The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(51)

“I don’t want to manipulate you—I want you to teach me.” Alex grinned, knowing he was getting to Demeter.

“Why would you want to learn something like this? It’s not something I’m entirely proud of, believe it or not. It’s not something anyone should be proud of,” he murmured.

Alex looked Demeter dead in the eye. “Because I need the best weapons possible.”

Demeter scrutinized his former student. Alex felt as if the man were sizing him up. After a lengthy pause, it seemed as if Demeter had come to a decision.

“Fine,” he said, his voice dripping with reluctance, “but first, you get a full night’s sleep. No compromises. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

Alex smiled. “Deal.”

“Don’t make me regret this.”



Alex slept more deeply than he had since he was kid, his whole body shutting down into rest mode, needing it, savoring every moment. There were no dreams, no nightmares, just pure, unadulterated slumber. Even the fear of Alypia and Julius could not pierce the oblivion into which he fell.

As soon as he awoke, he jumped straight out of bed and rushed to find Demeter, gulping down a meager breakfast and dressing quickly, but the ex-teacher was already waiting for him in the open expanse of the common room.

“I had a feeling you’d be rising early this morning,” Demeter sighed.

“I’m eager to learn,” Alex replied, smiling. “The sooner I master this, the sooner I can track the warden down.”

Demeter grimaced. “Well, let’s not get behind ourselves, shall we? We’re going to need a more open space than this; it’s too enclosed here, and there are too many prying eyes.”

They set off toward one of the larger turret rooms, where it was quiet and they would have more room to work. Alex wasn’t sure why they would need space for mind control, but he figured Demeter was the expert.

As they walked, Alex’s curiosity got the better of him. It was rare that he had time alone with either of the professors, to ask questions, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to delve a little into the life of Demeter.

“Why does everyone always calm down so much around you?” he asked. “Is it because of what you can do?”

Demeter shrugged. “There is a degree of sharing emotional states that comes with the skills I have. I am empathic, and I can affect those around me by radiating certain feelings. Sometimes I do it without even realizing,” he explained, with a look of amused surprise on his face. “I didn’t realize I’d been doing it around you all, but I see now that I must have been. It’s a habit of mine—I like people to feel at ease.”

“It’s cool.”

“It can be,” Demeter remarked, his reluctance still evident.

Reaching the turret room, Alex was bursting with anticipation. The place where they had arrived, however, was not the most inspiring of classrooms. The windowless room was devoid of any furniture, save for two crisscrossed benches in the center, thrown in haphazardly to be stored, by the looks of it. Dark splotches stained the stone floor, the walls, and even the ceiling.

“You’re sure you want to learn this?” Demeter asked, moving around the perimeter to light four torches that hung in rusted brackets.

Alex nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Very well. Come and stand in the center of the room,” Demeter instructed.

Alex did as he was told, his eyes mesmerized by the torches’ dancing flames as Demeter moved to stand opposite him. No natural light filtered into the space. It almost felt like a room used for human sacrifice, or something equally ritualistic and dark. Patiently, trying not to let his nerves show, Alex waited for his next instruction.

“I’m going to teach you the basics and instruct you as to how such magic might be inverted, to fit your particular skillset—I have some experience with Spellbreaker anti-magic, as you know,” Demeter explained, his voice taking on a teacher-like tone.

Alex nodded.

“First, I want you to place your palms on either side of my head, and then I want you to close your eyes.”

Alex followed the commands, tentatively placing his palms flat against the sides of Demeter’s head. It felt strange to be so close to his former teacher, but he shrugged off the bizarreness, focusing instead on Demeter’s next direction.

“I want you to, carefully, send your anti-magic into my mind. Once you’re in there, you need to seek out the glow of an emotion—any emotion, pick one. When you have, let me know. I should still be able to direct you, even when you’re inside my head.” He smiled, although it seemed forced. “Ready?”

“Here goes nothing,” Alex murmured.

Nervously, Alex wove the silvery black strands of his anti-magic beneath his hands and fed them slowly into Demeter’s skull. It was a peculiar sensation, like opening up a secret journal. It felt similar to following a spirit line—the sight that met him was certainly the same, floating through an endless blackness, though there were countless glimmering lights sparkling in the air all around him instead of one big one in the center. Alex wondered if they were the emotions Demeter had been speaking of, pulsing in the darkness of the former teacher’s mind.

“Now, it will be easier with me, as I am permitting you inside my head—this would not be so easy on someone who doesn’t want you to see their thoughts.” Demeter’s voice came from somewhere in the room, disconnected from the person beneath Alex’s hands. “Have you found an emotion? It should glow dully, like a small bulb, flashing slightly. You should be able to feel it, if you can’t visualize it.”