanted to tell his friends about Caius’s false betrayal, he agreed to keep the secret. The more Alex thought about it, the more he realized that it had probably been for the best. Still, it was a shock that would take some time to recover from.

Alex sat alone in the tower room, waiting for the others to return. Caius had suggested that Alex go back by himself, to seek a moment’s respite, while he went to inform the others of the new development in the proceedings. At first, Alex hadn’t been sure, but the earnestness in Caius’s voice had won him over; it seemed the warden was eager to show Alex he wasn’t all bad.

With nobody to distract him, Alex’s mind wandered to Alypia. He had questions that needed answering, and she might be his best source of information. He wanted to ask what she had intended to do with him, with regards to the counter-spell and Julius. It made him antsy to think that he might return to Stillwater House without having taken the opportunity to interrogate her.

Maybe I could go back while nobody is looking, see what she has to say for