The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)(6)

The spongy undergrowth was thick underfoot, snagging at their shoes and pants as they walked, the two of them trying and failing to navigate the gnarled roots that twisted up suddenly from the ground. Across a tangled thicket of bracken, Ellabell stumbled, but Alex was there to catch her. She blushed, peering at him curiously from behind her spectacles as he propped her upright again. Smiling, he removed his hands, careful not to let them linger too long on her arms.

The air around them was heavy with the rich, earthy scent of damp soil and fresh vegetation that, for Alex, brought back childhood memories of damp hikes in the countryside. It was true what Ellabell had said—he had forgotten too, how colorful and textured the world could be. In the forest, life blossomed all around, filling every sense. Although he didn’t know what this world was, or where it was, he had to admit it was beautifully crafted.

“How are you feeling about everything?” asked Alex, a little out of the blue, as they wandered along in a companionable silence, listening to the soft murmur of the wind in the treetops.

She shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Why did you want to come with us?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I told you,” she muttered, not looking him in the eye.

Sensing her unwillingness to talk, Alex didn’t say anything else as they continued on through the trees, though there were a great many questions running through his mind. He remembered her saying she didn’t want to leave him, as they had stood at the corner of the corridor, not knowing what dangers lay ahead, but he wasn’t sure what she had meant by that. He realized there had been a tiny glimmer of hope on his part that a mutual affection existed between them—and now, alone, he wanted her to enlighten him on why she hadn’t wanted to leave, but Ellabell didn’t seem keen to share. Alex frowned, confused by her. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time, or maybe he had read into something that simply wasn’t there.

The sunlight dappled the forest floor, lighting the way.

“What are they?” asked Ellabell suddenly, pointing toward a cluster of large bushes that bunched up from a dim clearing in the woodland to their right.

Alex moved across the twisting undergrowth toward the plants. On closer inspection, he saw that among the waxy green leaves and spiny branches, the bushes were full to bursting with plump, shiny, blackberry-like berries. Tentatively, he plucked one from its barb and squished it beneath his fingers, letting the dark, burgundy juice run across his skin. Dropping the berry to the forest floor, he plucked another and popped it on the end of his tongue. He let it sit there for a while, hoping that if it were poisonous he would sense it before he swallowed the berry.

Slightly more confident that the fruit was edible, he chewed it, tasting immediately the sugary sweetness of the berry as it danced on his taste-buds. It was delicious, and there were bushes and bushes full of them. Not an ideal diet, but enough to start with.

“Are they good?” asked Ellabell.

“Really good.” He plucked a handful for her.

She tasted the first one, and her whole face lit up. “Delicious! Everything here is delicious!” She stuffed the handful into her mouth. Licking her fingers clean, she held them up to Alex with a delighted chuckle rippling in the back of her throat. He could see where the deep red juice of the berries had stained her skin, and couldn’t help but laugh too; it made him happy to see her smiling again.

A tension had been broken between them, and before long, Ellabell seemed to feel easier again in his company. She hummed as she stretched out the fabric of her jacket, the arms tied around her waist for maximum fruit volume, and picked as many berries as she could. Alex couldn’t place the song, but it was oddly familiar. A high, sweet tune that Alex enjoyed listening to, getting lost in the rhythm and cadence of it as he worked.

“Who is Elias?” asked Ellabell suddenly, taking Alex by surprise—and confusion. Where had the question come from?

“What?”

“Who is Elias?” she repeated, peering at him around one of the large bushes. Her mouth was now as stained by the sweet red fruit as her hands, the trickling streaks of dried juice giving her a slightly sinister quality.

“Elias is Elias,” replied Alex warily, giving a shrug.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” she warned. “Who is he? How do you know him?”

“It’s… It’s a long story.”

“We have time,” she insisted, her voice catching slightly in her throat. Alex frowned; the mere mention of him seemed to set Ellabell on edge.

“Elias is my shadowy advisor, I guess,” he began, not knowing how to describe the shadow-man. “He appeared to me on the first day at Spellshadow, while I was waiting to be enrolled. He was a cat, and then, later on, he was a man—he sort of changes shape as he pleases, and though he can look human when he wants, I’m not exactly sure how human he is.” He looked at Ellabell to see if she was following. There was confusion on her face, but curiosity too.

“Then what is he?” she asked. It was the very question Alex would love to have known the answer to, and his ignorance was not for lack of trying.

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. I only know that he changes shape and is made up of shadows and is very good at stealing things.”

“Stealing things?”

“Yeah, he steals things and gives—well, gave them to me, back at the manor… I don’t suppose he’ll be doing that anymore,” said Alex with a hint of regret. He wasn’t sure where Elias was, after his last battle with the Head, or if he had even made it out alive—could Elias even be killed? Alex didn’t know. The only thing he was sure of was that he had expected Elias to show up in the office with his sharp wit and silver tongue, claiming victory over the Head, but he had not and had not appeared since.