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  Alypia seemed to muse upon the Head’s words for several moments, keeping her brother in suspense. Irritation still flashed in her eyes, but there was concern too.

  Concern for their dwindling livestock, Alex thought bitterly.

  “Very well. I shall select a team of guards and send them to you within the next few days, to help clean up the royal mess you have made. I trust you’ve managed to return the portal to its rightful place?” she said sourly.

  “I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t,” the Head snapped.

  Alypia glowered. “Do not get smart with me, little brother.”

  “Yes, the portal is back in place,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Thank you for your kind gesture.”

  Alypia grinned smugly. “It’s my pleasure. Hopefully we can get this whole disaster sorted out before anyone hears about it.”

  Alex listened in confusion as a stillness blanketed the room beyond. There was tension, as if one were waiting for the other to speak. The Head’s nails scraped and tapped against the armchair’s upholstery—a nervous tic, perhaps. Alex wasn’t even in the room and Alypia was making him nervous.

  “What is it? Do spit it out!” Alypia barked.

  Alex was convinced he heard the sound of a gulp in the Head’s thin neck.

  “You have already done so much, but… there is the matter of my escaped students.”

  Alex watched as the Headmistress’s face morphed into an expression of abject contempt. It was the kind of disdainful look that had to be practiced over a number of years, and she certainly seemed adept at it.

  “Are you entirely incompetent?” she spat.

  “I did mention that they had escaped.”

  “Oh, and that means I have to seek out these runaways for you?”

  “I thought you might have seen them after the portal disappeared,” the Head said quietly.

  Alypia’s expression was beyond contemptuous now. “And I said to you, I sent scouts out after detecting a disturbance near the portal. They came back with nothing. They saw no one. They had nothing to tell me of any intruders. All they said was that the portal was missing. I suspected something had happened to it, but I figured you’d come and find me if it were a problem—and here you are, with simply awful tales of missing teenagers.”

  “They are no ordinary teenagers, sister,” replied the Head quickly.

  Just then, the sound of feet pounding the flagstones sent a surge of panic through the crouched figure of Alex. His head snapped in the direction of the sound, and he waited for a figure to emerge from the shadows, but whoever they were, they didn’t come up the corridor. Instead, Alex caught sight of the back of their head as they disappeared down another intersection, where they were swallowed up by the shadows.

  Heart hammering, Alex turned back to the keyhole to see what the Head had to say about him and his friends.

  “That’s ludicrous!” he heard Alypia cry, though he had missed the subject of her disbelief.

  “I assure you, it is not—they are all very talented. Some of the finest students I have seen,” remarked the Head. “They have Aamir with them too.”

  Alex froze.

  “Who?” Alypia’s eyes narrowed in curiosity.

  “Professor Nagi.”

  Turning to see the Headmistress’s reaction, Alex watched as her eyes began to glitter with something like surprise. Her mouth moved as she uttered something softly in the Head’s direction, but Alex couldn’t make it out. Hurriedly, he pressed his ear to the keyhole, but he was too late to hear what she had said. Still, her curious expression held some wonder in it that refreshed Alex’s suspicions about his former friend. Had there been familiarity in her eyes, or had he imagined it?

  “I’m afraid I have neither seen nor heard anything of these students. On that count, I can’t help you—though I will be certain to return them, should they show up.” Alypia smiled with a cold beauty. “Let’s hope they haven’t snuck back through to Spellshadow and taken over the place while you have been wasting time with me.”

  Alex cursed silently, realizing that might have been a good idea. Glancing back at the hallway, he wondered if there was any way that might still be possible, only to be called back to the keyhole by two words that made his blood run cold. His name.

  “I don’t think you understand the urgency, sister,” insisted the Head. “We need to find Alex Webber.”

  “He can’t be that talented. You should adjust your focus toward new students—these ones will find their way back once they’re sick of running. Hunger is very persuasive, you know.” She grinned icily.

