“Call it curiosity,” replied the young man, also folding his arms.
We have to take some risks, Alex thought, looking Elias up and down. And he will just find it out anyway.
“We would destroy Finder,” he said finally.
Elias let out a low whistle. “That,” he said, “is an incredible plan. Really well thought out.”
“Well—”
“The book you’re searching for,” Elias interjected, “is in the Head’s office.”
Alex was silent for a long time. That was probably the least accessible place for a book they so desperately needed.
“But how do I get to it?” he asked at last.
Elias reached up, and his arm extended grotesquely to grip the branch of the tree before hoisting the rest of him skyward. The shadows swirled, then coalesced into the form of the cat once more.
“You’ve got your own little talents,” he said. “Naughty interloper that you are. Why don’t you use them?”
Alex had already opened his mouth when the cat lay down and melted into the tree. He knew before any words came out that Elias had disappeared once again, lost in the manor. What was Elias in his previous life? And why was he following him around, spying on him, giving semi-helpful advice?
Wondering how he would even begin to research something like that, never mind sneak into the Head’s office, Alex looked at the world around him. Ruins as far as the eye could see. Dreams that had stopped. A manor, ruled by a man who appeared to keep its rightful lord as an undead slave.
Alex made his way back inside, his hands brushing the Ouroboros handles. He walked slowly toward his room, thinking.
But if he thought his adventures were done for the day, he was wrong.
Chapter 22
A scream pierced the air just as Alex was turning past the door to the library. Suddenly alert, he stared down the vacant hallway in the direction the noise had come from.
The scream came again, jolting Alex forward. Before he knew what he was doing, before he could think, he was pelting off down the hallway, skidding around the corner to find a horrible scene.
A girl pressed herself against the wall, recoiling from where a boy lay, crumpled on the floor. Alex recognized him as Blaine Stalwart, a boy Aamir admired for his magical skill. His arms and legs were stiff, his face hidden in shadows.
At his feet ran a small, golden line.
“Oh my,” came a leisurely voice from behind them. “Somebody’s been bad.”
Alex spun to see Professor Derhin approaching with long, uncharacteristically graceful strides. He strode up to where Stalwart lay, then shifted a viperous gaze onto the girl.
“H-h-he said it wouldn’t be as bad as people made out,” she stammered. “That it’d sound an alarm. Some foolish nonsense.”
“Just sound an alarm?” Derhin said. “This isn’t a blue line, is it? It did sound an alarm, but messing with a golden line is exactly as bad as people make out. That’s why I’m here. To collect.”
He looked down at the body on the floor.
“Is he…?” the girl said.
“He broke the rules and got caught,” said Derhin pointedly. “He’ll be transferred to Stillwater House.”
Alex stared at Blaine. The boy wasn’t moving. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. Little curls of magical power spun over his skin, and Alex wrapped his coat tighter around himself. It was cold in the hallway. So cold.
Derhin turned, fixing Alex with a stare.
“Did you have anything to do with this, Webber?” he asked.
Alex shook his head.
“Heard the scream. Came running.”
Derhin nodded in satisfaction. “Very good. You may leave.”
Alex hesitated, staring at the body, and the terrified girl who seemed to be trying to disappear into the cracks in the stone. The eerie light streaming in through the distant window rippled and swirled over Derhin’s pale features.
“Now, Webber,” he said softly.
Alex turned and hurried away, too late to help, feeling the professor’s eyes following him as he went.
His thoughts went to the golden line he had somehow broken.
Chapter 23
True to Derhin’s word, Blaine Stalwart vanished from classes. The girl who had accompanied him, Claire Goldfield, did come back to class, her eyes low and distant, after missing several days. When her peers asked after Blaine, she said nothing, just grew pale and shook her head fervently.
Alex had been expecting a bigger deal to be made about the whole affair, but the other students had dropped the issue almost immediately. Aamir, for example, seemed more irate than afraid.
