Surprise, concern, and worry spread through the gathered groups of students, the trio of friends included, as they read over the new announcements again, absorbing them with intense displeasure. The sullen murmur of discussion continued over uneaten plates of toast and soggy bowls of cereal, all appetites lost as the students watched tentatively over their shoulders, nervous that someone might be listening—the very someone who had put that board up.
Alex sat with his hands balled into fists, his knuckles whitening as he felt the manor closing in around him. Jari gazed listlessly down into a milky bowl of cornflakes, and Natalie stared blankly into a mug of tea, watching the teabag float idly. They felt the absence of their fourth companion keenly as they glanced back at the noticeboard, wondering where on earth he had gone.
The day passed slowly and uneventfully, nobody coming to get them mid-lesson or surprising them in the hallway as they moved from period to period, keeping their heads down. An atmosphere of uncertainty had infected the whole manor. Even the hallway windows weren’t sure what to think, one looking out on a beautiful tropical beach with golden sand and turquoise waves, while the next showed a violent storm whipping around the jagged peaks of stony mountains, grim and desolate, lashed by lightning and rain and hailstones.
“Come on,” Alex said to Jari and Natalie. They were at the end of their brand-new evening session, their minds exhausted from lack of sleep and a long day. It was eight p.m., and they had an hour to kill before curfew. Frustrated by the feeling of being hemmed in, Alex wasn’t interested in spending his last hour in the library or study hall. He wanted to feel the kiss of fresh air on his face, draw it deep into his lungs, and shake off the antsy, irritated feeling crawling beneath his skin.
“Where are we going?” Natalie asked, a little anxiously, as Alex led the way, striding through the hallways toward the entrance of the manor.
“To try something out,” replied Alex cryptically. His friends followed him.
In the hallways, they passed a few other students, who were rushing to their dormitories so as not to be caught by any marauding staff members. Renmark in particular had taken a perverse delight in repeating the new rules to the students during their first class of the day. It had fed his need for power, Alex was sure. They thought he had been strict in their first session, but Renmark had shown he was capable of much, much worse. Their two sessions with him that day had consisted of brutal duels and exhausting new spells that had sapped the energy of them all, except Alex, who had had to watch as Natalie plowed on, doing double the work, the strain evident on her weary face. He wanted her to feel the cool air on her face too—she had earned it.
Around every corner, they expected Renmark to accost them with his accusing tone and strange eyes. He had told other students he’d be roaming the halls most evenings from now on, just in case anyone thought it smart to flout the rules. Alex wasn’t sure why, but he felt the act was aimed at him personally, or him and his friends, anyway.
Things were changing.
There was little sanctuary to be found in the new regime. If Renmark had his way, the school would be as close to a military operation as possible, and their lives would only become more restricted. The only comfort was in Lintz’s lessons. He had returned to work in a much brighter mood after the owl incident. And their other new teacher, Professor Gaze, had proven to be an unexpected delight as well. She was a small, ancient woman with a love of laughter, and her warm, generous manner relaxed the students and made her lessons as close to fun as it was possible to have in the manor. Professor Esmerelda had become frighteningly volatile, swinging from pleasant to aggressive in a nanosecond, seemingly as on edge as everyone else under the new rules, though she hadn’t exactly been her usual flighty self since Derhin’s upheaval. Each lesson, she would prowl the classroom, evidently paranoid one of her students was going to challenge her to a duel and steal her place on the faculty. She told them as much, in a woeful voice, pleading with them not to, promising she was a nice person. It threw Alex a little to hear a teacher talk that way, to know the changeover between Aamir and Derhin had caused more concern than he had realized. Then again, Esmerelda had always been a bit strange.
Finally, the trio entered the large foyer that led to the manor’s entrance. The sky beyond was a hazy purple as sunset gave way to twilight, stars beginning to twinkle. A flurry of a breeze rippled through the air toward them from the grounds. Alex longed to be out in the desolate landscape, so charred and twisted and broken, yet carrying a macabre beauty he had developed a fondness for. It was so close he could scent the metallic tang of ozone in his nostrils.
