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

roars and screams of the fighters echoed in Alex’s ears as Storm swooped low over the chaos.

He saw that his friends were holding their own, sending wave after wave of rippling magic through the air, toward their aggressors, but Alex knew it was a fragile balance. At this point, there was no telling who would emerge triumphant. There would be many injured, or worse, by the time this was done.

Grabbing the sack of essence from his back, Alex rested it on the neck of the Thunderbird, hooking the drawstring ends around the bony protrusions of Storm’s shoulders. With it securely in place, he grasped for the closest bottles. Circling the scene below, he felt a wave of panic as he saw the cloaked figure of Jun Asano approaching with lightning speed, moving so fast he wasn’t even sure Natalie saw him coming. Jun’s hands were raised to strike, a glint of sinister magic, tinged slightly crimson, surging from his palms, clearly intended to inflict real harm upon Natalie, if not something worse. The new professor’s eyes were wild, and Alex could see the influence of the Head, twisting Jun’s mind into darkness.

Glancing at the closing gap between Natalie and Jun, Alex knew he had to step in—the new professor was barely more than a blur, gaining fast, his crimson-tinged magic building before his palms. Alex gulped. There was nothing else he could do but yank out the stoppers, feeding the pulsing light onto his hands. Focusing on the energy, he sent streams of his own into the glow. They morphed into the same golden creatures who were striding below. His golden beasts plummeted to the ground, landing directly on top of the unsuspecting enemy.

One bore a wolf’s shape, and it lunged for the throat of Jun Asano, tearing at it with gnashing jaws. Light glowed from within the former student as the essence-forged beast clawed the very life force from the young man. Alex wished he could un-see it. Jun screamed, the sound silenced in mid-flow by the wolf snatching the soul away from the new professor. Jun crumpled, lying still on the grass, his eyes blank and unseeing. It wasn’t what Alex had wanted to do, but his quick thinking had saved Natalie’s life, the French girl still oblivious to how close she’d come to harm at the hands of Jun Asano.

Catherine ran to what had presumably been her friend, but it was too late to do anything. As hard as she shook him, and as loud as she howled his name, he could not be woken. There was no life left inside him, his essence now trailing from the jaws of the golden beast.

Both sides looked up to see where the deadly creatures had come from, their mouths opening in shock as they saw Alex astride the great Thunderbird. The only ones who seemed less fearful were his friends, a wave of relief passing across their faces. Alex knew it might be a little bit too early for relief—this fight wasn’t nearly over yet.

A second later, it was Alex who felt surprise as Storm swept across a small band of Spellshadow students, who had joined the Head. Opening her beak wide, Alex felt a rumble beneath him, from deep inside the lungs of the bird. Directing her head toward the enemies, she let out a blood-chilling roar, followed by a blast of ice that rocketed toward the suddenly terrified group. It hit them with full force, smothering them in a wave of ice. As the mist of it cleared, Alex saw that the front line had turned into a series of ice-sculptures, their bodies frozen to the spot. Those who were left ran, but there was nowhere to hide.

Storm wheeled around, and Alex hoped the band of Spellshadow students would not permanently remain frozen. He didn’t feel right hurting anyone, the act leaving him unsettled, but Storm was, by her very nature, a warbird, and so the fate of those poor souls remained to be seen.

With one professor down, Alex circled Storm back toward the place where Catherine stood. She had managed to dispense with the wolf and the second creature, shaped like a lion, but she was not paying attention to the enormous bird above her. There was too much going on, and it was clear she was no longer looking at the sky.

Seeing his opportunity, Alex pulled the stoppers from another two vials, feeding his energy into them, before dropping them on top of Catherine. These took the shape of a bear and a wolverine, but the bear took off toward a different band of Spellshadow students, who stood to the other side of the Head. Alex didn’t dare see what mess it was making, his eyes drawn instead to the smaller shape of the wolverine, which had its sights set firmly on Catherine. Running fast, it sank its golden jaws into her leg, dragging it out from under her. She fell, sending out panicked flurries of magic, as the wolverine pounced on top of her, clawing at her with blade-like nails.

Alex didn’t see what happened to her as Storm did a loop-the-loop, turning them back around. But when he looked back down, Catherine was lying still on the ground beside Jun Asano, the wolverine nowhere to be seen.

A rapid bolt of energy flew past Alex’s ear. The Head had focused his attention on Storm. Ducking and diving out of the way, Storm managed to evade every wave, until a stray shot caught her in the wing. With a pained squawk, she flew toward the ground, close enough that Alex could jump off, though he pulled closed the bag before he did so. She would protect the bottles, until he needed them again. Landing squarely on the ground, he patted the Thunderbird’s side.

“Go to safety!” he told her.

She chirped, brushing her beak across his hand, before rising back up into the air.

Alex was close to where Catherine had been standing, but it seemed the wolverine hadn’t