The Test Read online

  “Elias!” he yelled.

  The shadow-man cackled, clearly delighted. “Just doing my guardian duties, singing you off to a sweet slumber.”

  “You’re not funny!” Alex pressed his pillow down over his face, smothering his eyes and ears. It was going to be a sleepless night.

  Chapter 16

  In the cold light of dawn, the trio regrouped in the pagoda’s communal space. Breakfast had been laid out, but Hadrian wasn’t anywhere to be seen. They ate in companionable silence, enjoying the good food while they could; it was a welcome change from the gray gruel at Kingstone. Alex was exhausted, having gotten little sleep, but the other two looked more refreshed than he had expected, given the events of the day before.

  “How was your bedtime reading?” Aamir asked as he bit into a juicy plum.

  Alex looked up at his friend. “It’s lengthy,” he admitted.

  “Doable?” Ellabell chimed in.

  He nodded. “I think so—definitely, with time to practice.”

  “What else did it say?” Aamir pressed, brushing a trickle of scarlet juice from his chin.

  He gave them the lowdown on the content of the spell, pausing to gauge their expressions as he touched upon the need for royal blood. They carried the same sense of trepidation that his own expression had.

  “We could do the same thing we did in the labyrinth,” Ellabell suggested.

  “Which thing?” said Alex.

  She turned to Aamir. “You know, the glass orb with the letter inside? We could do the same thing we did with that, and vibrate it, if we could just get her to hold a glass,” she explained. As Alex had suspected, it seemed they’d had to undertake fairly similar tasks to the ones he and Lintz had faced.

  Aamir nodded in agreement. “If we pre-fed our magic into the glass, and got her to pick it up, we could distract her and make it shatter in her hand. If we only use thin strands of magic, she hopefully won’t notice the glitter of it.”

  “Then we’ve got the attack on Spellshadow to consider, once we have the blood,” Alex said, not wanting to pile doom on gloom, but knowing it had to be brought up. “I’d like to travel back to Kingstone as soon as possible, to get word through the still-open portal there to the others at Stillwater, and let them know we have the book. If we can get them prepared, we can launch an attack sooner rather than later. I don’t want them going through to Spellshadow before we have everything in place to perform the counter-spell. I’d rather we were all there before the fight began, you know?”

  Ellabell nodded. “Absolutely—we don’t want them arriving before we have a chance to join the party!”

  “We’ll need essence, too,” Aamir added. “We used up most of the Stillwater stash to make the portal here. If the others are going to build a portal back to Spellshadow from Stillwater, and we’re going to build one to Spellshadow from Falleaf, we’re going to need a lot more.”

  “Hadrian might be willing to give up some of his store,” Alex said. “The Stillwater squad could use some too, and we need it not only for the portal, but for when we come up against the Head. When the time comes, it might be the only thing that can swing the odds in our favor in the fight.”

  “Hang on a minute—we could use the essence to kidnap Venus,” Ellabell said, her eyes bright with the lightbulb-flash of an idea. “The last thing we want is for her to suspect something and tell her husband. If we have some essence to fight with, we can keep her trapped somewhere.”

  Alex had been worrying about that aspect of the plan. If anything went wrong with the blood extraction, then Venus would go running to Julius, and that would signal annihilation for them. However, if they could knock her out using a golden monster or two, the way he had done with Alypia, then they might stand a chance. If Venus were coming down to Falleaf for a legitimate purpose, there would be no reason for her husband to suspect anything was wrong when she didn’t immediately return. Alex hoped he could get Hadrian to ask that she visit him for several days, which would give them a clean window of opportunity.

  “It’s a near perfect solution,” Alex said enthusiastically.

  “So, things to do,” Aamir said. “Number one, ask Hadrian if we might borrow some of the essence here.”

  “Number two, get Hadrian to send word to Venus about a visit,” Ellabell added.

  “Number three, head back to Kingstone to inform the others of what’s going on, through the portal to Stillwater, and pass on some essence to them,” Alex continued. “We won’t need to worry about building a portal from here to Kingstone, because my Thunderbird will take us.”

