The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(87)

She frowned. “What do you expect me to do?”

“You don’t want him running off, do you? Just come over here and help me hold him still,” Caius demanded.

“Fine,” muttered Alypia, as she came to where Alex was being forcibly held.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Caius dip into his pocket and pull out the small silver box. The warden handed it to Alypia, who took it tentatively, eyeing the object with some suspicion.

“Open it and take out the string inside,” Caius instructed.

Frowning, Alypia lifted the small silver lid. A bronze light sprang out of the tiny box, rushing at her face. It smothered her, pouring down her throat and running into her eyes. Alex leaned back instinctively, unable to look away. Alypia opened her mouth to scream, but the sound came out as more of a gurgle. Her eyes wide in horror, she sank to the floor.

Caius removed the handcuffs from Alex’s wrists and slapped them onto Alypia’s instead. Alex stood shakily, and, in the next instant, Caius guided him out of the room by the arm. Looking back over his shoulder, Alex could see Alypia still trembling on the ground.

Caius slammed the door shut and turned the key in the lock. There was no sound to be heard from within.

“My apologies,” the warden said solemnly, putting the keys back in his pocket.

“What the hell was that all about?” Alex snapped.

“It was the only way—”

Alex shook his head. “Why did you do that? I can’t believe you just did that!”

“I had to keep her here somehow,” Caius said, his expression utterly calm. “She kept insisting she was going to return to Stillwater, but I promised to find you and bring you to her if she would stay put and wait. I wanted to tell you my plan, but I couldn’t risk her detecting something amiss. And now she’s trapped—as you planned.”

“Next time you want to use me as bait, you could just ask!” growled Alex. “What was that thing, anyway? The silver box?”

Caius gave a small smile. “A personal barrier. It works the same as the one around the keep, and it will stay until I remove it.”

Alex shuddered. “I can’t believe… I can’t believe you didn’t say a word.”

“She suspected nothing, and that is what matters.”

Alex eyed Caius intently. “So you don’t really want to kill me?”

“Of course not… Forgive me, my boy, I only did what I thought was right,” Caius said, leaning forward with his cane. “I hope you can forgive me for that.”

Right now, Alex didn’t know what to think. He just knew there was a portal open in the courtyard of the keep, and now nobody stood in its way.





Chapter 28





Caius seemed troubled as they parted ways, insisting that Alex not tell the others what he had done. It had been for the good of all, the warden said, to successfully capture Alypia without raising any alarms or causing undue fuss. As much as Alex wanted to tell his friends about Caius’s false betrayal, he agreed to keep the secret. The more Alex thought about it, the more he realized that it had probably been for the best. Still, it was a shock that would take some time to recover from.

Alex sat alone in the tower room, waiting for the others to return. Caius had suggested that Alex go back by himself, to seek a moment’s respite, while he went to inform the others of the new development in the proceedings. At first, Alex hadn’t been sure, but the earnestness in Caius’s voice had won him over; it seemed the warden was eager to show Alex he wasn’t all bad.

With nobody to distract him, Alex’s mind wandered to Alypia. He had questions that needed answering, and she might be his best source of information. He wanted to ask what she had intended to do with him, with regards to the counter-spell and Julius. It made him antsy to think that he might return to Stillwater House without having taken the opportunity to interrogate her.

Maybe I could go back while nobody is looking, see what she has to say for herself, he thought, moving toward the entrance of the tower.

“And where do you think you’re going?” a familiar voice purred.

Alex groaned as the shadows in the farthest corner above his head shifted, taking shape as the black vapors trickled down the masonry toward him. He had neither the time nor the energy to take part in a mud-slinging match with Elias, and he knew the shadow-man would be feeling particularly smug after swooping in to help him earlier.

“Not now,” Alex grumbled, squeezing his eyes shut in the futile hope that the appearing creature would leave him alone. As with everything Elias did, Alex was certain these surprise visits were purely to aggravate him.

“Sorry, kiddo, you can’t block me out,” Elias said. “Squeeze your eyes shut as tight as you like—I can wait longer than you can resist. You know me. Patience is my middle name.”

“Haven’t you already bothered me enough for one day?” Alex said sharply, still refusing to give his shadow-guide the satisfaction of his full attention.

“If you wish to be treated like a child, who am I to stand in your way?” Elias replied, adopting a babyish voice that was almost more annoying than his usual one. “Would little Alex like to see what Uncle Elias has brought for him? A giftie! Ooh, isn’t that exciting? Yes, it is. Isn’t Uncle Elias unbelievably handsome and generous and charming and… I could go on. I will, if you don’t open your eyes.”