After a few breathless moments, Ellabell pulled away, a smile upon her face. Alex grinned back, brushing the snow from Ellabell’s curls.
“I hope that won’t happen every time,” he whispered.
“I don’t mind if it does,” Ellabell chuckled, and he felt like kissing her all over again.
Gazing into her eyes, however, he realized their time was trickling away. He and his friends would be parting ways at any moment, and he wanted to make sure he said goodbye to everyone before they did. He would be seeing some of them again shortly, but others… Well, he didn’t know.
“Shall we get back?” Ellabell asked, as if reading his mind.
Alex nodded.
They walked back toward the tower room hand-in-hand, grinning like the besotted teenagers they were. He wondered what it would be like to have an ordinary relationship with her, out in the real world, with none of the mayhem that had shaped their current world—he hoped he’d get to find out one day.
Returning to the tower, the goodbyes began.
“I swear I’ll make good on the promise I made to your sister,” Alex said, hugging Natalie. “Once all of this is over, I will get you back home.”
“And I will make good on the promise I made to your mother,” she whispered, giving him a tight squeeze. “You will see her again, Alex. I will make sure of it—there will be no heroics that put that at risk, do you hear me?”
“Agreed,” he said, pulling away from her before approaching Jari.
“Dude, you stay safe, okay? I don’t want you getting any bright ideas about that book,” the blond-haired boy scolded.
Alex smiled. “I won’t, and don’t you play the knight in shining armor either. No saving damsels, though I’m not sure you’ll find many damsels around here.”
“Maybe I can be the damsel,” Jari quipped, jiggling his eyebrows.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Alex muttered, pulling his friend into a hug.
“I’ll miss you too, man,” Jari replied, hugging back.
It was truly hard to say goodbye to friends, but the hardest goodbye wasn’t even one Alex was participating in. It was the sight of Aamir parting ways with Jari. All animosity and shock at Aamir’s decision to go to Falleaf forgotten, Jari leapt toward his best friend, wrapping his arms around the older boy in the tightest of bear hugs.
“I’m gonna miss you so much, man!” he cried, clutching Aamir’s shoulders.
“I’m going to miss you too, Petra,” said Aamir softly.
“It won’t be the same without you,” Jari said miserably.
“It won’t be for long. We’ll meet again, and we’ll fight to take back our freedom, and then we’ll go home. And you and I will be friends until we’re old and gray, drinking tea, reminiscing about these days,” Aamir whispered, tears welling in his eyes.
“And we’ll cause havoc in the nursing home?” Jari grinned, brushing away defiant tears.
Aamir nodded. “Why, of course.”
“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
“Nor you.”
“And if you see any nice ladies at Falleaf, you let them know where I am,” the younger boy chuckled, clearly struggling to suppress his sadness.
“You’ll be too busy mooning over Helena,” Aamir replied, “but I’ll make a mental note.”
“Got to keep my options open,” Jari quipped.
They drew apart, both trying to smile, but failing.
“This sucks,” Jari muttered.
Alex sighed.
He was right. It really did.
Chapter 31
With nothing left to say, Alex grabbed the satchel containing the bottles of essence from Stillwater and followed those who were going through Alypia’s portal, walking with them down to the courtyard. The portal gleamed enticingly, and Demeter stood beside it, ready to follow the others. If there were any guards on the other side, Demeter had already taken care of them. All they had to do now was step through, which they did, turning back for one last goodbye as Alex, Ellabell, and Aamir waved them off on their journey.
It would be up to the others to find Helena before too many people were alerted to their presence. If anyone could do it with the required level of stealth, Alex knew it was the three who had volunteered for the task. With Demeter’s mind control, Natalie’s ability to manipulate the magic of others, and Jari’s instinctual aptitude for reading opponents, they would be okay. He hoped it with all his heart.
Now, it was their turn. They had a portal of their own to open.
“With me!” Lintz bellowed.