  Her brother shook his head. “You don’t understand… Alex is not like the others. There is something special about him—something which might bring an end to all of our troubles, sister.”

  Alypia lifted her chin haughtily. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t realize at first, but there is something different about him. I think we can use it—if we could just find him, I’m sure we could,” he stated firmly.

  Alex wasn’t sure whether Alypia was irked or intrigued, as a confusion of thought passed across her stunningly beautiful face. She seemed to want to make another comment about her brother’s ineptitude, as the same cold, derisive look flashed for a moment in her eyes, but she held her tongue, clearly thinking better of it. There was more to it than the Head was letting on, and Alex could tell Alypia knew that. For some reason, the Head was only drip-feeding her information. Alex guessed it might be so the Head could have some credit for once: if he could do something tremendous, Alypia wouldn’t be able to scorn him anymore.

  As much as Alex found it hard to wrap his head around the idea that the two were siblings, they certainly acted like siblings. The power plays, the dirty looks, the taunting, the jeering—it reeked of familial ties.

  Watching intently, he could see Alypia’s mind working quickly as she assessed what her brother was telling her and what he was keeping from her. At no point did Alex hear the word ‘Spellbreaker,’ but that didn’t mean the Headmistress hadn’t guessed. There was a curiosity in her eyes at the mention of this new, special boy, but Alex clung to the reference of him ending all their troubles. It wasn’t the first time he had heard himself pointed out as ‘different’ from the others, but he still wasn’t sure why, specifically, they needed him and his alternative powers. The only thing he knew for certain was that it couldn’t be for anything good. Nothing between Spellbreakers and mages ever was, based on the history books he had read.

  “As I said, I will return them if I find them. Rest assured, I will keep an eye out, though with this much time gone by, I imagine they will be deep in a forest somewhere, scavenging. They will come out when they are hungry enough and tired enough—rats always do,” Alypia purred with a glinting smile.

  “You’re certain they’re not here?” asked the Head, gesturing around at the general expanse of Stillwater House.

  Alypia’s eyes narrowed. “Nobody could have gotten within the walls of this school without me knowing.”

  Alex felt uneasy as he heard the words fall from Alypia’s lips. If that was the case, then how had they managed it? He didn’t have much time to dwell on it as he saw Alypia rise from her seat.

  “You’re sure?” pressed the Head.

  “You may go, little brother,” she whispered, a threat lingering beneath the command. “Don’t worry, I will send the promised guards to help you. Let us both hope you can keep things in better order once they have dealt with your mess.”

  She stalked toward the door, casting a shadow over the keyhole.

  Alex ducked away and ran to the end of the corridor, slipping behind the wall just in time to hear the clunk of a heavy key unlocking the door. He didn’t wait to watch them leave as he took off through the labyrinth of hallways, hoping he was going the right way.

  As he reached the courtyard, he paused to catch his breath, praying he hadn’t been seen by anyone on the journey back. It gave him time to wonder whether Alypia had
been bluffing, or whether she genuinely wasn’t aware of their presence inside Stillwater. She had seemed pretty sure they weren’t there, but Alex didn’t know how much could be trusted from her hypnotically beautiful face. Still, he hoped she had been telling the truth. The thought that Alypia didn’t know bolstered his trust in Helena. Nobody had come after them yet, after all.

  As he opened the tower door and headed up to the first floor, he was met by the soft sounds of sleeping people. Not wanting to wake them with his news, he made a promise to tell them what he had discovered as soon as he awoke the next day. As he climbed up to the bell tower, however, he saw a figure waiting on the steps.

  “Where the hell have you been?” hissed the speaker.

  Alex squinted into the dark. “Ellabell? Why aren’t you asleep?”

  She frowned. “I could say the same of you.”

  “Fair point.”

  She waited. “So—?”

  “The Head was here—”

  “What?!” she gasped, panic flashing in her sparkling blue eyes. “We have to get out of here!”

  “Calm down,” Alex shushed, slowly sitting down beside her on the stairs. “You’ll wake the others.”

