The Breaker (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #2)(59)

Alex wiped away the cold sweat that trickled down the back of his neck and prayed silently to whoever was listening that the fog and the blockade had been enough to stop them from being recognized, as much for Jari and Ellabell’s sake as his. If someone was out for blood for the trespass into the Head’s quarters, they could punish the other two to get at him, and Alex didn’t think he could bear the thought of Ellabell suffering any further because of their futile excursion.

After shaking Jari awake, Alex waited for his friend to throw on some clothes, and the two headed to breakfast. Jari wasn’t particularly talkative but didn’t seem too fazed by what had gone on, much to Alex’s chagrin, as they walked to the mess hall. Alex dragged Jari with him as he took a slight detour, wandering as casually as possible past the golden line in front of the Head’s quarters. He was surprised to see that it had been swiftly repaired, as if nothing had ever happened. It was crackling and buzzing as powerfully as it ever had, warding off any advancing students.

If the masked figure had gone to the effort of putting the line back together so quickly, perhaps there would be no more said on the matter, Alex thought nervously. His paranoia was off the scale as he stepped into the mess hall, convinced everyone was looking at him oddly as he picked up a bowl of fruit salad and hurried over to where Natalie was sitting, in their usual spot by the window overlooking a particularly bleak section of the gray, desolate grounds. He sat down, eager to speak to her.

“How is Ellabell?” asked Alex, testing the nausea in his stomach as he forced a grape into his mouth and chewed slowly.

“She is much better. She is just a bit shaken up,” she assured him, though her tone was somewhat distant as she sipped from her coffee cup.

“That’s good. I can’t help feeling responsible for what happened to her,” he admitted, swallowing the grape with some difficulty.

“She is fine, Alex. Nobody was hurt. You were lucky,” she replied, with a coldness Alex hadn’t heard before.

“Is everything okay?” Alex glanced at Natalie with concern, wondering why she was speaking with that tone of voice.

“Everything is fine. I am just tired,” she explained, her expression relaxing. “I am sorry, Alex. I was just worried about you all, and it has worn me out,” she added with a sigh.

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you,” Alex said with a worried frown. He knew she was already exhausted most of the time, and they had gone and made matters worse by staying out all night doing dangerous things.

She gave a tired smile. “You are forgiven.”

As Jari sat down with his plate piled high with fried breakfast, Alex launched into a series of questions to ease his paranoia. He wished he could be as blasé about the whole thing as Jari seemed to be.

“Do you think we were seen?” quizzed Alex, feeling the grape rolling around uncomfortably in his stomach.

Jari shook his head. “We weren’t seen,” he said, shoving a forkful of omelet into his mouth with hungry glee.

“How can you be sure?” pressed Alex.

“I know we weren’t seen. We got away with it,” repeated Jari in between mouthfuls.

“Do you know who that man was?” Alex asked.

Jari shook his head again. “No idea, but he was a scary-looking thing,” he laughed casually.

“What man?” Natalie chimed in, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

“Some figure in black chased us, but I have no idea who he was,” said Alex thoughtfully as he attempted to chew a slice of apple, the sweet, fruity sugars turning sour on his tongue. “He didn’t look or sound familiar. Must be someone the Head keeps around for when he goes away or something.”

Jari nodded. “I think you might be right,” he said, swallowing an enormous bite of buttered toast.

“How did he get in?” asked Natalie, but neither Alex nor Jari could answer her.

“The back door?” suggested Alex, feeling acid rise in his throat as he forced the apple down.

“You think there may be one?” questioned Natalie with a sudden flair of excitement in her voice.

Alex shrugged. “Who knows? There are stranger things in this manor than a back door,” he mused with a grim smile.

At that moment, Alex’s attention was distracted by a student bursting in through the doors of the mess hall. The boy ran up to one of the small groups sitting closest to the entrance and whispered something urgently. A murmur spread like wildfire through the room. Alex waited for it to reach their table.

“The gate has reappeared,” muttered Billy Foer as he leaned back to pass on the message.

“What?” asked Alex in disbelief.

“Just now, the gate has come back,” replied Billy with a concerned look on his pallid face.

Alex jumped to his feet, abandoning his fruit salad as he and the other two raced from the mess hall and headed toward the front of the manor, just in time to see the huge iron bars of the gate swing open. The glowing golden line that usually blocked the way out into the gardens so early in the day had disappeared, permitting the students to congregate on the steps as they all rushed to see what was happening.

It was true—the gate had reappeared, settling back into its position between the high brick walls, draped in flowing clusters of the omnipresent gray ivy. With the shrill creak of rusting metal, the vast iron gates swung wide to reveal the very real form of a black-clad figure stepping onto the front lawn. The same one that had chased them through the hallways the night before.