The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)(96)

The school was eerily still as they moved in single file through the hallways, catching glimpses of the glittering stars outside the windows. The torches flickered in their brackets, casting frightening shadows against the walls—wispy creatures that seemed to creep after the would-be escapees, playing out a frieze against the pale stone. More than once, Alex heard one of the others gasp in fright, mistaking a shadowy shape for a real person as they turned a corner or tripped over a band of darkness, splayed out on the flagstones at their feet.

Alex took in as much of the view as he could, knowing they might never return to this place. Regardless of the magic that hung in the air, he couldn’t deny that Stillwater House was a thing of dark beauty. It looked like something torn from the pages of a luxury vacation brochure, where elegant, fashionable ladies in oversized sunglasses sipped espresso and talked rapidly in a foreign language he couldn’t understand.

Even at night, the villa was beautiful. Lamps and delicate strings of hanging lights lit up the courtyards, mirroring the stunning glitter of the cosmos above and shedding a soft glow upon the flowers and statues, giving them an otherworldly aura in the twilight hours. At some point, he figured, somebody must go around turning them all off, because he hadn’t been able to see the lights from the lighthouse—he wondered whose job that was, conjuring up the image of the toady Siren Mave. She seemed to do anything and everything and yet was never anywhere at all. He settled on believing it was her task to put out the lights, as they continued on through the lengthy labyrinth of corridors.

They passed doors and empty hallways, always listening for the sound of footsteps. The only sound Alex could hear was the anxious whisper of their collective breath as they followed Helena, who led the way. In the dim light, her hair seemed to glow ethereally, creating a halo around her head as it swung side to side with the rhythm of her movements. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to have her around, he thought. Everyone seemed to like her, including him, and it would definitely improve Jari’s mood, he mused. Plus, she was incredibly strong, which was definitely an asset for whatever hardship might lie ahead.

If only I could get rid of this doubt, he thought to himself, watching Helena more closely than he realized. It was only when he caught sight of Ellabell watching him that he quickly dropped his gaze, which had been lingering a moment too long, perhaps. Sneaking a glance at Ellabell, he saw a subtle look of dismay on her face, which he desperately wanted to wipe away. He hadn’t been looking at Helena because he was attracted to her, although she was undeniably beautiful, and now he was worried Ellabell might have gotten the wrong impression. Indecision plagued him—if he tried to reassure her he wasn’t looking at Helena, it would no doubt confirm her suspicions. If he left it unmentioned, she’d probably think that anyway.

When he turned to speak to her, deciding to go with reassurance, she had already moved on ahead, whispering companionably with Natalie, who was leaning in to hear better. He wished he could hear what they were saying, as he heard the tinkle of a hushed giggle, echoing through the air toward him.

With his mind so distracted by the whisperings of the two girls, Alex didn’t realize they had entered one of the many parts of the villa he had never seen before. They were in a narrow corridor, leading down beneath the earth. They treaded carefully on the stone steps as they descended, coming out into a long, rubble-strewn corridor, with peeling doors tucked away all along the length of it.

Helena paused, her mouth moving silently as she counted the doors, pointing toward one midway down the hall. She stopped beside it, gesturing for the others to do the same. Alex felt nerves clawing at his insides as he watched the girl reach out for the handle and pull it open with startling force. She stepped over the threshold, and the others moved to go in after her, following suit, but the blood-curdling scream that erupted from the girl’s lungs stopped them dead in their tracks.

Beyond the door, Alypia was waiting with a menacing grin and a team of armed guards.

Helena turned, her golden eyes wide in desperation. “Run!” she cried.

In a mess of confusion, Alex tried to urge his friends toward an exit, only to find that they had all been blocked. Guards had appeared along the length of the corridor, standing ominously in front of the entrances to every hallway. There was no way out.

They had been betrayed.

Alex’s eyes snapped toward Helena, but she looked just as horrified as he was. She ran toward a row of guards, trying to force her way past them. Golden, fierce energy crackled from her palms, but they were ready for her, as several guards at a time sent up shields of superior strength to block her magic. Helena roared, sending spears that thrummed with life directly at their heads, only for the missiles to shatter into a thousand glittering pieces, falling harmlessly to the floor.

The guards moved inward with their gleaming shields, forcing Alex and his friends into the center, where they could not break free. Although they all tried to use their magic, there wasn’t enough room to forge anything potent, the bolts and streams of gold and silvery black getting lost in a mist of confused energies, until nobody could tell what belonged to whom. In the fracas, Alex couldn’t think straight, struggling to get his mind to focus clearly enough to conjure something useful. The surprise had robbed him of his skill, and the guards edged ever closer.

Once they had been pushed back in front of the door, the guards shoved them roughly into the chamber beyond it, pinning their arms behind their backs.