The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 6 by Bella Forrest (books for men to read .TXT) 📕

riding horses—but these horses were no ordinary steeds. They were gigantic, muscle-bound beasts, built like draft horses, but taller and broader than any Alex had ever seen, with manes that streamed with feathers and beads. The entirety of their eyes were colored an alarming shade of white, though the centers seemed to glow with a pearlescent light that made Alex feel suddenly cold.

“What are they?” Jari gasped, voicing Alex’s own question.

“Kelpies,” whispered Helena. “I didn’t think there were any left in the wild. I have only seen them in the royal stables,” she added, looking just as awestruck as Jari.

So, Alex thought, these are the creatures Julius threatened to have his wife ripped apart by. Seeing them in the flesh made the idea of such a torture all the more horrifying; they looked like they could tear a bear apart in five seconds flat, so he could only imagine the mess they’d make of a weaker human.

Something in the back of his mind made him remember stories of these creatures, told by his grandmother when he’d asked for a particularly spooky tale. They were found in Celtic folklore and were said to be terrible water spirits who rose from lakes, rivers, and streams to entice local children to jump onto their backs. Once on, the children would always find they were stuck and could not get down again, no matter how they struggled. With the trap securely snapped shut, the Kelpies would walk back into the water, drowning their quarry and savoring the souls of the departed. Though, it was said, if a person could get hold of a Kelpie’s bridle, that Kelpie would do the bidding of whoever controlled it.

Alex wondered how much truth there was in that tale, because these thundering beasts seemed to be very much under the control of their riders, of which there seemed to be about twenty.

Ceres was one such rider, her Kelpie speeding along the fastest, leading the cavalry charge. It pulled up short with a ferocious snort, just before it would have trampled Alex and his friends. He peered into the squad that had arrived, hoping to see the friendly face of Demeter, but the redhaired teacher wasn’t with them.

“Alex?” Ceres snapped, a look of displeasure on her face. “What are you doing here? And who are all these people?” she asked, glancing across the large group. Behind her, the rest of the Kelpies pulled up, their riders giving firm tugs on the reins. In their hair, they all wore beads and feathers that corresponded to those on the manes of their mounts, and none of them looked pleased—neither animal nor human.

“I’ll tell you everything, but first, we need help,” Alex replied calmly. “Hadrian let us through. He knew you wouldn’t let us suffer any more than we already have. These are evacuees from Spellshadow Manor and Stillwater House, and I am begging you to offer them your protection.”

Ceres glowered at Alex with her one good eye. “You didn’t think to ask first?”

“There wasn’t time, Ceres,” Helena cut in, her voice piercing through the pounding of settling hooves.

Ceres scrutinized the silver-haired young woman. “Helena, is it? I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl,” she mused. “I hope you aren’t as similar to your mother as you look.”

Helena flinched at the mention of her mother, who was still stuck in the cells at Stillwater. Alex glanced at her, wondering whether to step in or not. It wasn’t something they’d had a chance to talk about yet, but surely she was worried about Alypia, given that Julius had descended upon the place.

“I am nothing like my mother,” Helena hissed.

“Then we might get along,” said Ceres, with a wry half smile upon her face. “What happened? If you can’t give me the long version, give me the short one,” she demanded, turning back toward Alex.

“There was a battle at Spellshadow. We managed to overcome Virgil, as you can see,” Alex began, gesturing toward the still-unconscious Head. “But something went wrong with the spell, and the mist escaped. We had to evacuate. Helena wanted to return to Stillwater, but Julius was already there. This is the only place that’s truly safe for us now. If we stay at any of the other havens, Julius will inevitably find us.” He let the last part go unspoken: and kill us all.

Ceres’s gaze settled on the frightened faces before her. Alex could read the thoughts in her eyes. They had done nothing wrong, nor had they done anything to deserve the position they were in. They were sheep left for the slaughter.

“You shouldn’t have brought them here. My brother should never have allowed it,” Ceres murmured after a drawn-out silence, shaking her head. Alex had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that she was about to turn them away. “But, since you are all already here, I suppose I wouldn’t be a particularly good Samaritan if I made you go back. Follow me,” she said, with a heavy sigh.

“Thank you, Ceres,” said Alex.

Ceres glared at him. “You and I will speak more later. I am only doing this because I could never live with myself if I didn’t, but make no mistake—I am not pleased,” she growled, turning her vast steed around and steering it the direction they had come.

The Starcross cavalry trotted at a slow pace, allowing the evacuees to keep up, but every so often the blank face of a Kelpie would turn, and Alex would feel a tremor of fear run through him as its white eyes stared him down, nostrils flaring, with hot jets of steam ushering forth from them. These were not domestic, friendly creatures, and it left Alex in awe of how Ceres and her squad of mounted riders had managed to control them.

After a long walk, longer than Alex had imagined it would be, they arrived at the edge of the encampment he had visited before. The tents billowed in the breeze, and the makeshift shanty