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  Remembering what he had done to Virgil out on the lawn, Alex reached down into himself, seeking out the dim pulse of the piece of Elias’s soul. Drawing on it, he brought the magic into his hands and let the dark energy flow into Virgil’s mind, hopefully dazing him enough to get him to the pit without too much trouble.

  Recoiling fully, Alex stepped back to review his handiwork. The Head had gone limp again, his whole body swaying lifelessly from the chains.

  “You better not have killed him,” said Elias.

  Alex grasped the Head’s wrist, checking for a pulse. To his relief, there was still a light thud beneath the skin.

  “Don’t worry me like that!” Alex snapped, ignoring the grin Elias flashed back.

  Unlocking the manacles, Alex released Virgil from his restraints, only to realize their next problem. With Aamir no longer around, it would be up to Alex to carry the Head to the library by himself. Stooping, Alex hauled the Head’s arm around his neck and began to drag him toward the door of the chamber. Elias cackled, evidently delighted at the comical sight.

  “You could always help,” Alex said, losing patience.

  Elias gave a casual shrug of his wispy shoulders. “I suppose I could,” he replied, swooping to help with Virgil’s other arm. It was a pleasant surprise, to have the shadow-man assist in the dirty work for once, and as much as Alex wanted to say as much, he held his tongue. The last thing he needed was for Elias to take offense and disappear into the darkness.

  Sharing the weight, though the Head didn’t weigh all that much, given his skeletal frame, Alex and Elias hurried out of the chamber and headed toward the library. Turning the handle, Alex pushed open the door and pulled Virgil inside, leaving the door standing wide open as he carried the Head over to the statue he had seen in the memory. The splayed-out book was there, just as Alex had seen it. The anticipation was overwhelming as Alex pulled down on the book and watched the secret entrance slide open. They were impossibly close to success now.

  With every awkward step they took down into the earth, Alex’s heart pounded harder and harder, until he thought it might burst from his chest. Eventually, they reached the bottom, where the hallway with the huge double doors stood at the far end. Alex paused for a second in front of the iron rungs, gripping the right-hand knocker until his knuckles whitened. It was getting a little too real, and part of Alex wanted to savor the moment as he pulled the doors wide.

  The pit lay before him, but the golden bird perched above was barely moving.

  You will never be fed again, Alex promised.

  Chapter 35

  Laying Virgil down at the side of the pit, Alex retrieved the Book of Jupiter from his bag and flipped to the correct page. Holding out a thin square of energy, he watched the glyphs morph into words, revealing the content of the counter-spell. Remembering a trick he’d seen Helena use, he fed more anti-magic into the edges of the square, causing it to remain, even when he took his hands away.

  It was time, and yet something held him back.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Elias impatiently.

  “I should get the others,” said Alex, having completely forgotten the promise he’d made to Aamir, in all the excitement of getting Virgil to the pit room. “I swore I’d go back to get them before I did the spell.”

  Elias rolled his eyes. “You don’t have time to fetch them, Alex, not to mention the fact it’s not a good idea to have them around this kind of spell. I haven’t seen it done before, but I have seen spells like it, and I know there can sometimes be collateral. If a bystander is unworthy, or just happens to get in the way, they’re toast. You wouldn’t want something awful happening to your itty-bitty chums now, would you?” the shadow-man asked.

  Alex glanced at Elias uncertainly. There was a lot of sense in what he said, but it didn’t feel quite right not to go back and tell the others. This conclusion was as much a part of their journey as it was his.

  “I should go and get them,” Alex insisted.

  Elias slithered toward the door, blocking the way. “You will put their lives at risk, Alex. I am not saying this because I am me, though I know that is likely what you are thinking—for once, I am saying this because I would hate to see them die so close to the end.”

  “You really think it’s that dangerous?” Alex asked, realizing how stupid the question sounded. Of course it was dangerous. If it weren’t, he wouldn’t have had to run a gauntlet of challenges to attain the book that would allow him to do it.

  “Is that a serious question?” Elias countered, raising a starry brow.

  Alex shook his head. “No, I suppose not. I guess they won’t mind, if it all goes well,” he reasoned.

  Turning his focus away from his friends, Alex knelt beside the slumped figure of Virgil, and began to feed the strands of his mind control into the Head’s brain. Alex made the skeletal figure get to his feet, like a macabre marionette, and move toward the edge of the pit. Holding him there with one hand, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial full of blood, resting it on the open page. That part came later.

  Noting all the stages in order, Alex moved on to the incantation. First, he placed Virgil’s hand on the page, as instructed. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the book began to glow subtly, then burst into a fierce luminescence. The writing on the pages lifted up, swirling like a tornado before settling in the air before them, hovering just above the pit. The words were laid out in large, glowing lettering, making the incantation easier to read. Alex hoped this meant things were going well, if the book was responding as it should.