  “They need waking if the Head is here!” she hissed.

  Boldly, Alex took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he promised.

  “What do you mean?” she breathed, her voice tight with anxiety.

  “He was only here to talk—neither of them know anything,” he assured. “I saw him talking in the courtyard with Princess Alypia, and I followed them. I listened for a while, and learned that the Headmistress doesn’t know we’re here yet. Helena, I think, has done as she promised. We’re not in any immediate danger. If we were, do you think I wouldn’t be down there like a shot, waking everyone up and getting them out of here?”

  She frowned. “I suppose not.”

  “I wouldn’t put you,” he paused, his voice thick, “or anyone else in danger.”

  “Shouldn’t you wake them up anyway—tell them what you’ve just told me?” she asked quietly, turning her face from his.

  He shook his head. “It can wait until morning.”

  “I should get some sleep,” she said, standing.

  He nodded. “Me too.”

  “Sleep well, Alex,” she sighed, dropping his hand as she walked toward the staircase leading down.

  “Sweet dreams, Ellabell.”

  Chapter 15

  His own dreams, however, were not sweet.

  It was still dark when he awoke to the sound of something moving across the other side of the room—a soft, whispering sound like fabric brushing against the stones beneath. Fear shot through his nerves as he peered into the darkness, trying to see what was making the eerie noise. It was such a quiet sound, like curtains flapping, but there were no curtains on the windows. With a thundering pulse, he let his eyes grow accustomed to the light.

  Appearing in the dim glow of the room was a twisting mist of shadow, outlined hazily by the sliver of moonlight glancing in.

  For a moment, a strange sense of hope gripped Alex’s heart.

  “Elias?” he whispered. Though a minute or two passed, Elias did not appear. “Elias, is that you?” he tried again. Still, Elias did not show.

  Alex frowned as the peculiar, smoke-like mist coiled and curled, flitting to and from the window and the staircase in a repetitive pattern. It paused longer on the top of the stairs, unfurling the edges of its inky mist toward the steps themselves, as if beckoning for Alex to follow.

  “Elias?”

  If it was the shadow-man, he was being particularly elusive in his game-playing. After coming through the portal, Alex wasn’t even sure it could be Elias—could shadow-people move between portals like mortal beings? Remembering the dull red glow within the bottle the Head had held captive from Elias, Alex wondered if that might have given his shadow-guide freer rein of movement. With it no longer in the Head’s possession, perhaps Elias could move away from the confines of Spellshadow Manor, if that had been what held him to the grounds. Or maybe that was the strange creature’s fate, to live out his bizarre half-life in the shadows of that place. Alex wasn’t sure, but this misty being definitely didn’t look like Elias.

  The flowing, dark gray vapor seemed more insistent, moving more quickly between the window and the staircase.

  Brimming with curiosity, Alex got to his feet, wondering wryly if he would ever get a good night’s sleep in this magical place. The twisting ball of energy seemed to perk up at Alex’s sudden movement, and it shifted a short way down the stairs. Alex followed, keeping up with it as it swooped and swayed all the way down to the ground floor, past his sleeping friends, and out into the courtyard. He glanced at Ellabell as he passed her, hoping she wouldn’t wake again and reprimand his recklessness. This one would be harder to explain than his excursion in pursuit of the Head and Headmistress.

  Following the vapor across the courtyard and up into the school, Alex was forced to break into a tiptoed run as it darted with ease through the hallways and corridors, zipping this way and that, apparently knowing exactly where it wanted to go.

  Although he was fearful of being caught, it was nice to be able to explore the school during the quietude of the night, when there was hardly anybody about. He was getting to see parts of the villa he had not yet encountered, though he quickly learned there were corridors upon corridors running beneath the beautiful veneer of the school—almost too many to put to memory. At night, though most of the hallways were deserted, some were patrolled by the odd guard, doing the rounds of their section of the school.

