The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(66)

Alex wondered what the bird did when the Great Evil was in need of sating, knowing he’d like to see it, yet fearing what it meant. He realized with a sense of awe that Caius and the others must be braver than they appeared, to stand and hold their nerve while they fed golden creatures to a mysterious evil that would kill them if it ever escaped. Plus, who was to say the amount they were feeding it would be enough? What if, one day, they misjudged the quantity and the evil got free—what would the mages do then? Alex presumed they’d have protocols in place, but still, it seemed pretty concerning to him. He wasn’t sure he’d like to be in their position.

Caius leveled his gaze at Alex, a strange look in his golden eyes. “It is a rigmarole that will continue until there is no essence left in the world, one way or another.”

“So this happens at the other havens too?” Alex asked. “There are only four now, right?”

“Yes, and the existing four havens are arranged in a ring—it’s why you can only move from one haven to another in sequence,” Caius said. “It is a network, designed to concentrate the spread of essence into one particular place. If you were to look at it from above, you would see the havens as four points on a compass, with all the essence basically flowing into the center of the ring. It is why these four stayed standing, when the other five fell—they succeeded in trapping the Great Evil because they formed a circle, and ensnared the Great Evil in the center.”

Alex couldn’t tell if this whole display was an attempt to get him to sympathize with the cause, to come around to the idea of giving up his own life in order to save the population of mages from future annihilation—either when no more mage babies were born with magical powers, and all their sources had run out, or when somebody slipped up and the Great Evil eventually broke free. If that was the case, Alex had to commend Caius for his forward-thinking. The only issue was, Alex still wasn’t eager to give up his life at all, and he didn’t think that was ever likely to change. For now, his mind was set on finding an alternative solution to the problem. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Head, and the role he might be able to play in such a loophole, if he could somehow be persuaded.

And by “persuaded,” Alex meant “forced.”

It seemed greedy, after already being so thoroughly spoiled with information, but Alex knew he had to ask another favor of Caius. It had been the whole purpose of finding Caius, after all, to seek out the Kingstone essence, but he had managed to get somewhat sidetracked by the surprise of meeting the old man, and discovering he was not the demon he had been made out to be. Now, however, there was no excuse. The man was right there, and far more affable than the monster Alex had been prepared to take on.

“Caius, I was wondering if I might ask something of you,” he said shyly.

“It depends what you’re going to ask.” Caius smiled.

“I was just wondering if there was any chance you could give me some essence taken from the prisoners here—just a bagful, perhaps,” he said tentatively. “The thing is, without it, and with Alypia and everything, we’d never be able to escape in time. With some essence, we could do it; we could make the portal home and get out of your hair.”

The old man scrutinized Alex, his incisive golden eyes making Alex feel uncomfortable. A silence stretched between the duo until, finally, Caius spoke.

“While I fervently believe the five of you should escape the magical realm as quickly as you are able, I won’t give you the essence… but there is a reason I will not,” he said evenly. “I don’t believe the essence here will be of any use to you. It isn’t like other essence you may have come across. It is too strong, and I would not feel right handing it over to you in case something awful happened to you. It is too great a risk, I’m afraid. I know you will be disappointed, and I admire your pluck in asking, but I won’t be persuaded.” He gave Alex a sympathetic smile.

His words struck a blow to Alex. This had been his one final hope. He believed Caius when he said he wouldn’t be swayed, and Alex didn’t yet know how strong his newly discovered mind control skills would be against someone as ancient and strong as Caius. In truth, he was almost certain he wouldn’t stand a chance of forcing Caius to give him the information he wanted. But if they were to have any hope of returning home, they needed that essence, no matter what Caius said about its strength. The old man was probably being overly cautious.

If it’s so strong, maybe it will get the job done even quicker, Alex reasoned. Without it, they would be stuck here, and Alypia would break through—and who knew what she would do to them all? No, despite the dangers, the essence was the only way.

Alex waited until the old man turned his back to retrieve his torch from the bracket on the wall, and stepped toward him, moving his palms toward his temples. Swiftly, he fed his anti-magic into Caius’s mind, the way Demeter had taught him, but he came up against a sudden blockade. Everything felt wrong and shaky, a scarlet fog shivering in front of Alex’s eyes as he entered the head of the ancient royal. Fear rippled through him, driven by the strange barrier Caius had quickly created. Alex recoiled, ripping away the strands of silvery black.

The warden whirled around, tutting under his breath. For the very first time, Alex saw something frightening in Caius’s golden eyes, the voice that came from his pursed lips unnervingly steady and calm, as if forced to be so.