The others followed him, running back the way they had come until they reached a circular antechamber that sat at the very end of a long hallway Alex was only vaguely familiar with. He knew they were close to the corridor that held Alypia’s new cell, but he tried not to think about that as he focused on the task at hand.
Lintz paused beside the farthest wall of the antechamber. “Here—this is where the old network is. Alex, pass me the bottles,” he instructed.
Wasting no time, Alex brought forth the bulging bag of essence and handed it to Lintz, who slung it over his shoulder. He was balancing a satchel on each hip, clockwork on the right, essence on the left.
“Right, let’s do this. Watch carefully—you might need to know this one day,” Lintz said as he pulled the first black bottle from the bag and set to work.
He poured the contents into his hands, his eyes focused on the pulsing red strand. Golden threads of magic rippled around his fingers, feeding into the glowing essence. Alex prayed the combination didn’t have the same disastrous results that he’d conjured with Alypia. However, no golden monsters surged from Lintz’s palms. Instead, his mouth moved silently as his hands stretched out the strand of essence, the dim red shade stretching wider and turning a silvery white. Soon, Lintz held a long, wide ribbon of portal energy in his palms, the red tinge entirely gone from the glittering energy. He pressed it against the wall, and the thread flashed brightly before settling, the energy within seeming to undulate above the stonework.
The group braced for red fog, but none came.
“How come it hasn’t set the barrier off?” Alex asked, relieved it hadn’t.
Lintz smiled. “We’re opening an old gateway. The barrier magic flows around the echo of the opening, allowing safe passage… Well, unless you’re someone Caius doesn’t like, like Alypia,” he chuckled, returning to his work.
The professor moved quickly for such a stout man, weaving the portal magic in a lustrous tapestry across the wall. It was almost hypnotic, the way the threads emerged from the essence and slotted into one another. Over and under, over and under, creating a familiar oval shape. Alex watched intently, trying to figure out how he might do the same with his anti-magic.
Finally, the professor came to the end of the essence. Lintz pressed his hands into the center of the woven threads and closed his eyes. With a triumphant swell, the threads connected, the energy melding into one solid oval as the portal burst into life, appearing to shatter the very fabric of the wall with a silent explosion of vivid light that surged outwards. The silvery white light swirled from the epicenter, small at first, then growing larger, gradually filling the parameters of its former oval shape, before settling, like dropping a stone into still water.
As the luminescent ripples were subdued, now flat and calm, a world beyond was revealed. Through the mirror-like surface, Alex could see an autumnal forest stretching away toward the horizon, the bronze and scarlet leaves falling slowly to the lush green undergrowth. There were no buildings in sight, but there were no swarms of guards either—yet. It was picturesque, the blue sky crisp and clear above the fall-hued trees as a cool breeze flowed through from the new realm, its caress feeling fresh on Alex’s hot, stressed face.
“Ready yourselves, it’s time to go through! Keep to the edge of the tree-line. Do not enter the forest. I repeat, do not enter the forest,” said Lintz.
Aamir stepped up first, his manner decidedly
tentative. There was a bit of a leap down to ground level, but it was only a short drop, not nearly as high as the one between the Head’s office at Spellshadow Manor and the ground in Stillwater’s realm.
“And, jump! Go, go, go!” Lintz cried, sounding like the leader of a group of paratroopers, standing by the open plane hatch and ushering his comrades out.
Aamir jumped, using his magic to soften the fall as he soared through the air with enviable grace. With barely a rustle of leaves, he landed on the dewy grass, turning back to look up at the others with a cheerful thumbs-up.
“Go, go, go!” Lintz roared again, as Ellabell stepped up.
Alex moved with her toward the edge of the portal, grasping her hand. Even as she reached the lip of it, preparing for the jump, he still held onto her. She wore a worried expression, but he knew she was much too brave to let a tiny jump bother her—there was undoubtedly something else on her mind, but whatever it was, it would have to wait. She turned back to him for a moment, flashing him her boldest smile.
