“I can’t believe she stayed,” said Ellabell quietly, her voice croaky. “I hope she’ll be okay.”
Natalie nodded, her brow furrowed. “I will miss her… She was a good friend.”
It was almost like a death, knowing they’d never see Helena again, and though Alex wondered if he could go back and get her, he knew there was no way to do it without figuring out portals. And that seemed more and more unlikely now that they didn’t have the help of Stillwater’s books.
Alex got up and dusted himself off, shifting the bag of bottles carefully around to a more comfortable spot. He had no idea where they were, and the uncertainty unnerved him.
Aamir moved nervously toward Alex, his eyes transfixed by the satchel Alex held onto.
“What’s in the bag?” he asked.
The others looked toward Alex, their eyes showing surprise as they noticed the bulky satchel for the first time. Alex removed one of the bottles, holding it up to the light so they could see the dim red glow that burned in the middle of the black, smoky glass.
“Is that what I think it is?” Ellabell gasped.
He nodded. “It is. It’s life essence. Bottles and bottles of life essence—the currency that is going to see us home,” he explained with a hopeful smile.
“How did you get it?” Jari chimed in, his interest piqued though he was still snuffling slightly.
“I found where it was being kept. Alypia had the bottles in a little room, just to the side of her study.” He shrugged, looking intently at the glowing pulse within the bottle.
“Whoa. How did you get them from Alypia?” pressed Jari, really interested now.
“Using my powers. I just conjured a powerful spell that managed to keep Alypia at bay while I ran off into the chamber where they were stored and scooped up as many as I could. I kicked the rest over—they all smashed, and the essence drained away, back into the earth,” he murmured, feeling bashful beneath the intense gaze of their eyes.
“Were you the one who caused her to scream that way?” Natalie flashed a look of concern, clearly suspecting some of what Alex had done.
“Sort of,” he admitted. “I used two of the bottles and fed my anti-magic through the essence to make two of those beast things Derhin used against Aamir. They kept her occupied while I ran away.”
His friends fell silent, looking at him with a sort of awestruck fear. It worried him—too many people were looking at him that way these days. He only hoped what he had done to Alypia would be enough to keep her from following them for a while. The Head had managed to restore the portal at Spellshadow, and Alex guessed Alypia would do the same as soon as she was able to, but he knew those beasts would stall her for a while. Her ungodly screams had been evidence of their destructive powers against her. Still, as ever, the ticking hands of time clanged above them.
Shifting his muscles, he tried to stretch, wanting to get the knots and aches out. His whole body felt tired and a little disjointed, making him wonder if it was because he had used a small speck of his essence in his anti-magical conjurations. He didn’t feel any different mentally; he just felt shattered physically. Silently, he made a note to ask Natalie later, if that was what happened when you used strong, dark magic.
Suddenly, he jumped to attention as he became aware of a shadow in the darkness of a hallway, a short distance away from where they were gathered. Shuffling along the tunnel, a figure stepped out into the muted light of the courtyard.
Seeing who it was, their faces lifted in surprise, their eyes going wide. Alex wasn’t sure he could take many more surprises; his heart was still thundering from the panicked exit they had just made. Though, saying that, Alex had to admit this was one of the better ones.
“At last! I thought you’d never get here!” a voice bellowed from the shadows.
Epilogue
Elias lolled casually in the room above the portal, picking stars from his teeth.
Seeing Alex leave had pleased him greatly—he was starting to grow tired of Stillwater. He’d always hated it, even when he’d come through to study as a teacher, with all the beautiful people preening and primping, all obsessed with beauty. That wasn’t Elias’s style at all. Elias was more into the interior, magical beauty of a person, rather than the false, ephemeral outer shell. After all, the mortal coil could be shuffled off at any moment, leaving shadowy strands that simply would not behave, when faced with the magic of Stillwater.
He had been watching Alex with keen intrigue, though he had been unable to do much thanks to his unruly, disjointed body snaking off to wherever it pleased, at any given time, within the magical otherworld of Stillwater House. He loathed it, thinking far less of the fearsome Alypia for using such trite techniques to control everyone. Manipulation was easy, he smiled—you just had to know how to pull the right strings. Puppet master extraordinaire, that was Elias, and he relished the position.
Sadly, and much to Elias’s chagrin, the magic that affected everybody’s state of mind, making them giddy, smiling zombies, also wrought havoc on his ability to hold his transient, shadowy form together. Finding and taking that book from Alypia’s office had been no mean feat for a being that could barely keep his face from disappearing into the ether, and still Alex had dithered with it.
At least he rallied in the end, thought Elias smugly, slinking toward the windowless study, clapping the wispy fronds of what should have been hands together as he saw the royal mess Alex had made of the bottle chamber.
A royal mess indeed, chuckled Elias with starry-eyed delight, as he watched the scene playing out below from the safety of his dark corner. It called for popcorn, he mused with a grin, though he could barely remember the taste of such a paltry human snack.
The guards had arrived to assist Alypia, disposing of the great golden beasts with some difficulty. Elias struggled not to laugh aloud and give his position away as he watched them try to dissipate the creatures.
