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

quite gotten the better of Catherine de Marchmont. She was slowly rising, though the Head had moved a fair way from her, presumably to avoid the same fate at the jaws of a golden wolverine. Alex ran over to her before she could fully get up, and pressed his hands to the sides of her head, manipulating her thoughts into believing the Head was evil. Seeing the golden band still gleaming on her wrist, he reached down to break it, forcing his anti-magic into the circlet and shattering it from the inside out. Almost as soon as he had done it, he regretted it, remembering the consequences of the released curse. She convulsed for a moment, before lying still once more. As much as he wished he’d waited, he knew she’d have a better chance of survival if he could get Helena to deal with the inner turmoil of the curse later.

A shadow passed across him. Glancing up, he saw that Storm hadn’t quite heeded his warning, as the vast Thunderbird crashed down upon the figure of the Head, grasping at him with her fierce talons. Virgil tried to fight back, but she was aggressive, battering him with her sharp claws, kicking out at him with a vengeful fury, and pecking at him viciously with her spiked beak. No matter how hard the Head tried to retaliate, Storm was everywhere at once, snapping and biting at him, keeping him distracted.

Looking around, Alex did a quick count. With Jun and Catherine down, the right-hand band of Spellshadow defectors mostly frozen or hiding, and the left-hand band still trying to fend off the attacks of a wolverine and a bear, Alex saw that an advantage was slowly appearing. The essence-creatures wouldn’t last forever, but they were doing a good job of keeping the opposition at bay.

Alex beckoned to his friends. They came running, with the Stillwater students and the supporting Spellshadow students following suit. All of them formed an arc around the place where Virgil and the third new professor stood. She was not somebody Alex recognized, but she already looked battle hardened, with curly red hair and a stern face. Nor was she willing to go down without a vicious fight, as she immediately set to work, firing blockades at the oncoming group.

Alex sent a blockade of his own toward her, knocking her backwards into a huge cluster of ivy that clung to the wall of Spellshadow. She sat there for a moment, apparently stunned, unable to get up, as the plant sapped the energy from her. There was so much of it, and it was all around her—there was no escaping so much. It was something of a relief, however, knowing that she would be okay once she was removed from the ivy. At least they could save her, Alex thought, trying very hard not to look at the lifeless form of Jun Asano.

Finally, it had come down to just the Head. Storm was still doing an exceptional job of keeping him distracted, blasting him every so often with a fierce bolt of ice, but he wasn’t backing down.

“Don’t kill him!” Alex warned. The fighters around him nodded. He knew that was the worst thing that could happen, right now, if someone were to get a little over-eager and end the Head’s life, just before the spell could be done.

Pushing the worries from his mind, Alex stepped up, weaving threads of black and silver in the air. He forged them into a whirling ball of raw energy and sent it hurtling toward Virgil, only for it to smack into the Head with relatively little effect. It seemed like it caused more of a nuisance than an injury. With a twist of frustration, Alex remembered why. He had almost forgotten that his anti-magical powers were not nearly as effective on Virgil as they were on others.

Ellabell and Helena took the lead. Combining their forces, they created a huge orb of power, the bronze crackle of Helena’s exceptional force bristling in the center. With a formidable push, they sent the orb toward the Head. It him it square on, and though the Head wasn’t very susceptible to the power of mages either, it had some of the desired effect. The skeletal man sagged, clutching his stomach, as a flurry of snowflakes fell around him. Aamir and Jari did the same. Pair after pair approached, sending an orb of fierce light toward the struggling Head, but still he did not fall.

Alex clenched his fists, wondering what he could do to shift the balance in their favor. A flash of shadow cut across the scene, and Elias hit the Head square in the jaw, only aggravating the skeletal man further. It gave Alex an idea. Closing his eyes, he searched deep inside himself, looking for the piece of torn-off soul he had unwittingly taken from Elias. Eventually he found the strange pulse of something that did not belong to him. Drawing the power of it into his hands, he allowed it to flow into the swirling fabric of his own energy. Opening his eyes, he saw that a vast black mass was twisting and turning in front of him. It looked almost liquid and seemed to have a life of its own, but Alex could sense the throb of power emanating from within.

Steeling himself, he let it flow toward Virgil. It swamped the Head, smothering him like oil, slithering beneath his skin, turning the blue veins black. The Head doubled over in pain, letting out a blood-curdling cry as he crumpled into a heap on the ground, already half frozen to death by the impact of Storm’s relentless ice beams. Pain seared through Alex too, and he struggled to ignore it—there was too much at stake.

Alex raced toward the slumped, skeletal figure and hauled him up. Aamir ran up to help, each boy taking an arm across their shoulders as they dragged the weakened Virgil across the lawn, up the steps, and into the