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

“Where’s everyone else?” Alex asked, causing the silver-haired girl to pause in her task. He had been expecting an army of people, but there were only the two of them.

“Natalie stayed behind with a small group to protect the school should anything happen. It’ll be our only escape route if we can’t take the heat,” Jari cried, doing an army roll toward the window. “Oh, and the others are down there,” he added, gesturing over the sill.

Alex approached the open window, trying to keep his gaze from wandering toward the lake in the distance. It wasn’t a sight he was ever happy to see, but the one waiting below was far more pleasant. Standing on the grass, awaiting instruction, was a small army of at least fifty students. They looked up as Alex poked his head out.

“Is it time?” one called.

Alex shook his head. “Not quite yet—soon!” he shouted back, feeling a tremor of nervous excitement as the words left his lips. It was true. Soon, the message would be sent, and Venus would be coming. Soon, they would be able to perform the counter-spell. Soon, all of this would be over, one way or another.

Turning back to the office, Alex watched as Helena fiddled with the ruby-red apple, weaving her magic into the very core. He couldn’t tell if she knew what she was doing, but the display was convincing enough for him. After a short while, the orb began to glow.

“Message delivered!” Helena said, clearly thrilled.

Just then, the door to the office burst open, and Demeter came hurtling through.

“You have to come! Something is happening!” he shouted, breathless.

Alex looked from the orb to Demeter and back again. There was no way it could be Venus, not yet—surely, there hadn’t been enough time? He remembered the way Julius had arrived after the breaking of the modules, and knew he could be wrong.

“We need to go now!” Demeter insisted, his voice dripping with panic.

As Alex and the others set off after the ex-teacher, Helena darted to the window, calling for the soldiers to start coming through. All Alex could hear as his feet pounded against the flagstones was the rush of his own blood in his ears, and the thunder of his heartbeat.

Chapter 32

They sprinted through the halls at breakneck speed, jumping over the sleeping forms of the hypnotized students as if it were a steeplechase. Demeter was way ahead, but he skidded to a sudden halt as he reached the foyer. Alex and the others stopped as the auburn-haired man raised his hand and lifted a finger to his lips, demanding silence.

Alex crept forward, wanting to see what it was that had Demeter so spooked. Peering out at the front lawn, it became horrifyingly apparent what the problem was. Virgil was standing on the grass, his hood raised to block the sunlight from his face. How he had gotten there without anyone seeing, Alex didn’t know, but there was no mistaking the skeletal man with his pale features and bony fingers.

Following the Head’s line of sight, Alex noticed that a peculiar electrical storm was brewing in the sky above, turning it a dark, bruised gray where moments before it had been a tranquil azure. It wasn’t a natural occurrence; that much was clear. Bolts of lightning flew across the swollen clouds, but there was no trace of thunder or rain.

Looking closer, he saw that a figure was emerging from the center of the strange tempest, the clouds parting to make way for her. Virgil, waiting on the lawn, stretched his arms out wide toward the appearing figure. With a horrible jolt of realization, Alex understood that the Head was welcoming his mother, though not because of anything Helena had done. Virgil must have already sent word to Venus, and here she was, responding to the call. Why he had called her down remained a mystery, though Alex was pretty certain it had something to do with him and his friends. He didn’t appreciate the irony.

Venus was just as beautiful as Alex remembered, now dressed in a bronze gown that flowed around her like liquid, and watching her float downward from the heavens made her all the more angelic. Shaking off his mesmerized state, he saw the opportunity that lay directly before him. There would never be another like it.

“Why have you called me?” Venus’s silky voice rippled through the air, though she was still a fair way off.

“Mother!” called Virgil. “I am so glad to see you! I know it’s a hindrance, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with my sister, and I thought you could help!”

Alex didn’t wait around to hear the rest. He grasped Demeter sharply by the arm. “Follow my lead!” he instructed, bounding across the threshold of the manor’s entrance. “Storm!” he yelled.

For a brief second, everything seemed to freeze. Venus maintained the speed of her descent, evidently oblivious of the danger she was in. To her, Alex knew they must just look like any other students. She was too far away to see that they were people she had already met, at Falleaf. Virgil turned around in slow motion, but he was too late.

Overhead, the heavy beat of wings vibrated. Storm had answered the call. The magnificent Thunderbird swooped low, Alex grasping the handles on her shoulders as he swung up onto her back. Demeter followed suit.

As they soared into the air, Alex looked back to see that the others were rushing out into the open space of the front lawn to take on Virgil, who was clearly still trying to process what was happening. Aamir tore the sack full of essence from his back and started throwing bottles to the others, who caught them deftly and ripped the stoppers from the vials. Weaving in and out of the fighters, Alex spied the shadowy figure of Elias joining the fray. With the shadow-man on their side, and the essence at