He needn’t have worried. As soon as he was over the threshold, he felt Ellabell’s arms around him as she rushed to hug him. She held his face as she looked him over, her expression showing she was just glad to see he was okay.
“Don’t you ever worry us like that again!” she chastised.
Glancing around at the others, he saw similar expressions on their faces. Worry, mainly, mixed with a relief to see him returned to them in one piece.
“You really had us going there, man,” said Jari with a nervous smile. “When we woke up and you weren’t in the tower, we knew something was up, but we couldn’t just go out looking in the daylight for you—we’d have been caught like that.” He snapped his fingers loudly. “We thought we’d lost you, dude.”
Natalie nodded. “Yes—we thought somebody had, perhaps, taken you in the night. We were so worried, Alex,” she whispered, her brow creased.
Alex felt a twist of guilt for putting them through that. Natalie wasn’t exactly wrong, either. Somebody had come for him in the night, just not who they might have expected. He thought about telling them about the shadow-man, but he felt the prickle of Elias’s displeasure shivering up his spine as he came to say the name aloud.
I thought we were over this, Alex grimaced to himself, but he held his tongue.
“Yeah—but then when that mouse appeared, I knew it had to be a sign from you, that you needed help. It kept butting against the front door, like it wanted me to follow, but I knew I couldn’t,” explained Ellabell, diverting Alex’s attention away from thoughts of Elias. “So when Helena came with food, I told her about the mouse and how you were missing, and suggested she follow it.”
“Quick thinking on her part,” Helena nodded as she stepped into the room. “You could see the mouse wanted to go somewhere, so I followed it as far as the library. I could never have gotten you out in broad daylight, so I had to wait until evening, when it was quiet. Sorry about that.” She grinned.
“I’m just glad you found me,” Alex said.
“It’s not me you should be thanking,” reminded Helena pointedly.
Alex nodded. “Of course—sorry. Thank you, Ellabell.” He gazed at her with slightly bashful gratitude.
She shrugged it off. “I say the mouse is the hero here,” she beamed, though her freckled cheeks had flushed ever so slightly, and her blue eyes had an added sparkle to them.
There was an overall sense of relief in the tower, to have Alex back in the fold. Even Aamir seemed happy to see him. In fact, the older boy seemed much happier in general, as if he had regained some of his former energy in Alex’s absence. The lines of exhaustion that had been etched onto his face were softening, with more of the familiar Aamir returning to the surface. Life had begun to shine again in formerly vacant eyes, and it was having much the same effect on Jari, who seemed to be brimming with energy. The younger boy stood grinning beside Aamir, nudging him in the arm as he whispered something into the older boy’s ear.
“People in glass houses, Jari Petra,” teased Aamir, a jovial smile curving at his lips.
Jari scowled playfully. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true—the amount of damage control I have had to do for you. You have no idea how much magic it took to make a thousand roses disappear.” He chuckled softly.
Alex smiled as he watched the two young men bantering like they used to, even if he had been the butt of the whispered joke. It didn’t matter; they were laughing in the corner over a shared jest, and it was the closest to normality Alex had seen from them in a long while. It was truly a happy sight to behold. In his heart, he felt the threads that had come loose beginning to be tied together again, bringing the friends closer once more.
Helena’s mood, however, was not so merry. There was a deep concern in her eyes that worried Alex, as he noticed her glancing warily toward the front door of the tower.
“What’s the matter?” Alex asked, sensing Helena’s agitation.
“I’m sorry to do this to you,” she began, giving Alex palpitations that someone was going to barge through the door and arrest them that very moment, “but I am going to have to move you once everyone in the House is asleep.”
It was not quite as worrying as Alex had imagined, but there was still fear to be taken from the girl’s words.
“Why?” asked Jari, looking crestfallen.
“I don’t think it’s safe for you here, in the tower, anymore,” she explained. “It was fine when nobody suspected anything, but the school has tightened security after Alex’s nighttime excursion, and I’m just not sure this is the right place to keep you hidden anymore.”
Alex felt discomfited by the blame, but he knew it truly did fall on him.
“I think you’re right,” he said sheepishly. “I’m sorry to put you all through this again.”
Around the room, the others passed him expressions of sympathy, but there was no anger in the faces he saw. They didn’t seem to bear a grudge, and Alex was grateful for that.
“When must we leave?” asked Natalie.
“We should set off in a couple of hours,” suggested Helena. “Let’s eat something now, pack all your things up, and then get ready to go.”
The group nodded, and Jari handed out food. An anxious silence sat heavily in the air, peppered only by the sound of nervous chewing and the glug of water being drunk. With the knowledge of Helena’s fears, a couple of hours seemed like a long time.
With everything packed up, they stole out of the tower and followed Helena across to the thicket of trees, where they had hidden the boat. They heaved the vessel out from the densely packed branches and pushed it across the shore and into the water as swiftly as possible.
Alex felt the shiver of the lake running icily up his legs as he waded through the shallows. He tried to ignore the feeling as he hopped up into the boat and shuffled over to the middle bench where he took up an oar. Once everyone was aboard, they rowed swiftly over to the island with the lighthouse, where Helena assured them they would be safe. She promised to continue bringing supplies, though they would not be as frequent—every other day, rather than every day. It seemed to surprise her to hear they had already been on the island, but she said little more about it as they made their way over.