  Taking a deep breath, he delved back into the depths of Virgil’s mind, making suggestions that forced strands of anti-magic to rise up from the Head’s palms. It was a strange, out-of-body experience for Alex, controlling somebody else’s energy, but he felt the strength of Virgil’s power.

  Alex pulled the strings that made Virgil’s voice ring out across the cavern. The incantation had begun, the words moving through Alex’s mind and into Virgil’s mouth.

  I come to thee with honesty and purity in my heart. My intentions are good and my motives are true. I stand at the precipice of destruction, knowing the price that must be paid. I come to thee with no hand forcing my path, and I seek redemption on behalf of those who seek to destroy. Where wounds have been cut, I shall repair. Where evil has traveled, I shall make amends. Where there has been death, I shall bring life. Where there has been war, I bring peace.

  Alex paused at the end of the first paragraph, letting the words sink in. A slight rumble shook the earth, but he couldn’t be sure if it was the spell that had caused it. Overcome with nervous excitement, he pressed on, moving from second stanza, to third, to fourth, to fifth, to sixth, to seventh, to eighth, to ninth, to tenth, to eleventh, and, finally, to twelfth. Not once did he stutter, ensuring he took his time to feed the words carefully into the Head’s mind, so he could recite them precisely as they ought to be spoken. All the while, Alex was conscious of what he had been told about not making a single error. It was a terrifying prospect, to know that one false move could ruin everything, and it took everything he had not to focus on that fear.

  Slowly, he came to the end of the twelfth and final stanza. Never had a finish line seemed so close and yet so far away. He could see the final line, but he was careful not to jump ahead and miss anything as he moved slowly through the final paragraph, Virgil’s voice speaking the words with a confident fluidity that Alex didn’t quite feel himself.

  His heart was thundering in his chest as he reached the last line.

  “With the blood of my enemies, I close the circle of pain,” said Virgil, speaking the words as Alex fed them into his mind. The Head had performed perfectly, but it wasn’t yet over. There was one step left.

  As the final word echoed across the cavern, Alex leaned over to read the next step of the spell, looking over the section that said the spell’s performer must drink the blood at the very end of the incantation. Alex grasped the bot
tle from the page, removing the stopper and lifting the vial to his lips. A yelp from Elias halted him just before the liquid touched his mouth.

  “You’re not the performer!” the shadow-man cried.

  Alex faltered, his hands shaking, as he realized what a catastrophic move he had been about to make. Gathering his thoughts, pushing down his panic, he moved the vial toward Virgil’s lips instead. Tilting the Head’s neck back, he trickled the scarlet liquid into his mouth, watching as the gulp reflex took care of business.

  With the blood swallowed, Alex knew it was just a waiting game. The spell was complete. There was nothing more he could do.

  Stepping back, Alex watched the pit closely for any change, but nothing seemed to be different. He glanced at Elias, wanting reassurance from the shadow-man, but the wispy figure just shrugged. A few minutes passed, and still nothing happened.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Alex whispered.

  “Just wait,” said Elias.

  Suddenly, the rumble beneath the earth grew louder, the ground shaking so hard it knocked Alex and Virgil backward. They sprawled to the floor, Alex getting up quickly to see what was happening. He gasped in horror as he looked back toward the edge of the pit. A blood-red swell had filled the room, undulating across the surface of the gaping crevasse. It didn’t look right, and Alex felt his whole body go rigid with dread. The blood-red waves bobbed there, in the center of the room, for what seemed like forever. Nobody moved. Alex hoped irrationally that if he stayed perfectly still, the swell would simply stay there, and everything would be fine.

  Instead, the swell surged downward like a scarlet waterfall. A bone-shaking boom thundered below ground, as the last of the red waves disappeared into the pit.

  In its place, a mist appeared, creeping slowly over the edges of the chasm. Alex felt the temperature of the room drop as the mist rolled over the lip of the pit, like clawing tendrils intent on reaching its prey. Alex saw, with a sinking feeling, that the mist was silver, and though he had never actually seen the fabled mist before, he knew what it meant.

  Terror ripped through his body.

  “You did it wrong!” shouted Elias, above the roar of the quake.

  “I did everything it said!” Alex yelled back, his heart gripped in a vise as he snatched up the Book of Jupiter and shoved it back into his satchel.

  “We have to get out of here!” Elias insisted.

  “Yes—help me!” Alex said, grasping Virgil under the armpits. Glancing around, he saw that the mist was almost at the threshold of the exit. He didn’t know what to do, or how to reverse what he had done, but one thing was for sure—they couldn’t stay here to try to figure it out.

  Just then, a figure burst in, rushing right toward the deadly hands of the silver mist. Alex’s eyes went wide with a horror so intense he couldn’t bear the sensation of it.