“Honestly,” he said one morning over breakfast, lowering his voice and glancing over at where Siren Mave was sitting like an imp behind the breakfast buffet, “he should have known better. Even the newest students know that crossing one of those golden lines is as good as a death sentence.”
Alex frowned at his toast, feeling Natalie’s curious gaze on him. He knew she must also be wondering how Alex hadn’t been caught and punished.
“Another one gone,” Aamir muttered, stabbing at his plate.
Jari entered the room, brushing his hair from his sleepy eyes and looking around to find his friends. When Aamir spotted him, he rose to his feet, excusing himself and slipping away. Jari took the newly vacated seat a moment later, staring after his friend with a tiny frown and hot eyes.
And so, life dragged on.
With Aamir mostly absent, and Jari constantly fretting over his friend, Alex and Natalie were left with a great deal of time to themselves over the coming weeks. Natalie continued to cover for Alex during class, and they sailed through their first practical exam with ease. Natalie showed off her pyromancy, which earned her an approving clap from Lintz and a disappointed sigh from Esmerelda, who had probably been hoping that she would find a more “womanly” way to apply her talents.
Alex, for his part, had decided to “learn” a modest spell from the illusion school of magic. It had been a bit tricky, and had required a lot of reading, but, with his assistance, Natalie had gone along with it happily enough. Alex had gone to the front of the class, made the gestures, and Natalie had wreathed him in shimmering light until he was surrounded by the appearance of rain, streaking the air around him. Derhin had even bestowed mild approval.
“That’s certainly an improvement, Webber,” he had said as Alex lowered his hands. “I’m glad to see you settling in at last.”
Alex had shot a look at Natalie, and she had smiled before making a motion with her hand under her desk. The rain had disappeared.
Aamir’s examination had followed Alex’s, and the older boy had caused a full tree to burst from the classroom floor in a shower of splinters and leaves. Derhin had been knocked to the floor, where he had adjusted his glasses and sighed drearily.
After some thought, Alex and Natalie planned their break-in to the Head’s quarters for New Year’s Eve. Alex had related his previous encounters with Elias and explained that he could very well have lied, but Natalie still insisted on coming along. She had heard from a girl in her dorm that the Head always gave a speech on New Year’s Eve, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The students, teachers, and the Head would be distracted. They would still need to contend with Finder, but Alex had the advantage of stealth where the old master of Spellshadow was concerned.
“The main thing is you can cross the golden lines,” Natalie said, even as worry touched her voice.
“Yes,” he said emphatically, then hastily dropped the subject. He was troubled and curious about why he was so mildly affected by the lines, and had wanted to explore forbidden areas of the Head’s domain immediately. But Natalie had pleaded with him not to unless it was absolutely necessary, and he had reluctantly promised her he wouldn’t.
As Christmas approached, Professor Esmerelda hung mistletoe and garlands above the doors, and the students dove into the rituals of the season. The windows showed them more and more snow, fall
ing softly apparently just outside, but just out of reach.
Jari, whether in an attempt to lure Aamir from his studies or just out of pure festive spirit, decorated their little room with a collection of trees and constant, warm snow that tasted faintly of chocolate. Aamir, in response, stopped studying in his bed, telling Alex that he couldn’t concentrate under these conditions.
“He can’t dodge me at Christmas,” said Jari, his brow scrunched up. “That one I’ll get.”
On Christmas Eve, Alex and Natalie found themselves sitting in the library yet again, but for once, neither of them could focus. The two of them stared at the ice crystals that were blossoming from the frame of the huge window, spreading in glittering strands across the view beyond.
Distantly, Alex could see lights again. He stared at them, wondering, as he always did, if that was their home. He pictured the Christmas tree he usually set up, twinkling with colored lights in their darkened living room, and thought with a pang that his mother wouldn’t have it up this year without him.
What was she doing now? How was she managing everything? How was her health? Did she think he was dead?