“Last one out is a rotten egg!” Alex said with a grin, about to break into a sprint, when he felt Natalie’s hand close around his arm, pulling him backward.
She shook her head, pointing miserably at something glimmering in the doorway. He saw the dull golden glow of the same type of barrier that lay across the ancient tomb, and felt a flood of rage surge through him. He walked toward it, kneeling on the ground, ready to place his palms against the pulsing radiance.
“You cannot break it every time, Alex,” Natalie said sadly. Alex sat back on the cold stone floor, gazing out at the grounds beyond, desperate to escape the stifling walls of the manor house.
“Just this once?” Alex smiled weakly, knowing it was futile. Natalie was right, he couldn’t keep breaking barriers. He’d only run the risk of getting caught.
“Not today, buddy,” Jari croaked, slumping down on the floor beside Alex. They let the light breeze wash over their tired faces.
It was then that Alex’s eye was drawn to the outer edge of the front lawn, his heart gripping in his chest as he jumped to his feet and moved to the farthest edge of the entrance, trying to get a better view.
“No,” he whispered in heartbroken disbelief. Jari shuffled to see what Alex was looking at. Natalie followed, peering over Alex’s shoulder.
Something was not right with the front lawn. It was like an optical illusion; it took a moment for the mind to realize what it was seeing. Alex had simply thought they were looking from the wrong angle, but as he peered around as far as he could to get a better view, he realized his worst fears had come to life. The walls really were closing in on them. On the far side of the lawn, where the vast iron gate should have been, there was nothing but wall. The gate had disappeared entirely, replaced by a giant wall, smothered in the same magic-sapping gray ivy that curled and stretched across the grounds. They were locked in, closed off completely from the outside world.
“No,” Alex breathed again. He slammed his fist against the masonry of the doorframe.
“It is gone,” Natalie whispered, holding her hands to her mouth in shock.
“They’ve trapped us in here,” Jari wheezed, his head in his hands.
Alex gazed out upon the thick, ivy-covered wall, not quite believing his eyes.
The manor truly was a prison now.
Chapter 11
As the days went by in the confines of Spellshadow Manor, Alex came to realize the value of the brief time he and his friends had at their disposal. With the new restrictions in place, and Renmark’s endless prowling, which he had somehow persuaded Esmerelda to join in, their only chance for a taste of freedom was lunchtime. On occasion, the three of them would pick up sandwiches and go for a wander, sitting on the broken fragments of ancient stone benches, or lying back in the dried-up grass, the blades prickling through their clothes as they wolfed down whatever they’d managed to pilfer from the mess hall.
One lunchtime, after forgoing the midday meal, Alex decided they should use the time to go and spar in the cellar instead. It had been a long while since they had sparred, and Alex had almost pleaded with his friends, knowing his skills were getting rusty with disuse. Natalie and Jari had agreed to come along with him, happy for the distraction of a good old-fashioned fight. What was more, during Renmark’s lessons, Alex often felt the cold shiver of his anti-magic beneath his palms, conjured by prickling r
esentment toward the professor’s teaching methods, until he almost couldn’t control it. He knew he needed a safe place to practice defusing his knee-jerk reactions before they got out of hand.
“With all these weird things going on, I figure it wouldn’t hurt for me to get a bit stronger,” Alex explained as the three of them walked down the steps and out onto the grounds.
Natalie and Jari nodded in agreement. They walked through the desolate gardens, rubble skittering away beneath their feet, the skeletal trees reaching their clawed hands skywards, raking at the livid sky. A headless, limbless statue stood sentinel over a patch of dead weeds. Up above, a storm was picking up, shifting the dirt and rustling the draped gray ivy that hung all across the manor grounds, sprouting from holes in the stone walls, spewing from the innards of blackened trees.