  Aamir and Ellabell flashed each other an excited look.

  “Then, we come back here and wait for Venus to arrive, at the specified time,” Aamir said. “Once she is here, we take her out.”

  “After that, we steal some blood from her. Then we head through to Spellshadow with essence in tow, and we capture the Head, using whatever means necessary. It’ll then be up to me to begin the counter-spell, and hopefully end all this madness for good.” Alex grinned. It was nice to have a plan, and feel organized for once.

  Ellabell smiled back. “There, how much simpler could it be?”

  The trio laughed, though there was an undercurrent of nervous anticipation. Below that, a tremor of genuine terror. It didn’t sound like a lot, but the struggles that lay ahead were vast. It would take everything they had in order to succeed, but they had come this far. Nobody seemed willing to back down, which added fuel to the fire that burned in the pit of Alex’s stomach.

  Not for the first time, he found himself wondering what his life would be like if Natalie had never arrived from France. If his mother hadn’t offered to take the exchange student, after her first option fell through, where might he be? Would he be up at all hours, trying to balance school and work? Would he be shyly approaching girls at parties, if he had never met Ellabell? It seemed like that life belonged to a different boy. The young man in those memories bore no resemblance to the Alex he had become, and it was a bittersweet realization. He longed for the carefree life he’d had, and knew, with complete certainty, that even if they did manage to get home again, things would never be the same. There was no going back to that previous life. Not now.

  “Ah, glad to see you’re all awake!” a melodic voice called out. Hadrian appeared in the doorway, his demeanor much calmer than usual. “I trust you slept well? I didn’t wish to disturb you before you’d had the opportunity to regather your thoughts.”

  “Good morning, Hadrian,” they chorused.

  Alex gestured for Hadrian to join them. “You’re just the man we wanted to see.”

  “Oh? And what makes me so popular on this fine morning?” Hadrian asked, taking a seat at the low table. He reached for one of the copper kettles that had been laid out, and poured a cup of something dark and aromatic.

  “We’ve been discussing our next plan of action,” Alex explained, “and we need your help for two parts of what we have in mind.”

  Hadrian’s face fell. “I will try to help where possible, though I can’t p-promise anything.”

  “We need essence. I know it’s asking a lot, but if we can’t get our hands on more essence, we stand no chance of freeing the mages from the Great Evil. Right now, you’re the only person we know who might have access to some—I’m guessing there is some stashed away at Falleaf, as there is at the other havens?” Alex said, leveling his gaze at the white-haired man.

  “Indeed, there is essence here at Falleaf House,” replied Hadrian, with a touch of reluctance. “I would be more than willing to share s-some with you, though you will not f-find it to be quite what you’re expecting.”

  “Don’t tell me—it’s too powerful?” Alex pressed, remembering the ferocity of the Kingstone essence.

  Hadrian shook his head. “The very opposite, in fact, though I would be willing to g-give whatever quantity you require for your endeavors. It’s n-not something I could do, what you want to do, but I can help a little bit, so lon
g as it doesn’t b-bring anything bad down upon m-me,” he stuttered nervously, his resolve teetering on the brink. “I have never been able to fully bring peace to the s-students under my tutelage, but their b-best chance rests on your shoulders. I know you have struggled to put your f-faith in me, but I w-will help you now.”

  “That’s good to hear, Hadrian,” Alex replied. “And though I hate to ask, there is one other favor we need.”

  Hadrian frowned. “I will d-do what I can.”

  “We need you to ask Venus to visit Falleaf,” he said.

  Hadrian’s expression morphed into one of alarm, the blood draining from his face. “We shall discuss this f-favor later, though, as I say, I will do what I can for you. I p-put this on hold only because your first favor is a little time sensitive. If we are quick, I can take you to f-fetch the essence now. They will be changing the g-guard, but if we stay here too long, we will miss the gap,” Hadrian explained hurriedly, his eyes flitting toward the clock on the wall.

