The Breaker (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #2)

“Looked it,” mused Jari. “Poor girl.”


Alex nodded. “Yeah, I hope she’s okay.” He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt responsible for what had happened to Ellabell. It was his suggestion that had led her down that rabbit hole and caused her whatever trauma she had experienced. If he had just gone with Jari, like Jari had wanted, it would never have happened. Guilt gnawed at his stomach as he thought of the terrified girl, huddled beneath the covers, scared of the shadows.

“Did you get anything?” asked Jari, breaking Alex’s train of thought.

Alex shook his head. “Not really.”

He wasn’t ready to tell anyone what he had seen and felt in the antechamber—not until he was able to process it in his own mind. The rows on rows of glowing black bottles, glimmering red within. The labels, the dates, the slick floor of the chamber beneath those menacing manacles. It haunted him, flooding his mind as he lay back to go to sleep.

What was that place? Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to know.





Chapter 22





Alex awoke with a churn of nausea in the pit of his stomach. He had slept fitfully through the few hours left between their hasty return to the dormitory and the customary wake-up call, and he knew he was going to struggle to keep anything down that morning.

Blood rushed in his ears, and his hands took on a clammy, sweaty texture that would not be wiped away no matter how hard he tried. He felt as if he could see his heart pounding through his chest as paranoia coursed through his waking body like a virus, his mind recalling the previous night’s events with a sickening dread. He had tried to tamp down any fear or anxiety while the events were happening, but they had caught up with him and were all the more potent for having been kept at bay. He envied Jari, who was still snoring away across the room, once again spread-eagled on top of the covers with his limbs sticking out over the edges of the bed. While Alex had tossed and turned for most of the night, he had heard the snores of Jari’s slumber within moments of his blond-haired head hitting the pillow.

In the cold light of day, the memory of the night’s close shave with danger seemed all the more worrying. Alex’s heart raced as he thought of the dark-cloaked figure with the chilling mask, wondering how much the stranger had seen of Alex and what he could do. Obviously, he knew Alex could create a blockade of ice and snow, but Alex wasn’t sure if the figure had seen his face. If the dark-clad figure had recognized them, Alex knew they were in for a world of trouble. But, if what Jari had said was true and the Head was definitely gone from the premises, then he wasn’t sure who could be hiding behind the mask.

Alex wiped away the cold sweat that trickled down the back of his neck and prayed silently to whoever was listening that the fog and the blockade had been enough to stop them from being recognized, as much for Jari and Ellabell’s sake as his. If someone was out for blood for the trespass into the Head’s quarters, they could punish the other two to get at him, and Alex didn’t think he could bear the thought of Ellabell suffering any further because of their futile excursion.

After shaking Jari awake, Alex waited for his friend to throw on some clothes, and the two headed to breakfast. Jari wasn’t particularly talkative but didn’t seem too fazed by what had gone on, much to Alex’s chagrin, as they walked to the mess hall. Alex dragged Jari with him as he took a slight detour, wandering as casually as possible past the golden line in front of the Head’s quarters. He was surprised to see that it had been swiftly repaired, as if nothing had ever happened. It was crackling and buzzing as powerfully as it ever had, warding off any advancing students.

If the masked figure had gone to the effort of putting the line back together so quickly, perhaps there would be no more said on the matter, Alex thought nervously. His paranoia was off the scale as he stepped into the mess hall, convinced everyone was looking at him oddly as he picked up a bowl of fruit salad and hurried over to where Natalie was sitting, in their usual spot by the window overlooking a particularly bleak section of the gray, desolate grounds. He sat down, eager to speak to her.

“How is Ellabell?” asked Alex, testing the nausea in his stomach as he forced a grape into his mouth and chewed slowly.

“She is much better. She is just a bit shaken up,” she assured him, though her tone was somewhat distant as she sipped from her coffee cup.

“That’s good. I can’t help feeling responsible for what happened to her,” he admitted, swallowing the grape with some difficulty.

“She is fine, Alex. Nobody was hurt. You were lucky,” she replied, with a coldness Alex hadn’t heard before.

“Is everything okay?” Alex glanced at Natalie with concern, wondering why she was speaking with that tone of voice.

“Everything is fine. I am just tired,” she explained, her expression relaxing. “I am sorry, Alex. I was just worried about you all, and it has worn me out,” she added with a sigh.

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you,” Alex said with a worried frown. He knew she was already exhausted most of the time, and they had gone and made matters worse by staying out all night doing dangerous things.

She gave a tired smile. “You are forgiven.”

As Jari sat down with his plate piled high with fried breakfast, Alex launched into a series of questions to ease his paranoia. He wished he could be as blasé about the whole thing as Jari seemed to be.

“Do you think we were seen?” quizzed Alex, feeling the grape rolling around uncomfortably in his stomach.

Jari shook his head. “We weren’t seen,” he said, shoving a forkful of omelet into his mouth with hungry glee.

“How can you be sure?” pressed Alex.

“I know we weren’t seen. We got away with it,” repeated Jari in between mouthfuls.

“Do you know who that man was?” Alex asked.

Jari shook his head again. “No idea, but he was a scary-looking thing,” he laughed casually.

“What man?” Natalie chimed in, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

“Some figure in black chased us, but I have no idea who he was,” said Alex thoughtfully as he attempted to chew a slice of apple, the sweet, fruity sugars turning sour on his tongue. “He didn’t look or sound familiar. Must be someone the Head keeps around for when he goes away or something.”

Jari nodded. “I think you might be right,” he said, swallowing an enormous bite of buttered toast.

“How did he get in?” asked Natalie, but neither Alex nor Jari could answer her.

“The back door?” suggested Alex, feeling acid rise in his throat as he forced the apple down.

“You think there may be one?” questioned Natalie with a sudden flair of excitement in her voice.