Glancing back toward the villa, his eyes scanned the exterior, but he saw no one. Turning his head away, he instantly snapped it back, unsure whether he’d seen a flash of something in the top room of the abandoned tower at the far edge of the building, the exact place he had watched the Ascension Ceremony from. He squinted, trying to make out a shape in the window, but if there had been something there, it was gone now. Turning back, Alex tried to convince himself it was a figment of his imagination—he would have managed it, too, if he hadn’t been able to sense the burning heat of eyes upon him still.
Reaching the amphitheater, he slipped around the back, hoping it would block him from the sight of whoever seemed to be watching. Sneaking along the rear wall, trying to remain unseen, he was hoping for a back way in. It appeared he was out of luck. Then he happened upon a narrow side door in the masonry. He skirted along the far edge of the curving structure. Opening it with some force, Alex moved swiftly into the belly of the amphitheater. Initially, in the dim light, it was a disorienting place to be, with all the walls and corridors looking identical. But as he moved along the tunnels, he saw two rectangles of light in the distance that he suspected were the tunnel entrances—the ones the combatants used to come in and out of.
It was dark beneath the arena, but, after stumbling about for several minutes, he came across a long hallway of doors. He cursed loudly, the expletive echoing—he knew it would take him ages to find the right one, if it was even there. Walking along slowly, he hoped the right door would jump out at him, but they all stared blankly back, each looking exactly the same as the next.
Through some of the grates in the doors, he could see manacles dangling over grills in the floor. The rancid scent of blood and fear rushed into his nostrils, but he couldn’t see any doors hidden away in the walls beyond the grills. He searched the length of the corridor, but none of the rooms contained the bottles he was looking for. There were no antechambers in any of them, and certainly no stashed essence. Perhaps, he thought, the bottles were hidden in a secret cellar or behind a trick bookcase, which meant his search was an entirely pointless endeavor.
Frustrated, Alex moved away from the doors and chambers and headed back out into the balmy evening, wondering with irritation where the Headmistress was hiding her stolen treasure of life magic. A thought came to him, as he mused upon one place she might be keeping them: her office. It would be just like Alypia to keep them close at hand, where she could view them at her grim pleasure, delighting in so much suffering. If they were in Alypia’s office, he realized, they may as well be on the moon—the Head’s office had been hard enough to get into, but he imagined the Headmistress’s would be a truly mighty feat. It didn’t seem difficult to enter, but that was the beauty of Alypia’s restrictions—nothing was ever supposed to look like a barrier. He wasn’t even sure he could remember the way to her office, the directions fuzzy in his mind.
The idea of the bottles being in her office perplexed him even more, and he walked back quickly, creeping beside the lakeshore as he tried to skirt around the obvious routes back into the villa. Still, he could feel the unnerving sensation of eyes on him.
Peering up at the wall, he wondered if it was Elias, keeping an eye on him, though when he looked up into the shadows to search for any sign of the shadow-man, he could see none—only impenetrable, watching darkness.
As he stole back into the realm of Stillwater House, panic jolted through him. Somebody had grabbed his arm. Turning, he half-expected it to be a guard or someone who had seen him creeping around the arena, intent on punishing him for his flouting of the rules. Instead, with some relief, he saw that it was Helena, though she looked less than pleased to see him.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“I was just out for a walk.” He shrugged, not wanting to give up too much information.
Helena didn’t look convinced. “You shouldn’t be out there at night,” she warned.
“Why not?” he challenged, wondering if Helena knew more about Alypia’s offers than she had been letting on.
“It’s not safe. You never know what might be lurking out there,” she replied, half-disappointing Alex. It seemed she didn’t know about the additional provisos, after all.
“How come you’re out here?” He smiled wryly.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, if you must know,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “I’ve just come from where they took that prisoner.”
Alex’s eyes lit up. “You know where they are?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Will you take us there?” he pleaded.
Another nod. “I can get you all to the prisoner. If I come and get you in a few hours, will you be ready?” she asked.
