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  Still oblivious to most of the things going on, though the tense atmosphere was hard to miss, Aamir had become more alert since Helena’s treatment of his curse. Slowly, he had begun to talk again, involving himself in the group as best as he could, though he still looked weary and broken, sagging under the weight of untold exhaustion. Alex couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to have something forcibly torn from within, especially something that had clung for so long to the inner being of a person. On occasion, Alex would catch Aamir gazing into nothingness, and the expression on the older boy’s face was chilling—as if he were permanently staring, shell-shocked, at a ghost in the distance that nobody else could see.

  Ellabell was more vocal about the night before; she was still in a state of shock, evidently struggling to absorb the truth of what she had seen. She couldn’t seem to sit still, always busying herself with something to try to take her mind off it.

  “I don’t know if I’m happy about staying here anymore,” she said suddenly. “After what we just saw, I’m not sure we can.”

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  “We can’t leave just yet, Ellabell,” Alex stated calmly.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

  “There are things we need.”

  “Like what? What’s the plan, Alex?” she snapped, her manner agitated. “As far as I can tell, we don’t have one.”

  Slowly, all eyes turned toward him instead.

  The semi-spoken goal among the group was that they wanted to reach the real, non-magical world again. They wanted to get back to their families and friends. The only problem was, he could tell the idea weighed heavy on a few of them. He knew it did for him. It was a goal interwoven with guilt for those they had left behind at Spellshadow Manor. Alex could not get them out of his head, and so his plan had evolved slightly over the time they had been running, in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

  He had wanted to move closer to Stillwater House and get inside the grounds, to try to find something they might use that could help them not only reach the real world, but gain the upper hand against those in charge in order to free the others who remained. What that entailed, he still wasn’t sure, but he knew it would need potent magic. For the moment, it was a pipedream, and one of unknown feasibility. But he had made the first step in the right direction. They were in the grounds, after all.

  As for the rest of his plan, he had a suspicion their hopes might lie with the black bottles and the glowing red embers he assumed must be inside.

  “The plan is to get home, maybe saving the others if we can,” he said quietly.

  “Nice and vague,” muttered Ellabell.

  “To get back to the normal world, I think we’re going to need to figure out how to create a portal,” Alex continued. “Now, I’m guessing that is going to require a whole load of magic and a complex spell we don’t yet know. I’m guessing it’ll be in there somewhere.” He pointed toward the school. “If we want to try and help the others, we need to gain an advantage over the Head.”

  “And how might we do that?”

  “I think it might have something to do with the life essence that’s being collected from students. The people in charge are harvesting it—here and at Spellshadow. So there has to be a use for it. There has to be a reason they need it, and that might be a weakness we can utilize,” he explained.

  Glancing around the room, he could see the others were creeped out by the mention of it. Even after seeing the losers being dragged off last night, Alex wasn’t sure it had fully sunk in for his friends, what was actually happening to those who didn’t win. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow.

  “What are they using it for?” asked Ellabell, her former bitterness replaced with anxiety.

  Alex shrugged. “That’s something we’re going to have to find out. If we know that, we can use it against them.”

  His eyes trailed toward Aamir, who was staring absently into space. If Aamir was listening to the conversation, he was showing no signs of it. Still, it made Alex curious; if anyone knew anything about the reasons life essence was being harvested from students, it was the former teacher.

  Chapter 12

  Alex knew questioning Aamir wouldn’t go down well with Jari, but they were wasting time not using their biggest asset, who was sitting right there, his brain full of secrets. Without the golden band on his wrist to prevent him from speaking the truth, Alex was certain he would be able to garner some useful information from Aamir, even though he still wasn’t certain which side the older boy was on. If he was friend or foe, only time would tell. It was like Helena had warned—the band and subsequent curse had gripped him for a long time, keeping him under the influence of the Head’s manipulation. It might take more time than they had for his loyalties to change.

  But as Alex approached Aamir to question him, he began to have second thoughts. Their friend looked like the husk of his former self, fatigue and despair etched on his weary face as he slowly ate a croissant Jari had placed into his hand. The older boy’s hands shook weakly. Alex hated that he had to interrogate Aamir now, but he felt the pressure of the task ahead upon him.

  Deliberately, Alex settled down on the floor in front of Aamir, making his intentions clear. Jari bristled, frowning at Alex, as a look of understanding passed between the two older boys. It looked as if Aamir had been wondering when this moment would come.

  Preparing to ask his questions, Alex opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Aamir raised his voice so the room could hear.

  “Please, may you leave the room so I can speak with Alex alone,” he requested, his voice croaky.

  Jari shook his head vehemently. “No way.”

  Aamir smiled. “Please, Jari—I want to speak to Alex alone.”

  Jari glared at Alex, seemingly suspicious about what he intended to do with his Spellbreaker powers. The boy would not budge from his place beside Aamir, the reluctance apparent on his determined face. Surprisingly, it was Natalie who came to the rescue.

  “Jari, you must come with us now. These two have things they need to talk out,” she explained. “It is their opportunity to bury the hatchet. You have had yours—now it is Alex’s turn.”

