The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(68)

Alex jolted forward to join Ellabell, but Jari stood in his path.

“Where did you zip off to?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “One minute you were running around like a headless chicken, the next you were gone.”

Alex nodded toward Ellabell. “I was finding her. Someone had taken her beyond the keep—I would have come to get you, but I didn’t want to waste time.”

“But Aamir and I found her, outside on the bench,” Natalie said, a bemused expression on her face.

Alex shook his head. “She was on the bench because Caius put here there.”

“Caius!” Jari yelped. “You found him?”

“More than that—I spoke with him,” Alex replied. “He didn’t take Ellabell.”

Aamir frowned. “What?”

“He’s not what we thought he was. But I’ll get to that in a minute,” Alex said. “Ellabell, can you remember anything? Do you know who took you?”

Ellabell looked at him with bewilderment. “I can’t remember anything much… just the feeling of being cold, perhaps, and a sensation of flying, maybe,” she replied slowly. “Everything was black for so long, like I was in a deep darkness. There was a man after the darkness, but I don’t think he was the one who took me. He was old… kind and soft-spoken. He gave me something to drink, I think, and then I was asleep. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in the tower room again, though I can’t say I know how I got here.”

“That man was Caius, and he didn’t take you,” Alex said firmly. What Ellabell said piqued his suspicions as to who might have taken her, and that thought filled him with a sudden, vengeful anger. He felt his eyes burning as he considered the very short list of culprits in his head. A list of just one.

“Alex,” Aamir murmured, pointing toward Alex’s body. “I think you need to calm down.”

Looking down, Alex saw that silvery sparks of his energy were bristling through his skin, glittering in a swirling mist about him. Glancing around, he could see that his friends were worried, perhaps wondering what he might do. The way the strands moved, unbidden, through his body was a visible sign of his strength, and the potential lack of control that came with it. It was troubling even for him, as he realized it had happened without his say-so, behaving under its own volition.

“I’m calm. Just… passionate,” he said quickly, pushing the light away.

“So let me get this straight. You were with Caius all this time?” Jari asked, a suspicious note in his voice.

Alex nodded. “His terrible reputation is just so that he can keep control without actually having to hurt anyone,” he explained. “The guy is decent. A little strange, but his values are in the right place. He’s promised to help us trap Alypia here.”

“You trust this man?” Aamir asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Honestly, I do. Believe me, nobody is more surprised than I am to hear those words coming out of my mouth,” Alex admitted. It had been a strange day. “His story is a long one, but if you’d heard it, you would too. He’s the warden here so somebody worse is not, and he seems to hate the royals, particularly his brother, almost as much as I do.”

The others were still looking at him as if he were crazy.

“You realize you sound like a total kook, right?” Jari quipped.

Alex chuckled softly. “I can see how it looks, but there’s logic in what he does. He knows not everyone here is an actual criminal, but in order to protect the prisoners from those who would do real harm, he has to treat everyone the same. Think about it—do you think the real, pure evil criminals here wouldn’t jump at the chance to overthrow Caius and run amok in this place if they didn’t fear him? He uses their fear to his advantage. It’s a powerful tool, after all, and so far it has worked. It’s actually brilliant.”

“Wow, you’re such a fanboy,” Jari sniggered.

“I’m just trying to make you understand why I think we can, and should, trust this guy,” Alex sighed. “I know I sound insane, but I believe we can rely on this man to help us, and that’s a luxury we can’t afford to turn away from.”

“If he’s the man who saved me, then I trust him too,” Ellabell said quietly.

Just then, Demeter walked into the room with Lintz bumbling in behind, clutching a large collection of clockwork beetles. The professor threw them abruptly onto the table, sinking into one of the chairs with a loud, tense sigh of frustration. Along the far wall, Demeter paced. For good measure, Lintz flicked the nearest beetle, wincing as his finger made contact with the hard metal.

“It’s the bad news bears,” Jari announced as the group gathered around the table to hear what Lintz had to say. Whatever it was, it was evident that Jari was right—Lintz’s thunderous face hinted at no good news.

“Kindly keep your remarks to yourself, Petra, unless you have something useful to say,” Lintz muttered.

“Sorry, Professor.”

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

Lintz sighed. “It’s all no good, I’m afraid. My beetles are all done for—a portal began to come through while Demeter and I were in the courtyard, and not a single one of them noticed it. It was lucky we were nearby to see it. I’m not sure how much more I can patch them up… They’d almost be better off as scrap metal. I’m not sure we can rely on them anymore, but how we’re supposed to keep an eye out for all of Alypia’s portals, goodness only knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if she slipped through any day now.”