“I’ll go and let the others know.”
“I’ll see you then. Make sure you’re ready to go,” she insisted, leaving Alex alone in the villa.
He took off with a lightness in his step, excited to tell the others what he had learned, though he couldn’t stop wondering who it was the guards had brought in. Whoever it was, they would find out soon enough. He just hoped the others were up for a midnight adventure.
Chapter 34
True to her word, Helena came to get them in the middle of the night. They had all gathered in Alex’s room, though conversation was lacking thanks to the anxious tension that had settled between them. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but they still didn’t make out Helena’s stealthy approach. She was so silent, the knock on the door sent them jumping out of their skins.
They recovered quickly as Helena beckoned for them to follow her. The girl led them through a bewildering labyrinth of hallways and tunnels, stretching below an area of the villa Alex wasn’t at all familiar with, until they eventually ended up in a prison of sorts. He knew it was a prison because he remembered the slick, dripping walls and the stale stench of unclean bodies and despair.
“Down there,” whispered Helena, pointing to a door at the very end of a long, dripping corridor, the walls covered in a thick, moss-like substance. Alex was surprised to see that there were no guards patrolling the area. Helena, he presumed, had taken care of that detail for them.
Alex walked down the corridor, checking the door with a firm push of his shoulder. It was locked, as any good cell ought to be.
“Here, let me try,” said Natalie, moving past him to slip her magic into the lock. Golden light surged for a moment, but the lock would not break. “There is something blocking it,” she remarked, trying again. It was as if there were some sort of barrier, compressing any kind of magical energy used on the lock. Before Alex could offer up his services, Helena presented a key, sliding it into the lock and turning it smoothly. With a clunk, the door unlocked.
Alex shot Helena a look, but she swiftly gestured him inside, her eyes downcast. He pushed the door open. A collective gasp susurrated through the corridor as they saw the huddled figure on the dank, dirty floor of the prison cell.
Professor Gaze looked up at them with watery eyes, her knees tucked under her chin in a strangely girlish fashion. She looked exhausted and unbearably vulnerable, but she mustered a smile as she saw her visitors, though it was a weary smile that barely reached her usually mischievous eyes. Alex’s heart clenched at the vision of her; she didn’t look well at all.
Despite her weakened state, Alex managed to catch sight of Gaze’s eyes narrowing as she saw Helena fidgeting uncomfortably in the background. He wondered what was causing such suspicion, but he didn’t feel right asking, as everyone rushed toward Gaze in a flurry of affection.
“My dear students!” she cried cheerfully, embracing them all. “I had no idea I’d be seeing your glorious faces! Had I known, I’d have dressed up a little for you,” she joked, tugging at the edges of her frayed, tattered robes.
“We had no idea, Professor!” exclaimed Natalie.
“Nor should you—those false little upstarts wanted to sneak me in without so much as a whisper of my being here, but
they hadn’t bargained on their prisoner being a bit of a firebrand.” She grinned, though her cheer wavered as tears welled in her eyes. “I gave as good as I got. Goodness, am I glad to see you. I thought I’d be on my own at the end.” Her voice cracked, breaking the hearts of those present.
“You’re safe now, Professor. We’ll get you out,” promised Alex, though he had no idea if that was even possible. He just wanted to comfort the old woman, who had brought him tea every day to warm him. The woman who had thought of nothing but her students. It was because of them that she was here, suffering alone in a dark cell, with tears in her eyes and fear in her voice.
“Nonsense. This place is a tough nut to crack. I’m just happy you’re all okay. You came just in time, I feel,” she sighed, her hands trembling. “I don’t have long, my little chickens.” She patted Natalie’s hand.
“You’re going to be fine, Professor,” insisted Ellabell.