“So, how do we get out now that there’s no gate?” Jari asked, kicking a stone against one of the cracked walls.
“We’ll just have to think of something else. Besides, they weren’t exactly going to let us just walk out, were they?” Alex replied, shoving his hands in his pockets, his fingertips touching the sharp edge of a forgotten square of paper.
“If you get strong enough, do you reckon you can break the manor’s magic?” Jari ventured, staring up at the overcast sky.
Alex shrugged. “It’s pretty strong, so… probably not.”
“Maybe we could summon some ancient creatures to come help us, like a dragon or a griffon or something.” Jari grinned at the idea. “We could control them and use one to bite off the Head’s head!” He laughed, turning to Natalie. “Hey, you dabble in necromancy—you think you could try it with one of those stuffed ones in the hall?” Jari suggested, his tone only half joking.
“I don’t think so. You would end up controlling nothing more than a scary bit of fur stuffed with cotton wool,” Natalie chuckled.
“Maybe I could give the manor a try. What do you think?” Alex asked, turning to Natalie.
She shrugged. “I believe the manor’s magic could indeed be broken, but it would take the most enormous amount of energy. I have read of such things—dark magic that may perform great things, more than you could ever imagine. I do not think I am strong enough to wield such magic yet, but I may be one day.” Her eyes were bright with passion. “There are not many capable of such magic, but it can be done,” she added wistfully as they neared the cellar.
Alex eyed Natalie suspiciously, noting the excitement in her voice as she spoke of this rare magic. Guessing from her dreamy expression, Alex assumed she wished she were one of those few. He hadn’t heard her willingly mention dark magic before, and the thrill it seemed to give her worried him a little. Great power rarely led to good.
“Do you mean life magic?” Alex asked, leveling his gaze at Natalie.
She flushed. “I mean dark magic.”
“But life magic is dark magic,” Alex continued, growing more concerned by his friend’s words.
“It can be controlled if you know how.”
“It’s dangerous, Natalie. You shouldn’t dabble in life magic. No good can come from it. It leaves a scar on your soul. When you use life magic, it takes a piece of you with it. You know that,” Alex said, wanting his friend to understand. “Promise me you won’t do any life magic. Promise me, Natalie.” She looked down, her expression sheepish.
“Of course not, Alex. You worry too much. I would never do such a thing,” she said finally, lifting her gaze. “I would not be so stupid.” She smiled reassuringly, but Alex wasn’t convinced.
They stopped beside the familiar split tree. Alex brushed the gravel and dust away from the trapdoor in the ground, and lifted it. A rush of musty air stung Alex’s eyes as he glanced down into the room below. It was dark, the torches blown out.
They dropped down into the subterranean cavern, quickly lighting the lamps, which cast a warm glow around the room. A few scorch marks remained from the last time they had been in there, with Aamir, and Jari stared at them uncomfortably. Shaking his head, he went off in search of bottles.
“So do you think the Head has actually gone, then?” Jari asked, reappearing with two dusty magnums in his hands.
“What?” Alex turned, puzzled.
“Do you think he has actually gone?” Jari repeated. “Or do you think he’s just playing tricks, tightening his hold on the school?”
“I’m not sure,” Alex admitted. “But he must know Finder is dead by now. When the board said both Heads, I knew that was a message. It would only make sense to those who know Finder is gone.”
Jari nodded. “I thought that too. So you think he has gone and taken Aamir with him?”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe the Head wants more students. And with Finder gone, that means he has to go out and get them himself, or find someone to take Finder’s place. Maybe he wants Aamir to do it, or something. I don’t know. The wall seems a bit like overkill if the Head hasn’t left the manor, don’t you think?”
“The wall is a weird move,” Jari agreed, drawing a star shape in one of the dust-blanketed bottles. “Maybe he just wants to frighten us.”
“Or maybe we have spooked him by killing Finder, no?” Natalie said evenly, her expression thoughtful as she leaned back against the earthen wall of the cellar.
