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

more and more impatient, every look and sigh showing his annoyance at the length of time it was taking. Alex and Virgil had been at it for a long while, trying to iron out any kinks, though Virgil still refused to spill the beans on what he had planned. It irritated Alex deeply, but he knew he wasn’t going to get the skeletal man to break.

The slam of a vial on the table interrupted their work, making them both jump. Through the glass, Alex could see blood sloshing around, ready to be utilized.

“Hurry up!” Julius demanded. “Why is this taking so long?”

Virgil spoke up. “We want to ensure we have everything right, Your Royal Highness. As you said, we don’t want any slip-ups this time.”

“Well, do it quicker,” Julius barked, returning to his book.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” said Virgil, turning to Alex with an apologetic expression upon his sunken face. It was clear they couldn’t stall anymore—the moment was upon them. “In fact, I believe we are ready to go,” he added. The king looked up in surprise.

“Oh, you are? Excellent.” He pocketed his book. “Then gather your things and follow me,” he said, jumping up excitedly.

Alex put the Book of Jupiter back in his satchel, while Virgil took up the fresh vial of blood. With that, they nodded for Julius to lead the way. Like the Pied Piper, the king practically danced down the hallways, knowing he was about to get the very thing he wanted the most—glory, at no cost to himself. Up and up he led them, until they reached a fairly innocuous-looking door. Pushing through it, he gestured for Alex and Virgil to step inside.

It opened onto a small room with a bronze dome, speckled with glinting diamonds made to look like stars, bending above. There was a design etched into a gold plinth in the center, showing a ring with four dots, a gemstone marking each one, encircled by a larger ring containing five dots, though these no longer bore gemstones.

All around the room stood portals, though most were blocked off. Crouched down beneath three of the still-working ones were two men, their magic flowing through the gateways, clearly trying to shut them down. The two that remained untouched, however, seemed to open out onto wide expanses of sky. No buildings or trees or ground, even, could be seen through them. Alex realized this was likely how Julius did his heavens-opening arrivals, but the thought of having to plummet through the air wasn’t exactly comforting. Besides, he didn’t have the same floating abilities that mages had. If he jumped through that portal, he knew he’d end up falling to his death.

“Do you want us to go through these, Your Royal Highness?” Alex asked.

“Why else would I have brought you here?” Julius sneered.

Alex glanced at Virgil. “We’re going to have to do our whooshing travel thing,” he said, to which Virgil nodded.

Julius grinned. “I don’t think so.” He chuckled coldly as two guards stepped up.

Grabbing Alex roughly by the arm, one of the guards led him up to the lip of the chosen portal, gripping him hard as he stepped through. Alex was pulled along by the momentum. For a moment, the air rushed up to meet them, and Alex thought he was going to end up a squashed mess on the ground. But then things slowed, the guard holding Alex as he used his magical abilities to float down. A flurry of snowflakes fell from Alex’s arm where the guard was clutching him, but aside from that, they managed to soar downward and land with little difficulty.

Brushing off the remaining flakes of snow, Alex looked around. He had seen where they were headed from the sky, and realized it was the only place that made sense. Falleaf remained the sole haven without any mist rising from it… for now, anyway.

Virgil landed beside him, followed swiftly by Julius and a handful of extra guards. Once everyone had regrouped, they set off toward the pagoda, where Hadrian was standing at the main entrance, awaiting their arrival.

The nervous royal gave Alex the subtlest of nods before turning to Julius.

“Your Royal Highness, and guests, I welcome you to Falleaf House,” he said, the muscle in his cheek twitching with the effort it was taking him not to stammer. “Please, f-follow me.”

With that, Hadrian led them up to the third floor, ushering them through into a wide gallery that reminded Alex of the one a few floors above, the tapestries shimmering with movement as the group walked past. At the end of the room, hidden away in a recess in the wall, stood a silver statue of an owl. Hadrian twisted its head, and a door slid back to reveal a staircase, the steps going all the way down beneath the earth. It was similar to one Alex had walked down before, in this very building, only this went even deeper. A door opened out onto a rough-hewn rock hallway, gut-wrenchingly familiar, with a set of looming gates ahead.

The pit lay beyond, and with it, Alex’s fate.

Chapter 27

They entered the pit room, Virgil leading the way. Hadrian had remained above, standing beside the silver statue, promising to keep guard over the staircase. It all looked the same, the gold bird flapping slowly above the gaping mouth of the cavern.

Julius entered last, stepping in with surprising tentativeness. An expression of uncertainty passed across the king’s face upon seeing the crevasse.

“Where would you like to stand, Your Royal Highness?” Virgil asked, gesturing toward the solid boundary that surrounded the pit mouth.

“I think over here, perhaps,” said Julius, moving toward the widest stretch of ground. Virgil followed him, opening out his hands as if to begin weaving a spell. The bristle of silver and gold, the Head’s particular brand of energy, rippled out over his skeletal hands, forming a swirling orb. However, the king paused beside the wall of the cave. “Yes… here, I think,” he said after a moment of