Spellshadow Manor seemed as if it belonged to another world entirely. In some ways, he supposed, it did.
Not wanting to dwell on the manor and the people they’d had no choice but to abandon there, he turned his mind to the people inside Stillwater House. ‘Magical nobles’ Helena had called them, but Alex still wasn’t sure where they came from. Where did these magical nobles live, and where did they send their children from? Did they live out in the real, non-magical world, just like Alex had, or was there a whole sphere of existence out there that he had no comprehension of? Were there worlds like this one, where the air crackled and buzzed with magical energy, just waiting to be discovered beyond the fabric of what Alex had always considered reality? It was a humbling thought, and Alex wasn’t sure he could deal with it on top of the fractious anxiety that coursed through his body. Just accepting magic was real had been a tough enough wake-up call, but it seemed the magical world wasn’t done surprising him.
He stayed, staring out at the lake for what seemed like hours, undisturbed by the others who were in equally solitude-seeking moods, with the thoughts of a million possibilities charging through his mind.
It was almost a relief when the sun finally went down, and they didn’t have to find things to distract themselves anymore. They had already packed up what meager belongings they had, leaving them with very little else to keep them busy. They just had to wait a short while longer for Helena to arrive, which was arguably worse than the stretching hours of the day. It meant the uncertainty of their move into the villa was near and they couldn’t run away anymore. Sitting together, they consumed what was left of Helena’s gifted food and drink in nervous silence.
They didn’t have to wait long, however, as Helena appeared just after the sun had sputtered out its last beam of light. They saw her this time as she approached, emerging ethereally from the shadows, her silver hair glinting.
“Shall we go?” she said cheerfully.
Taking her cue to leave, Alex and Jari ducked into the darkness of the cottage and picked up Aamir. He was awkward to carry, but they managed to run stealthily across the ground toward the wall with him, stopping only once to readjust their grip on his legs and armpits. Alex was almost glad Aamir was still unconscious, knowing the older boy would have hated the indignity. The girls were already standing beside the wall, waiting for the stragglers, when a sudden concern hit Alex. He looked up at the sizeable wall, then looked back down at Aamir.
“How are we supposed to get Aamir over that?” whispered Alex.
Helena smiled as a stream of liquid gold shot effortlessly from beneath her palms, snaking through the air toward Aamir, where it gathered beneath him. As she gracefully twisted her fingers, the golden energy puffed outward into a pulsing cushion of glowing light that held the weight of Aamir’s body with ease.
“Won’t someone see that?” Alex asked.
He thought he saw Helena roll her eyes at the insult of his question, before she twisted her right hand ninety degrees counter-clockwise, causing the bright glow of the cushion to dim down to an almost indiscernible mist of gold. It didn’t look as if there was anything beneath Aamir at all, once Helena was finished, which was both impressive and unsettling. It was obvious she was far more advanced than any of them, even Natalie, who was looking enviously at the spell and the powerful mage wielding it.
Helena carefully lifted Aamir’s body upward, clearing the wall with ease as she maneuvered him down onto the broad width of the battlement above. Alex had to admit it was a remarkable sight to behold. Once Aamir was safely above, Helena set to climbing the ragged stonework, reaching the top quickly as the others scurried after her, copying her choice to climb instead of fly—Helena’s decision not to do so had made them cautious.
As they reached the top of the battlements, Helena led them all stealthily through a silent, sleeping Stillwater House. The darkened courtyards were empty of students, though Alex could hear the echo of cheerful voices coming from within the torch-lit hallways and the beautiful piazzas above them as the group slipped from shadow to shadow.
It seemed Helena was guiding them around the outskirts at the very back of the school, toward the farthest corner on the opposite side, where a stunning white bell tower spiraled upward from the darkness of a disused, abandoned courtyard that was scattered with the broken debris of old equipment and small piles of dumped rubble. No torches were lit, and the place was veiled in gloom as they dropped down onto the cracked tiles below.