His gaze became hazy as tears formed in his eyes. He blinked them away just as Natalie sighed, looking down at the book she had propped open in front of her and then shutting it.
“I cannot focus,” she muttered.
“Neither can I,” Alex replied quietly, attempting to rein in his emotions. “What do you say we take a little time off for Christmas?”
Natalie shrugged, looking down at her hands. A little trail of fire wove between her fingers. “I guess,” she said. “It just doesn’t feel like we have time for anything.”
Alex looked between her and the quiet lights outside, then rose to his feet. Perhaps a celebration would feel odd under the circumstances, but it might be just what she needed. They had been lost in their plotting too long now, and Natalie was growing increasingly gloomy.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go for a walk. We’ll get Jari and Aamir.”
They found Jari sitting in his room, staring up at where he had conjured a collection of bubbles in the air above him. As Alex and Natalie entered, they popped, and the boy looked over sulkily.
“You two need the room or something?” he said.
Alex chuckled. “Funny, Jari. We actually came to get you.”
Jari perked up at that, swinging his feet off the bed to look hopefully over at them.
“Get me? For what?”
Alex gave his best smile. “It’s Christmas Eve, Jari,” he said. “Let’s get Aamir and do something other than what we always do.”
Jari didn’t need to be told twice.
Aamir was in the study, tucked away into a corner of the room, far from where the other students were gathering around the fireplace and sharing mugs of cocoa bobbing with little marshmallows. He looked up as the group approached him, scowling.
“What is this?” he said. “An intervention?”
“No, it’s Christmas Eve!” Jari proclaimed, darting forward.
A look of puzzlement crossed over Aamir’s features, followed by a sheepish smile. “Is it?”
“It is,” said Natalie gently. “Come on, we are going for a walk in the snow, and you must come with us. It will be fun.”
The four of them made their way out onto the grounds, where a chill wind had gathered. The grass crunched under their feet as they walked, Jari darting out ahead and spinning around in the drifts of white. Aamir smiled.
The cold didn’t seem to bother Natalie, who was in short sleeves again. She exhaled through her nose, and twin jets of steam speared out into the air, swirling up as though she were some sort of dragon. She laughed at the sight, looking over to Alex.
“You really aren’t cold?” Alex said, sidling up to her as he shoved his hands into a pair of gloves. He was wearing not one, but two coats today, and he could still feel the chill whirling in his gut.
“No,” Natalie said. “Perhaps that is one advantage of being magical.”
They set out across the grounds, coming to a large, frozen lawn before Jari turned.
“Aamir!” he called.
Aamir looked over from where he had been watching the snow falling.
“Do that thing with the tree.”
“Thing with the tree?”
“You know what I mean!”
Aamir smiled wanly, then ushered Jari away from the center of the lawn. Alex watched with interest as golden light began to swirl and rise around Aamir, his hands spreading, his brow suddenly glistening with sweat.
A rumble spread through the ground, and then, all at once, a great tree burst from the ground, even larger than the one in class. Bits of dirt and stone spewed out in all directions as branches unfurled from the trunk, and within an instant Alex was admiring a massive evergreen.
Jari dusted off his coat, shooting a disparaging look at Aamir. “Couldn’t you do that without making a mess?”
Aamir glowered at him. “It is much more difficult to use anima magic if you don’t mirror the natural process,” he said. “You know that.”
Jari leapt into the argument with enthusiasm, and Alex and Natalie walked a little way away, giving the two friends some space while they stared up at the huge tree.
Natalie didn’t speak, but spread her hands, her brow furrowing. One at a time, little lights began to pop into existence around the trunk, glowing red and green and blue, shimmering out from amid the tree’s needles.
Alex smiled appreciatively. “When did you learn to do that?”
Natalie laughed. “I’m making it up as I go,” she admitted. “It is good they didn’t burn down the tree. I sort of…It is hard to explain. I combined the illusion from your project with the fire from mine.”
