The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(74)

It became clear that neither he nor Elias was going anywhere, and nothing was more frustrating. If Alex had known his former guide couldn’t do anything, he would never have called him down from his dark bower. Now, not only was Alex locked away, unable to help friends who might be in a world of danger, but he had to endure Elias’s sarcastic company.

“You really can’t do anything?” Alex asked. If Elias could be of no help, he could do nothing but wait.

Elias lifted the peaks of his shadowy shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “It would appear not. Looks like it’s just the two of us.” He grinned, humming a familiar tune that seemed to echo in the peculiarity of whatever served as his throat. Alex had to wonder if this was exactly what the shadow-man wanted—a private audience.

“No humming.” Alex glared.

“How about a song? We could duet.”

“No singing, no humming—you’re distracting me!” Alex snapped, trying to think of what other options he had.

Elias raised his hazy palms. “Temper, temper! My apologies, Webber. I was only suggesting amusing pastimes to make the time tick by all the quicker.” A smirk undermined his apology. “Though you always did have trouble with focus.”

“One more word, and I swear I’ll blow you out of this cell.” Alex jabbed a finger in the direction of the shadow-guide’s wispy mouth.

“I’d like to see you try,” Elias muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing—not a word, not a peep.”

“Good,” Alex grumbled. “Seeing as I’m not getting rid of you anytime soon, I do have a couple of questions.”

“Ooh, I love a Q and A, don’t you?” Elias purred.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Can we keep the sass to a minimum?”

“Never.” Elias grinned.

Alex sighed. “Well, I met with Caius, and he shed some light on why these royals seem to want me,” he said, watching Elias’s face for any hint of guilt or panic. “It seems I can be of some use to them, thanks to the blood running through my veins.”

“Well, the anti-magic,” Elias quipped.

Alex frowned. “Is that what you wanted all along, for me to learn about my ‘purpose’ without you having to get your hands dirty?”

Elias exhaled, all pretense dissipating. “I couldn’t tell you,” he replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. “Many times, I thought about damning the consequences, but that hasn’t exactly worked in my favor up to now. Whenever I try to tell the full truth, well, let’s just say someone shuts my trap for me. I only get a few strikes and then… well, I’m out. Gone. Done. I’m just about down to my last one, if memory serves.” Finally, the shadow-man had the decency to look sheepish.

Alex thought of what had happened to Elias in the cell, when he had disappeared in a snap of light. As Siren Mave had said, it seemed that his “guardians” could only tell him the answers when the right questions were asked.

“So it’s up to me to perform the counter-spell?” Alex asked.

Elias said nothing, refusing to lift his black, star-spangled eyes in Alex’s direction. It infuriated Alex to see the shadowy creature still so reticent, even now, when just about all of the secrets Alex could imagine were out on the table.

“Can Virgil do it?” Alex pressed, the name still sounding utterly alien.

Elias sniggered. “Name doesn’t fit him, does it?”

“Can he do it?” Alex repeated. “Can he do the spell and rid the magical world of the Great Evil? If there’s a chance it doesn’t have to be me, I’d like to hear about it,” Alex snapped, losing his already tested patience.

Elias lifted his wispy chin, finally looking Alex in the eye. Alex had forgotten how intense the galactic stare could be, when directed entirely at him. Still, he refused to sever the connection. At long last, he felt as if he were about to get a straight answer. Elias sighed, as if a weight had been lifted from his weightless shoulders, making Alex believe he must be asking the right questions, finally.

“In theory, our wizened friend Virgil should be able to do it, though I should warn you that all his previous attempts have failed, and he hasn’t tried it again for several decades. Not that that means much—I think he deliberately threw his endeavors, wanting to make it look like he wasn’t capable. A pretty cowardly move, considering most of the royals think he’s utterly useless, particularly his apparent step-father. But at least he got to keep his life. Saying that, there is always the slim chance that he was telling the truth and he just can’t do it, even if he gave it proper gusto. Looking at him, I wouldn’t rule it out.” He smirked.

“Could he be made to do it again?”

“You’d be better off getting a giraffe to try,” Elias quipped. “Nothing will get that wormy creature to do it again, aside from a king’s command, but that won’t come again anytime soon. It’s probably why he’s so intent on handing you over like a bicycle on Christmas morning. The last attempt was something of a drama, and I don’t think anyone is ready to repeat that fiasco. I think the wails could be heard from here—in fact, if you listen hard enough, I think you can still hear them… Simple answer: he won’t do it again unless somebody makes him.” This made Alex curious, seeing as that was exactly what he wanted to do.