The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1)

“Well, I guess I can’t ask a favor, then?” she asked Jari with a smile.

Jari rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. You want to be alone with Alex?” He shook his head. “You two are not subtle. Let me just grab some things, and I’ll get out of your hair.”

Aamir had already left, presumably studying or practicing magic in the cellar, and Jari was giving the two of them a pointed look as they sat next to each other on Alex’s bed. Alex just grinned, saying nothing. This was probably better than any cover he and Natalie could have thought up on their own.

“We just want to talk,” Natalie said. “Really.”

“All right. Have fun talking, then,” he said, rummaging through his dresser until he found a small, battered book. On the cover, a woman swooned into the arms of a man with flowing, golden locks.

“Classy,” commented Alex.

“Entertaining,” replied Jari. He gave a cheery wave, then strode out of the room.

The door had barely closed when Natalie rounded excitedly on Alex.

“How did it go?” she asked. “It was horrible sitting in that stupid little room wondering if you were okay! I am so glad you are unhurt.” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a brief, tight hug.

“It went okay,” he managed, clearing his throat. “I hit a few spells and got a little banged up, but…”

He pulled his pillow out of its case and drew out the leather-bound copy of Nobilitum Mortem. It looked different here; in the eerie, macabre setting of the Head’s office, it had seemed like a commonplace thing. Here, however, there was something otherworldly about it. Maybe it was the letters of the title, etched into the leather as if by an unsteady hand wielding an oversized knife. Or the way the surface seemed to warp and twitch at the touch.

Natalie didn’t seem to care. She reached out, hefting the book and flipping it open.

“This is really it?” she asked. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at the page. “Is this Latin?”

Alex cursed under his breath. “I didn’t look inside,” he said, taking the book from her and staring at the rows of indecipherable script. He felt a flash of disappointment that this would not be simple.

“Looks like it,” Natalie said, taking it back. “Oh, this passage is about corpses.” She made a face.

Alex paused. “You can read it?”

Natalie had tilted the book, and was squinting at the fine, handwritten text, glancing from time to time at an illustration of what appeared to be a disemboweled rat.

“I took Latin classes at school,” she said absentmindedly. “I am not great at it, but I think I can make sense of some of this.”

“That’s good,” said Alex, wetting his lower lip nervously. “But you need to be careful. Really careful. Derhin came ‘round last night and threatened anyone who might have it.”

She stood up, holding the book close to her chest like a favorite child.

“I will be careful,” she said solemnly. “I just need to do something useful…I’m glad that you are okay.”

With that, she turned and headed toward the door. Her cool fa?ade was spoiled only slightly by a fit of coughing that left her leaning against the doorframe. Alex leaned back in his bed, his brow deeply furrowed.

“I wish I could say the same, Natalie.”

“Oh,” Natalie said, her voice quavering. “You worry too much.”

And with a click of the latch, she was gone.





Chapter 28





Natalie quickly became absorbed in Nobilitum Mortem, working relentlessly, though not tirelessly. She and Alex moved from their customary table at the library to one that was more private, located in a small reading nook in the darkest corner they could find, where the only illumination came from flickering candles. By their light, Natalie looked half dead, her skin shimmering with sweat, her paling hands flipping page after page, occasionally cross-checking a word against a Latin dictionary she had managed to dig up from somewhere.

Her illness, to Alex’s consternation, had not gotten better. While Natalie had begun to act more or less like herself again, it was clear that she was pushing her health in order to do so. She went to bed earlier, and lasted for less and less time during their study sessions before being too exhausted to work. When Alex pressed her on how she was feeling, she insisted she was fine and wanted to keep working. He knew she was as motivated to figure out the school’s secrets as he was, but he also knew she was pushing herself too hard.

Bent over the book, Natalie frowned, looking between it and her dictionary.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

“This must be a magical word,” she muttered. “It isn’t in the dictionary, and I do not know it.”

“What’s the context?”

Natalie read the sentence in Latin, which was gibberish to Alex, then read it in English. “The ‘inmagus’ are immune to the gaze of specters, and the magic of the dead cannot touch them.” She let out a frustrated breath, brushing a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Sounds useful, if we knew what it was.”

Alex paused.

“I think I know the word you’re looking for,” he said.

Natalie looked up, her eyes reflecting the candlelight. “What is it?”

Spellbreaker, Alex thought with a thrill of excitement, but didn’t say anything. He wanted to confirm his suspicions and find evidence to support them before making an announcement. But this could be huge.

Alex rose to his feet, and Natalie let out a quizzical murmur as he began to walk away.