The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Spellshadow Manor #1)

To Alex’s immense irritation, Elias’s words proved true. The Historica Magica was a repetitive slog through a blitzkrieg of facts that rivaled the dullest sections of any reference book, reading more like an enormous index. It seemed to be entirely dedicated to family genealogies, technical descriptions of old magical homes, and recreations (without embellishment, of course) of marriage certificates. It was, in short, an exacting description of the driest facts concerning magical life.

However, it wasn’t entirely useless. After putting a false cover on the book to make it unrecognizable, Alex took it to the study hall, finding a large, soft chair in a corner by the fire and settling in. He traced the family lines, and as he did so, his mind dismantled the patterns, names, and ideas. They slowly began to fit together into something that resembled a picture.

The most obvious, and perhaps most expected, fact he found was a sudden rash of deaths in the magical families in the same generation as Malachi Grey. It seemed that almost every family line ended abruptly there; the ones that did not seemed to die out within a couple more generations. Alex was almost relieved when he finally found a footnote on a date of death which read: the last of the major lines.

So they had all died out. All his people were officially gone. It didn’t say explicitly that Malachi Grey had killed them, but at least he had that detail for certain. But why hadn’t he killed Alex? Alex had been completely helpless in the Head’s office, completely at the ghost’s mercy. And he had spared him. The question had been plaguing Alex ever since, but he could not think of a satisfying answer.

He continued to search the book for a time, but the warmth of the fire and the soft fabric of the chair lulled him, coaxing his eyes slowly shut. He tucked the book closer to himself, hugging it to his chest. He would just rest his eyes for a moment, and then he’d go back to reading.

It would only be for a moment.



“Hey.”

Alex blinked his eyes open, shaking his head as he came to, hands scrabbling over the false cover of his book. He looked around with wild eyes for a moment before he saw Ellabell, a little smile on her face, her head tilted quizzically. She had pulled a chair over beside his, and now she was watching him with a raised eyebrow. He shoved the Historica Magica farther out of sight and let out an uneasy cough.

“Hey,” he said. His head was still fuzzy with sleep, and his speech didn’t quite sound right. He cursed inwardly. He should have picked a little wooden chair with wobbly legs, impossible to get comfortable on.

Ellabell’s eyes darted to where he had shoved the book out of sight, but she didn’t ask after it. Instead, she said, “So, did you figure out if my roommate is cursed?”

Alex shuffled up in his chair, trying to sit up straighter. “I think she might be,” he said.

Ellabell nodded with a sigh. “That’s my conclusion as well. I’ve been poking around trying to see if there are any rumors about someone pulling that sort of stuff, but so far no luck. Professor Lintz actually thinks she cursed herself.”

Alex frowned. “Why would he think that?”

“He says a lot of really talented young mages push themselves too far and accidentally put a curse on themselves,” she replied. “Something about how, if you draw upon too much magic when your body isn’t used to it, you can scar your soul.”

She said the last with a little hokey wave of her hands. Alex raised an eyebrow. “Do you believe him?”

“I believe him as far as I can throw him,” she said, lifting one arm. That would not be far: Lintz was a large man.

“Anyway,” she said, her arm flopping back down to her side. “Natalie was looking for you. Said she was going for a glass of wine and wanted you to come.” Ellabell puffed out her cheeks, and Alex smiled. Of course Ellabell knew there was nowhere to get a drink on the manor grounds, but she didn’t seem like she would question it.

“Got it,” he said, rising to his feet. His arms and legs, comfortable and warm in the chair and still littered with icy burns from the last day of practice, seared in protest. He shook the feeling off, making sure to keep his book out of sight.

Ellabell nodded amiably, but there was a strange light in her eyes. It wasn’t friendly, but neither was it antagonistic.

“You don’t need to take such pains, you know.”

Alex looked back at her. “Oh?”

She laughed. “It’s just…” She looked covertly from side to side. “We’ve all got secrets here,” she said.

Alex nodded, uncertain what she wanted.

“Even me, Alex,” she said. “And even you. I don’t know what the teachers were looking for the other week, and I don’t know what that book you’re hiding under your shirt is, but if you think nobody has noticed, you’re insane. It’s more that…well, we respect each other’s secrets here.”

She said the last with a smile, brushing a brown curl away from her glasses. He gave a slight nod, then turned sharply away.

How much did she know? She admitted little, but she could have been lying. And if Ellabell had noticed, then others had more than likely noticed too.

He needed to be more careful.





Chapter 35





Alex lowered himself down into the cellar just as Natalie seized a bolt of Aamir’s lightning and redirected it into the ceiling. There was a low whump in the dirt, and the whole room shook for a moment. Natalie cheered, and Aamir, whom they all had learned was something of a sore loser, scowled.

“I did it!” she cried, doing a graceful little twirl, then steadying herself, looking queasy. “I told you I could!”

Aamir continued to glare at her. “That was luck,” he groused, although he didn’t sound entirely assured. He turned, and, seeing Alex coming down the last rungs of the cellar, he waved. “Alex! Finally decided to join us?”