The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1)

“I read something about an old practice called anti-magic,” replied Alex, recalling a book that had mentioned it in passing. “But that was only usable by a scarce bloodline called ‘Spellbreakers’, and they went extinct.”


Natalie tossed her hair and glared at the gate, seeming not to have heard him, then drew her hand back and sank a shining fist into the metal. She drew back with a cry of pain, shaking her hand as the ivy glowed.

“Hey, stop it,” Alex said, stepping forward. “You’re hurting yourself.”

But Natalie wasn’t listening. She drove her hand into the gate again, magic rippling out around her.

“Natalie,” Alex said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

He noticed in shock that the earth around her was starting to twist, the gravel forming a swirling pattern as the dirt beneath ripped, caught up in the power Natalie was wielding. Little tendrils of pinkish light reached out from the heart of her aura, and a terrible cold washed over Alex. He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, and it felt as though she were made of ice. He grunted, staggering back.

“I want to go home,” Natalie hissed under her breath, the magic around her snapping the air into pieces. “You cannot keep me here!”

Alex knew she was speaking again to the gate. He stepped up beside her once more, keeping his voice level, trying to snap her out of this dangerous mood. She had insisted she didn’t expect this attempt to succeed, but she was clearly devastated that it hadn’t.

“I know. And you will.” He pulled her away from the gate and put his arms around her.

The light went out. The terrible, churning magic vanished, and Natalie slumped against him, dragging a hand over her brow, shaking.

They just stood there like that for a time. Alex could feel Natalie’s frustration like a tangible heat against his skin. He knew he should say something, do something to alleviate the girl’s tension.

“Natalie,” he began, but before he could finish, the gate let out an aching groan. Natalie’s head shot up, and she slipped out of his arms, turning to where the doors had begun to open. Little tongues of magic whirled off her as she stared at a line of light spilling onto the grounds from outside.

Finder was bringing in a new student.

Without thinking, Alex grabbed Natalie by the shoulders and dragged her back. She resisted, struggling against him, her eyes fixed on the opening gate, but Alex threw them both into the thick ivy that hung down along the wall.

Natalie’s magic went out as the heavy plants fell against her skin, and she spun to stare at Alex with angry confusion.

“What are you doing? We could leave,” she spat.

“We wouldn’t make it ten feet. Finder is right there!”

“But what could he do to us? The gate is open, Alex! We could run!”

“He could enchant you again!” Alex said, holding her a little tighter. He wasn’t sure he could stand it if that happened. “And probably much worse. He’s powerful, Natalie.”

Natalie hesitated, then looked back up, peering through the ivy at where the gates now sat open.

Finder stood there, his hand on the shoulder of a young boy with pale skin and wide eyes. Finder eased the boy through the gate, guiding him toward the manor.

“I do not see him,” Natalie said, frowning. “Is he really there?”

“Yes, he’s right there,” Alex said, pointing to where Finder was ushering the boy with his ragged fingers.

Natalie paled, slumping back against the wall as the gates eased shut. The ivy swung over the bars again. The sky shifted suddenly from the blue of fall to a dusky, red-gold sunset.

Natalie stared at the boy as he walked into the manor, letting out a curse in French.

Alex frowned. Finder hadn’t entered the manor alongside the boy, but had stridden off to one side, cutting through the grounds with long, purposeful footsteps. His ripped robes trailed behind him like smoke behind a burning branch.

Natalie must have noticed Alex’s eyes tracing his path along the edge of the building.

“Finder did not enter, did he?” she asked, frowning at him.

Alex shook his head, his eyes narrowed, then came to a quick decision.

“Let’s follow him,” he said, jumping softly to his feet. “We’ll have to be very quiet, but this is a rare opportunity for information.”

Natalie looked reluctant, but stood too and reached for his hand, her irritation evaporated.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered as they jogged as quietly as they could.

“Well, no,” he replied, “it might be a terrible idea. But I’m going after him. I’m sick of biding my time, hiding in this place. We have to take some risks. You can go back to the manor if you want; it could get dangerous.”

“No,” she said firmly. “I will go with you. I am not a precious flower, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Alex muttered, his eyes on Finder’s retreating form. He was heading around toward the back of the building.

They set off across the grass, Natalie’s dark hair swinging behind her in a streak as she danced silently over the scattered tendrils of ivy that reached for her legs. Alex kept hold of her hand.

The grounds of Spellshadow Manor were as eerie and derelict an environment as ever. As they passed through them, Alex thought he could see ghosts of places past. A great lawn, lined with magnificent figures of marbles with onyx eyes. A gazebo made of white iron, all intricate patterns and delicate workmanship. A stand of trees in neat rows, presumably an orchard of some sort.

But those places were gone now. The statues lay in rubble, the lawns coated with ivy and brambles. The gazebo was a mess of tangled metal, and the trees had grown dark and sinister looking, shrouded in a funeral veil of gray ivy that simply climbed over their branches in smothering loads.

Rounding the manor, Alex drew up short. There, tucked against one of the back walls of the manor building, was a small stand of stones, lined in a neat row upon trimmed grass. Alex just barely caught sight of Finder’s robe flapping behind him as he vanished into a cave-like passage that led down between them.