The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 5 by Bella Forrest (book series for 10 year olds .TXT) 📕

Chapter 22

“Helena might be able to help us,” said Alex, not knowing why he hadn’t thought of it before. She was, after all, part of the royal circle herself, so if there was anyone who could get in touch with the other royals, the ones Alex needed, it was her.

“Alypia’s daughter?” asked Hadrian dubiously.

Alex nodded. “She has been helpful to us so far. I imagine she’d be one of the only people who could pull it off, if we were to persuade her to go and get some right from the horse’s mouth, as it were.”

“You’ve m-met her?” Hadrian frowned.

“We befriended her at Stillwater House. Without her, we would not be here,” Aamir explained. “She is very much for our cause, rather than that of her mother,” he added with a wry smile.

Hadrian made a strange sound. “Well, I never. You lot are full of s-surprises.” He chuckled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Alex couldn’t blame him; they had been through a lot today.

Without Julius’s presence to worry about, Alex’s mind turned back to the events that had occurred just before he’d returned to Falleaf. Ellabell was still at Kingstone Keep, hopefully safe, though he was beginning to have serious doubts where that was concerned. Each time he pictured Vincent’s anxious face, his own anxiety increased. There had been something terribly amiss back there, and he was eager to return as soon as possible, to figure out what it was.

“I need to go back to Kingstone anyway to get Ellabell, so we might as well go and see Helena at the same time, kill two birds with one stone,” Alex suggested.

“I was wondering where she had gone,” Hadrian remarked, his stutter easing.

“She’s still there, keeping an eye on things. There was something a little strange going on, so she stayed behind to scope it out,” Alex said, trying to push the fear out of his voice.

Aamir frowned. “What kind of strange?”

“Hard to explain, just Vincent acting cagey and not very Vincent-like,” Alex replied, knowing it sounded like he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Still, his gut was insistent that something was up.

“Would you mind if I tagged along this time?” Aamir asked.

Alex smiled. “I thought you’d never ask,” he joked.

“Do you require my assistance as well?” Hadrian asked.

“No, thank you. I imagine you have bigger things to attend to here,” Alex replied. In all honesty, he would have loved to have Hadrian there, but he wasn’t yet sure how many people Storm could carry on her back, and he didn’t fancy overloading the Thunderbird in case she balked.

Hadrian nodded solemnly. “I should say you’re right.”

With that, they parted ways, Alex picking up one of the two unused bags of essence still at their disposal, and strapping it across his shoulders like a backpack, as Aamir ran more magic through the beacons and handed one to Hadrian, in case of emergency. The royal seemed thrilled by the tiny clockwork creation, marveling at the craftsmanship. It made Alex think sadly of Lintz, the loss still raw. They left the second bag of essence with Hadrian too, promising to return for it when the time came for the link from Falleaf to Spellshadow to be restored.

Trying not to let the sadness overwhelm him, he and Aamir made their way out of the pagoda, still dressed in their scarlet uniforms. They passed a long exodus of weary-looking staff on the stairs, making their way out of the building and back to the classrooms and dormitories of the school within the forest, but Alex didn’t see the bespectacled boy again, the one who had thrown the uniform at him. There were other students, but they didn’t pay Alex and Aamir much mind as the two boys darted past in their hurry to return to Kingstone. It didn’t even seem to occur to them that Alex and Aamir didn’t belong to the student body from which they had been dragged.

You’ll be free soon enough, Alex promised them as he and Aamir hurried down the hallway, past the kitchens, down the stone steps to the unused cellar, and out into the crisp forest air.

They darted through the trees, old hands at figuring out traps and barriers now, with Alex taking the lead as they ran toward the spot where he had left Storm. As they neared, Alex had an inexplicable sinking feeling that the bird had been taken. She didn’t come out, as she had done before, and Alex couldn’t see her anywhere about.

“Storm!” he called.

“Who’s Storm?” Aamir whispered.

“You’ll see… hopefully,” Alex replied, frowning.

A chirp erupted close by Alex’s ear, startling him, and the Thunderbird burst upward from an enormous pile of twigs and mown grass. She had camouflaged herself beneath it, smothering her highly suspect shape with whatever was handy. Aamir staggered backwards, away from her, a terrified expression on his face. She ran after him, tapping at his shoulder with her beak.

Alex chuckled. “Stay still, she’s friendly!”

“She doesn’t seem very friendly!” Aamir remarked, trying to shield his face with his hands.

“She’s our mode of transport. This is the Thunderbird I was telling you about.”

Aamir looked at Alex in disbelief. “You can ride this thing?”

Storm chirped loudly, the tone showing how affronted she was.

“She’s not a thing, Aamir, she’s a Thunderbird,” Alex said. “And she understands more than you’d think, so you’d best be polite.”

Aamir turned toward Storm. “There, there, good bird.”

“Hold your palm out flat,” Alex suggested.

Aamir did so, and Storm placed her beak gently into the center.

“What does that mean?”

Alex grinned. “That means we’re good to go—she’s given her permission,” he said, performing the same gesture. With a ruffle of feathers, Storm rested on her haunches, making it easier for the two boys to climb aboard.

Aamir went first, under the supervision of Alex, who hopped on after. Once they were safely on board, with the essence stowed away securely, they set off. Knowing what it would feel like this time, rising up from a