  “AAMIR! NO!” he roared.

  Aamir skidded to a halt as a wave of silver mist surged in his direction, drawn by his essence. Alex dropped Virgil and barreled toward his friend, desperate to put himself between the deadly fog and Aamir. They had to escape this place before the mist consumed them, before it reached everyone on the battlefield.

  They had unleashed the Great Evil.

  Epilogue

  Elias could sense Alex’s pure shock pulsing through his own shadowy chest, and the sensation spurred him on, giving him strength as he pulled Virgil along the ground, toward the door. They had to get out, before the mist truly began to wreak havoc.

  Something had gone wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

  The shadow-man had a feeling he knew what might have been responsible, but he didn’t dare voice it. Alex would undoubtedly blame him if he began to explain where he thought the problem lay. Spells were a tricky thing, but they were the same as any good work of literature—there were nuances in the text.

  The blood of the king or queen, Elias mused, realizing that Alex may well have jumped upon the wrong interpretation. Yes, Venus was the queen, but she did not share the royal blood that Julius possessed, as the rightful ruler of the nation. His blood was different from hers. It was obvious, now that Elias thought about it. The spell meant the blood had to come from the current ruler, be they a king or a queen, but not from a spouse, whose blood was clearly inferior.

  Perhaps we should have read the small print a touch closer.

  There was no instruction manual for this. The spell book did not say what to do if it didn’t work out the first time, and Elias presumed it didn’t for a reason. The spell had to be performed to perfection, and they had all been found wanting.

  The shadow-man realized what had to happen next.

  Virgil had performed the spell as he was supposed to, and everything had run as smoothly as a well-oiled machine, up until the tiny hiccup with the blood.

  They had been so close, but they had another chance.

  Elias knew what needed to be done… and, as he threw a glance back at the deadly mist surging higher and higher out of the chasm, he knew it needed to be done fast.

  Ready for the FINAL book in Alex’s story?

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading The Test.

  The next book is called The Spell, and it is the grand finale of the series!

  The Spell releases September 30th, 2017.

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  I’ll see you there…

  Love,

  Bella x

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  Read more by Bella Forrest

  THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR

  The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)

  The Breaker (Book 2)

  The Chain (Book 3)

  The Keep (Book 4)

  The Test (Book 5)

  The Spell (Book 6)

  THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK (New!)

  The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)

  The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)

  THE GENDER GAME (Completed series)

  The Gender Game (Book 1)

  The Gender Secret (Book 2)

  The Gender Lie (Book 3)

  The Gender War (Book 4)

  The Gender Fall (Book 5)

  The Gender Plan (Book 6)

  The Gender End (Book 7)

  A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES

  Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story

  A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)

  A Shade of Blood (Book 2)

  A Castle of Sand (Book 3)

  A Shadow of Light (Book 4)

  A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)

  A Gate of Night (Book 6)

  A Break of Day (Book 7)

  Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story

  A Shade of Novak (Book 8)

  A Bond of Blood (Book 9)

  A Spell of Time (Book 10)

  A Chase of Prey (Book 11)

  A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)

  A Turn of Tides (Book 13)

  A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)

  A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)

  An End of Night (Book 16)

  Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…

  A Wind of Change (Book 17)

  A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)

  A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)

  A Hero of Realms (Book 20)

  A Vial of Life (Book 21)

  A Fork of Paths (Book 22)

  A Flight of Souls (Book 23)

  A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)r />
  Series 4: A Clan of Novaks

  A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)

  A World of New (Book 26)

  A Web of Lies (Book 27)

  A Touch of Truth (Book 28)

  An Hour of Need (Book 29)

  A Game of Risk (Book 30)

  A Twist of Fates (Book 31)

  A Day of Glory (Book 32)

  Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians

  A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)

  A Sword of Chance (Book 34)

  A Race of Trials (Book 35)

  A King of Shadow (Book 36)

  An Empire of Stones (Book 37)

  A Power of Old (Book 38)

  A Rip of Realms (Book 39)

  A Throne of Fire (Book 40)

  A Tide of War (Book 41)

  Series 6: A Gift of Three

  A Gift of Three (Book 42)

  A House of Mysteries (Book 43)

  A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)

  A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)

  A Ride of Peril (Book 46)

  A Passage of Threats (Book 47)

  A Tip of Balance (Book 48)

  A Shield of Glass (Book 49)

  A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY

  A Shade of Dragon 1

  A Shade of Dragon 2

  A Shade of Dragon 3

  A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY

  A Shade of Kiev 1

  A Shade of Kiev 2

  A Shade of Kiev 3

  DETECTIVE ERIN BOND (Adult thriller/mystery)

  Lights, Camera, Gone

  Write, Edit, Kill

  BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY

  Beautiful Monster 1

  Beautiful Monster 2

  For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net

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