Rowing deftly into the narrow inlet, the group watched anxiously as Helena moved onto the central bench and took up the oars. She was taking away their only means of escape, and Alex wasn’t sure how happy he was with that fact. He thought about saying something, but the others were already positioned to wave her off, cheerful smiles on their faces. It didn’t seem to bother them at all that she was going to row away with the boat, leaving them alone on a very small island with no way off it, except to swim. Alex didn’t want to say it smelled like a trap, but he felt a sense of uncertainty regardless.
As she disappeared into the darkness, the quintet made their way into the familiar lighthouse. It was deathly quiet as they marched up the winding staircase, into the rooms above, and laid out their beds.
A short while after everyone had settled, Alex could hear the soft sound of oars, slicing through the water, rising up through one of the windows. Presuming it to be Helena, he moved to the ledge to peer out, only to see a very different sight before him on the black water of the lake.
A boatful of figures, dressed in glinting armor, rowed across the lake toward the opposite shore. Alex ducked back from the window’s edge, guessing they must be the guards Alypia had promised to send to Spellshadow, to regain control at the request of the Head.
“What is it?” hissed Jari, seeing Alex crouched beneath the sill.
Jari’s voice drew Natalie and Ellabell, though Aamir remained below.
“Peer out as carefully as you can,” said Alex.
They did as he asked, their faces pale with terror as they drew back from the opening.
“Are they coming for us?” asked Jari.
Alex shook his head. “They’re headed for Spellshadow.”
>
“How do you know this?” Natalie asked skeptically.
Alex sighed. “I meant to tell you this morning, but, obviously, I got held up,” he began. “I saw the Head the other night—”
A collective gasp cut him off.
He glanced at Ellabell, realizing she hadn’t told them what he’d seen. Flashing a look at her, she shrugged in response—it was apparent she’d had other things on her mind, and her bashful expression kept him silent on the subject of her not telling the others.
“Where?” whispered Natalie.
“I saw them from the tower—the Head and Alypia. They were out in the courtyard for a while, then they moved inside. I followed them and overheard some things,” he continued.
“They were outside?” hissed Jari, his eyes wide with shock.
Alex nodded. “They were, but they didn’t see us. As far as either of them knew, we were still nowhere to be found.” He grimaced, knowing he might have thrown a wrench in the works with his library visit. “Anyway, they got to talking about Spellshadow, and how the Head had lost control—she promised to send a team to help him. I presume that is the team.” He pointed toward the window, the sound of oars fading.
“What can we do?” asked Natalie.
“There is nothing we can do for them,” he breathed.
The words hung in the air. It had remained unspoken for so long, but the realization was no less crushing. The people of Stillwater were far stronger. Even if they wanted to fight back, what hope did they have? Listening to the last whispers of the boat moving across the lake, toward their old school and the unsuspecting classmates within, Alex could not help feeling the vile hands of sorrow and grief clawing at his insides. He could only imagine what was about to happen to their former classmates and teacher, as he prayed their punishment would not be too severe.
It was an optimism he clung to, remaining quietly confident that, at the very least, their former classmates would not be killed. Alypia had said as much. Those students would be needed when they were stronger, for the harvesting of their essence. It was a very poor consolation, but enough to give Alex some hope of still being able to rescue them at some point in the future, once he had discovered a way out of this whole mess. He was more certain now than ever that the stolen essence could play a major role in the mission ahead, if only he could get ahold of it. Not only could he use it as a bargaining chip—one bottle in return for something he wanted—but it would also be a way to exact revenge on the people who had done this to his friends, and to those innocents in Spellshadow and on the field of the arena at Stillwater, and those who were still to be stolen from the outside world.
Alex desperately wanted to find those bottles and either confiscate or destroy them all, leaving those who had created these prisons with nothing. They couldn’t very well use the essence of under-matured students; it would be as fruitless as having no essence at all.
If you want to keep the evil at bay, he thought coldly, you’ll have to resort to your own ranks.
If he had his way, there would be no more innocent blood spilled. Not as long as he still drew breath.
Chapter 18
Away from the gleaming white walls of Stillwater House, the atmosphere was much calmer. Although it frustrated Alex that they were isolated, with no immediate way to move forward with their mission, he comforted himself that this was just a temporary measure, and they’d figure something else out soon enough, once things had died down a bit on the mainland. In the meantime, they could work on honing their magic and anti-magic—never a wasted endeavor.
They were freer in the lighthouse, without as much worry of being spotted by a passing student or guard. Natalie had learned from Helena how to shield the windows from outside eyes, and slowly, they grew in boldness. It was like stretching after sitting for a long period of time, and it felt good.
Ellabell was still a little wary of Alex’s abilities; they weren’t natural, as far as she had been taught, and it had taken some getting used to, seeing the glimmer of black and silver instead of gold and white, but Alex could tell she was coming around to the idea.
