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

but I never thought you would end up being such a disappointment. You are every bit your father’s daughter—he was weak, just like you.”

“At every turn, you meet the world with cruelty and violence,” Helena hissed, her voice trembling. “Where you should show compassion, you show disdain. Where you should have taught me empathy, you taught me to manipulate. Perhaps I am more like my father, and I am glad to be so!”

“That is precisely what he would have said!” Alypia snapped. “He made you soft, spoiling you, coddling you. It was hardly a surprise that he got himself killed for his kindness. I made you tough. You think you could stand here now, trying to face off against me, if I had not taught you to be fearless?”

Helena glowered. “You have had nothing to do with making me the woman I am today. Maybe that’s why you hated my father so much—because he loved me and treasured me in a way yours never could! You’re both as heartless as each other.”

Alex watched as angry tears sprang to Helena’s eyes, but it didn’t look like she was backing down anytime soon. Leadership suited her, and had clearly given her a taste for strength. Mother and daughter circled one another, stepping out of the way of the tangled roots that snaked across the floor.

“Give me that orb!” Alypia boomed.

Helena backed away, clutching the ruby queen bee even tighter. “I won’t let you run to him, just to bring destruction down on everything we are trying to build. You have all been on this earth too long, and you have forgotten that it belongs to the young. It isn’t yours anymore—you had your chance, and you all chose to go to war. Now, it’s our turn. Just imagine what might have happened if you’d asked us, if you’d bothered to wonder whether we’d be willing to give up some part of ourselves for the cause of saving everyone. I imagine you’d have been surprised by the response,” she said softly.

Whatever effect Alypia’s magic had had on the students of Stillwater, Alex could see that it was long gone. In its place, stronger, brighter, bolder students had emerged, if Helena was anything to go by.

“I am your mother,” Alypia said, her voice low. “You will hand that over to me, or you will suffer the consequences.”

Helena shook her head. “I will not let you summon him.”

Without warning, Alypia rose to her full height, twisting her hands rapidly in the air. Golden light shot from her palms, surging toward Helena, who ducked out of the way just in time. Scorch marks appeared on the wall behind her, where the explosion impacted. Undeterred, Alypia tried again, feeding swift-moving strands of golden energy toward her daughter. This time, they did not miss their mark—they took hold, binding Helena, squeezing her like a boa constrictor.

No matter how tightly the glittering strands were pulled, Helena would not release her hold on the queen bee. Alex stepped up to try to help defend Helena, while Jari crept around one side, approaching the fight from a different direction. Natalie and Ellabell skirted around the opposite edge of the room, trying to form a circle around mother and daughter.

“Stop!” Helena shouted over her shoulder. “This isn’t your fight!”

The group stepped back, keeping to the walls, though it wasn’t a sight any of them felt comfortable watching. Alypia was, quite literally, squeezing the life out of Helena, her twist of golden magic digging into her daughter’s skin.

A violent explosion rippled through the office, sending Alex and the others flying backwards, as the glass overhead shattered into a million pieces, collapsing like shimmering rainfall onto the floor and the people standing beneath. Ellabell sent up a barrier, covering Natalie, though it didn’t manage to reach Jari, who hadn’t thought fast enough and had to make do with his arms for protection.

Alex staggered to his feet, not quite able to make out what it was that Helena had done to create the blast, but it had served its purpose. Alypia was on the ground, and the golden threads were no longer binding Helena.

Helena jumped back into action, taking Alypia’s brief moment of confusion to strike. Weaving a ball of bristling bronze magic between her hands, she launched a series of missiles at her mother. With each one that hit, Alypia let out a yelp, her hands rising quickly to her face.

Using a gap in Helena’s onslaught, Alypia rolled out of the way, tucking herself behind the big marble desk, which was now covered in glass shards.

It was then that Alex noticed something moving beneath the floor, in a slithering motion that made it almost undetectable. He rushed toward Helena and pushed her out of the way. A monstrous creature, forged from magic, erupted from the ground and snapped its jaws at the empty air. As the creature lunged again, a rumble vibrated through the earth, cracking the floor.

This time, Helena was ready for it. She swiped it away, forcing her own magic into the very innards of the being, until it disintegrated in a glittering mass that blew away on the breeze now rushing in from the broken windows. The queen bee device had fallen from Helena’s hands as she had hit the ground, but Natalie swooped in and scooped it into her palms. Seeing that the orb was in good hands, the others retreated from the central battle, which was gathering heat—Alex didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

It appeared mother and daughter were so deep in their fight with one another that the cause had almost been forgotten. Golden shards of light pierced the air as magical artillery sailed from one side of the room to the other, occasionally hitting home, eliciting a cry of pain from mother or daughter whenever it did. But still they struggled on against each other. The whole room thrummed with the spent energy of the two fierce females, a gauzy mist appearing in the air.

Sweat