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

Virgil nodded and began to forge a barrier around the king and his guards, who had taken up position behind their royal leader. It swelled out across the small group, forming an almost liquid sheen between them and what lay below the earth, distorting their faces until it was like seeing someone through the thin film of a bubble.

“It is complete, Your Royal Highness,” said Virgil. “The barrier will hold back any mist that might come, giving you the chance to escape, should you need to.”

From the uncertain expression on his face, it was clear the king was having second thoughts. “Actually, perhaps I would be best outside the pit room? Yes… I think I will leave you to it, and wait for you on the other side. There’s no real need for me to be here, is there?” he asked, his stern voice overcompensating for the fear he evidently felt. Alex smiled—the pit tended to have that effect on people, and it was nice to see that even the king wasn’t immune.

Virgil spread his hands. “But, Your Royal Highness, pardon my boldness, somebody will need to write a book about the undoing of the Great Evil, and what happened here today. If things go well, surely you will want to be the one to see it—to witness it, firsthand, and write the tome decreeing its destruction? I imagine it will truly be a moment that will live long in the memories of the people of our world,” he encouraged. “Who better to write a firsthand account than our great king? It will be your triumph, after all, should it succeed.”

Julius eyed Virgil thoughtfully, and Alex frowned as he watched the scene play out. Whatever Virgil was up to, his powers of persuasion were proving just as impressive as his mother’s. Alex also noted the small team of soldiers behind Julius—if the king were to bow out now, they would see his weakness. Perhaps, if Julius waasn’t careful, news of his cowardice would spread.

“I can see you are trying to regain my favor with blatant flattery,” Julius replied at last. “However, you are correct that I am the best person to record such an heroic tale. It must be well documented. It is a story that begs to be told.” He nodded to himself, as if it had been his idea all along. “How does that sit with you, Alex Webber? You may die today, but you will be immortalized in my book,” he chuckled, grinning in amusement.

“I guess that is all any of us can ask for, Your Royal Highness,” Alex replied, though he was distracted by Virgil’s behavior. It wasn’t like the Head to be so insistent where his stepfather was concerned, yet here he was, daring to suggest something that scared the king. More than that, Julius appeared to have taken the bait.

“Ha! Quite right, Alex Webber, quite right,” Julius mused. “With this book, I too shall be immortalized.”

Alex held his tongue, wanting desperately to say that the king already was immortalized in the annals of history, playing the villain of the piece—the murderer of an entire race. With Alex’s death, the circle would close; there would be no true Spellbreakers left in the world. Julius’s initial vision of a cleansed magical world would come to fruition, at long last, and the thought made Alex sick.

“Are you staying, then, Your Royal Highness?” Virgil asked. “If so, I shall make some final adjustments to the barrier, and then we can begin.”

Julius nodded. “Yes, I shall stay, along with my guards,” he said, gesturing to the small squadron behind him. They exchanged nervous glances, evidently not sure what they’d signed up for. Alex felt sorry for them, dragged into something they had no say in. He wanted to hate them for assisting the king, but knew they were as helpless as he was. To fight back meant certain death.

“Excellent! Then I shall continue my shield, Your Royal Highness, to ensure your safety,” Virgil replied, weaving more hybrid magic into his hands and layering it into the barrier he’d already built.

As Virgil worked, Julius remained oddly quiet, his eyes simply staring toward the great, gaping mouth of the pit, and the slow-flapping bird above. It had him transfixed, his fear almost palpable. Even the guards looked down at him with curiosity, having never seen this strange, silent side of him before. Virgil was unusually silent too, his hands twisting and turning as he layered more and more energy into the barrier, reinforcing it. Alex watched him, wanting to know what was going on, but unable to ask. He knew there was something the Head wasn’t telling him, something to do with the third person in the vision Elias had shown him. Was the third person Julius? If so, why was Virgil bothering to protect him with a barrier? The mist would never be able to penetrate such a shield, forged by half-Spellbreaker hands, so having Julius present was pointless. Unless, Alex thought, it just had to be witnessed by the king? Was that the missing link in the spell? Recalling the words of the line he had pored over, it began to make sense. Two sides of a coin—Alex was one side, Julius was the other. Both of them had to be there in order for the Great Evil to be destroyed.

That was it. Julius had to be present. He had been the missing piece all this time.

Before he could give it any more thought, however, Julius’s voice bellowed across the cavern, echoing from every wall.

“Are you going to get on with it anytime soon?” he asked.

“I am putting the final layer of anti-magic into the shield, and then we will be secure enough to proceed, Your Royal Highness,” Virgil said nervously, doing just that.

“And you’re certain it’ll hold back any mist?” Julius demanded.

Virgil nodded. “That amount of anti-magic should hold back any force of magic, Your Royal Highness,” he confirmed, before stepping away, moving toward Alex. “Do you have