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

into the side of the stone wall, a short distance from the initial break in the fortifications, cracking it apart like the shell of an egg. As it came tumbling down, the scared students peeled away from the smaller exit, sprinting through the larger break instead. Seizing the opportunity, Alex hauled the small boy out of the wreckage, quickly checking that he was okay. Remarkably, he was, with just a few scrapes and bruises to show for it. His friends came running up, taking over from Alex, giving him the chance to hop onto Storm’s back and continue their exodus.

“With me!” he called, picking up the pace again. Reaching the top of the hill, a few of the students turned back to the manor to see the first wisps of something silver rising into the air. The ground shook again, more violently this time. One of the manor’s towers fell, hitting the ground with an earth-shattering bang. The students couldn’t tear their eyes away; Spellshadow had been a weird sort of home to them for so long that to be leaving no doubt felt strange. Alex shared the feeling—it wasn’t easy to leave a place of apparent safety, to step into the unknown. However, there was no time to think any farewell thoughts they might have—they could do that later, when they were somewhere safer. Barking at them to move, Alex ushered them down the slope of the hill, coming to a halt as they reached the very edge of the smoking field.

“Wait!” Alex called, knowing this would not be a simple crossing, thanks to the wispy snakes that Virgil had placed beneath the scorched earth. He gestured to Natalie and Jari, and they managed to get Virgil up onto Storm’s back, practically draping the skeletal man around the bird’s neck, so the pair of them would be free to race across the treacherous expanse of barren wasteland. Alex wished he could take them all on Storm, but as it was, there was no more room. Turning, he addressed the group. “We need to run for that tree-line over there, do you understand?” he said, watching the congregation closely for any weak links who might need more help.

The group nodded, more than fifty faces staring at him in abject horror.

“I need you to run as fast as you can, without looking back, okay?” he added.

The group nodded again, more anxiously this time.

“If you fall, get up and keep going. If a friend falls, pick them up and keep going. Do not stop, do not wait, do not pause, do not rest until you have reached the woods on the other side,” he insisted. “Now, GO!”

The students sprinted across the smoking field, some faster than others, but none daring to look back, just as Alex had instructed.

With one eye on the darting students, Alex got onto Storm’s back, pinioning Virgil between himself and Storm’s neck. With the Head securely in place, the Thunderbird stepped back, taking a run up, before rising into the air. Glancing down at the charging army of scared students, he hoped they would all make it across in one piece. For a moment, his gaze was pulled backward toward the manor, where the silver glitter of the mist was rising from the roof like smoke, seeking out souls to feed its insatiable hunger.

Chapter 3

The smoking snakes slithered upward from the cracked, dry earth, sensing the pounding of feet above. Alex saw a few of the students glance at the wispy creatures, their eyes wide in horror, but they did not falter, turning their gaze straight ahead toward the trees, their legs carrying them across the smoking field. Vaporous fangs opened wide, the snakes snapping at the heels of the fleeing students, but none of them managed to make contact. Alex felt a wave of relief when the first of the students disappeared behind the blockade of sickly-looking tree trunks, followed a few moments later by the next few, and the next, until only the stragglers remained.

Billy Foer and Catherine de Marchmont trailed the rest of the runners, two snakes right on their tail, the serpents’ mouths stretching in readiness for the bites they longed to take. The first was just about to close its foggy fangs on the ankle of Billy Foer when Ellabell rushed forward, grabbing the boy by the arms and hauling him into the trees, leaving the serpent to recoil, slithering backward with what Alex could swear was a look of disappointment on its vapory face.

Catherine, however, simply stopped, only a few yards shy of the tree-line. Alex frowned, wondering what she was doing—there was a smoky snake blocking her way, but if she was smart, she could dodge out of its way. But it seemed as if all the fight had left her, body and soul.

“Catherine, run!” Natalie yelled, but Catherine only stared at her blankly. A few students even tried to reach out and grab her, but the snakes blocked their way. Seeing that she had no exit, a sudden light came back to her eyes, but it was too late. The vaporous serpent behind her clamped its jaws around her leg, the other snake joining in, biting down hard on Catherine’s arm. She let out a blood-curdling scream, but there was nothing anyone could do to help her, and though she fought, it was clear there was no escape for her. As a sickening tag-team, the serpents dragged her across the cracked earth, though Alex had no idea where they kept their intense strength, considering their smoky appearance. With a vicious tug, they pulled her into a hole in the ground that was much too small. She screamed all the while, until she suddenly went silent, the echo of her final scream shivering through the air toward the shocked students, the light in her eyes extinguished. Yanking and dragging with appalling vehemence, the serpents continued their foul game, until their prey disappeared beneath the earth.

“Keep… Keep going!” Alex urged,