The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)(14)

Alex sat, helpless to do anything but watch and listen from his solitary spot, as he felt his worries slip away, if only for as long as this dream lasted.





Chapter 6





Alex had drifted off for a time, in the quietude of the lamp-room, though it had grown too hot as the sun burned brighter. It was late afternoon by the time the others awoke, looking more refreshed than Alex had seen them in a long time. There wasn’t any food left, but everyone had gathered on the first floor to share a bowl of water Natalie had fetched from the lake. Alex declined the offered dish as he leaned against the staircase banister, though his throat was fiercely dry.

“We found it,” he announced, once everyone had quenched their thirst.

“What do you mean?” Jari asked.

“Stillwater House—I’m pretty sure it’s Stillwater House, anyway. It’s not too far. And believe me when I say it’s beautiful.”

“It exists?” Jari frowned in disbelief.

Alex nodded. “I’m fairly certain.”

“It’s… beautiful?” Ellabell sounded unsure.

Alex nodded again. “It’s stunning. I saw it while you were sleeping. We couldn’t see it in the dark, but it’s there, I promise.”

He took his friends up to the top of the tower so they could see it for themselves. A weight seemed to lift from the atmosphere as they gazed upon the view. There was still a short way to go, but Alex was confident they could do it without being detected. Even Aamir seemed more peaceful, no longer contorting in his fevered state.

As the sun set and darkness fell once more, the weary but hopeful quintet closed the door of the lighthouse behind them and pushed the rowboat back into the water, hopping aboard with a refreshed lightness in their step. Now that their destination was in sight, the rowing seemed much easier. Alex took up his position at the oar once more, with Jari beside him. There was still some light to see by, but enough darkness to keep them covered as the boat made its way over to the shoreline.

Within the hour, they had reached the shallows, though they docked a fair distance away from the glowing torchlight of the villa. As it ran aground on the same eerie, pale pebbles that had defined the beach on the other side of the lake, the four able-bodied friends hoisted Aamir from his sleeping spot and carefully set him down on the grass above the beach. Once he was safely to one side, they dragged the boat right up onto land, turning it sideways and hiding it in a cluster of densely packed trees.

A short distance from the cleverly camouflaged boat, Alex spied a quaint cottage-like building, set into a semi-circle of thin trees, the glistening walls surrounded by a perimeter of plump bushes made up of tiny, waxy leaves. The structure was built of the same pure white stone as the villa but looked as abandoned as the lighthouse on the island. The door had the same ancient quality to it, as did the faint blue paint that had all but peeled away from the sills of the boarded-up windows.

Ushering everyone inside, Alex waited until they were all comfortable before announcing his next plan of action.

“I’m going to go and explore the outer wall of Stillwater, if anyone wants to come?” he said. After seeing the walls from his vantage point on the outer platform of the lighthouse, he was curious to know whether it had any of the same sort of barrier magic that Spellshadow had. If it did, it could make life harder for them. If it didn’t, it might make things much easier, especially in terms of getting help for Aamir.

Jari’s hand shot up. “Me! I’ll come.”

“Anyone else?” asked Alex, but the faces staring back at him didn’t seem too eager. “Last chance?”

With only Jari in tow, Alex crept along the shore, the pair keeping tight to the trees to avoid being seen as they made their way toward the villa wall. It rose up before them from the emerald green grass, glistening white even in the dim evening light.

Alex approached it tentatively, glancing up to make sure there weren’t any guards looming down at him from above. Confident nobody was watching, he pressed his palms carefully against the stonework, feeling for a barrier. To his surprise, it did not push back against him, like the ivy-covered walls of Spellshadow would have done. It was simply stone; there was nothing else laced within the fabric of it.

“Anything?” Jari hissed.

“It’s just rock,” whispered Alex.

Despite the wall’s size, the hefty rectangular stones it was built from were staggered, making it more climbable than Alex had dared hope. Keeping flat to the wall’s surface, they climbed it with ease, the edges between the blocks giving perfect hand and footholds for a swift ascent.

Once on top of the battlement, Alex made sure to keep low, gesturing for Jari to do the same. Surveying the landscape ahead of them, Alex saw there were indeed a few guards set in small lookouts along the walls, but they seemed almost ceremonial. The guards themselves weren’t even looking up from where they sat, flipping through books or dozing off in the glow of cozy torchlight, and they certainly hadn’t noticed the appearance of two strangers on top of the ramparts. Seizing the opportunity, Alex scurried along the wall and halted at the lip of a wide, open courtyard. Jari almost knocked Alex off the edge as he bumped into him, not quite able to see properly in the dim light.

“Sorry!” he whispered.

Alex frowned, glad Jari hadn’t been running faster. As he turned his attention back to the villa below, Alex saw a few people moving across the wide courtyard, holding burning torches as they strolled through the grounds. There was no urgency, no pressure to the way they were moving. There was laughter too—bright and bubbling and genuine. A sound Alex hadn’t quite anticipated. As the groups chattered, Alex tried to make out what they were saying to one another, but they were talking too low for him to hear anything much. The only thing he could decipher was the cadence of their voices, which was as crisp and polished as they looked. Alex could hardly believe it: every single one of the people passing below was of the same caliber of beauty as the four scouts they had seen in the clearing.