“You’ll be safe here. Nobody comes to this part of the House anymore,” explained Helena as she led them toward the front door of the bell tower. Pulling a sizable bronze key from the front pocket of her black pants, she slid it into the lock.
“Where did you get that from?” asked Alex curiously.
Helena seemed insulted by the question as she turned to glance at him. “You ask far too many questions. You can trust me, you know—you’ll see,” she chastised, frowning.
It silenced Alex, but he had yet to feel fully comfortable in the young woman’s presence. She turned the key, opening the door wide as she ushered them all inside. With a glance over her shoulder, she closed the door after them.
“Head upstairs,” she said.
They climbed up the staircase until they reached a wide, airy, circular room close to the top. Alex was surprised to see a pile of blankets and pillows stacked against the wall, alongside boxes of food, huge glass bottles of water, and other supplies, like bowls and plates and cutlery. There were clothes too, for them to change into, to get out of their dusty, dirty Spellshadow clothes.
“You did all this?” Natalie asked with a note of awe.
Helena grinned. “I want you to be comfortable.”
“Thank you,” breathed Natalie, giving the silver-haired girl an unexpected hug. “This is wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like it,” said Helena bashfully.
“Thank you, Helena.” Ellabell smiled.
“Yeah—this is amazing!” chimed Jari, though he didn’t quite brave a hug.
“It’s nothing.” Helen shrugged, brushing it off. “You will have to be as quiet as mice during the daytime, in case anybody hears you, but you can stay here for as long as you wish until you’ve figured out your next course of action—please don’t run off without telling me.” There was a note of sadness in her voice.
“This is extremely kind, Helena. We promise we won’t leave without telling you first,” whispered Alex, his caution softening toward her. The tower was more than he could have imagined.
Helena smiled, holding up her hands. “Well then, I must fulfill the other part of the bargain,” she said brightly.
Helena moved over to the window, which looked down onto the courtyard below. Pressing her palms against either side of the frame, a golden glow swelled beneath her hands. With a twitch of each middle finger, she morphed the golden magic into a deep navy blue color that spread out from beneath her skin and skirted out across the window, creating a dark shield that blocked any light coming from within the tower. The shield stayed put as she knelt beside Aamir on the flagstones.
Carefully, Helena placed her hands flat against Aamir’s chest and closed her eyes, letting the glow of her magic run from her fingertips into his body. Alex knew she was searching for the gripping snake of the curse within him, as he had done.
She whistled quietly. “It’s a strong one.”
“Can you still remove it?” Jari asked hopefully. Alex supposed it must be a dream come true—the prospect of Jari’s new crush being able to save the life of his best friend.
Helena nodded. “I think so, though it might take a lot out of your friend.”
“Aamir. His name is Aamir,” whispered Jari.
“It might take a lot out of Aamir,” Helena repeated, smiling kindly at the blond-haired boy. “It’s up to you what you want me to do.” She glanced around the room, waiting for a reply.
The consensus was clear.
“Go for it,” encour
aged Alex.
At their agreement, Helena placed her hands on Aamir’s chest once more and began to weave intricate strands of strong, crackling magic through his body. The fierce glow of it rose up through his skin, making each vein and artery gleam with a white-gold light that was both unnerving and beautiful. He tossed and turned, rejecting her magic. Alex watched as a fresh strand of luminescence snaked from beneath her left hand and shivered toward Aamir’s mouth, covering it quickly with a magical gag to keep him quiet as she worked. His body contorted beneath her palms, his eyes snapping suddenly open as his lips opened in a silent scream. Although the gag muted the sound, the impression was clear—Aamir was in agonizing pain.
Alex was as much in awe of Helena’s skill as he was worried for Aamir’s state. It was impressive to see her conjuring and managing three complex spells at once. He wasn’t sure he had seen anyone do that before and keep each one as consistently powerful as the next.
