The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(88)

Alex opened his eyes, immediately wanting to shut them again as he saw the smug, amused expression that shifted across Elias’s kaleidoscopic features.

“What do you want?” Alex frowned.

Elias tutted. “Now, now, that’s no way to speak to your personal postman, is it? I’ve brought you information.”

“About?”

“Well, if you must know, it relates to the counter-spell I told you about,” the shadow-man explained. “You know, no pressure, but the one you might have to do if you choose to go ahead with the reversal of what your great-great-great-great-great-great-great—”

“I get the picture,” Alex interrupted. “You have information about the spell that I may or may not decide to do.”

“That’s the gist of it… The spell is a complex one, not for the fainthearted or the illiterate—seriously, the thing is like a novel. It’s written in a great big, dusty old book, as these ancient things usually are, which can be found within the walls of Falleaf House, under the protection of a man named Hadrian. Not my favorite royal, I have to say—not nearly enough spice for my liking. Bit of a goody two-shoes. You’ve got a lot in common, now that I think about it. He’s just your type of person.”

“Doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me,” Alex remarked, trying not to take the bait.

Elias scoffed. “I suppose, if you like a liberal. Me, I find dictators and despots so much more colorful. Hadrian takes a different approach to his school than the overseers of Spellshadow or Stillwater. He actually seems to care deeply about his students, if you can believe such a thing.” He shuddered. “Saying that, he’s the Head most likely to help your cause instead of the royal cause.”

If Elias didn’t like Hadrian, then Alex figured he might just be worth meeting—though the idea of another sympathetic royal, in addition to Caius, was difficult for Alex to believe. And no matter what Elias said about Falleaf House, Alex couldn’t shake the image Professor Lintz had conjured of the place when recounting the tale of how he had arrived at Kingstone Keep. He had made it seem a hostile and dangerous land, rather than this pleasant utopia Elias was describing. Perhaps Elias simply wanted him to go there, in order to trick him. It didn’t make sense for Lintz to lie about it… But maybe Alex wouldn’t have to find out which version was the truth.

“Did you bring the book?” Alex asked.

Elias shook his head. “Afraid not, although I did try. It’s tucked away somewhere safe—somewhere even my deft paws can’t get at it. A veritable Fort Knox. If you want it, you’ll have to go and get it yourself, I’m sad to say. Usually, I love a game of spiriting things away, but this was beyond me. I couldn’t even get close.”

Alex felt a twinge of disappointment, although the thought of a place that Elias couldn’t access was both intriguing and concerning. More than that, he realized this information changed things slightly. Even if he didn’t want to do the spell, he understood that he might need to know it, especially if he wanted to force the Head to do it. If he could learn the spell and feed it into Virgil’s mind, getting him to say it and act it out with manipulated conviction, then he could escape an awful fate. He wondered what kind of protection this ancient book was under, and whether he’d even be up to the task of retrieving it, if Elias couldn’t.

This fresh news gave him a renewed sense of hope, despite his qualms. Yes, it meant they might have to change their plans, with Alex traveling to Falleaf House instead of going through Alypia’s portal to Stillwater, but he knew it would be better for them all in the long run, even if he had to face down unknown dangers. Surely, if Lintz had managed to sneak through Falleaf, Alex could sneak in? If he could do it, it would mean he might have found an actual, tangible way to destroy the Great Evil without having to do it himself. It would be more than a hypothesis. It would mean the ability to set everyone free from a life of pursuit and persecution.

Turning back to Elias, Alex wondered if this would be the last time he would see the shadow-man. What else could he possibly have to offer? As far as Alex could see, the wispy guide had done his job—there was surely nothing else of use that he could impart. If this was to be the last time Alex saw him, there were a few more things he wanted to know, but he knew Elias was not one for giving up secrets willingly. There was, however, one way he could try to find the answers he wanted.

Alex lunged for the shifting, shadowy creature, reaching for the galactic space where he thought Elias’s mind might be. A split second later, he was feeding twisting strands of anti-magic into Elias’s kaleidoscopic form. Although the shadow-man wasn’t solid, Alex felt something connect on a spiritual level as memories began to race into his mind, flowing in a fast-moving torrent that Alex struggled to stop. Along the rushing tide of remembrance, however, Alex managed to pick out the scene that told him Elias was indeed responsible for what had happened to Ellabell. He watched in horror as the shadow creature swooped down upon her while she was walking innocently back to the tower room, snatching her from the corridor, apparently not so useless at controlling his faculties after all. He clutched her in grim, black claws as he staggered toward the mountain with her, pausing at the edge of the forest to rest before setting off again, soaring and stalling at sporadic intervals, his mind dead set on leaving her to the wolves and the elements. His hatred for the girl was palpable, and Alex looked on with disgust.