The Chain Read online

  Panic shot through him once more as he realized there was something hiding in the darkness. It was in the corner of the reading cubby, appearing slowly. Alex peered closer, watching as a bundle of dark energy amassed—shapeless at first, but gaining definition as the moments passed. Alex stayed frozen to the spot, not sure whether to run and hide or stay and find out what it would become.

  It didn’t take long for Alex to realize that the being was undeniably Elias, though he wasn’t as well-formed as he had been back at Spellshadow. There was a fractured quality to this iteration of Elias, as if he was physically trying to hold his various shadowy pieces together in one whole, and was struggling hopelessly. Alex wasn’t sure if his shadow-guide might be stretching himself too far from where he was supposed to be, leading to this strange fragmentation.

  “How do I look?” the shadowy figure quipped.

  “Not your best,” replied Alex.

  “Charming! I drag myself all this way and that is the best you can do? At least lie to me—tell me you can see the stars in my eyes or something.” He grinned, his galactic eyes twinkling. Alex could see that, although Elias was struggling to hold his physical self together, he had lost none of his usual, sarcastic humor. “I’d have thought you’d be better at compliments by now, what with that pretty little troublemaker of yours,” he added, with a sour note.

  Seeing Elias again, Alex couldn’t decide how he felt. On the one hand, Elias had done them all a great service in their last battle against the Head, but on the other hand, he had to think about what Ellabell had told him, about believing Elias to be the shadow who attacked her. Regardless, he couldn’t bear to hear the mention of Ellabell coming from Elias’s mouth, not after what he might have done to her.

  Alex’s eyes hardened as he surveyed his shadowy acquaintance. There was an extra twinge of bitterness toward Elias that he hadn’t felt before. There was distrust, too—more than he had ever felt toward the shadow being.

  “And here I was, thinking you’d be happy to see me,” teased Elias with a flash of inky teeth. “What’s with the pouty face?”

  Alex glared. “I didn’t ask you to come.”

  Elias smiled. “Always so ungrateful!”

  “I’m not ungrateful, I just—you keep putting me in harm’s way,” said Alex quietly.

  A flash of amusement sparked across Elias’s shifting features. “You’re the one who followed a weird, wispy bit of smoke through a strange school, in the middle of the night, without second-guessing it,” he purred. “I think it’s because you missed me—you secretly hoped it was me, so off you ran, into the night, desperate to see your shadowy friend.” An unnatural grin spread out across Elias’s shadowy lips. “You didn’t even wake up your little girlfriend to tell her you were off. I can’t imagine she’d be pleased about that.”

  Alex’s cheeks burned in anger. “Don’t you dare,” he seethed.

  Elias’s face morphed into something akin to a frown. “Temper, temper—where’s all this hostility coming from? I put up a decent fight back there so you had time to get free, and here is my thanks,” he sighed, a hint of annoyance creeping into his strangely distant voice.

  “You did it all for yourself!” snapped Alex.

  Menace glittered in Elias’s endlessly dark eyes. “What?” he whispered.

  “You did it all for yourself,” repeated Alex, more quietly.

  Elias gave a bitter laugh. “None of this is for me,” he said simply.

  “Liar,” Alex muttered.

  “If you would begrudge me my own life essence, perhaps you are not the man I thought you were,” said Elias sadly. “But that was not why—call it an unexpected surprise. I want you to succeed, Alex. That is all I have wanted and continue to want.”

  “Then why hurt those I… care for?” demanded Alex, choosing his words carefully. Without Elias, Alex knew he’d be at square one; the shadow being had aided in helping him learn of his heritage, in helping challenge the Head, in so many things, but Alex was struggling to forget what Ellabell had said.

  Elias’s eyes glittered with curiosity. “I don’t follow?”

  “Why did you attack Ellabell the way you did?” he ventured solemnly.

  For a moment, silence stretched between the shadow-man and his acolyte. Alex could see the thought gathering beneath the shifting, starry contours of Elias’s face, now even harder to pin down with his fragmenting form. As the silence continued, Alex convinced himself Elias was going to deny it. It was the shadow-man’s way.

