The Chain (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #3)

Professor Gaze looked up at them with watery eyes, her knees tucked under her chin in a strangely girlish fashion. She looked exhausted and unbearably vulnerable, but she mustered a smile as she saw her visitors, though it was a weary smile that barely reached her usually mischievous eyes. Alex’s heart clenched at the vision of her; she didn’t look well at all.

Despite her weakened state, Alex managed to catch sight of Gaze’s eyes narrowing as she saw Helena fidgeting uncomfortably in the background. He wondered what was causing such suspicion, but he didn’t feel right asking, as everyone rushed toward Gaze in a flurry of affection.

“My dear students!” she cried cheerfully, embracing them all. “I had no idea I’d be seeing your glorious faces! Had I known, I’d have dressed up a little for you,” she joked, tugging at the edges of her frayed, tattered robes.

“We had no idea, Professor!” exclaimed Natalie.

“Nor should you—those false little upstarts wanted to sneak me in without so much as a whisper of my being here, but they hadn’t bargained on their prisoner being a bit of a firebrand.” She grinned, though her cheer wavered as tears welled in her eyes. “I gave as good as I got. Goodness, am I glad to see you. I thought I’d be on my own at the end.” Her voice cracked, breaking the hearts of those present.

“You’re safe now, Professor. We’ll get you out,” promised Alex, though he had no idea if that was even possible. He just wanted to comfort the old woman, who had brought him tea every day to warm him. The woman who had thought of nothing but her students. It was because of them that she was here, suffering alone in a dark cell, with tears in her eyes and fear in her voice.

“Nonsense. This place is a tough nut to crack. I’m just happy you’re all okay. You came just in time, I feel,” she sighed, her hands trembling. “I don’t have long, my little chickens.” She patted Natalie’s hand.

“You’re going to be fine, Professor,” insisted Ellabell.

“Sweet girl, you mustn’t worry about me. Oh, I have lived a long old life, my lovely ones—this part of it is long overdue.” She smiled bitter-sweetly, her eyes going somewhere far away. “I never thought my life would end up like this, you know. I had such dreams when I was a girl. I remember, it was just after the war, and I wanted to be a nurse so badly. My big sister had been a nurse, tending wounded soldiers and running around beneath a hail of bombs, sewing people up, real front-line business, then having all the handsome ones ask for her hand in marriage. It was sad too, no doubt, but I remember thinking she was so brave. She was my hero, and I wanted to be just like her,” she chuckled wistfully. “I think she did end up marrying one of them—but that’s by the by… I never saw her again, or any of my family, for that matter. I’ve often wondered what happened to them all. Most of them are dead now, I’d imagine. I’ve been around far longer than I ought to have been.”

“And you’ll be around longer still,” said Alex, his throat thick with emotion.

Gaze simply shook her head. “I don’t fear it—I welcome it. My old friend Death and me, at last, riding off into the sunset!” She laughed softly. “You mustn’t do what I did. You mustn’t allow yourselves to become part of this world. It’s so easy to forget, when remembering is so painful, but you must use the pain and never settle here. Not if you want a life—your life, not one set out for you by others. Especially this place. Don’t stay too long here if you can help it. I remember when I came here for my training, after I won my place as a teacher. It was funny, the air was like a drug; there was a magic in it that made you all happy and peaceful, even if you weren’t. It made you forget—and you must never forget, little ones!”

Alex glanced accusingly at Aamir, who quickly looked away, his cheeks reddening.

“I’m sorry for not being able to keep everyone safe. I really tried my very best,” she said sadly, reaching out for Ellabell’s hand as well as Natalie’s, squeezing both firmly. “I kept that scrawny little twerp on his toes for a good long while, you know, moving the corridors. I bet that really annoyed him! If he’d not gone running for help, I’m sure we’d have managed.” She frowned thoughtfully.

“You did everything you could,” assured Alex.

“I could have done more,” she whispered.

“Why are they keeping you here?” asked Aamir, speaking for the first time, his face showing his shame at the lie he had told.

She smiled triumphantly. “Oh, those clueless drones keep coming for me to try to extract my life essence, but I’m a tough old cookie. So far, they haven’t been able to get near, and I plan to keep it that way!” she cackled.

It made Alex boil with rage, that they could treat her that way, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. After everything she had done for them, there was nothing they could do for her. It didn’t seem fair.

“What happened at Spellshadow?” he asked, trying to keep her talking. She was weak and only getting weaker; he could see it in her face.

“Well, that scrawny imp went off to fetch help, didn’t he? Off he went, crying to that self-absorbed drama queen, and the next thing I know a load of guards have turned up.” She paused sorrowfully. “Now, by this point, no tea in the world could give me enough energy to move the corridors again, so they got through. I did what I could, but they rounded everyone up like sheep and locked me away so I couldn’t be a ‘bad influence’ on anyone. Me? A bad influence? Never.” She smiled merrily. “With me out the way, they installed new faculty to replace us old fogies, though it was a bit of a rush job if you ask me—they picked four students and turned them into teachers. Most unorthodox. In the old days, they’d never have stood for it, but I suppose they were desperate? Who knows. I guess they had to be quick about it. I mean, usually, they’d have been brought here to have proper training with that white-haired hag—it’s just how it’s done, but I guess they had to get on with it.” She shrugged.

This time, everyone looked at Aamir, though he stayed silent, lowering his gaze to the floor as his cheeks burned an even brighter shade of red. He had been found out, at last. Whether it was a relief to the older boy or not, to have the truth out in the open, Alex knew that conversation would have to wait until later.

“One positive thing I can tell you is nobody else died and everyone is as safe as they can be—it has just made any escape plans that little bit harder. It’s like Alcatraz at Spellshadow now, but it was worth a shot.” She beamed, encouraging them. “I mean it, though. You really shouldn’t stay here too long. What sort of plan have you got in mind? You’re good little schemers; I know you’ve got something good up your sleeves.”

“We’re planning to try and use a portal to get back out into the non-magical world,” replied Alex quietly.

She nodded vigorously. “Tricky, but excellent! Yes, good, superb, definitely worthwhile if you can get one going.”

For a moment, she fell silent, her head tilted in wonderment at the figure still hovering in the hallway, not wanting to come into the cell. Alex watched Gaze as her eyes flitted from the floor to Helena and back, mumbling incoherently to herself.