  “Okay, it can wait,” Alex confirmed. “If we have to go now, we should go now.”

  Ellabell and Aamir nodded in agreement.

  The anxious expression Hadrian had given him left Alex feeling dubious, and not for the first time, about what the latest royal would actually be willing to do with regards to Venus, but he knew that now wasn’t the time to apply pressure to the situation. Hadrian was the first royal who had shown willingness to share essence, and Alex wasn’t about to ruin that opportunity by hanging around to ask further questions. Plus, he feared that if he asked too intensely, the anxious royal would bolt; he was like a spooked horse at the best of times.

  Venus would be coming. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. Even if Alex had to call her down himself, he would get her close enough to retrieve the blood he needed.

  But, for now, the hunt for essence was underway. Royal blood could wait.

  Chapter 17

  They snuck out of the pagoda with as much speed as they could muster, rushing down the stairs and out into the forest. For the first time, there was no military presence, though Alex could make out the shapes of people moving in the treetops toward the other side of the pagoda. They weren’t soldiers, but looked to be young men and women a little older than Alex and his friends—the students of Falleaf House, the strangers he was fighting for.

  The group wandered through the dripping forest, Hadrian using his device to ensure they didn’t accidentally trip over any traps, though he muttered to himself the whole way, his mood decidedly on edge. It was a strangely peaceful walk, the only sounds the brush of their feet against the grass and the rustle of the leaves as a breeze wound through the branches. There was the odd coo, and flutter of wings, reminding Alex of the Thunderbird he hoped was still waiting for him at the edge of the forest. If he was going back to Kingstone, with essence in his possession, he knew he would need her soon, and could make amends for the couple of days he had spent away from her. He still had to introduce her to his friends, after speaking so highly of her and the manner in which she had delivered him to Falleaf. They had known he was telling the truth when he first spoke of her, but she was a strange thing to wrap one’s head around, and he just hoped that seeing would be believing.

  They followed a winding stream, the water babbling beside them, and stopped in front of a cluster of stones that rose up from the wet earth, one of them almost three times the size of Alex. It seemed to be their destination.

  Rounding the rock cluster, Alex saw a door tucked away in the rock. It had to be approached from a certain angle to see it properly, but it was there, hidden in the shadow of the stone outcrop. It had a large keyhole, and Hadrian pulled out an equally large, ostentatious key. The tense royal took a final, furtive glance at the surrounding trees before opening the door and ushering them inside. Before Alex stepped through, however, he too cast a furtive glance over his shoulder, making sure that Elias wasn’t there. To his relief, he found he couldn’t sense the shadow-man anywhere in the vicinity. It was a welcome absence.

  As he entered the cave, Alex felt a sudden wave of déjà vu. Beneath the rocky ceiling and rough-hewn walls, there were statues of warriors standing in fighting stances and battle poses, as well as some figures who looked peaceful—the antitheses of the warlike sculptures. One was holding a set of scales, and another was holding a book open on her lap. Many of them were female, making Alex curious to know who they were, and if there was anyone buried beneath, like the hideous commemorations at the manor. These were not nearly as frightening; there was a nobility to them that he felt compelled to observe, like he was looking at famous paintings in a gallery.

  Moving farther back into the passageway, Alex and his friends emerged into an open, cavern-like space. Filling the huge room were shelves upon shelves, stacked with the familiar black glass bottles. It looked like a wine cellar almost, only decidedly more macabre. Approaching the nearest shelf, Alex could immediately sense the difference in the energy within. Hadrian had been right—the pulsing red glow was much weaker than any he had come across before.

  “Why are they so weak?” Alex asked Hadrian.

  Hadrian turned, scratching his chin. “I have tried to b-beat the system, to the best of my ability. We only take half of a s-student’s essence, and then we send them away to a place where they can be s-safe,” he explained, gesturing to the bottles. “As far as the b-bigwigs are concerned, these students are d-dead, their essence extracted—what they don’t know can’t bother them.”

