The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 4 by Bella Forrest (life books to read TXT) 📕

young Lintz, filtering through into his own emotions, and the understanding filled him with grief for the old professor, in the present day. Though he could only speculate, Alex realized that when Malachi Grey came for Lintz, that little girl must have been left alone somewhere, without her brother to look out for her, as he had promised to do. Alex imagined the prospect would have eaten away at the old man, over the years—in the same situation, Alex knew it would have eaten away at him. A similar one already was, with his mother and her illness.

Alex wondered if that was why Lintz had endeavored to become a professor at Spellshadow Manor, on the off chance his sister would have the same magical capabilities and Finder would someday bring her to the gates, giving them a long-awaited reunion—but that hadn’t happened. That girl was potentially still out there somewhere, waiting for the brother who disappeared and never came home, though she would be elderly by now, Alex presumed, looking once more at the dated décor and the fifties-style pattern on the hospital chair. Lintz and his sister were just like the rest of them and their families, ever hopeful of a reunion.

Feeling like he was violating Lintz’s privacy, Alex focused a few happy images into the forefront of the professor’s mind. The red fog faded away, the paranoia and the demons forgotten in the wake of Alex’s mental suggestions, which overtook the false images the haze had placed in the old man’s head, returning him to normality. Slowly, Alex removed himself from Lintz’s mind, certain that the fog had gone. Even though he felt a touch of guilt, he couldn’t deny it was nice to get a few flashes of insight about the professor’s much younger days, before he had ever been touched by the hands of the magical world.

Lintz blinked, suddenly aware of his surroundings.

“Goodness me, I am sorry!” he wheezed, struggling to stand. “Did I hurt you?”

Alex rose to his feet. “No harm done,” he replied, eager to get moving again. There were still four people to find. “Could you look for Caius and let him know what’s happened? Alypia is here, but the fog took over her, and she ran off somewhere. I need to find the others so we can try to round her up.”

“Oh dear, this has all gone a bit awry, hasn’t it?” Lintz said anxiously.

Alex nodded grimly. “You could say that.”

“We’ll find Caius, and if we come across Alypia before you do, we’ll try to get her safely locked away,” Demeter assured him.

“Go—find the others,” Lintz agreed.

“Just watch out for traps. I don’t want any more fog going off,” Alex said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll handle it,” Demeter replied.

Alex turned toward the closest corridor and broke into a run. With the threat of Alypia fresh in his mind, he headed down a series of hallways, allowing his instincts to lead him.

You think you’re hunting my kind, Alypia, but you’re wrong, he thought bitterly to himself. You are the prey, so run while you can—I am coming for you.

Chapter 26

With the taunts of inmates thundering in his ears, Alex raced through the labyrinthine keep, his mind focused solely on his friends. Some prisoners he found more difficult to ignore than others, especially the ones who called out things about Ellabell and Natalie, with one inmate noting how beautiful they’d be with their mouths sewn shut as he made a foul slurping sound. The rest of the comments were too repulsive to repeat, making Alex’s blood boil, though he knew he couldn’t stop to punish anyone, not this time.

He ran on, skidding to a halt at the entrance to the corridor that held Agatha’s cell. With his heart pounding, he walked slowly down the hallway, pausing beside her door. Carefully, he reached out and checked to see if it was locked, pulling firmly on the handle. To his relief, he found that someone had been there before him and shut it tight, locking her in. He was glad of that foresight and guessed it was Vincent who had turned the key, given his concern about her relapse.

“SPELLBREAKER FILTH!” Agatha slammed her full weight against the wood, which was starting to look more than a little flimsy. The tremor sent a jolt of fear through Alex. A second jolt shot through him as her face appeared at the grate, spittle flying close to his face. “Come closer, have a taste of a mage’s fury! I’ll twist up your insides and turn them to mush—you’ll pray for death when I’m done with you, you wretch!” she screamed, her eyes wild.

Alex quickly moved on, leaving Agatha to her slurs, hoping she’d forget about them once the haze faded.

At the next cell, he paused again. Vincent’s chamber wasn’t locked, the door standing slightly ajar, much to Alex’s horror. He wondered if the necromancer had returned to his cell, like a bird coming back to roost. Alex braced himself for whatever he might see.

Instead of an angry changeling rushing at him, Alex was met by the sight of Vincent sitting on the floor, apparently in a calm, meditative state. The strange-faced necromancer looked up and saw Alex, waving him on with a flick of his slender wrist.

“I am fighting it, my good man. I will overcome… Do not tarry here when others require your aid,” he insisted, his translucent lids sliding over the impossible black of his eyes once more.

Alex paused, uncertain, wondering if Vincent meant he was battling a golden monster, but as he looked closer he could see that Vincent’s eyes, still half-visible through the translucent lids, were clear of the misty haze of the red fog, and he was merely striving against the residual influence of paranoia.

“My thoughts are not real. My thoughts are not my own,” the necromancer repeated rhythmically, letting the mantra do the work.

Satisfied, Alex hurried on. He ran down a familiar corridor and turned left into a very dark hallway he didn’t