With a tight squeeze of his fingers, she let go of him, leaping through the mirrored pool of the portal and landing on the grass with a light thud. The only ones left now were Alex and Professor Lintz.
Alex was preparing to jump, when a scream tore through the keep.
Immediately, he knew it had come from Alypia, and the sound of it made him step back from the edge of the portal. A million possibilities rushed through his mind.
Has she escaped? Has she wormed her way out of her restraints? Has she run into something nasty on her exodus?
He knew if he didn’t go to her now, to check that she was still securely locked up, he would regret it. After so much effort to trap her, he didn’t even want to think of the possibility of her running free, able to follow him once more. It wasn’t a risk he was going to take again.
“Keep the doorway open for me,” Alex said suddenly, turning to Lintz.
“Leave her, Alex!” the professor insisted, but Alex knew he couldn’t.
“I have to be sure she hasn’t gotten out. If she’s free, then all of this has been for nothing,” he explained quickly. “We can’t risk her being on our tails—please, wait for me down there. Keep the portal open. I won’t be long.”
“Alex! Come back!” the professor yelled, but Alex was already halfway down the corridor, his direction clear in his mind.
He ran until he reached the familiar door of Agatha’s old guard room, now Alypia’s cell. However, as he neared, he saw that the door was already open. Building anti-magic beneath his palms, he burst through, ready to face what was on the other side.
The sight made Alex’s eyes go wide with horror.
Caius loomed above the frozen figure of Alypia, who was kneeling on the ground, head bowed. Her mouth was moving silently, as if in prayer, though her hands were bound behind her by the ivy-wrapped manacles. In his own hands, Caius clutched the handle of a gleaming, magical sword, which shone a pure gold as he slowly raised it above her head, seeming to take a few practice swings before he dealt the final blow.
Alex rushed into the room, putting himself between Caius’s blade and Alypia, threads of anti-magic still crackling along his skin.
“What are you doing?” he yelled, splaying out his hands to protect Alypia.
“Delivering justice,” Caius replied bitterly, a flash of hatred in his eyes.
Alex stared at Caius in disbelief. “Not like this, Caius. This isn’t you—this is your anger talking.”
“Move, Alex. You do not understand,” Caius said, his gaze cold and piercing. “She feels no remorse. My Guinevere was murdered, and they laughed. They laughed at her pain and mine. They are monsters unworthy of forgiveness.”
Alex took a step closer. “She is far more useful to us alive! We can use her against Julius. We can use her to get information.”
“She deserves to die.” Caius lifted his sword again. “Now, move aside, my boy. I do not wish to make you.”
“No.” Alex met Caius’s eyes and let the glitter of silver and black build in his hands. The warden frowned, his grip on the sword weakening for a moment, and Alex was almost relieved.
Almost.
In an instant, Caius’s expression shifted, and he shoved Alex to the side with enough force to jar the younger man’s shoulder. The impact knocked Caius off balance for a moment, no longer having his cane to lean on for support, but he rallied quickly, lifting the sword over Alypia once more in a single motion. Alex stumbled forward with a grunt as the blade came down, catching it between his palms. Gold and silver clashed in a surge of light, ice forming along the places Alex’s hands gripped the sword. Caius was not letting go, and neither was he.
Alex pressed harder into the blade, though the razor-sharp edge burned his hands. As he channeled his anti-magic along its length, veins of frost began to spread from the sword’s center to its point and pommel, until every trace of gold had disappeared, the weapon morphing into a solid block of ice. With one more pulse of anti-magic, the sword shattered into fragments, and Alex was left breathless and sweating, surrounded by rapidly melting shards of slush. His hands were stinging. Glancing down, he saw two dark red lines where the blade had bitten into his skin, the wounds instantly cauterized. They hurt, but he was in one piece.
