The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(89)

Anger coursed through him, tinting the silvery strands of his anti-magic with a bolt of red. The pulse of his fury threaded with the ethereal mist of Elias’s strange existence, and a piece of Elias’s hidden essence tore away, feeding backward through the strands of coiling anti-magic, carried along the blood that rushed through Alex’s veins, seeking out the edge of his soul.

With a roar that seemed to shake the very universe, Elias threw Alex from his mind. The piece of essence went with Alex, sinking into the very core of him with a searing hot bolt of pain. He could barely speak, the agony so intense he thought he might be dying. It wasn’t even clear what he had done, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

Elias gasped, his shifting features distorted in a twist of angry pain. “What have you done?” he cried, a flash of rage lighting up the black of his eyes, before he disappeared in a fragmented mist of shattered shadow and glittering dust.

Alex fell to the ground, clutching his insides as they burned relentlessly. His whole body felt as if it were on fire, eating him up from the inside out. He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but whatever he had drawn out from within Elias, it felt alien and wrong inside his own body, making him fervently wish he hadn’t done it. Most of him had already known it was Elias who took Ellabell, and now he had gone and done who knew what to himself, all in the name of a foolish confirmation. It had been a mistake—he knew that much.

After a minute or two had passed, the pain began to subside, giving him hope that it was just a momentary thing, like the effects of the barrier magic or a misfired spell. He desperately wanted it to be so—he couldn’t risk being in a weakened state, not when he had so much still to do.

Falleaf was calling to him, whispering promises of the book within and the hopes it might bring to so many, least of all Alex. If Lintz was correct, it was a place where Alex would need to have his wits about him.

Alex was certain now—he was going to make the Head perform the counter-spell, if it was the last thing he did. He just hoped it wouldn’t be.





Chapter 29





Alex staggered back onto one of the benches that sat around the table, conscious of the cold, numb ache that gnawed at the pit of his stomach, rising toward his lungs, making every breath feel like the first intake of air on a biting winter’s morning.

The tower door burst open, and his friends rushed in, their faces bearing expressions of concern. He was pleasantly surprised to see Lintz and Demeter too, knowing it would make it easier to pass on the news of his latest revelation with everyone in attendance.

“Are you okay? Caius told us what happened,” said Aamir, coming over to check on Alex. “I can’t believe she’s actually trapped, after the gigantic mess today has been.”

“I’m fine, just a bit worn out,” he replied, pushing down the sporadic bolts of pain that seared through him with the force of ten thousand volts of electricity.

“Is something the matter?” Natalie cut in, scrutinizing Alex’s face.

“Elias came to me, just now, and told me about a book that contains the counter-spell,” Alex said evenly, trying hard to sound like everything was fine, despite the burning sensation inside. “The only catch is, it’s at Falleaf House… but I think it would be worth it for me to go and get it.”

Ellabell looked at him with abject horror on her face. “You can’t be serious. I thought you said you weren’t going to do it,” she said, her voice tight with sudden emotion.

“Don’t worry. I’m still not planning on becoming a sacrifice anytime soon, not unless there’s absolutely no other option. But I do think it would be good to have the book in hand, so I can take a look at the spell and see if I can find a loophole somewhere—I’m good at loopholes. I’m a walking, talking loophole of the Spellbreaker race’s survival, after all,” he replied, with forced brightness, wanting to soothe Ellabell’s fears.

“Must have been some chat!” Jari said, but there was concern knitted upon his brow.

“And what if there isn’t a loophole?” Ellabell said quietly, flashing him a look of deep worry.

“All I can say is I don’t intend to do it, Ellabell,” he replied, wishing she were closer so he could hold her hand. “I’ve got the start of an idea, which will hopefully mean I won’t have to do it—there is an alternative to my martyrdom. I know there is; I can feel it in my bones. And something tells me I’ll find answers in that book.”

“So what does this mean for the plan to take control of Stillwater and Spellshadow?” Demeter asked.

Alex winced, grasping his stomach to try to hold his insides together. “Not much of a change, hopefully—more of a redirection. For me, anyway,” he managed to reply, forcing the words through gritted teeth. “We still need people to take over the havens, but I’ll head off to Falleaf instead of Stillwater, and then join the rest of you when I’ve got the book,” he explained. “I’ll just need a portal there… if that can be done?” He turned to Professor Lintz, who stood at the far side of the room.

“You want to build a portal to Falleaf House?” Lintz asked, his tone anxious.

Alex nodded. “You came through a portal from Falleaf House on your way here, didn’t you?”

Lintz turned and nodded. “I did.”