  “I was going to lie,” admitted Elias, “but I know you wouldn’t believe me.”

  “So you did it?” Alex gasped. The truth was harder than the lie.

  Elias moved his head in what Alex supposed to be a nod. “I did, but I have my reasons.”

  “What possible reason could you have had?” spat Alex.

  “Well, if you’d let me finish, you’d know,” quipped Elias, growing irritated. The shadow-man waited, the impossible oblivion of his eyes surveying Alex haughtily, like a teacher waiting for a class to quiet down.

  “Go on,” said Alex reluctantly.

  Elias smiled, flashing his inky teeth, though Alex wasn’t sure it was appropriate. “I did it because that curly-haired nuisance was reaching for a very dangerous book on dark magic.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

  “You’re telling me books can’t be dangerous? You’ve seen the damage those sorts of books can do,” he whispered with a sly grin.

  Alex frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Elias sighed. “You’re not very sharp today, Webber—this place has made you so slow,” he remarked, pulling a rude face. “That other one of yours. The French one.”

  “She’s not my ‘other one’,” muttered Alex defensively.

  Elias grinned with amusement. “I meant your other friend—I’ve no idea what you’re referring to,” he mocked playfully, apparently delighting in Alex’s discomfort.

  “What about her?”

  “She has been sick, right?”

  Alex nodded slowly.

  “You’re not stupid, Alex. Well, not all the time,” goaded Elias. “You’ve been told about magic that moves things. Now piece it together. I will not be getting my silver platter out today!”

  Alex frowned as fear gripped him. He looked to Elias for further confirmation of the suspicions he’d had about Natalie, but the shifting, shadowy features gave nothing away. He loathed how vague Elias could be.

  “It takes a lot of magic?” ventured Alex.

  Elias moved the misty fronds of what should have been hands together in a silent, mocking clap. Seemingly, Elias’s favorite gesture. It irked Alex every time, which he guessed was the point.

  “She used life magic?” he asked, wanting his thoughts confirmed once and for all.

  “Ding, ding, ding! Give the boy a prize—how about the giant hippo for the lucky lady?” Elias smirked, his shadowy mouth curving up into an eerie smile.

  “But she got better.”

  Elias rolled his mysterious eyes in exasperation. “So, as long as it doesn’t kill you, that means it’s okay? I think I’m some sort of proof that’s not true.” A flash of something strange moved across his face, as if he had said something he hadn’t intended to, but the expression disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “Anyway, that’s not the point. I’m just saying, books can be dangerous. Your power-hungry pal read that spell in a book and made herself ill because of it. Mind you, she was doing it to save you all, so maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on her,” he retorted. “And hey, she’s okay now, so that spell wasn’t any of the really, really bad stuff—but this stuff, in that book, is stuff you don’t want anyone you care about touching.”

  “How do you know what’s in it?” asked Alex.

  Elias paused. “I just know,” he breathed, his voice suddenly drenched in a sadness so heartrending, Alex wasn’t sure he could take it. From within the starry, shadowy form of Elias, a thousand echoed sorrows seemed to su
rge forward, whispering all around Alex’s head, creeping through him with shivering tendrils, until they had seeped into every cell within his body. “I know, firsthand, what that book can do, and I didn’t want her to have it.”

  Elias made me, and I am Elias, the universe within the shadow-man whispered.

  Alex wasn’t sure if Elias meant he was trying to stop Ellabell from reaching for a book on strong, terrible magic in order to protect her from it, or because he simply didn’t want anyone to know about such dark magic. As much as his suspicions told him it was the latter, there was an internal battle that Alex couldn’t balance. It was the sadness in Elias’s voice that made him think twice about the shadow-man’s intentions with the book—the sound haunted him. Yet, he could neither forget nor forgive what Elias had done to Ellabell. No matter what the reason, there was no excuse for the bruising and trauma that girl had suffered. Anger flared inside him once more.