  The blond-haired boy flashed a look of displeasure at Alex, but he went nonetheless, ushered by Natalie’s stern hand upstairs to the rooms above, with Ellabell following close behind.

  “Why didn’t you want them to hear?” asked Alex curiously, once he was certain they were alone.

  Aamir sighed. “I think you know why.”

  The memory of the offer Aamir had made to only him surged into his mind, transporting him back to the ballroom of Spellshadow Manor for a moment, and the trepidation he had felt there. Knowing that Aamir had been the Head’s puppet all along, he couldn’t help but doubt the sincerity of that agreement. There were other things too—inklings Alex had had, once given time to think about Aamir’s state. There were many unanswered questions Alex had for Aamir, and he wondered silently if his former friend was merely trying to lessen the collateral of his honesty. Jari, especially, took a rose-tinted view of their friend. Perhaps Aamir had chosen him for the truth, Alex thought, because he might be able to take the reality of it in a way the others could not.

  “What things did the Head tell you when you became a teacher?” Alex began.

  Aamir glanced around the room. “Where are we?” he asked, seeming disoriented.

  “We are at Stillwater House,” replied Alex, trying not to let his frustration show.

  Aamir frowned. “Stillwater House?”

  “Have you been here before?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No… I remember now. I am certain I have not. What a funny place. How did we come to be here?” There was a glazed look in Aamir’s eyes as exhaustion began to creep through the older boy’s bones. Alex hoped he’d get to ask a few questions before Aamir became too weary to a
nswer. Now, if only he could get him to focus.

  “We escaped, remember?”

  Aamir shook his head. “Everything is so hazy… Did you have a question?”

  Alex sighed, trying again. “What things did the Head tell you when you became a teacher?”

  “There were many things—there are many things that need to be explained when you become a teacher.” He shrugged wearily, his shoulders sagging.

  “Such as?”

  “What would you like to know?” Aamir asked.

  It was hard to know where to begin. As much as he wanted to ask the personal, selfish question of why Aamir offered to let him leave, he knew he would have to leave it until last. There were more pressing concerns upon him for now.

  “Why did the Head leave the manor?”

  “You know why,” Aamir said simply.

  “Does he leave the manor a lot?” Alex pressed.

  “I’m not certain,” replied Aamir.

  “You’re not certain?” Alex frowned, unconvinced.

  “There are gaps in my memory—there are certain things I can’t recall,” he explained, prickling Alex’s suspicions. It seemed a little too coincidental that Aamir might have selective amnesia on certain topics. Alex changed tactic, going for the jugular.

  “Why are they collecting the life essence from student mages?” he whispered. “What is it being used for?”

  Tension rippled in the air between them as defiance flashed in Aamir’s tired eyes. For a good few minutes, Alex wasn’t sure the older boy was going to answer.

  “A great plague will sweep the land if it is not,” he murmured, repeating the eerie warning he had cried out at the height of his cursed delirium.

  “Oh, come on. You can do better than that,” challenged Alex.

  “There is a Great Evil that must be kept at bay,” he replied, just as cryptically as before. It was not the first time Alex had heard a ‘great evil’ mentioned, but he was starting to get a little sick of not being told more on the subject.

  “What does that mean?” he questioned sharply.

  “It is why the essence is collected—that is all I know.” Aamir shrugged.

  “You’re lying,” growled Alex.

  Aamir smiled. “I am not. They were passages read to me by the Head from a dusty old book at the back of his office. I think you are familiar with the bookcase?” There was a taunting note in Aamir’s voice.

  “Tell me the truth,” breathed Alex, trying not to lose his temper.

  “I am, Alex. I know only what the Head read to me,” Aamir replied.

  It didn’t add up, but he sensed he wasn’t about to get any more from Aamir on the subject. The hint of a jeer in the older boy’s voice had made Alex unsure of how much of the Head’s hold was still in play, controlling Aamir even after the curse had been lifted.

  “What about graduation?” asked Alex, moving on out of sheer frustration.

  Aamir frowned. “What about it?”

  “What is it?” Alex pressed, wanting his suspicions to be confirmed.

  “You know what it is.”

  “I want you to spell it out for me,” insisted Alex.

  Aamir looked sad for a moment. “Graduation is what comes, inevitably, at the end of studying. At home, it would mean graduation caps and a diploma. For the magically gifted, it means having your life essence removed—it has to be this way to keep the Great Evil at bay,” he explained, pausing briefly to catch his breath. “Spellshadow does it a little differently than here, I’ll admit, but it’s the same thing. For most, it means death. I suppose there is hope here that doesn’t exist at the manor. And it is something of a spectacle.”

  Alex frowned, not quite understanding how Aamir knew about the Ascension Ceremony when he had slept through it. Musing upon it, he guessed somebody must have filled Aamir in on what had gone on—Jari perhaps.

  “But why is it done?”

  It was Aamir’s turn to sigh. “I will not say it again. It is to keep the—”

  “Yes, I know that part,” Alex interrupted curtly, not sure he could hear the words ‘Great Evil’ again without losing his cool. “I mean, why does the Head send people like Finder out to snatch students, taking them by force from their homes, and put in all that effort, just to kill them once they’ve been trained for a few years?”

