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

Demeter was sitting astride his own Kelpie, holding out his hand to haul Alex up. With the help of Aamir pushing, he made it onto the back of the beast, where the auburn-haired man turned to look over his shoulder and grinned at Alex.

“Long time no welcome,” he chirped brightly. “I hear you’ve been defying all kinds of magical challenges, Alex Webber.”

Alex smiled, the auburn-haired man making him feel calmer. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Ceres tells me you’re being as stubborn as a box,” he said, grinning.

“I’m just ready to go home.” Alex sighed, wondering what else the one-eyed royal had said about him.

Demeter nodded. “I can understand that, just don’t push yourself. You don’t want to really break, you know?” he warned. “Anyway, sorry I wasn’t there to welcome you back last night. As soon as the news broke that the Great Evil had gone, I went through to Spellshadow to get things prepared for today. I only got back this morning.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you’ll be around for the farewell,” Alex said as they set off at a slow trot across the fields, toward the portal to Falleaf, where they would all head through to Spellshadow’s gateway. From there, they would be heading for home, and Alex was jittery with anticipation. “What’s your plan for the future, anyway?” he asked.

Demeter gave a casual shrug. “The current plan is for Hadrian, Ceres, and I to join forces, to make Falleaf House into a real school, with a voluntary student body. We might liaise with Helena at Stillwater, and share the load, as it were. Anyone who wants to come, can come, with no fear of death at the end of their time there. I’ll be caretaker of this place too, ensuring the people who have stayed have everything they need.”

It sounded perfect, everything falling into place. Helena had Stillwater. Hadrian and the other two had Falleaf, with Starcross as a bonus. It seemed unlikely anyone was going to take up the reins of Spellshadow again, with Virgil heading up to the golden city of Angel’s Roost to rule beside his mother. That seemed like the most fitting end, that Spellshadow Manor should be left to rot, a crumbling monument to the cruelty that had gone before, and should never be allowed to prevail again.

It took a longer time than expected to get the large crowd through the portal to Falleaf. Then, of course, they had to traipse through the dappled forest, watching out for traps, though the soldiers there had done a decent job of clearing them, under Virgil’s instruction. Upon reaching the portal at the other side of the forest, the one that led to Spellshadow, Alex began to feel nervous. They’d had to leave the Kelpies behind at Starcross, and even though Demeter and Aamir had stepped in to help him on the lengthy walk, Alex was beginning to feel weak again. His breathing came short and fast, and he could feel Ceres’s watchful eyes upon him, the words “I told you so” teetering on the tip of her tongue.

Eventually, they made it through, crossing the barren wasteland of the smoking field beyond the sickly woods. The wispy snakes had vanished, the ground split in places, cracked apart by the vibrations of the Great Evil’s final quake, giving them a swift route to the hill. After passing through the crumbling wall, they walked through the desolate gardens, until they reached the front lawn of the manor. The gates stood closed, wreathed in gray ivy. Alex looked at them curiously, wondering what it would be like to see them swung open, at long last.

Virgil stepped through the crowd and stood on the top step, opening out his arms to address the masses below.

“Those of you who spent time here, I know you will struggle to trust me. I have mistreated so many under the jurisdiction of the king—you did not know him, but believe me when I say he was a cruel, callous man who made many people do terrible things. I ask for your forgiveness, on the steps of the school where you were kept prisoner,” he said solemnly. “If you cannot forgive, I understand. But, please take this final gesture as a show of my goodwill, and my desire for redemption. I shall open the gates, returning you to your homes. Wait here a moment, and you shall see it happen,” he added, before disappearing into the shadowed building. Alex and the others followed him, watching as he hurried along the hallways, lifting away clusters of ivy to reveal grates in the ground. Inside them lay small, flat golden discs. He crouched beside each one, opening the lid to reveal ticking clockwork, a barely visible sheen of something flowing through them.

Alex realized they were like the cylinders at Kingstone Keep, making the barrier flow, even when there was nobody to conjure it. The Head broke each one, the cold feeling in Alex’s stomach dissolving with each destruction.

“Mind helping me with these?” Virgil asked, turning to look over his shoulder at the group of friends.

Jari and Natalie volunteered, along with a few other former Spellshadow students. Alex assumed that they would be running along the corridors, seeking out each barrier, using magic and force to break the clockwork within. Every time Virgil moved a pile of ivy, he inhaled sharply, letting Alex know that the draining power of the plants was still at work. It took a fair while, but eventually Virgil paused, a satisfied expression on his face. As he dusted off his hands, a tight smile stretched the pallid skin of his mouth.

“Now, to open the gates,” he announced, heading back the way they had come.

Rushing down the steps, he glided toward the looming gates. His face twisted in a grimace as he tore down each vine, the power of the ivy sapping his energy, but still he persevered, until there was not a scrap left on the gates. The remnants lay in a messy