The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(21)

Alex had a feeling it would be the former. Nothing was ever simple in the magical world. And yet, there was something practical in the explanation that excited Alex; it gave him the same feeling that clockwork gave him—that coding had once given him in the real world—and he was more than ready to examine the mechanisms within the golden cylinders.

“This is gonna be awesome,” Jari said with a fist pump.

“I hate to be the party-pooper, but how are we supposed to capture Caius once he’s actually here?” Ellabell asked.

Alex swallowed. “Well… If we can get him to come to the connecting hallways where the broken barrier modules will be, and if we bring some bottles of the Stillwater essence…we could use them against him, the way I did with Alypia.” He shuddered slightly at the memory. “Combined with the element of surprise, that should give us fairly good odds, especially if we can block the exits—right?”

“It should…” Vincent replied.

“Will this take a long time?” Professor Lintz spoke up for the first time from his spot at the table, where he was still tinkering away with his mechanical beetles.

As if taking the signal from Lintz, Demeter chimed in. “I don’t believe it will, though of course it will depend on the nature of the circuitry.”

Vincent nodded. “Even if the circuitry turns out to be more complex than expected, the whole endeavor should take a few days, once we get everything in order.”

“Jammers will need to be fitted, which I’m sure Lintz can handle, as long as the rest of us shoulder the bulk of the work,” Demeter said.

Lintz nodded. “If you’re telling me we can have Caius here in a matter of days, with the potential of having the Kingstone essence in hand, then I’m all for it. I will make the best darned jammers you have ever seen, though I will need to get a report from the cylinders, so I know which kind to make. Demeter, would you go with Vincent to investigate and then report back? I just want to get these finished, so there aren’t bits falling off them.” He sighed wearily.

“Yes, shall we head down now?” Demeter asked. “After all, there is no time like the future.”

“I’ll come with you,” Alex said. “I want to see what I can do with these cylinders.”

“We’ll meet up with Agatha too—she’ll be thrilled to know what devilish affairs I’m getting us into,” Vincent remarked, chuckling softly.

Alex nodded. “Okay. Anyone else want to come look at the cylinders?”

The others shook their heads.

“Ellabell and I will go on Alypia duty and help to keep those portals at bay,” said Natalie, and Ellabell nodded her confirmation.

“And Jari and I are going to go on beetle duty, to get them fixed up and fit for use,” Aamir added.

“I’ll fill you in when I get back,” Alex said.

Ellabell grasped his hand. “Make sure you don’t go anywhere you’re not supposed to by yourself,” she warned. “We don’t want you hurtling out of any more windows.”

“No more falling out of windows.”

“Good.” She smirked.

Demeter was already heading out of the room, and Alex hurriedly followed him, with Vincent bringing up the rear. As they made their way through the prison, toward Agatha and the first golden cylinder, Alex finally felt as if they were getting somewhere.

Caius, we’re coming for you, he thought, unable to stop the smile as it spread across his face.





Chapter 9





Although Demeter and Vincent didn’t say much as they wandered down the corridors, Alex could hardly contain his optimism. If their new plan worked, they might just manage to stay one step ahead of the game, evading Alypia before she had the chance to break through to the keep. It seemed as if she was doubling her efforts to reconnect the portal from Stillwater, but, as worried as that made him, Alex refused to feel disheartened. Where there were options, there was hope.

Turning the corner from one of the inner vestibules, complete with its enticing golden cylinder, they reached the hallway where Agatha and Vincent’s cells were, though the necromancer continued past the two half-open doors, moving away from his own room and heading toward another door a little way up. He knocked lightly, awaiting the response from within.

“Come in!” cried Agatha.

Alex wasn’t sure what this room was, but it sure didn’t look like a cell. Beyond the door was a small common room of sorts, though Agatha was the only inhabitant. She had said her farewells to Alex and the others after his near-death experience out of the window, blaming a sudden onset of fatigue, though she seemed rejuvenated now as she greeted Alex, Demeter and Vincent.

A fire burned fiercely in a grate on the far side, with dusty armchairs arranged in front of it. Alex thought it might be something of a fire hazard, but he didn’t mention it as he followed Vincent and Demeter inside, choosing to stand while the others sat before the roaring flames. On the back wall, Alex caught a glimpse of gold fixed into the masonry, half-covered by a carved wooden sculpture of a goddess. The sight took him by surprise, making him realize that this must once have been an old guard room or something, not intended for the use of prisoners. It was actually a barrier module, similar to the ones that graced the walls in the various courtyards and vestibules within the prison. Alex wandered toward it, wanting to get a better look.