It wasn’t long, however, before the pressure of removing the curse inside Aamir began to show on Helena’s face as her breathing became labored. Even though she was a powerful mage, the curse seemed to put a strain on her as it fought back. She gritted her perfect teeth in determination, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she layered magic upon magic beneath her hands, weaving further strands into the sweating, twisting body of Aamir. His mouth gaped like a fish, his eyes wild, but it did nothing to stop her as she persevered. The glow of his veins burned brighter, until Alex was certain he could see the shape of Aamir’s bones beneath the blaze.
The group watched as the minutes wore on with torturous slowness. Helena’s breath grew more and more labored as the first beads of sweat appeared on her brow, but still she did not stop. There was an admirable, fierce determination in her as she battled to dismantle the curse until, finally, after a long while and a great deal of exertion on her part, there was a quiet, eerie ripping sound. From the glowing center of Aamir, she seemed to physically tear the phantom entity of the curse and hold it tightly in her fist. The spirit creature writhed and wriggled in defiance, trying to escape Helena’s grasp, but she quickly placed her other hand against it and sent a ripple of something dark and inky into the burning phantasm, dispersing it particle by particle. It burst outward in an explosion of harmless golden dust.
Helena sat back, breathing heavily as sweat glistened on her pale skin. A broad grin stretched across her flushed face. Hastily, Jari ran toward her, brandishing a cup of water. She drank deeply.
“Thank you.” She beamed. It was Jari’s turn to flush a light shade of pink.
Aamir lay still on the flagstones, but Alex could make out the steady rise and fall of his chest, letting them all know their friend was still alive.
“I should warn you,” said Helena, drinking another large sip of water, “he will need time to recover, and he may not seem like himself for a long while after. He has been sapped of strength, but he will get better.”
“How strong was it?” asked Alex.
“It was one of the strongest I have ever seen,” Helena replied, the exhaustion of removing the curse evident on her face.
“And he will definitely get better?” Natalie asked.
Helena nodded. “He will, with time.”
Alex smiled at Helena, feeling gratitude swell in his heart. The knowledge that Aamir would soon be getting better was all the group had wanted to hear, for such a long time. With her help, it was now a reality—she had kept her end of the bargain, and although Alex still wasn’t sure how far he could trust her, he couldn’t deny the good deed she had done.
“I’ll take my leave of you now. I’m pretty tired.” Helena got shakily to her feet, brushing the dust from the back of her pants.
“Do you need help?” Jari offered.
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Here, you should have this,” she said shyly, handing the tower key to Alex. “I wouldn’t advise you to leave the tower, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m locking you in.”
It was a friendly gesture and one Alex appreciated. As he and the rest of the group followed her down the stairs to say farewell, key in hand, he noticed a tremble in her fingers and an unsteadiness in her gait as she clutched the banister tightly, her knuckles whitening.
“Are you sure you don’t need a hand?” he asked as they reached the ground floor.
“I just need a minute,” she assured him. As she waited for the wave of tremors to pass, she turned back to rest of the group. “I have to say, I’m glad you arrived when you did. You’ve come at a very exciting time.”
Alex frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see tomorrow,” she whispered cryptically. “Sleep well.” She flashed a grin at them before moving out into the dark courtyard and disappearing from sight.
Chapter 10
Being so close to the House now, Alex felt jumpy throughout the night. No matter what he did to try to distract himself, he found he couldn’t rest. He chatted with the others and flipped through a few of the novels Helena had left for them to read, but nothing seemed to work. Not having slept, with a thousand thoughts thundering through his brain all night, he was snappy and irritable, overreacting to the slightest thing.
Jari sat against the wall, munching on a gift-bag of crispy cookies Helena had brought—ones that were oddly lavender-flavored—and the sound of each crunch sent Alex’s nerves on edge.
“Will you stop it?” Alex snapped suddenly. The others glanced up at him with startled looks.
“Dude, I’m almost done with them,” Jari said defensively. “Do you want one?”
