The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)

They had been enjoying themselves, and, all the while, Jari had been beneath the stands, tormented and tortured into walking onto the arena floor, for the amusement of the Headmistress and her merry band of zombie students.

Once inside the circular lines of the arena, the thrum of the barrier went up, trapping Jari inside with the Stillwater student. From where he was sitting, Alex could see that Jari was already on the brink of exhaustion, his stance sloping, his knees shaking, his face drawn and his blond hair lank.

Alex’s gaze flitted anxiously across the amphitheater, trying to seek out Helena, to ask her what the hell was going on, but she hadn’t yet returned from her stint on the battlefield. Suspicion prickled up Alex’s spine—Helena had promised him that Jari hadn’t been hurt, but he looked pretty hurt from where Alex was sitting.

Alex watched in horror as the Headmistress gestured for them to begin. With terror distorting his face, Jari backed desperately up against the barrier, trying to claw his way out, only to be hurled forward by a blast of energy from the barrier itself, forcing him into the fray. He crumpled to the ground, lying still for a moment as Alex willed him to stand up again. Slowly, the blond-haired boy managed to pick himself back up, dragging himself to his feet as the Stillwater student sent strands of glimmering, vicious magic in Jari’s direction. As one sailed straight for Jari’s head, the younger boy succeeded in snatching it from the air and sending it hurtling harmlessly toward the barrier instead.

More magic rushed toward him, in wave after wave of golden artillery, but Jari swiped the blows away, managing to duck whatever he couldn’t disperse. For the first ten minutes or so, Jari put up a good fight, not allowing anything to hit him, but Alex could see that he was faltering. With each swipe of his hand, Jari faded. Watching the vile scene unfold, Alex felt the familiar sensation of fury building inside him, burning brighter at the sight of his friend in trouble.

He stood sharply, but Natalie grabbed his arm.

“There is nothing you can do,” she hissed, trying to get him to take his seat again. “There are too many, Alex—you cannot help him. Think of what might happen if you were to reveal your powers in front of so many mages. Think of what they will do to you.” Her dark eyes begged him to sit down.

Alex paused, sinking slowly back down to his seat in utter disbelief. Glancing toward Aamir for support, he saw that the older boy had turned his face away. Beside him, Ellabell was staring blankly down into her lap, not wanting to acknowledge what was going on below.

Alex could not believe Aamir’s response to what was happening, after the lengths Jari had gone to when Aamir had needed help. Jari had always been there for his friend, and now his friend was turning his face away.

“How can you let this happen, Aamir, after everything Jari did for you when you needed him?” snapped Alex. “How can you just sit there?”

Aamir would not look him in the eyes.

On the field, Jari was close to collapse, his knees buckling and his eyes rolling back into his head. Rage coursed through Alex—he knew his friend didn’t have long.

It was the spur to action that Alex needed. He rose from his seat once more, anger seething through every cell in his body, strengthening his powers. A surge of pent-up angst and rage flowed inside him, coiling through his body like a viper ready to strike.

As he blinked toward the arena, his eyes felt strange and hot, as his anti-magic swelled. Lifting his hands, he sent a bolt of pure, electric energy crackling through the air toward the barrier. The noise of it was like thunder overhead, booming through sky, shaking the ground beneath them. Natalie tried to reach up and stop him, but she couldn’t get near without hurting herself. A shield had appeared around him, swirling in the air in ripples of black and silver, bristling and thrumming with energy, keeping anyone who tried to stop him at bay.

Ellabell called to him, begging him to stop, but he was deaf to her voice, focusing only on the arena and the crumpled figure of Jari, who had fallen to the ground and did not seem to be getting up.

The face of every Stillwater student turned and watched him with dread, but Alex didn’t care. He barely saw them as he fired another pulse of pure silver energy toward the barrier, watching with satisfaction as the shield shattered around Jari and his opponent in a great blizzard of snow and ice. Jari’s adversary was still firing magic, though Jari was unable to fight back, his body bending and contorting with each blow. Enraged, Alex let his anti-magic flow toward Jari, wrapping the younger boy in a shield that protected him from his adversary’s golden blasts.

By this point, the student fighting Jari had stopped what he was doing to look in fear at the air pulsating around him, black and silver, and the flurries of snow that rebounded from the shielded Jari. Frowning, Alex noticed that the opponent no longer looked as perfect as he had previously. Somehow, the shimmering heat of his anti-magic had distorted the face of the Stillwater student.

Alex walked down the stairwell, his body pulsing with energy, his eyes still burning with a hot fury. His hands crackled with pure anti-magical force, and the students in his way moved swiftly from the terrifying power that gravitated around him. Alex saw that they, too, seemed to have lost their sheen of beauty, as he viewed them from behind the lens of his anti-magical shield. Which version was the truth? Alex was no longer sure.

Knowing he didn’t have time to mull it over just now, he strode down the rest of the stairs and out across the field. As he moved toward Jari, he caught sight of the Stillwater student, attempting to fire a spear of golden energy at him, but Alex was too fast. He turned swiftly and swiped the weapon away, managing to send it back toward the student. Ducking just in time, the returned magic skimmed past the student’s ear. A look of sheer terror passed across the young man’s face.

Alex walked over to where Jari lay and knelt on the ground beside his friend, reaching out for Jari’s hand. The anti-magic that flowed from his hand parted around Jari’s skin, so no fleck of anti-magical energy wounded him. Alex wasn’t sure how he had managed it, but he wasn’t about to complain, when it meant he could comfort his friend.

“I’m here, Jari. You’re safe now,” he whispered.

Jari wept softly into the grass, his weary shoulders shaking. When he looked up at Alex, a strange expression crossed his face—fear. Alex was taken aback, but he didn’t remove his hand. Fear of what? Alex thought. Of me?