A few times, he had seen her watching as he and Natalie sparred, in their strange peripheral way, with Alex aiming for marks dotted on the floor instead of his actual opponent. It was almost as if the bespectacled girl was studying his style and movement, making him feel scrutinized as he fired thin bolts of twisting black toward the wall behind Natalie, though she attempted to snatch them from the air. It was strange; the anti-magic seemed almost slippery to the touch of a magical being, running through their fingers if they tried to grasp it, as well as burning them if they made contact with it. Still, once or twice, Natalie almost managed to pull the anti-magic from the air between them, wincing as the icy-cold energy bit the edge of her skin, forcing her to let go.
By the end of their sessions, both of them were grinning, sweat glistening in a sheen on their foreheads. Ellabell grinned too, a peculiar expression of interest on her face. She would put in her two cents as they debriefed the fight, giving pointers on where she thought they needed to improve, as seen from her ringside seat. It was nice to have an outside opinion, refereeing their strengths and weaknesses. Alex knew it certainly helped him to hear where she thought he needed to focus. On occasion, some of his rapid streams of anti-magic lacked solidity and impact, his conjurations less robust if he had to make them quickly. He knew it was simply a matter of practice, and he needed to make sure his spells were consistently strong, whether he had ten minutes to prepare or a fraction of a second.
Natalie had improved in leaps and bounds too, ever since her steady recovery from the dark magic she had used to relocate the portal. Her hands no longer shook, and it took a fair amount of time before she started to tire. It was a good sign, and one Alex was glad to see. Since his visit with Elias, he had been reluctant to ask her again what had happened that day, but with the shadow-man’s insight, he knew he had to keep an eye on his friend’s advancements. Yes, she was almost entirely healthy again, but he couldn’t help worrying that it might lead to her further pursuit of ‘strong’ magic. He couldn’t forget the gleam he’d seen in her eyes as she had watched the Stillwater students compete. In addition, she had been spending an awful lot of time huddled in corners with Helena, chatting in low voices away from the rest of the group.
The silvery-haired young woman kept her promise to visit every other day, bringing bigger boxes of supplies to tide them over, and each visit led to these secret, hushed talks—Natalie monopolizing the girl’s time, much to Jari’s annoyance. He had grand plans of flirtation and courtship, and had been unable to carry any of them out during Helena’s brief stopovers.
Each time Alex and Natalie sparred, he would see a spell he didn’t recognize, twisting toward him from her palms. Sometimes they were surprisingly potent ones which sent him sprawling backward in a dense mist of snow and ice, leaving him wondering what the spell would have done if he had been an ordinary wizard. It was almost as if he had become Natalie’s guinea pig, a means for her to semi-harmlessly try out her new tricks. It was clear Helena was teaching her these things, innocently enough, and he just hoped they were within the natural sphere of magic, and nothing from the dark, unnatural realms beyond.
“Why don’t we pair up today?” Ellabell suggested one morning.
Alex frowned. “It won’t be the same as sparring with the others, you know.”
“I know. I’ve been watching, remember?”
“You think you’re ready to take me on?” he grinned, flirting a little.
“I know I am,” she purred.
Bristling with excitement, they moved to either side of the main room and faced each other. Ellabell drew crosses on the floor with the edge of her magic, burning the symbols temporarily into the stonework.
“Ready?” Alex smiled.
Ellabell nodded. “When you are.”
Alex sent out the first attack, ducking to his knees as he pressed his palms against the stonework,
sending a ripple of anti-magic through the floor of the room. It was a trick he had tailored from the one he’d seen in the arena, and it worked like a charm. Spirals of anti-magic shot up through the masonry all around Ellabell’s feet, surprising her, though he had made sure they wouldn’t touch her.
“Nice trick!” she gasped, slightly startled.
“Thanks,” he replied brightly, as he waited for her move.
Holding her palms up, she built a golden ball in the air before her, twisting her hand sharply until the ball began to spin, faster and faster, sparks careening off it as it hurtled around. Lifting it up, she pulled her left hand inward, causing smaller globes of glittering gold energy to be flung from the center of the larger orb, where they tore through the room toward Alex’s head, missing him by a hair. The globes were relentless, however, as they proceeded to surge from the larger orb, whizzing past him at all angles as he tried his best to duck and weave away from them. A few hit him in the shoulder and hip with a hefty punch, but they turned swiftly into flurries of cold snow, leaving him with little more than a light bruising.
“I think you got me!” he said as the balls continued to spin through the air. He lifted his hands in surrender.
With a turn of her wrist, the larger, spinning ball disappeared in a glimmer of gold dust. “Did I hit you?” she asked, a look of worry on her face.
He smiled. “A few times—I’m okay, though.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Of course. I can take more than that.”
“Well, if you insist.” She conjured several bolts in both palms and sent them speeding toward Alex.
“No, I didn’t mean—” he stuttered, not able to get all his words out as the hurled missiles forced him to bob and weave, cutting his sentence short.
Quickly, he sent up a glinting shield around himself, blocking the thin bolts as they soared in his direction. They slammed harmlessly against the barrier, much to Alex’s relief, giving him a chance to catch his breath.