“No, I don’t want any of your stupid snacks. I’d rather hear nails on a chalkboard,” Alex replied.
Jari tossed the bag of cookies across the room. “Fine, I’ll stop eating them, you grump. Sheesh.”
“Why don’t you stretch your legs for a bit, Alex?” Ellabell suggested softly. “Walking up and down the stairs did wonders for me. It’s easy to get a little stir-crazy in all these small spaces.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Alex sighed, running a hand through his hair. He felt embarrassed by his outburst; he needed to distance himself from the others before he said something truly hurtful.
“Does that mean I can keep eating my cookies?” Jari grinned, and Alex rolled his eyes.
He decided to explore the tower as best as he could, but there were only four floors to investigate. It was like the lighthouse all over again, only there was no secret domed paradise at the top. Instead, there was a small room with a wooden scaffold in the middle, where the bell, presumably, had once hung. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as the lamp room, but it was far enough away from the others to give him a moment of the peace and solitude his tired, cranky self craved.
He sat in there, using the spare time to pull the slim notebook of Leander Wyvern from the back pocket of his new, clean black jeans. It had been a while since he’d had the opportunity and energy to look over it, but just holding it brought him a strange feeling of comfort. Contentedly, he opened up a thin panel of anti-magic between his hands as he went over the old ground written within the notebook, to see if there was anything he had missed. He knew there wasn’t, but the book soothed him. They still had a few of the books they had stolen from the Head’s office, shrewdly pilfered by Natalie, who had placed the books about her person as she had jumped from the office window, but none of them had proved useful so far. For starters, half of them were written in languages even Natalie couldn’t read. He wondered with amusement whether they had gotten it all wrong and those books weren’t magical at all—they were just cookbooks or self-help manuals, to keep the Head busy when he was in his office. The thought made him smile.
After an hour or so, Alex felt the need to stretch his legs. Standing up, he walked over to the window of the top floor and gazed at the view beyond. It looked out onto a wide stretch of field within a vast clearing in the shadows of the hills, which guarded behind in a long-reaching wall of lush greenery that ended in the ris
e of a low mountain. Within the field was an amphitheater of sorts, built from a pale sandstone, curving in a semi-circle on the side closest to the mountain. Raked seating ascended upward, and there was a large circular pitch painted in white on the neatly kept grass before the spectators’ stand. Four silver posts stood up tall at each quarter of the circle, with a golden statue of a bird of prey perched at the top of each one, their savage beaks facing downwards at the pitch below.
The peculiar setup made Alex curious and eager to be back out in the open, but he knew he couldn’t leave the tower. He wouldn’t put any of his friends at risk just to make himself feel more comfortable. Instead, he moved back over to where he had left the notebook, folded open on the flagstones, and let his eyes run over the familiar terrain once more.
Later on, as twilight arrived, so did Helena.
Alex’s mood had greatly improved after a late-afternoon nap at the top of the tower, and a jovial feeling had settled over the group.
“I swear you’re a vampire,” joked Alex as Helena entered the room. It was true—she did only seem to appear at night.
She laughed heartily. “Don’t be silly. Vampires died out centuries ago!”
Alex frowned at her, not sure whether she was serious or pulling his leg. But if mages and Spellbreakers were real, why not vampires?
“It’d be funny if I was, though, wouldn’t it?” She winked, leaving him uncertain.
Jari had been pouring water, but it was spilling out over the edges of the glass as his attention snapped to Helena, his eyes bugging out. She chuckled as Ellabell quickly tipped the bottle upright, bringing Jari back into the room. Alex could understand what had caught the blond-haired boy’s eye so intently. Helena was dressed in a beautiful bluish-silver gown that seemed to be made of liquid rather than fabric as it rippled gracefully around her with each movement. Her gleaming blond hair had been braided in sections and intricately twisted up onto her head in an elegant style. A thin silver band wove within the strands of hair before meeting across the smooth skin of her forehead. On her wrists, simple silver bracelets jangled.
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