“You think so?” Jari asked.
“I believe it is possible, yes,” Natalie continued. “He perhaps felt as if he had lost some control, and so he has chosen to reclaim his control with these new rules.”
“I don’t think he’d need a wall if he wanted to leave, either,” Alex began. “He’s a majorly powerful wizard. I’m sure he has other ways… secret ways.” He felt the pointed edge of the paper in his pocket, recalling the last time they had been in the cellar, and how he had wanted to tell his friends about the note Elias had given him.
“What kind of secret ways?” Jari asked, sounding intrigued.
Alex took a deep breath. “See, the thing is… a while ago, I found this note in between the pages of a book. An old thing full of pretty dull histories, but this bit of paper came tumbling out of it,” he started, expecting his friends to assume he’d found the book in the library. He wanted to leave out Elias’s role in delivering the message. The moment he even thought about saying the name, he felt a creeping sensation prickle at the back of his neck, the invisible gag keeping him silent on the subject of the shadow-man.
“And?” Natalie encouraged.
“Well, it said something about there being nine havens, and that wizards were to find these havens and lock themselves in there, away from some evil. It didn’t really go into detail, but it said there were four havens left,” Alex said.
“Havens?” Jari frowned.
Alex nodded. “Yeah, they’re schools, like this one. The havens are the schools, and there are four left… or there were when the note was written. Do you remember the Head talking about that Blaine kid being sent to Stillwater House? You know, when he got caught and… and he just never came back?”
The other two nodded.
“Well, Stillwater House is one of the havens. It’s on the paper I found, along with two others: Falleaf House and Kingstone Keep. Altogether, four. I’ve been trying to find information on them, but I keep hitting a brick wall. There are entries in the Index where the books should be, but the books themselves are missing from the shelves,” he continued, feeling the intensity of their eyes on him as he talked. “So there must be other schools. The Head mentioned Stillwater specifically, so I was thinking, maybe, at least that school still exists, and the Head has some sort of dealings with them. So if he wanted to go anywhere, or needed something, surely he’d just go to them for help.”
“Other schools?” whispered Natalie.
“I’m thinking that’s where the Head might’ve gone. Stillwater,” Alex repeated.
“You think there might be a way to travel there?” Natalie bristled with excitement.
Alex shrugged. “I think there’s a chance. It’s like everyone was saying a
t breakfast—nobody has ever really seen or heard of the Head going out on the grounds, so I think that’s it. I think he travels there using some special kind of magic.”
Alex could feel Jari’s glare from across the room. Alex couldn’t be certain, but he felt a strange energy coming from the blond-haired boy. He was narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized Alex. Shifting uncomfortably, Alex turned back to Natalie, who seemed far more excited, her dark eyes alert with curiosity.
“You really believe there might be a way to travel to these places?” She clasped her hands together.
“I think it’s possible,” said Alex.
“Why would you want to, if it’s like this place?” Jari said, his face still sour.
“There might not be so many barriers on the other places, or there might be a way to reach one that isn’t in use anymore. A stepping stone to getting out,” Alex replied, frowning at his friend.
“Do you think the other schools might help us?” asked Natalie.
“I couldn’t say. You know as much as I know, now.” Alex shrugged apologetically, cracking the knuckles of his right hand beneath his palm as he tried to ignore the displeasure on Jari’s face.
“How long have you known?” Jari asked. It sounded more like an accusation than a question.
“What do you mean?” said Alex, attempting to play dumb.
“How long have you known about these havens? When did you find this note?” replied Jari, waving his hand in the air.
Alex shrugged. “A week or so, I can’t remember.” He ran a hand through his hair as he answered. Cold sweat prickled the back of his neck.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Jari pressed.
“There hasn’t exactly been time,” sighed Alex. Though he knew he could have told them sooner, and had intended to, there was honesty in his words. What with Aamir and Derhin and the Head’s disappearance, other things had taken precedence.