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

his devious trick by the portal, and though I’m not happy about it, I can see your intentions are good. Maybe one day you will grant us the freedom we’ve been searching for.”

“Where is Demeter, anyway?” Natalie asked, wincing as she tried to stretch out her leg.

“I asked him not to be here. I don’t want him clouding my mind,” Ceres explained, her tone growing harsher by the second. “You have, once again, brought Julius another step closer to us. You’ve put us all in very real jeopardy, for the sake of a deal that went awry. You have come back with nothing, but we stand to lose everything,” she snarled.

Aamir smiled. “Actually, we have come back with something.”

“What?” Ceres snapped.

“Alex managed to retrieve the blood he needs to perform the second spell attempt,” Helena added, before Alex could speak for himself.

A curious expression fell over Ceres’s face. “Well then, I suppose all is not lost,” she muttered. “Don’t mistake my words for forgiveness, though. Until that spell is done and the Great Evil is gone, you will not have my blessing. You have caused us enough trouble. It better be worth it.” She glowered at them all, her gaze settling on Alex. “I guess this means you and I have a visit to make?”

Alex nodded. “If you’re happy for us to go ahead, then we should try to be as quick as possible.”

“I am not happy about any of this, Alex,” Ceres reiterated sharply. “But Demeter has made me see that I may as well let you try, especially now you have what you need. I’d say the sooner the better, if Julius is intent on finding you and punishing you, which he doubtless will be.” With that, she got up, brushing imaginary dust from the legs of her leather trousers before striding off toward the windmill.

Alex gave his friends a look of nervous optimism, then hurried after her. The one-eyed royal walked quickly, forcing Alex to jog if he wanted to keep up, and they soon reached the entrance to the windmill. The guards stepped aside to let them in.

Inside, both Venus and Virgil were awake, sitting close to the edges of their cells, apparently in the midst of an intense discussion. What looked like tears were glistening in Virgil’s eyes, but he looked away rapidly when Alex and Ceres entered, rubbing away whatever sorrowful evidence had been there. Alex frowned, wondering what Venus could possibly have said to him that had such a powerful effect. Whatever it was, it was clear neither of them was going to give up the secret, both of them moving over to their cell chairs.

“The wanderer returns,” joked Virgil, though his voice was still thick with traces of emotion. The sound of his choked tears made Alex feel uncomfortable, as if he’d intruded on a very personal moment.

“You’ll be pleased to know I come bearing a gift,” Alex replied.

Virgil’s face fell slightly. “The blood?” he asked softly.

Alex nodded. “The blood.”

“Seems presumptuous, seeing as I haven’t yet given you my answer,” Virgil remarked, but one glance toward his mother made his whole manner change. “Though, with time to ponder it some more, I have decided that I will go ahead with the spell.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he stayed silent, in hopes that Virgil would continue unprompted. He did.

“I feel it is time I sought redemption for the terrible things I have done,” the Head said solemnly, the words spoken in a voice barely above a whisper. “I was made to believe I was doing things for the greater good. I was made to feel it was my fault, and extracting essence was the only option that could prevent the deaths of even more people… I was lied to, but I am ready to atone, to fix what has been broken.”

Relief flowed through Alex at those words. If, after all he had endured with Julius, he had returned to the cells to find an unwilling Virgil, he wasn’t sure what he’d have done. Perhaps he would’ve forced him again, but then, wouldn’t that make him just as evil as the king?

“You’re really going to do it?” Ceres asked, incredulous.

Virgil nodded, flashing an apologetic look at his mother. “It is the least I can do… for the suffering I have caused.” It seemed the skeletal man was struggling to suppress his feelings, his breathing sharp and quick. He wiped his eyes hurriedly, but Alex had already seen his tears.

After a moment of awkward silence, Alex said, “So, we have the blood. We have the book.” He patted the satchel he still wore. “And we have the spellcaster. Now all we need is a place to actually do the spell.” A puzzled look fell across his face; it had previously been one of the easier parts of the spell, finding a suitable pit in which to perform it, but things had become a little more complicated. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Julius would be watching the other havens like a hawk, waiting for just such an opportunity to strike, meaning those pits were likely going to be risky options.

There was, however, one alternative.

“What are you thinking, Alex Webber?” said Ceres, suspiciously.

“There was a castle here once, wasn’t there? Starcross Castle?” he asked, trying not to get too excited about the idea brewing in his mind.

Ceres nodded slowly. “There was… Why do you ask?”

“Well, if that castle was once the central building of this haven, it means there might just be a pit beneath it that we can use for the spell,” he explained. “The other havens will be riddled with Julius’s spies, but here, we can do it and he won’t be any the wiser. He doesn’t even know this place still exists.”

Ceres eyed Alex closely, a myriad of emotions flickering in her one good eye. “I definitely like the idea of doing it somewhere away from Julius’s prying eyes,” she began, filling Alex with hope. “But what if