The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)

Things with locks hadn’t proved much of a nuisance to Alex, but, to his horror, he saw that the manacles were entwined with twisting vines of the dull, gray ivy that littered the walls of Spellshadow. Moments later, he felt the icy creep of its draining energy working its way through his arms. Another guard skirted behind him, wielding something heavy. The unseen object hit Alex in the back of the skull with such force, he thought it had taken his head clean off. It was the last thing he remembered fully as the world went black.

With barely a sliver of consciousness left, Alex was aware of chains scraping and indecipherable noises clanging in an echo around him. He could make out the defiant sound of Ellabell’s voice, followed by Natalie’s, but it was Jari’s voice that soared above the rest in a loud, angry snarl as he sniped something nasty at somebody, though Alex couldn’t see any of them. His eyesight was fuzzy and his head pounded, and he tasted dirt in his mouth as he felt the cold, hard texture of the stone beneath his cheek.

Moments later, he felt the thud of something being shoved to the ground nearby—his friends, he presumed grimly, as he heard agonized groans. Though he couldn’t see or move, it did not stop the feeling of rage that burned in his chest. Several times, he tried to break free of the manacles, though he wasn’t sure how intently his limbs were listening to what his brain wanted, and the ivy continued to keep the anti-magic at bay.

Shortly afterward, Alex became aware of the sensation of being carried, followed by the hefty thump of his shoulder hitting something wooden. For a while, nothing happened in his blind confusion, until the soft sound of oars slicing through the water rushed through his ears, letting him know they were on the lake. He had already guessed the destination, though they seemed to travel for a much longer time than he remembered the trip taking, from the lighthouse to Stillwater.

He was forced to put his trust in the competence of his hearing as he listened to the boat run aground on a distant shore. Hands grasped him and hauled him along for a long while, it seemed, before his body was unceremoniously thrown down onto more hard, cold flagstones, though these had a certain dank dampness to them that felt unpleasant against his cheek. The place smelled musty and sour, making his nose wrinkle as he struggled to sit up. His head snapped toward the sound of a key turning in a lock, as an image pieced itself together in his mind. He was in a cell of some sort, he guessed, as the sounds and scents and sensations made things a little clearer.

It wasn’t long before his eyesight returned, confirming his suspicions. Glancing around, pain pulsing behind his eyeballs, he saw that he was in a dark and damp cell. The walls were slick and dripping with some unknown substance, and a metallic undertone soured the fusty tang of the room. It was a smell he recognized, and, as he brushed a cautious finger along one of the wall stones, the sticky substance that came away shone with a red tinge that made him shudder. Two torches dimly lit the room, but Alex wasn’t sure whether the low visibility was a blessing or a curse. There was no telling what horrors lurked in the shadowed corners.

As soon as he became more familiar with his surroundings and his sight had returned fully, his thoughts turned immediately to the welfare of his friends. Moving toward the thick wooden door, his head still thumping with dull pain, he tried to peer out of the grate, but could see only the wall beyond.

“Guys?” he shouted, squeezing as much of his face through the narrow bars as possible. “Guys, can you hear me?”

“Alex, is that you?” Natalie replied.

“It’s me—are the others with you?”

“I’m here!” called Jari.

“And me,” said Aamir.

“Me too!” Ellabell responded, from farther down the corridor.

None of them sounded too worse for wear, though perhaps a little groggy. He wasn’t surprised. If they felt anything like he did, they were bound to sound shaky.

“Are you all okay?” he yelled.

“My head is a little sore,” said Natalie.

“Yeah—mine feels like there’s a herd of elephants doing the conga!” shouted Jari, making Alex smile.

“My brain feels like it’s about to explode,” sighed Ellabell wearily.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all my memories before my tenth birthday,” grunted Aamir. “How are you?”

“Same.” Alex grimaced, rubbing his thumbs against his temples in a vain attempt to get them to stop hurting.

There was a welt at the back of his head, the swelling coming up beneath the skin like an egg as he rubbed the tender spot. Although he hurt and they were all suffering somewhat, it was nice to hear the others. It calmed him a little, as he sat up against the door—it was by far the driest spot in the cell.

Nobody talked much as they sat in isolation, seeing to their wounds. Alex had a few mystery bruises and scratches, brought on by their brutish transportation. There was one just above his right eyebrow that stung every time a bead of sweat ran into it, like squeezing lemon juice on a cut. All in all, though, he seemed to be in one piece.

An hour later, the sound of scraping metal and jangling keys alerted Alex to one of the doors being opened, farther up the corridor. Standing quickly, despite the dizziness that followed, he tried to peer out of the grate to see who was being taken away, but couldn’t crane his head far enough around.

“Who is it?” he yelled. He heard the sound of scuffling feet on the flagstones and the muffled fear of someone struggling, silenced by a hand over the mouth. “Who is it?” he repeated desperately.

“Alex!” Ellabell called out for him, and the sound nearly broke his heart. There was abject terror in her voice.

“Ellabell—be brave! You’ll be okay!” he called, though he still couldn’t see her. He could only hope she believed him.

He listened as her footsteps faded away to nothing, his voice no longer echoing after her down the hallway. There was nothing left to do but pace while he waited for them to bring her back. Frustration twisted inside his stomach as he walked up and down the cell, hoping she was safe, wherever they had taken her. He couldn’t bear to think of them hurting her in any way.

A while later, he heard the scrape and jangle once more, only Ellabell didn’t seem to be with the jailer. Instead, they had come for someone else.

Alex listened hopelessly as Natalie cried out, just before she was dragged to wherever they had taken Ellabell.

Jari was next, assuring Alex and Aamir he would be fine.

“I won’t say a word to those—” Whichever expletive Jari had been about to use, it was cut off by the hand of someone smothering the blond-haired boy’s mouth.

Aamir went after, shouting to Alex.

“Be strong, Alex!” he called as the sound of jangling keys disappeared into nothingness.

Left alone in the prison, with nobody neighboring him to keep him from going mad, Alex paced his cell like a caged beast, his mind racing with worry and concern for the other four who had gone before him. He knew it probably wouldn’t be long until they came for him, and, as much as he would have liked to fight back, he was no longer sure of the point.

There was one thing he was sure about, though—he was next on the chopping block.





Chapter 21