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

troops through to Kingstone, to help clear it?” Helena asked, a look of determination appearing on her face.

Alex shook his head. “I think we should scope out the state of it first. If it’s a lost cause, I’ll remove the portal between it and here, and leave it to destroy itself. There are too many strong mages running free in there; I wouldn’t want to waste our resources on a fight we can’t win.”

“But what if someone gets word to Julius?” Ellabell said, her voice worried.

“If I know anything about Caius, he will have kept his messenger device in the gatehouse, way beyond the walls of the keep,” Alex replied. “The only way they will be able to call Julius is by triggering the barrier, the way we did, which may not be a bad thing. If we can distract the king, we might be able to buy ourselves more time.”

It was an idea he had been toying with. If they couldn’t fight the newly escaped criminals and restore order to Kingstone Keep themselves, perhaps a visit from the king would be just what the doctor ordered. As crazed as many of them were, nobody dared defy the strength of Julius. He would have everyone back in their cells and toeing the line far quicker than Alex and his friends could, and, as long as he didn’t suspect anything unusual in the other havens, Alex had a feeling they might just get away with it.

“How will we know when to meet, if the portal gets closed?” Helena asked, glancing down at the vacant face of her mother.

“Let’s say we meet at Spellshadow in two days’ time, in the walled gardens at the back of the manor. Natalie and Jari know where it is,” Alex suggested. “In two days, we can rally more troops, if possible, giving us a bigger force to take the two royals down.”

“And if you can’t, we’ll have to be enough!” Jari grinned.

Alex had missed the effervescent nature of his friend, and realized they had barely even said hello to one another. In the fracas of Alypia’s stealthy escape, their reunion had been forgotten. Even now, it didn’t seem as if there would be time to properly catch up with one another.

“We can take them on, right?” Natalie smiled.

Alex nodded. “If anyone can, it’s us.”

“We should get my mother into one of the cells. Hopefully, Aamir will have opened the portal from Kingstone by the time we are done,” Helena said, breaking the moment of levity as she cradled her mother to her.

“Of course,” promised Alex. He bent to help the girl lift Alypia up. It was strange to see the formerly powerful Headmistress dangling limply, no sign of consciousness visible in her eyes. As much as Alex was glad of it, knowing they could stop worrying about Alypia hounding them in their future tasks, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for Helena, who was clearly struggling.

Silent tears trickled down Helena’s face as she forged a cushion of golden light beneath her mother, taking the strain away from Alex’s shoulders as the woman’s body lifted up horizontally, the way she had done with Aamir upon their first meeting. Alex let go. The strength of the magic carried Alypia with ease, and Helena floated her toward the double doors of the shattered office. Barely a shard of glass remained in the roof, the raw breeze rushing in, shaking the leaves of the overgrown plants and trees. Alex cast a glance back at the scene as they departed. For some reason, he had a feeling he would never return to this place, one way or another.

Turning his back on the vision of the lake, the glittering graveyard that held his ancestors beneath the surface, Alex followed Helena, the others falling into line with the solemnity of a funeral procession.

They remained that way, following the royal princess down into the belly of Stillwater House, to the underground cells where they had themselves been kept, what seemed like forever ago. Young, pale faces appeared at the grates in the doors, quiet voices pleading to be set free. It was unsettling, but Alex understood why Helena had placed them in here.

“Helena, I take it all back. I’ll follow your lead! I’ll fight the system. Just let me out!” a girl with raven hair begged, but there was little sincerity in her expression.

“Me too! I was an idiot. I should have listened—of course we are being oppressed. I will fight. I’m ready to fight!” a young man with a strong jaw added, pushing his face between the bars. There was a wildness to him that Alex didn’t trust one bit.

No matter what they said, or how they pleaded, Helena ignored them all. Her mind was elsewhere. It was evident in the palpable reluctance in her movements as she opened one of the cells at the far end of the dimly lit corridor and ushered the floating figure of Alypia inside.

With great care, she set her mother down on the floor and removed the cushion of light from beneath her, snapping it back into her palms. Tenderly, she picked up a moth-eaten blanket and wrapped it around Alypia’s floppy form, tucking it around her motionless chin. Alex watched, feeling strange about sharing such an intimate moment, as Helena leaned in to kiss her mother gently on the forehead. A moment later, he saw her mouth move as she whispered something nobody else was meant to hear.

With that, she stood, brushing the dust from her legs.

“We should go. We can’t waste any more time on sentiment—there will be a moment for that when we have freed everyone from the clutches of the Great Evil,” Helena said boldly, keeping the tremor from her voice.

Alex nodded. “Ellabell and I will set off for Kingstone. Let’s just hope we can stop Aamir before he opens the portal. For once, we have to hope he’s not as efficient as usual.”

With that, they set off toward the abandoned quarter of the