The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)

It was a wish that came true—the Great Evil prevails, and Mages know not how to rid themselves of it.

Alex sat back, breathless, as understanding began to shape itself in his mind. The specifics were still hazy, but he was starting to get a better grasp on things that had seemed perpetually closed-off to him before. It was eerily invigorating to learn of what his potential ancestor had done as a last-ditch move of revenge against the mages. As he absorbed it all, Elias’s words came back to haunt him, though Alex knew they were as relevant to Spellbreakers as they were to mages.

Altering the phrase to suit his newly gained information, Alex thought about what Leander must have been going through, his heart bursting with pride and horror, in equal amounts, at what the last Wyvern had done. Desperate people do desperate things, and people with nothing left to lose are the most dangerous of them all.

Never had truer words been spoken.





Chapter 33





As the day came to a close and evening fell, Alex decided to go and visit Jari in the infirmary. His afternoon with Master Demeter had been as strange as the morning, though he hadn’t been able to focus on much after the revelations of his lunch break. They raced through his mind, refusing to be silenced. He figured a bit of time with friends might quiet it a little, enough to think straight at the very least.

Stepping into the room that had been designated to Jari, he saw that the boy was once again enjoying the attentions of Helena, though it wasn’t just Helena by his bedside. To his surprise and delight, he saw the others were there too, clustered around Jari’s narrow bed on various chairs they’d managed to pilfer. He couldn’t put into words how pleased he was to see them, despite the weight of his new knowledge. It was a relief, knowing their presence would mean he wouldn’t have to worry too much about the things he had been finding out; they were his distraction and his sanctuary, regardless of the seedlings of mistrust he still felt toward Aamir. He didn’t want to think about that; he just wanted to be a teenager for a bit.

Besides, who was to say what he was feeling wasn’t Elias’s intention all along—to divide and conquer, siphoning him off from the herd, as it were? He almost hoped that was the case, because he wasn’t sure he could take any more suspicion. It was eating away at him, driving him a little mad, wondering what was real, what was fake, who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. Nor would he put it past Elias to think of something like that, assuming Alex wouldn’t notice the game being played.

The others were mid-conversation as Alex approached, and they seemed just as relieved to see him.

“Where have you been?” asked Natalie sternly.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We waited for you at lunch, but you didn’t show,” Ellabell chimed in, her brow furrowed.

He shrugged. “I didn’t think we had the same lunch-breaks, so I just went off for an hour, did some reading.” He flashed Ellabell a conspiratorial look, making her look of concern deepen.

Although he didn’t want to keep what he had learned a secret, he also found he didn’t have the energy to talk about what he had read in the book—right now, he just wanted to have a normal conversation and hear about their days.

“So, how have things been going?” he asked, smiling in readiness for the onslaught of their tales.

“We had several new lessons that we have never had before—they were good, but they were different. The work here is very hard!” Natalie beamed, clearly in her element. “The teachers are pleasant, and they are extremely encouraging, but it was difficult to keep up. Wasn’t it, Ellabell?”

Ellabell nodded, though she appeared somewhat distracted. “It was pretty tricky. The students are younger than us too, and it was just nuts watching them do everything so easily. I think we did okay, though.”

“Yes, we did fine. The teachers seemed pleased with us and said it will only be a short time until we are more advanced,” agreed Natalie. “We learned so many new things!”

“Did you find out what Barrier Combat is?” asked Alex.

“It is a very strange thing—it is dueling within a chamber that is filled with magic, so your own magic is suppressed, and you have to figure out ways around it. I believe it is to test our skills in any situation,” explained Natalie, still grinning. She had evidently had an interesting, eye-opening day.

“That sounds pretty cool,” Alex remarked, meaning it. It made sense, to teach the students how to fight in any scenario; he just wished they had something like that for him, so he could practice how to fight in different settings and situations.

“It was,” Ellabell smiled, sharing a slice of Natalie’s enthusiasm.

“Everything is so different here! It is all new and exciting, and there is so much to learn. They have taught us, in one day, how to focus magic and go beyond the basics. It is truly wonderful to be learning so much. And they care about learning, and they want us to do well. It is most refreshing!” Natalie enthused.

The excitement they exuded made Alex feel a little disappointed with his own education. So far, Demeter had only told him stories and histories—nothing remotely useful in terms of practical applications. Still, he had to hope that would be coming and that today had been more of an orientation session. A getting-to-know-you kind of thing. He wasn’t sure he could take history lessons indefinitely.

“How about you? How did you get on?” asked Aamir.

“My teacher is a little bit… kooky, shall we say,” chuckled Alex. “Master Demeter? Any of you have him?”

The others shook their heads, which puzzled Alex, making him wonder where Alypia had dredged the peculiar Spellbreaker-loving man from.

“We just went over some histories and things. Nothing quite as interesting as what you guys are learning,” he said a little bleakly.

“I’m sure it’ll pick up, man,” encouraged Jari. “It beats being cooped up in here with nothing to do!”

Alex smiled. “I guess it does.”

“How’re things with you?” Jari turned to Aamir.

He shrugged. “It’s strange. A bit like with you, Alex, only more focused on the magical side rather than the anti-magical,” he began. “My tutors, Master Garai and Mistress Winter—do you have them?”

Natalie and Ellabell nodded in concurrence.

“They have been going over school things, mostly.” Aamir paused, as if wondering whether or not to elaborate. “Well, not even school things. They’ve mostly just focused on the Ascension Ceremony.”

The room went still.