  “You can’t win me over with your sob stories, Elias. What you did to Ellabell was unforgivable. There were ways you could have done it that didn’t involve attacking her, but you chose violence and fear. You use them as weapons, to control people—it’s cruel and twisted, like you!” he shot back.

  Elias’s eyes flashed with anger. “After all I have done? I expected better from you, Spellbreaker. Everyone turns their back on Elias, blinded by the tattle-tales of others,” he seethed, his supernatural voice making Alex’s bones tremble.

  “You hurt her, for no reason but to keep her from saying something to me,” Alex hissed, his heart pounding. He thought of how Ellabell had avoided him all those weeks after the attack, of the bruises on her face, and he wanted to tear Elias to pieces. The shadowy figure wasn’t nearly so fearsome when he was struggling to hold himself together. Alex’s anger seemed to break him apart much faster, somehow. Rippling fronds snaked away from Elias’s body, fragmenting it sliver by sliver.

  “I protect you, Alex—I help and I serve and I get stabbed in the back, every time,” breathed Elias, his voice somehow omnipresent. The black pools of his eyes glimmered with starry grief and sparking rage. “I didn’t mean to hurt her; I just wanted to stop her. It may have escaped your notice, but my motor skills aren’t exactly on point.” He flapped his shadowy arms almost comically, though Alex was in no mood for amusement. “What I’m saying is, I can’t always control what I do or how I do it—touch isn’t always easy, and sometimes I can overdo it, by accident. I know you won’t believe me, but I do not lie. If you knew what that book did, you would not be so quick to speak this way to me—you ungrateful little boy.” He paused, his inky teeth curled up in a grimace. “Well, when you’re no longer blinded by love, you’ll realize the mistake you have made. You’ll see—you will need me, Alex. You will need me.”

  As Elias said the last four words, his figure became whole for just a moment, more human than Alex had ever seen the shadow-man’s form, before he disappeared in a snap of swirling black mist.

  As Alex watched the space where Elias had been, he wondered where the shadow-man had gone. Had he gone back to Spellshadow, or was he still within the walls of Stillwater? Alex wasn’t sure if he’d ever find out, after that terse, cold ending.

  Though he hated to admit it, Alex had a feeling Elias was right. It wasn’t a case of ‘will need’—Alex did need Elias. After all, without access to the Head or Elias’s books, Alex was back to square one as far as his heritage, his abilities, and his next move were concerned. Elias knew things. Elias had nudged Alex in the right direction, at every turn. Then there was Alex’s plan to see what he could do with the black bottles, and how to get the others home—the only one with access to that sort of information was Elias. The whys and hows of the schools and the magical world were all within Elias’s grasp; of that Alex was certain. They were not, however, within Alex’s grasp.

  “I do need you… I hate that I do,” whispered Alex, feeling entirely alone in the empty, still library.

  Chapter 16

  Devoid of people, the library seemed more creepy than beautiful. Part of Alex wanted the shadowy shape of Elias to return, if only for some company. The route back toward the bell tower was foggy in his mind, and though the security of it tempted him, he knew he couldn’t simply run from the opportunity he had been given. All around him, row upon row of untapped knowledge met his eyes. Bitterly, he knew he had Elias to thank for this, yet again. Even if the shadow-man had ulterior motives, he still managed to put Alex on the right track.

  The library was brimming with new information—knowledge that might not have been available at Spellshadow. Perhaps, Alex thought, noble mages were given more exciting things to learn. It would certainly account for their superior ability.

  Staring down the walkway to make sure he truly was alone, Alex was surprised to see an enormous book at the end of the platform, opened atop a wooden lectern. He walked toward it, feeling a sense of familiarity as he realized what it was. From the size and well-thumbed pages, it could be none other than Stillwater House’s version of the Index, containing all the authors and titles of the books that filled the vast room.

  Intrigued by the prospect of what lay within, his mind wondering about havens and Spellbreakers, much like the last time he stood in front of one of these, he decided to see if the Stillwater Index would be more forthcoming with information. Maybe it wasn’t just spells and advanced magic that the noble students had better access to, but history as well.