  As he was about to move around the corner of one hallway, the dark, twisting mist of shadow flew at his face, pressing him back against the wall with icy tendrils that stole his breath away. It kept him pressed there, shrouded in shadow, until a beautiful guard with long auburn hair and bright green eyes passed by, oblivious to his presence in the corridor. It was a strange sort of magic—the kind within the wispy coils of the shadowy mist—making him feel cold and warm all at once, like being out in the snow too long. Each time it flung him against a wall, the bitter fronds took away his breath, winding him. It took some getting used to, but it kept him safe within the walls of the villa; not a soul saw him from within the camouflaged vapors of the shadow being.

  Finally, after a seemingly endless array of hallways, it led him toward a large set of imposing, white double doors before disappearing behind them. It took some strength to push the doors open wide enough to get his body through, but eventually Alex stumbled in after the hazy entity.

  He gaped when he saw the room beyond, though ‘room’ was something of an understatement. It was a library, far larger and far grander than any he had ever seen before, including the one at Spellshadow with its lofty towers. It was more beautiful, too, than a library had any right to be. The ceiling was painted in the most astonishing fresco, with billowing clouds and angelic cherubs flying on tiny wings, between the coiled, scaled bodies of dragons and the vibrant, exotic plumage of Thunderbirds. There were tasteful nudes, dancing in a circle, as golden magic spiraled upward from the center of their linked hands, and casually reclined figures watched from shimmering pools and flower-woven swings. Everything seemed peaceful and beautiful, and Alex couldn’t take his eyes off it. There was something surprising in every corner, and that was only the roof of the library.

  The rest was just as exquisite, with carved statues of ancient gods and goddesses, elegantly shaped, placed among the luxurious seating and in the stacks themselves, protecting the front rows with their sculpted arms extended. The floor was white marble, flecked with gold. The walls were hung with fine masterpieces in vast golden picture frames almost as intricately carved as the statues.

  Glancing around, Alex was certain he could hear the sound of running water, and sure enough, there were four water features—one in the center of each wall. Crystal liquid flowed from the screaming mouths of sculpte
d marble birds, down to a foundation of rocks, where it trickled over the jagged edges and surged toward the center of the room, then connected with the other canals before disappearing into the floor to start the whole process again.

  As jaw-dropping as the library was, it was the books that drew Alex’s eye most keenly. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw the endless stacks, filled with row upon row of tomes. The stacks rose up in broad towers on every wall, with smaller bookshelves scattered throughout the grand hall, and he could already tell there were more books here than there had been back at the manor.

  He didn’t have much more time to investigate, as the vaporous being seemed intent on taking him over to the farthest stack. Alex followed tentatively, climbing up a precarious set of ladders as the shadowy mist shot up toward the very top of the stack. Looking down, Alex felt queasy as the ground plummeted away beneath him, and he suddenly doubted the security of his footing on the slippery wooden rungs. It was a nervy climb, his palms sweaty as he reached the second highest landing of the far stack.

  Here, the misty creature bobbed along, waiting for him. Alex trailed after the being, wondering why he had put his trust in a wispy bit of fog. Making a silent promise to be less impulsive in the future, he walked along the platform, not daring to glance over the balcony, until he reached a small clearing in the stacks, where a few comfortable-looking armchairs were scattered around a sleek reading table. Suddenly, the shadowy wisp disappeared in a puff of inky smoke, leaving Alex alone.

  Anxiety rippled through Alex as he scanned the area, wondering why the creature had brought him here, only to evaporate. Perhaps it had simply wanted to show him the library, he thought, though he knew that was a little naïve. When would he learn that magical things couldn’t always be trusted?

  Alex waited for a while, expecting somebody to pounce at him from the shadows. When nobody did, he turned his mind to the exciting books all around him, reaching toward a few of the closest tomes and thumbing the spines with quiet admiration. As he read the titles of a few, he found himself squinting every so often into the darkness of the room to make sure there really was nobody watching him.