“Sweet girl, you mustn’t worry about me. Oh, I have lived a long old life, my lovely ones—this part of it is long overdue.” She smiled bitter-sweetly, her eyes going somewhere far away. “I never thought my life would end up like this, you know. I had such dreams when I was a girl. I remember, it was just after the war, and I wanted to be a nurse so badly. My big sister had been a nurse, tending wounded soldiers and running around beneath a hail of bombs, sewing people up, real front-line business, then having all the handsome ones ask for her hand in marriage. It was sad too, no doubt, but I remember thinking she was so brave. She was my hero, and I wanted to be just like her,” she chuckled wistfully. “I think she did end up marrying one of them—but that’s by the by… I never saw her again, or any of my family, for that matter. I’ve often wondered what happened to them all. Most of them are dead now, I’d imagine. I’ve been around far longer than I ought to have been.”
“And you’ll be around longer still,” said Alex, his throat thick with emotion.
Gaze simply shook her head. “I don’t fear it—I welcome it. My old friend Death and me, at last, riding off into the sunset!” She laughed softly. “You mustn’t do what I did. You mustn’t allow yourselves to become part of this world. It’s so easy to forget, when remembering is so painful, but you must use the pain and never settle here. Not if you want a life—your life, not one set out for you by others. Especially this place. Don’t stay too long here if you can help it. I remember when I came here for my training, after I won my place as a teacher. It was funny, the air was like a drug; there was a magic in it that made you all happy and peaceful, even if you weren’t. It made you forget—and you must never forget, little ones!”
Alex glanced accusingly at Aamir, who quickly looked away, his cheeks reddening.
“I’m sorry for not being able to keep everyone safe. I really tried my very best,” she said sadly, reaching out for Ellabell’s hand as well as Natalie’s, squeezing both firmly. “I kept that scrawny little twerp on his toes for a good long while, you know, moving the corridors. I bet that really annoyed him! If he’d not gone running for help, I’m sure we’d have managed.” She frowned thoughtfully.
“You did everything you could,” assured Alex.
“I could have done more,” she whispered.
“Why are they keeping you here?” asked Aamir, speaking for the first time, his face showing his shame at the lie he had told.
She smiled triumphantly. “Oh, those clueless drones keep coming for me to try to extract my life essence, but I’m a tough old cookie. So far, they haven’t been able to get near, and I plan to keep it that way!” she cackled.
It made Alex boil with rage, that they could treat her that way, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. After everything she had done for them, there was nothing they could do for her. It didn’t seem fair.
“What happened at Spellshadow?” he asked, trying to keep her talking. She was weak and only getting weaker; he could see it in her face.
“Well, that scrawny imp went off to fetch help, didn’t he? Off he went, crying to that self-absorbed drama queen, and the next thing I know a load of guards have turned up.” She paused sorrowfully. “Now, by this point, no tea in the world could give me enough energy to move the corridors again, so they got through. I did what I could, but they rounded everyone up like sheep and locked me away so I couldn’t be a ‘bad influence’ on anyone. Me? A bad influence? Never.” She smiled merrily. “With me out the way, they installed new faculty to replace us old fogies, though it was a bit of a rush job if you ask me—they picked four students and turned them into teachers. Most unorthodox. In the old days, they’d never have stood for it, but I suppose they were desperate? Who knows. I guess they had to be quick about it. I mean, usually, they’d have been brought here to have proper training with that white-haired hag—it’s just how it’s done, but I guess they had to get on with it.” She shrugged.
This time, everyone looked at Aamir, though he stayed silent, lowering his gaze to the floor as his cheeks burned an even brighter shade of red. He had been found out, at last. Whether it was a relief to the older boy or not, to have the truth out in the open, Alex knew that conversation would have to wait until later.
“One positive thing I can tell you is nobody else died and everyone is as safe as they can be—it has just made any escape plans that little bit harder. It’s like Alcatraz at Spellshadow now, but it was worth a shot.” She beamed, encouraging them. “I mean it, though. You really shouldn’t stay here too long. What sort of plan have you got in mind? You’re good little schemers; I know you’ve got something good up your sleeves.”
