The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)

The blond-haired boy flashed a look of displeasure at Alex, but he went nonetheless, ushered by Natalie’s stern hand upstairs to the rooms above, with Ellabell following close behind.

“Why didn’t you want them to hear?” asked Alex curiously, once he was certain they were alone.

Aamir sighed. “I think you know why.”

The memory of the offer Aamir had made to only him surged into his mind, transporting him back to the ballroom of Spellshadow Manor for a moment, and the trepidation he had felt there. Knowing that Aamir had been the Head’s puppet all along, he couldn’t help but doubt the sincerity of that agreement. There were other things too—inklings Alex had had, once given time to think about Aamir’s state. There were many unanswered questions Alex had for Aamir, and he wondered silently if his former friend was merely trying to lessen the collateral of his honesty. Jari, especially, took a rose-tinted view of their friend. Perhaps Aamir had chosen him for the truth, Alex thought, because he might be able to take the reality of it in a way the others could not.

“What things did the Head tell you when you became a teacher?” Alex began.

Aamir glanced around the room. “Where are we?” he asked, seeming disoriented.

“We are at Stillwater House,” replied Alex, trying not to let his frustration show.

Aamir frowned. “Stillwater House?”

“Have you been here before?” Alex asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?”

“No… I remember now. I am certain I have not. What a funny place. How did we come to be here?” There was a glazed look in Aamir’s eyes as exhaustion began to creep through the older boy’s bones. Alex hoped he’d get to ask a few questions before Aamir became too weary to answer. Now, if only he could get him to focus.

“We escaped, remember?”

Aamir shook his head. “Everything is so hazy… Did you have a question?”

Alex sighed, trying again. “What things did the Head tell you when you became a teacher?”

“There were many things—there are many things that need to be explained when you become a teacher.” He shrugged wearily, his shoulders sagging.

“Such as?”

“What would you like to know?” Aamir asked.

It was hard to know where to begin. As much as he wanted to ask the personal, selfish question of why Aamir offered to let him leave, he knew he would have to leave it until last. There were more pressing concerns upon him for now.

“Why did the Head leave the manor?”

“You know why,” Aamir said simply.

“Does he leave the manor a lot?” Alex pressed.

“I’m not certain,” replied Aamir.

“You’re not certain?” Alex frowned, unconvinced.

“There are gaps in my memory—there are certain things I can’t recall,” he explained, prickling Alex’s suspicions. It seemed a little too coincidental that Aamir might have selective amnesia on certain topics. Alex changed tactic, going for the jugular.

“Why are they collecting the life essence from student mages?” he whispered. “What is it being used for?”

Tension rippled in the air between them as defiance flashed in Aamir’s tired eyes. For a good few minutes, Alex wasn’t sure the older boy was going to answer.

“A great plague will sweep the land if it is not,” he murmured, repeating the eerie warning he had cried out at the height of his cursed delirium.

“Oh, come on. You can do better than that,” challenged Alex.

“There is a Great Evil that must be kept at bay,” he replied, just as cryptically as before. It was not the first time Alex had heard a ‘great evil’ mentioned, but he was starting to get a little sick of not being told more on the subject.

“What does that mean?” he questioned sharply.

“It is why the essence is collected—that is all I know.” Aamir shrugged.

“You’re lying,” growled Alex.

Aamir smiled. “I am not. They were passages read to me by the Head from a dusty old book at the back of his office. I think you are familiar with the bookcase?” There was a taunting note in Aamir’s voice.

“Tell me the truth,” breathed Alex, trying not to lose his temper.

“I am, Alex. I know only what the Head read to me,” Aamir replied.

It didn’t add up, but he sensed he wasn’t about to get any more from Aamir on the subject. The hint of a jeer in the older boy’s voice had made Alex unsure of how much of the Head’s hold was still in play, controlling Aamir even after the curse had been lifted.

“What about graduation?” asked Alex, moving on out of sheer frustration.

Aamir frowned. “What about it?”

“What is it?” Alex pressed, wanting his suspicions to be confirmed.

“You know what it is.”

“I want you to spell it out for me,” insisted Alex.

Aamir looked sad for a moment. “Graduation is what comes, inevitably, at the end of studying. At home, it would mean graduation caps and a diploma. For the magically gifted, it means having your life essence removed—it has to be this way to keep the Great Evil at bay,” he explained, pausing briefly to catch his breath. “Spellshadow does it a little differently than here, I’ll admit, but it’s the same thing. For most, it means death. I suppose there is hope here that doesn’t exist at the manor. And it is something of a spectacle.”

Alex frowned, not quite understanding how Aamir knew about the Ascension Ceremony when he had slept through it. Musing upon it, he guessed somebody must have filled Aamir in on what had gone on—Jari perhaps.

“But why is it done?”

It was Aamir’s turn to sigh. “I will not say it again. It is to keep the—”

“Yes, I know that part,” Alex interrupted curtly, not sure he could hear the words ‘Great Evil’ again without losing his cool. “I mean, why does the Head send people like Finder out to snatch students, taking them by force from their homes, and put in all that effort, just to kill them once they’ve been trained for a few years?”

“I will try and explain it to you as best as I can,” Aamir began quietly. “Mages must be trained to ensure that their life essence has matured enough to meet the needs of its use—the better the wizard, the more potent the essence. It has to be aged like wine.”

“Has graduation always ended in death?” Alex wondered.

“I can only speak of what I know, and I am afraid I do not know that. I can’t remember what I was told,” said Aamir. Alex wasn’t remotely convinced. “It does not always have to end in death now, however,” Aamir added.

“How do you mean?” Alex’s interest was piqued.

“Well, there is always the very slim possibility that a mage—a very strong mage—will survive ‘graduation.’ It has never happened, as far as I know, but there is a myth of it happening,” he elaborated, lowering his voice. “If it should ever come to pass, this person would prove to be a useful adversary against the Great Evil. The idea is, if the mage was strong enough to survive the removal of life essence, they would be strong enough to overcome the Great Evil and fight it. An even match, so to speak.”