The Breaker (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #2)

Neither of them was convinced by the tale, but they both pretended to be for the moment. Natalie didn’t continue her line of questioning.

“Any sign of Jari?” Alex asked, wanting to change the subject.

“I saw him on his way to the boys’ dormitories,” Natalie replied.

“I’ll go see what he’s up to.” Alex tried not to leave Jari alone for too long these days. Since Aamir had returned a few days ago from wherever it was the Head had taken him—he still refused to say—they’d barely seen the older boy, except in two classes.

“Goodnight, Alex.” Natalie gave him a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was fidgety, and Alex could see that she was still nervous about the Head discovering what had happened to Finder. He was too.

“Goodnight. Try not to worry too much,” he said, patting her on the arm.

“Will try,” she mumbled, dropping her gaze as Alex tried not to hear the note of dishonesty in her voice.

“When are you coming in?” he asked, pointing toward the gaping mouth of the manor’s entrance.

“Not just yet. I would like to stay outside a little longer, see if we have missed any exploded holes,” she explained with a wry grin, glancing up at the blasts in the creeping gray ivy. Some of the blows had gouged dents in the brickwork, but nothing even near big enough to escape from.

Alex laughed. “Okay, well… see you soon.”

“Yes, mother hen,” Natalie teased.

Alex grinned, then headed back to the manor, his shoes crunching the wispy grass beneath as he walked.

The hallways were mostly empty as Alex made his way, his footsteps echoing loudly. The great walls of the corridors cast long shadows, clawing at his feet as he passed. The only light came from the flaming torches that burned brightly in the brackets attached to the stonework, making it difficult to see what lay ahead. Outside the windows was a darkened forest with creepers dangling, snake-like, from the boughs of huge trees, creatures fluttering across every now and then in a burst of movement. Bats, perhaps, with their leathery wings flapping. From another window, Alex saw a long, pebbled beach in chilly daylight, the sky overhead a stony gray as the savage sea charged against the shore time and time again, the waves snapping in tooth-like peaks. It didn’t look particularly inviting, and Alex was certain the water would be freezing if one waded in to swim.

He was glad when the dormitories finally came into sight. He crossed over the familiar border to the boys’ section and walked down a few more passageways, knowing the route by heart now, until he came to his own room. He didn’t bother to knock as he entered.

Jari was sitting on his bed, and turned with a wide smile as Alex stepped into the room. His eyes lit up with excitement as he crawled to the edge of his bed and sat up on his knees.

“Where have you been? Having some alone time with Natalie again?” Jari grinned.

“Just out in the grounds, checking on the ivy situation.” Alex couldn’t help but smile in return. Jari’s cheerfulness, even at the worst of times, was infectious.

“Any luck?” Jari asked.

Alex shrugged. “Not really,” he admitted.

“That’s a shame… Can you believe Aamir is a teacher now?” Jari asked, flopping back down onto the mattress and staring up at the ceiling. “How cool is that?”

Alex sat down on his own bed, pulling out his pajamas. “It’s pretty cool.” Jari’s fixation on Aamir’s “promotion” was starting to get on Alex’s nerves; yes, it was a major relief that Aamir had swerved away from graduation, but they had no evidence whatsoever that this promotion was going to turn out to be a good thing for Aamir.

“I mean, the way he took down Derhin like that—I can’t get over it!” Jari whooped, punching the air, imitating Aamir’s last blow to Derhin’s face. “He’s a hero.”

“I guess so.” Alex tried not to picture the blood on the grass, but Derhin’s last-ditch attempt at survival replayed over and over in his mind… That golden monster he had summoned, seemingly from the ground. What was that thing, anyway? The memory still bothered him.

“What do you mean you ‘guess so’? He was amazing! I can’t believe he’s a teacher.” Jari laughed. “I mean, I always knew he was going to go places, but—this is awesome! I bet he’ll give us some perks, too,” Jari proclaimed, peering around the side of his bed to eye Alex.

“Like what?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know… Like, teach us really cool stuff. Some dark magic. Proper, complicated stuff that he might have picked up… I bet he will.” Jari lay back again.

“That’d be interesting,” Alex humored his friend, though dark magic wouldn’t be good for him. The more complex the magic, the harder it was for Alex to cope with.

“We should ask him tonight—ask him what goes on behind that blue line.” Jari winked, sitting up again, restlessly shifting around on his mattress with sheer excitement. “Do you reckon he knows where Esmerelda sleeps? I bet he does… Oh, Esmerelda, my darling!” Jari pursed his lips and squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to kiss the air as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Alex snorted. “That’s gross, Jari. Aamir does not have a thing for Esmerelda…And anyway, I don’t think Aamir is ever going to tell us anything like that.”

“What do you mean?” Jari replied, the humor fading from his voice.

Alex sighed. “Aamir’s golden band.”

“So?” Jari snapped.

“So, I’m just saying Aamir won’t be able to tell us much. Don’t expect too much from him,” Alex replied, holding his hands up in surrender to Jari’s sudden mood swing.

“Aamir is stronger than some stupid golden line,” Jari mumbled after a pause. He turned away from Alex to pick at the threads in his sheets.

Alex didn’t want to burst Jari’s bubble more than he already had. Changing quickly into his pajamas and sitting back on the bed, he wondered if he might be able to break the golden line on Aamir’s wrist. Alex presumed it was made from the same magic as the lines in the forbidden hallways and tombs of the manor, and they had proven pretty easy to break so far—a few stray spears of magic to duck and run from, but nothing major. Then again, those lines weren’t attached to a living, breathing person. The idea sat uneasily with Alex. He didn’t know what might happen if he broke the line and it hurt Aamir in some way; he wasn’t sure he could forgive himself for something like that.

He was about to ask Jari for his opinion on the matter when he caught sight of the other boy staring over at the empty bed in the room, still made from the day before the Head had taken Aamir away, when he had last slept there. The absence of Aamir in their dorm still felt wrong, like some important piece was missing.

“Well, I’m going to hit the hay,” Alex muttered, trying to distract Jari from the empty bed.

Jari nodded. “I’m just going to… stay up a little longer,” he said quietly.

“Okay… goodnight, Jari.” Alex sighed as he nestled down beneath the sheets, turning off the light.