The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 3 by Bella Forrest (i can read book club txt) 📕

For a moment, a strange sense of hope gripped Alex’s heart.

“Elias?” he whispered. Though a minute or two passed, Elias did not appear. “Elias, is that you?” he tried again. Still, Elias did not show.

Alex frowned as the peculiar, smoke-like mist coiled and curled, flitting to and from the window and the staircase in a repetitive pattern. It paused longer on the top of the stairs, unfurling the edges of its inky mist toward the steps themselves, as if beckoning for Alex to follow.

“Elias?”

If it was the shadow-man, he was being particularly elusive in his game-playing. After coming through the portal, Alex wasn’t even sure it could be Elias—could shadow-people move between portals like mortal beings? Remembering the dull red glow within the bottle the Head had held captive from Elias, Alex wondered if that might have given his shadow-guide freer rein of movement. With it no longer in the Head’s possession, perhaps Elias could move away from the confines of Spellshadow Manor, if that had been what held him to the grounds. Or maybe that was the strange creature’s fate, to live out his bizarre half-life in the shadows of that place. Alex wasn’t sure, but this misty being definitely didn’t look like Elias.

The flowing, dark gray vapor seemed more insistent, moving more quickly between the window and the staircase.

Brimming with curiosity, Alex got to his feet, wondering wryly if he would ever get a good night’s sleep in this magical place. The twisting ball of energy seemed to perk up at Alex’s sudden movement, and it shifted a short way down the stairs. Alex followed, keeping up with it as it swooped and swayed all the way down to the ground floor, past his sleeping friends, and out into the courtyard. He glanced at Ellabell as he passed her, hoping she wouldn’t wake again and reprimand his recklessness. This one would be harder to explain than his excursion in pursuit of the Head and Headmistress.

Following the vapor across the courtyard and up into the school, Alex was forced to break into a tiptoed run as it darted with ease through the hallways and corridors, zipping this way and that, apparently knowing exactly where it wanted to go.

Although he was fearful of being caught, it was nice to be able to explore the school during the quietude of the night, when there was hardly anybody about. He was getting to see parts of the villa he had not yet encountered, though he quickly learned there were corridors upon corridors running beneath the beautiful veneer of the school—almost too many to put to memory. At night, though most of the hallways were deserted, some were patrolled by the odd guard, doing the rounds of their section of the school.

As he was about to move around the corner of one hallway, the dark, twisting mist of shadow flew at his face, pressing him back against the wall with icy tendrils that stole his breath away. It kept him pressed there, shrouded in shadow, until a beautiful guard with long auburn hair and bright green eyes passed by, oblivious to his presence in the corridor. It was a strange sort of magic—the kind within the wispy coils of the shadowy mist—making him feel cold and warm all at once, like being out in the snow too long. Each time it flung him against a wall, the bitter fronds took away his breath, winding him. It took some getting used to, but it kept him safe within the walls of the villa; not a soul saw him from within the camouflaged vapors of the shadow being.

Finally, after a seemingly endless array of hallways, it led him toward a large set of imposing, white double doors before disappearing behind them. It took some strength to push the doors open wide enough to get his body through, but eventually Alex stumbled in after the hazy entity.

He gaped when he saw the room beyond, though ‘room’ was something of an understatement. It was a library, far larger and far grander than any he had ever seen before, including the one at Spellshadow with its lofty towers. It was more beautiful, too, than a library had any right to be. The ceiling was painted in the most astonishing fresco, with billowing clouds and angelic cherubs flying on tiny wings, between the coiled, scaled bodies of dragons and the vibrant, exotic plumage of Thunderbirds. There were tasteful nudes, dancing in a circle, as golden magic spiraled upward from the center of their linked hands, and casually reclined figures watched from shimmering pools and flower-woven swings. Everything seemed peaceful and beautiful, and Alex couldn’t take his eyes off it. There was something surprising in every corner, and that was only the roof of the library.

The rest was just as exquisite, with carved statues of ancient gods and goddesses, elegantly shaped, placed among the luxurious seating and in the stacks themselves, protecting the front rows with their sculpted arms extended. The floor was white marble, flecked with gold. The walls were hung with fine masterpieces in vast golden picture frames almost as intricately carved as the statues.

Glancing around, Alex was certain he could hear the sound of running water, and sure enough, there were four water features—one in the center of each wall. Crystal liquid flowed from the screaming mouths of sculpted marble birds, down to a foundation of rocks, where it trickled over the jagged edges and surged toward the center of the room, then connected with the other canals before disappearing into the floor to start the whole process again.

As jaw-dropping as the library was, it was the books that drew Alex’s eye most keenly. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw the endless stacks, filled with row upon row of tomes. The stacks rose up in broad towers on every wall, with smaller bookshelves scattered throughout the grand hall, and he could already tell there were more books here