The wind rustled the leaves of the tree. Aamir and Jari had turned as Natalie had begun to decorate the tree, watching happily as the lights appeared, and now they began to work as well. Jari crafted a golden star out of thin air and sent it up to alight gently atop the tree, while Aamir worked the air with his hands, throwing down garlands of shining light around the tree that wrapped it in a corkscrew of power. Before long, it lit the grounds around it like a miniature sun.
“It’s beautiful,” Alex said, looking at her.
“It is, yes,” Natalie agreed, staring up at the gleaming tree, but her voice lacked emotion. “It’s also…lifeless. Pretty things are easy, common. They are everywhere in the manor. It is full of wonders, and magic, but somehow…there is nothing there. It is empty, this prettiness.” She stared at her feet.
Aamir finished his garland and walked over, offering Natalie an encouraging smile. “This is your first Christmas away from home, isn’t it?”
Natalie nodded, a tear coursing down her cheek.
Aamir patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “It gets better. It just takes time.”
Jari stepped up beside them, little lights trailing him through the air. “He’s not kidding,” he said. “It gets better.”
Alex glanced over at where the small boy had stuffed his hands into his pockets. Little flecks of snow littered his golden hair, and his cheeks were tinted with pink.
Then, unexpectedly, Jari said, “You never stop missing family, though.” His eyes averted to the ground, and his lips formed a melancholy smile. “My dad was a real goof,” he continued, and Alex got the feeling from his distant expression that he was talking more to remind himself than inform them. “Always liked to pull stupid pranks on me and my brother. And Mom was an artist, always quizzing us on color and form.”
As if Jari’s openness had triggered something in Aamir, the older boy also began to reminisce. “My grandfather used to paint. He wasn’t very good, though my grandmother always encouraged him. He liked to say it was more about the act of appreciating beauty than creating anything worthwhile.”
“My mother is a firefighter,” Natalie cut in. Everyone glanced over at her in surprise—Alex included. Natalie gri
nned, her face lighting up with pride. “She is the only woman at her station and kicks my dad’s butt in the gym. She loved to take me running when I was younger.”
Three heads turned expectantly toward Alex, and although he was afraid he might choke up again, if Aamir and Jari could say something about their family at Christmas, so could he.
“My mom was an elementary and middle school teacher,” Alex said. “She stays at home now, though, mostly. She’s not well, but…I’m hoping she’ll get better.”
A long silence followed, and was broken only by Natalie giving a loud sneeze. She rubbed at her nose, her cheeks pink, her still-bare arms covered in bumps.
“Better cover up,” Alex said, thinking that he might finally be witnessing Natalie experiencing coldness. He took off one of his coats and offered it to her. “You might get a cold.”
She didn’t respond. She just looked up at the tree, the glittering lights reflected in her too-bright eyes.
By Christmas Day, Aamir had apparently decided he had engaged in enough frivolity, and had retreated to his corner of the study hall. And Natalie was nowhere to be found, which worried Alex. After searching for her for a while, though, he assumed she wanted her privacy, and he didn’t want to be invasive or disrespectful. As a result, Alex and Jari ended up alone in the library, playing chess.
It felt wrong to have Christmas with so little fanfare, with no gifts or holiday food. The only thing marking the day as special was the absence of classes, but even that only served to make the day feel emptier. Alex saw more than one student standing around looking uncertain. He had thought to use the day for more private research, perhaps regarding anti-magic, used only by those long-dead Spellbreakers. But he found he hadn’t the heart.
And then the day was gone, just another thing swallowed up by the empty building. Everyone returned to class, and it was like nothing had happened.
Chapter 24
“Chevalier?”
Professor Derhin stared toward the back of the room, his eyes squinting at Natalie’s empty chair. “Natalie Chevalier,” he repeated, as if he could summon her out of thin air with his voice.