Child’s play, he thought to himself. And they call themselves the best—the best at mediocrity, perhaps.
His shadowy mouth turned up in a pleased grin as he saw the bruised, ugly shape of Alypia crouched on the floor, her pale face drawn and almost skeletal, her beauty yet to be restored by the crackling magic.
Ah, there’s the family resemblance! Elias bristled with catty pleasure, enjoying the woman’s suffering. He had never much cared for her, nor she for him. Definitely showing your age, Alypia, he thought smugly. She looked almost dead, but the frail twitch of her fingers confirmed she was not.
Bored with Alypia, he slunk away, moving deftly from shadow to shadow. His curiosity spiked when he saw Helena running back through the grounds of the school. The girl was of interest to him. He swooped close to her, marveling at the work she had saved him in trying to squirrel away a book on portals. The Leander book had almost finished him off, dispersing his wispy body to the four corners of the earth, but Helena had done the job just as well. It would do, for now. Nobody except she and Elias knew what she had done with the portal, but they would, and boy would she be in trouble then.
She was something of a mystery to him, this silver-haired waif who had failed to steal Alex’s heart away from that curly-haired do-gooder. Elias still wasn’t sure how he felt about Helena, though he did enjoy the powerful energy that emanated from her very being, feeding his weakened state. It was like drinking pure energy.
Elias’s mood turned sour as he thought about Ellabell, which was what thinking about her usually did. Especially after the stunt she pulled outside the cottage—Elias was still seething about that. Ellabell was the girl who seemed to ruin everything, as far as Elias was concerned, always seeking to turn Alex against him in one way or another. One little smack to the head and it was curtains for Elias.
Well, I showed that troublesome little pest. He grinned, flashing his teeth, pleased that Alex still felt the need for him. It was addictive, Elias knew it was—he had made it that way. Knowledge was highly addictive, that little French girl was evidence of th
at, and Alex was just as hooked.
Alex’s affection for Ellabell was an issue, Elias had decided. He felt a growing resentment toward the bespectacled saint, who could do no wrong in Alex’s eyes. Elias wondered if, perhaps, it wasn’t about time to do something about her, in such a way that Alex wouldn’t suspect it was him. Alex would never stand for it if he knew Elias was responsible. That was a surefire way to lose Alex’s faith, but he had a whole arsenal of devious methods up his wispy sleeve. All he had to do was take up the delicious task of choosing the right one.
Draping himself from the rafters of the bell tower, Elias felt like a proud uncle, thinking about the smattering of dangerous, dark magic Alex had used to attack Alypia. It was like seeing the quiet kid stand up in class and breakdance, an unexpected, if slightly amusing, pleasure. Alex had fumbled and gone at it in a haphazard manner, but the progress was remarkable. Elias shivered with pleasure as he recalled the liquid silver eyes, burning brightly, so similar to those of Leander Wyvern’s.
For a while, Elias had wondered if he’d been betting on a tired horse, but Alex had shown there was hope for him still. He wouldn’t be putting Alex out to pasture just yet. When pushed, his strength grew. When threatened, he showed his worth. Elias just had to keep playing upon that, which was what Elias enjoyed best in his fairly dull half-life. Alex was just about the only thing that kept Elias amused these days.
The boy was becoming a powerful Spellbreaker, finding his way through the spells and anti-magic with an instinctive surety that thrilled Elias.
It must be his heritage coming through, he thought wryly.
Even Elias had to admit he was impressed to see Alex using his essence for his own needs. It was promising—very promising. He felt the shadowy, starry crevasse of his chest swell with something akin to satisfaction as he thought about how far Alex had come, in such a relatively short span of time. Most of it was due to his tutelage, of course, Elias knew, but Alex had certainly done some of the footwork.
As much as Elias tried, he couldn’t deny being fond of the boy.
Swooping down toward the glittering lake, beneath the cover of darkness, he relished the feel of the warm breeze rushing through his translucent form. He’d be leaving this place soon, much to his relief, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t do a lap of honor.
Skimming low across the water, the black, endless pools of his eyes caught sight of a body floating beneath the dark surface of the lake. It made him sad to see her brought so low. Well, as sad as Elias was capable of being. He had always been close to her, before, but that was so long ago now. He watched Gaze’s body for a while, her rippling features decidedly peaceful, before quickly shaking off the feeling of melancholy, knowing that was not his way. Elias didn’t do emotion, nor did he permit himself to get emotionally attached.
Elias answered to nobody and nothing.
Refusing to look back again, committing Gaze to the memory of long-forgotten life, he gathered his various parts together, knowing with intense pleasure that he was closer to his goal.
Vengeance was a dish best served cold, and it was almost freezing.
Ready to continue Alex’s journey?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for picking up The Chain. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Continue Alex’s journey in the twisty, action-packed fourth book of the Spellshadow series: The Keep.
The Keep releases July 21st, 2017.
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I’m incredibly excited to share this book with you!
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 GENDER GAME
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)
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 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
Join Bella’s VIP email list and she’ll personally send you an email reminder as soon as her next book is out. Tap here to sign up: www.morebellaforrest.com
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