“We’re planning to try and use a portal to get back out into the non-magical world,” replied Alex quietly.
She nodded vigorously. “Tricky, but excellent! Yes, good, superb, definitely worthwhile if you can get one going.”
For a moment, she fell silent, her head tilted in wonderment at the figure still hovering in the hallway, not wanting to come into the cell. Alex watched Gaze as her eyes flitted from the floor to Helena and back, mumbling incoherently to herself.
“What’s wrong?” he pressed, kneeling beside her on the stones.
She stared at Helena. “What on earth are you doing fraternizing with a girl like that?” she whispered.
Alex frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Her—that silver-haired creature. She’s one of them,” explained Gaze, though their expressions remained blank. “She is royalty!”
“All the mages are nobles here,” Alex said, somewhat confused.
“No, no, you don’t understand,” Gaze sighed. “That, if I’m not mistaken—and I don’t think my eyes have managed to get that bad—is Princess Helena.”
The group turned in alarm toward Helena, but she simply smiled and waved, not sure why they were all looking at her with such strange expressions on their faces, having been out of earshot of the conversation while standing guard.
“She’s Alypia’s daughter, and bound to be bad news if she’s anything like her mother. I’ve never known anyone as vicious as that white-haired harpy,” Gaze muttered.
Suddenly, things began to make sense to Alex. It explained Helena’s ability to move in places she wasn’t supposed to and her mysterious ‘sources.’ Alex had to wonder if one of those ‘sources’ was Alypia herself. The thought made him shudder with dread, not knowing how much Helena had told her mother, either on purpose or by accident. Alypia wasn’t a stupid woman—maybe Helena had slipped up somewhere and given her mother information she needed.
Trying to stay hopeful, he clung to the knowledge that Helena kept them hidden and safe when she could simply have outed them to her mother. Then again, he wasn’t sure if her kindness had only been a ruse to gain their trust. Like the beauty of Stillwater, perhaps Helena’s beauty had blinded him to a darkness that lay beneath.
Gaze mumbled softly. Alex could tell she was fading fast, though she was struggling to hold on a while longer.
“Are you quite well?” she asked Natalie suddenly.
Natalie flushed. “I’m fine.”
Gaze narrowed her eyes. “No, no, no—there’s something… you are not entirely yourself. Typical, losing my skills just when they’d come in handy.” She gestured toward the blushing girl. “I wish I had my tea chest. I’d have just the thing!” She stared at Natalie intently. “Aha! I feel it now—dear, foolish girl. Oh goodness, you risked a great deal, chicken, a very great deal. You must promise an old woman on her deathbed that you won’t do such a thing again,” she chastised quietly. “I have seen too many go to a dark place, unable to return. I would hate for you to venture there.”
Natalie nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I promise I will not. I would enjoy one of your teas right now,” she chuckled, brushing away a droplet as it fell.
Alex looked at Natalie, piecing together Gaze’s meaning. He thought back to the portal and how weak she was afterward, and felt horror as his suspicions were entirely confirmed. It was as Elias had implied, that night in the Stillwater library. Natalie had delved into life magic, in order to save them, and had lost a piece of her soul on the way. Gaze’s senses had picked up that she was no longer entirely herself, but Alex realized that the ancient woman meant it literally. Natalie had paid for the portal with a piece of her soul—a piece she would never get back.
Natalie had a thoughtful look as she held Gaze’s hand tightly. Watching her, it made Alex think about how deeply his friend was actually suffering. She had seemed fine on the outside, but it made him wonder if she was struggling on the inside. How many pieces of soul did it take to change a person entirely? Perhaps she had not used enough of it to cause any visible alteration in her manner or character. He vowed never to let her use any more precious pieces, and to try to pay closer attention in the future.
It made him think about the strange, crackling magic that seemed to suck away any negativity, and he wondered whether that had something to do with her happier state of mind—whether it could even manipulate the happiness in someone who was missing part of themselves.
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