  Heaving the pages to ‘H’ and ‘S’ respectively, Alex was pleasantly surprised to see there wasn’t just one or two, but many books on both subjects. Too many to read in just one evening, he thought wryly, wondering if he’d have another opportunity to come and absorb the library’s riches. No matter what happened, he knew he’d have to try. This place was a goldmine.

  A curious thought came to him as he was tracing a finger down the dusty page, searching the list on Spellbreakers. Carefully, he lifted the Index pages until he reached the end of the ‘W’ section, hoping nobody heard the hefty slam as the weightier side fell back toward the plinth. His eyes ran down the browned page, until he saw the words he had been hoping to see: Leander Wyvern. He couldn’t believe it.

  Is this why Elias led me here? he wondered.

  Even when he wasn’t physically present, the shadow-guide was somehow helping. Hastily, Alex flipped back through the Index and tried to memorize as many of the numbers as he could, in order to check the stacks for the corresponding books. Fortunately, the system was much the same as in any library. Even in the magical world, books and libraries didn’t change.

  Darting along the walkway and up to the top floor, he followed a short passageway down to the very back shelves and shuffled along a narrow set of bookcases before he found the number he was looking for. Half-expecting it to be gone, like the censored sections at Spellshadow, he couldn’t contain his excitement as his hand closed around the leather-bound spine. It was there. Bringing it down, cradling it in his hands, he brushed off a thick layer of dust as he read the title: Leander Wyvern, a Biography. A whole book dedicated to the man whose notebook Alex possessed. It was almost too good to be true. Alex flicked through the first few pages, making sure it wasn’t a hoax. To his delight, every page was filled with text. So far, so good.

  Tucking it under his arm, he ran along walkways and climbed up and down ladders, in search of more. Adding to his collection, he picked up a book on havens entitled, rather helpfully, A Comprehensive Guide to the Havens, which seemed promising, followed by an entry entitled Spellbreaker Spells and How to Defend Against Them. Suddenly, the fact that the books were even here made more sense. If the students at Stillwater were to truly be the best, they had to know the ins and outs of their sworn enemies, even if they had died out decades ago. Strangely, it reminded Alex of a faded motivational poster stuck up on a wall at his old high school: “Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail.” He supposed that was why they read these books—to prepare, on the off-chance they should ever come up against a Spellbre
aker.

  Little did they know, the book could also be useful for a Spellbreaker, should he get his hands on it. Alex grinned, running his thumb over the embossed words, hoping it might give him some ideas for advanced spells he might use to fight mages. It was about time he came up with some new material.

  Along another set of shelves, he came across a bright green tome called Spellbreaker Lineages and beside it, to his sardonic amusement, a book entitled The Royal Households. It hadn’t been on his list of titles to pick up, but in flicking through the contents page, it looked as if it might be useful. As far as Alex could tell, it was a detailed history of the royal mages. Intrigued, he added it to his growing stack, figuring it might give him some insight into the beautiful, white-haired woman and the mysterious hybrid of the Head, who was somehow related to that exquisite creature. He wondered hopefully if there might be a passage inside the book that explained how that had come to be.

  With a decent haul in his hands, Alex moved back toward one of the small reading areas and set the books out on the sleek, circular table in front of him. Conscious of how exposed he was, out in the open of the empty library, he decided he ought to set up a perimeter around himself, to hide his work from prying eyes. Slowly, he let the twisting tendrils of silver and black coil around his fingers, before sending them out to form a thin, crackling sheet of anti-magic around him. It thrummed quietly in the air as he constructed a rudimentary shield around himself, making sure it wasn’t detectable as he dimmed its glow to an almost imperceptible sheen. It worked like a two-way mirror; he could see out, but nobody could see in—or so he hoped. If anyone came too close to the barrier, he knew they’d be able to sense it, but he hoped he’d be able to dart into the stacks and hide before that happened.