Caius staggered backward and sank into a nearby chair. His mind seemed to come back to him as his eyes lost the haze of rage that had clouded them.
“I’m sorry… I do not know what came over me.”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief, sidestepping Alypia to sit opposite Caius, although he was careful to remain alert. Seeing the warden in such an unstable state made Alex realize how unpredictable the man could be. It sent a shiver of fear down Alex’s spine, and he was more eager than ever to leave Kingstone.
“I know what it’s like to feel hatred burning you up inside, until you can’t see straight,” Alex said slowly. “But I hope you understand why we need to keep Alypia alive. There are other lives at stake here.”
“Of course, my boy,” Caius said, his face a mask of sorrow. “I was not thinking, in the moment. Anger has a way of consuming the soul.”
Alex hated to ask more of the warden, given his current emotional state, but he wanted to be sure that all the necessary cogs were in place before he left. “Will you promise to keep watch over her? We just need to make sure she doesn’t alert Julius to what’s going on.”
“Certainly. Though I am only playing a small part in your plans, I am more than happy to do so.” Caius smiled weakly, an uneasiness still simmering within his eyes.
“Thank you. That’s good to hear,” Alex said with forced levity. It was difficult to act so congenial after what had just happened. At least Vincent would also be remaining at Kingstone, to keep an eye on things. The necromancer knew how important Alypia was to them, and Alex just hoped he would be around to prevent any future near-executions.
“You must be leaving for Stillwater shortly, I presume?” Caius asked.
“Actually, I’m headed to Falleaf House, in search of the book that contains the counter-spell you told me about,” Alex said, tapping the edge of his armchair. “I’d like a moment to speak with Alypia before I go, though. The portal there is already open—the others are waiting for me.”
Caius looked surprised. “Falleaf House, you say? My son is the leader there.”
“Hadrian is your son?” Alex asked, equally surprised.
Caius nodded. “My beloved boy. Had I known you were going there, I would have come to find you and offered suggestions.”
Alex wondered why Elias hadn’t mentioned that Caius and Hadrian were related, but he knew the shadow-man well enough by now to know that he was careful to omit details that didn’t work in his own favor. There was a reason Elias hadn’t said anything, there always was, but it didn’t seem likely Alex would be seeing the vaporous trickster again to ask him why. Regardless, Alex realized he now had an opportunity before him, to get even better insight into the realm of Falleaf
House and the man who ruled there.
“I think Demeter was looking for you earlier, to tell you where we were going,” said Alex, a touch guiltily. He had just been about to leave Kingstone without so much as a “see you later” to the old man, discarding his manners in favor of his need to get the book as quickly as possible.
“He never did find me.” Caius smiled, leaning forward. “But you’re here now, keeping me up to date.”
“Sorry about that,” Alex murmured.
“Nonsense, your head was full of adventure. Who can blame you for not pausing to tell an old man?” Caius reassured. “I have to wonder, though, what has made you decide to go after this book?”
“I’ll need it for what I plan to do,” Alex said, not wanting to reveal the details of his plan in front of Alypia. “There might be other spells in it, too, that could be of use to us.”
“It’s about time there was a bit of action in these havens,” Caius murmured. “You must wish my son good tidings if you meet him at Falleaf House—though with so many soldiers around, you will have to have your wits about you, and ensure you stay on high alert, if you want to reach the sanctuary of his school.”
“Why are there so many soldiers there?” Alex asked, intrigued, and wanting to get the upper hand before he set foot in the mystery realm.
“The school holds a great many secrets, that book included, which the royals would seek to protect—the royals who are unlike myself and my son. It is the most ancient haven, and Julius deems my son the only royal he can spare for the task of ruling at Falleaf, given the unfortunate circumstances of his heritage. If he were anyone else’s son, he’d be the pride of court—smart, just, fair, skillful. Being my son, he has been duly hidden away. Julius likes to keep an eye on him by filling his realm with traps and guards, though I think he does it just to aggravate me.”