The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)(86)

The idea of the bottles being in her office perplexed him even more, and he walked back quickly, creeping beside the lakeshore as he tried to skirt around the obvious routes back into the villa. Still, he could feel the unnerving sensation of eyes on him.

Peering up at the wall, he wondered if it was Elias, keeping an eye on him, though when he looked up into the shadows to search for any sign of the shadow-man, he could see none—only impenetrable, watching darkness.

As he stole back into the realm of Stillwater House, panic jolted through him. Somebody had grabbed his arm. Turning, he half-expected it to be a guard or someone who had seen him creeping around the arena, intent on punishing him for his flouting of the rules. Instead, with some relief, he saw that it was Helena, though she looked less than pleased to see him.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I was just out for a walk.” He shrugged, not wanting to give up too much information.

Helena didn’t look convinced. “You shouldn’t be out there at night,” she warned.

“Why not?” he challenged, wondering if Helena knew more about Alypia’s offers than she had been letting on.

“It’s not safe. You never know what might be lurking out there,” she replied, half-disappointing Alex. It seemed she didn’t know about the additional provisos, after all.

“How come you’re out here?” He smiled wryly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, if you must know,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “I’ve just come from where they took that prisoner.”

Alex’s eyes lit up. “You know where they are?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“Will you take us there?” he pleaded.

Another nod. “I can get you all to the prisoner. If I come and get you in a few hours, will you be ready?” she asked.

“I’ll go and let the others know.”

“I’ll see you then. Make sure you’re ready to go,” she insisted, leaving Alex alone in the villa.

He took off with a lightness in his step, excited to tell the others what he had learned, though he couldn’t stop wondering who it was the guards had brought in. Whoever it was, they would find out soon enough. He just hoped the others were up for a midnight adventure.





Chapter 34





True to her word, Helena came to get them in the middle of the night. They had all gathered in Alex’s room, though conversation was lacking thanks to the anxious tension that had settled between them. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but they still didn’t make out Helena’s stealthy approach. She was so silent, the knock on the door sent them jumping out of their skins.

They recovered quickly as Helena beckoned for them to follow her. The girl led them through a bewildering labyrinth of hallways and tunnels, stretching below an area of the villa Alex wasn’t at all familiar with, until they eventually ended up in a prison of sorts. He knew it was a prison because he remembered the slick, dripping walls and the stale stench of unclean bodies and despair.

“Down there,” whispered Helena, pointing to a door at the very end of a long, dripping corridor, the walls covered in a thick, moss-like substance. Alex was surprised to see that there were no guards patrolling the area. Helena, he presumed, had taken care of that detail for them.

Alex walked down the corridor, checking the door with a firm push of his shoulder. It was locked, as any good cell ought to be.

“Here, let me try,” said Natalie, moving past him to slip her magic into the lock. Golden light surged for a moment, but the lock would not break. “There is something blocking it,” she remarked, trying again. It was as if there were some sort of barrier, compressing any kind of magical energy used on the lock. Before Alex could offer up his services, Helena presented a key, sliding it into the lock and turning it smoothly. With a clunk, the door unlocked.

Alex shot Helena a look, but she swiftly gestured him inside, her eyes downcast. He pushed the door open. A collective gasp susurrated through the corridor as they saw the huddled figure on the dank, dirty floor of the prison cell.

Professor Gaze looked up at them with watery eyes, her knees tucked under her chin in a strangely girlish fashion. She looked exhausted and unbearably vulnerable, but she mustered a smile as she saw her visitors, though it was a weary smile that barely reached her usually mischievous eyes. Alex’s heart clenched at the vision of her; she didn’t look well at all.

Despite her weakened state, Alex managed to catch sight of Gaze’s eyes narrowing as she saw Helena fidgeting uncomfortably in the background. He wondered what was causing such suspicion, but he didn’t feel right asking, as everyone rushed toward Gaze in a flurry of affection.

“My dear students!” she cried cheerfully, embracing them all. “I had no idea I’d be seeing your glorious faces! Had I known, I’d have dressed up a little for you,” she joked, tugging at the edges of her frayed, tattered robes.

“We had no idea, Professor!” exclaimed Natalie.

“Nor should you—those false little upstarts wanted to sneak me in without so much as a whisper of my being here, but they hadn’t bargained on their prisoner being a bit of a firebrand.” She grinned, though her cheer wavered as tears welled in her eyes. “I gave as good as I got. Goodness, am I glad to see you. I thought I’d be on my own at the end.” Her voice cracked, breaking the hearts of those present.