The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1)

“He sounds less impressive than I had pictured him,” Aamir admitted, when Alex had finished describing Finder’s rotting clothes.

Alex frowned. It was hard to convey Finder’s unnerving quality with words, he was finding. He was both eerie and powerful, more like an omen than a man, an apparition that brought with him a sense of ending, of finality.

“Did you see him?” Aamir asked, swiveling toward Natalie.

She shook her head. “Alex mentioned him to me,” she said, “but I didn’t see him…I don’t know if I heard him either. I was in a weird way. I didn’t really understand what he was saying—or don’t remember it now.”

“Don’t worry,” said Jari with a bright smile. “Nobody can see Finder. It’s part of his magic.” He stared pointedly at Alex here.

Alex made a face, then turned to Aamir. “All right. My turn to ask some questions.”

Aamir nodded.

“Finder. Who is he, and how does he…‘find’?”

Jari leaned forward, answering before Aamir could. “He’s, like, this old master of the school,” he said. “Dedicated his whole life to scrying and detection magic. They say if there’s a drop of magical blood in someone’s veins, he can find it. That’s why he’s called Finder, see? Because nobody knows his real name; they just know what he does.”

Alex nodded slowly. “Doesn’t he have a more active role here? Beyond finding new students?”

Aamir shook his head. “No. At least, not that I know of.”

“He wanders the hallways at night sometimes,” Jari said.

“No, he does not.”

“Does too!”

As the two began to argue, Alex rolled his eyes at Natalie, to see her staring down at her bowl.

“Anyway,” Aamir broke off, all but palming Jari in the face to shut him up, “Finder has always been called one of the school’s Heads. Beyond that, nobody knows much.”

“But,” Jari interjected, “if you see him at night? Run. I’ve heard some nasty stories.”

Alex glanced at Natalie again. She was still looking at her bowl. She gave the contents an idle stir with her spoon, looking pensive. When she realized that Alex was watching her, she looked up.

“Alex,” she said softly, “do you feel like getting some fresh air? I am feeling restless in here.”

Jari broke away from his second argument with Aamir at once, gazing delightedly between the two of them.





Chapter 19





“So you’re ready to try the gate again?” Alex asked.

The crisp air turned his words to mist in front of him. Natalie was wearing a thin black T-shirt and jeans, but he didn’t see so much as a bump of cold on her arms. He wondered if she was using magic to heat herself.

“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t think it will work.”

He started. “You don’t?”

“Of course not. I am not stupid. I thought it might when we first got here, but that was before I learned more about magic.” She looked at him skeptically. “You do not think it will work, do you?”

“Well, no,” he admitted. “The gate’s probably guarded by loads of charms. But I guess I didn’t want to disappoint you. You seemed happier, more hopeful, when we were planning this.”

Natalie scoffed and rolled her eyes theatrically. “I am not some precious flower, Alex. You do not need to protect me from disappointment. I thought we were on the same page.” She glared at him, then continued slowly, deliberately. “Anyway, it is important to know what we are up against. And to know that, we must try magic. So I have practiced, and you have helped, and now we test the Spellshadow defenses.”

She strode briskly forward and grabbed one of the metal rungs of the gate.

“I have a family, you stupid gate,” she growled. She pushed, a light sheen of sweat appearing upon her arms as she heaved at the metal bars. Alex watched in awe as golden fire flared up around her, then surged toward her hands, but before it could strike the bars, it diverted, flowing straight into the gray ivy. For a moment, the plant trembled, the leaves growing a sickly green. Then it fell still, limp and colorless once more.

“Did you…?” Alex said.

Natalie only stared, panting, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“The ivy ate my magic,” she said indignantly. “I could feel it. It was like…” She shuddered, unconsciously backing away from the gate.

“I’m guessing your magic isn’t going to work,” Alex said.

Natalie shook her head. “I did not think so.” She looked at the walls. “Could we climb?”

Alex stared at the bricks, perfectly fitted and at least ten times his height. “Not a chance,” he said. “And even if we could, what are the odds there aren’t spells at the top of the wall?”

Natalie sighed. “Low.”

She strode over to the wall, pulling one long strand of gray ivy away from the stones. She closed her eyes. A whip-like line of magic came into existence over her head, and she frowned deeply. All at once, the golden line burst into a great saber of flame, which carved down at the thin strand of plant. Alex yelped, skipping back a step, but once again, nothing happened. The fire struck the ivy, writhed for a moment, then sank into the plant. The ivy glowed red for an instant, then green, then went limp. Natalie dropped the strand of ivy back against the wall.

Alex stared at her.

“I take it you spent some more time practicing yesterday?”

Natalie nodded. “I am starting to get the hang of it,” she said. “Although, the other girls tell me the mark of good magic is keeping your essence from appearing. I am not yet that good.”

“Still,” Alex said, his tone appreciative. “You improved really fast.”

Natalie rubbed her temples. “It is not enough,” she said. “I wonder what it would take to break this.”