  “I will try and explain it to you as best as I can,” Aamir began quietly. “Mages must be trained to ensure that their life essence has matured enough to meet the needs of its use—the better the wizard, the more potent the essence. It has to be aged like wine.”

  “Has graduation always ended in death?” Alex wondered.

  “I can only speak of what I know, and I am afraid I do not know that. I can’t remember what I was told,” said Aamir. Alex wasn’t remotely convinced. “It does not always have to end in death now, however,” Aamir added.

  “How do you mean?” Alex’s interest was piqued.

  “Well, there is always the very slim possibility that a mage—a very strong mage—will survive ‘graduation.’ It has never happened, as far as I know, but there is a myth of it happening,” he elaborated, lowering his voice. “If it should ever come to pass, this person would prove to be a useful adversary against the Great Evil. The idea is, if the mage was strong enough to survive the removal of life essence, they would be strong enough to overcome the Great Evil and fight it. An even match, so to speak.”

  Although it was the most Aamir had said, Alex couldn’t help but feel even more exasperated by the tale. To his ears, it sounded like fiction—nothing more than the regurgitation of a story he had been told before.

  “That doesn’t sound possible,” he stated.

  Aamir shrugged. “Well, it’s all I know about it.”

  That can’t be all, thought Alex irritably.

  “But why do they do it? Why do these people think they can just take the lives of young mages, no matter which way they wrap it up?” he probed angrily. They had no right, and yet nobody was stopping them. Alex hoped Aamir would give him more than just the robotic recitation of the rhetoric he’d been told.

  “It is for the greater good of the magical community.” There was a haunted expression within Aamir’s eyes that sent a shiver up Alex’s spine. Aamir opened his mouth again, whispering softly. “It is your fault.”

  “What?” gasped Alex.

  “We are forced to do this to keep the world safe from the Great Evil that was released by your kind, years ago,” he hissed.

  Alex flinched. “Released by my kind? A void was left behind because your kind wiped mine out! Don’t you dare, Aamir—don’t you dare,” seethed Alex, his anger flaring.

  A stillness spread out across Aamir’s face, as the haunted, eerie stare disappeared, replaced with a sad, troubled expression. “Forgive me, Alex—I should not have spoken so,” he said miserably.

  It wasn’t enough to calm Alex. “You say it is for the greater magical community, but who are these people? Who are these sacrifices protecting? If they’re so interested, why don’t they use their own essence?” he snapped.

  “I don’t think I can give you an answer that will satisfy you, Alex.” Aamir turned his face away.

  “Try,” he pleaded.

  “As far as I know… all this is done to protect the magical community and those in the world beyond it. The bottled magic taken from the linked havens holds the Great Evil at bay. There is an enormous force of power in this life essence—it is used to keep the havens hidden from this evil, whether by way of moving buildings and their inhabitants daily or shielding them in a realm of magical existence, like here. This is why the essence is taken—for all these purposes.” He exhaled slowly. “The collected life essence is shared among the havens, so each one has a balanced quantity of magic to protect themselves and keep the chain linked, holding off the evil that would consume us all.”

  Alex listened intently, though it was as confusing as it was intriguing. Slowly, true understanding began to dawn. The shifting wi
ndows, the moving horizons, the crackling magic in the air all around them, in this peculiar world. It was all run on the stolen life essence. The knowledge made Alex feel sick.

  “So why isn’t Spellshadow more like this place?” Alex asked. He despised the beauty of Stillwater now that he knew the price of it, but he questioned why the Head hadn’t tried to create a paradise to entice students to stay of their own free will. One caught more flies with honey than vinegar, after all.

  Aamir smiled. “Even if Spellshadow were heaven, would you have really wanted to stay, knowing that some form of graduation was inevitable? The students here are all the sons and daughters of noble mages from the magical elite. Sacrifice is expected of them. They do not need to be forced to comply.”

  “How do you know that? About the students here being nobility?” Alex asked.

  “I overheard that girl,” he replied quickly—almost too quickly.

  Suspicion plagued Alex as he leveled his gaze at Aamir, wondering if he had caught the man out in a lie. He could not shake the feeling that there were still residual threads tying Aamir to the Head and a continued loyalty to Spellshadow. It was clear to Alex that Aamir knew more than he was letting on, but the older boy was clever and knew how to evade the questions he didn’t want to answer. Alex wondered if a day would come when he’d be able to get the whole truth. Unfortunately, today wasn’t that day.

  “Please, may we stop? I am tired,” announced Aamir. “We can continue another time, when I am feeling stronger.”

  “We will continue this,” Alex assured him.

  Leaving Aamir alone, Alex headed up toward the top room of the tower with his head swimming. There was certainly plenty to think about. As he walked over to the open window to feel the cool rush of a breeze on his face, Alex’s eyes rested upon the arena. Fear and horror twisted in his heart as he thought about all the ways in which the magical elite were taking the lives of so many young mages. Not just noble ones who expected it, but ones who never asked for it. The ones who were taken against their will. As the dread seeped into his bones, he found himself thinking about the other two havens that were out there somewhere, Kingstone Keep and Falleaf House. Were they being used for the same purpose?