  Alex was awestruck by this unexpected news. He hadn’t known it was possible to just take half, without ending up with something as strange and unearthly as Elias. Regardless, it sounded like a painful procedure. He imagined it would feel akin to having surgery without any anesthetic.

  “Isn’t it painful?” he wondered.

  “It is very painful, but it is kinder than the alternative.” A sharp voice spoke from the shadows at the very back of the cavern, and a figure emerged.

  It was a woman. Alex would have urged everyone to run, but Hadrian didn’t seem too perturbed by her sudden presence, which was strange for the nervous man who was scared of everything. The woman was fairly youthful in appearance, and beautiful in a frightening, aggressive sort of way, with the same white hair of a royal. However, there were sections of hair that were shaved away, and the cut was short, with longer strands trailing across her right eye, which seemed to have been damaged, the pupil entirely white instead of the usual deep-set black. There were streaks of bright color in her hair too, dyed to look like purple and green zebra stripes.

  Beside the damaged right eye, Alex could make out the shape of a tattoo—a circle with nine indents along the periphery and four larger dots inside. He counted them, suddenly very conscious of the fact that he was staring at her. Dropping his gaze, he wondered if the circle was supposed to represent the havens—the ones that had fallen, and the ones that remained.

  “Who are you?” Ellabell asked, stepping toward the woman.

  She crossed her arms. “I am Ceres, Hadrian’s sister. I’m the one who nurses the students back to health, once the deed has been done, and I’m the one who returns those who have come from the non-magical world back to their parents, on the sly.” She winked, making it look effortlessly cool. “Those who can’t go home, I keep. We work together in our own civilization, far from the prying eyes of Julius and his cretins.”

  Alex was stunned. Now that he looked for the resemblance, he could see that there was a strong one between Ceres and Hadrian.

  “Caius never mentioned a daughter,” Alex said, immediately wishing he could shove the words back into his mouth.

  Ceres’s eyes flashed darkly. “I don’t suppose he would. Selfish, cruel old coot,” she growled.

  “My sister and our f-father don’t exactly have the warmest of relationships,” Hadrian said, looking embarrassed.

  “Unlike you, I don’t put up with betrayal. How can you still have empathy for that man, after the things he did?” Cere
s retorted. “I take it you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my father?” she said, turning to Alex.

  “We didn’t part on particularly good terms either,” Alex admitted.

  “Our f-father seems to have lost his mind, Sister—he’s a troubled soul. He has been for a long time; you know that.” Hadrian sighed.

  Ceres glared at her brother. “You think that gives him the right to act however he likes? Mother didn’t forgive him, and neither should you. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness—that man is selfish to the core, only ever pleasing himself.”

  “I’m not here to argue with you, not now.” Hadrian shook his head; it was clearly a conversation they’d had many times before.

  Their discussion intrigued Alex, leading him to wonder what conflict lay between Caius and the mother of these two, who presumably wasn’t the Spellbreaker love he’d lost. Perhaps the wife had grown sick of her husband’s pining, after what sounded like years of suffering? It seemed like the most likely explanation for Ceres’s vehemence toward her father, but Alex didn’t like to presume.

  “And why are you here?” Ceres snapped. “It’s not like you to come and visit, unless you want something.”

  “That’s hardly fair,” Hadrian remarked, his expression growing sheepish. “Although, we d-did come here for a reason. I’ve p-promised some of the Falleaf essence to these brave individuals—they have run the g-gauntlet, and retrieved the Book of Jupiter. Alex here is going to h-help perform the counter-spell.”

  Alex didn’t correct him; none of the royals needed to know what he truly had in mind for the spell, and the vessel through which it would be performed.

  “You’ve promised what?” Ceres growled.

  “I’ve p-promised them as much essence as they require, in order to do what they must. They are launching an attack, and they n-need it more than we do,” Hadrian countered, though it was clear he wished he were anywhere else but here. It appeared even his sister could make him break out in a cold sweat, and Alex watched the uncomfortable royal begin to wring his hands.