The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 6 Bella Forrest (best books to read now txt) 📖

now out on the bedcovers. Up close, the sunken-faced man looked even worse for wear. Bruises and cuts had formed a camouflage pattern across his features, and there seemed to be miniature bolts sticking out of his skin, the metal a dull gray, the wounds still sticky where the awful objects had been twisted in. Virgil grimaced every so often, jumping in his seat, like an electric shock had just gone off inside him. Peering closer, Alex could see that was exactly what was happening; tiny blue sparks jolted every couple of minutes, flickering in a pathway across the hybrid’s face.

“What did he do to you?” Alex asked, genuinely concerned.

Virgil brushed it off. “Nothing he hasn’t done to me before. He calls this his Frankenstein torture treatment—made it just for me one time, when I was in the stable and shouldn’t have been,” he explained, gesturing to the tiny bolts. “It’s been a while since I’ve endured this, I can tell you… but I’ll be fine. Anyway, I’m not here for sympathy, not that I’d expect to get any from you—even if this is partially your fault.”

“How is that my fault?” Alex remarked.

Virgil sighed. “I offered to take your place. I told Julius I wanted to do it. I told him I wanted to redeem myself, that I wouldn’t stand to see him force you… and this was his reply,” he explained solemnly.

Alex glanced suspiciously at the Head, not really knowing why he was telling him this. It sounded true, and the mottled blue and black of his beat-up face certainly gave some credence to the story, but Alex couldn’t figure out Virgil’s reasoning behind sharing this with him. Perhaps, Alex thought, it was the Head’s way of showing that he could be trusted? If that was the case, it certainly went some way toward proving it. No sane person would come under the wrath of Julius, if there wasn’t a good reason behind it.

“You really offered to take my place?” Alex asked, unable to keep the hint of doubt from his voice.

Virgil nodded. “You may never believe me, but it is the truth,” he croaked.

“Was that all you came here to say?”

Virgil’s eyes flitted about the room, as though he were double-checking there wasn’t a guard dangling from the ceiling, or hiding in the enormous wardrobe. Once he appeared satisfied nobody was about to interrupt them, he opened his mouth to speak, leaning his elbows up onto the dining table for support.

“I came to tell you that the students still at Starcross are all fine, despite what my stepfather would have you believe,” he began. “A few are injured, and those who didn’t make it have been buried, but the rest are alive and well. They are under the perpetual watch of a large army of soldiers, and they have been corralled into pens, presumably so Julius can deal with them swiftly at a later date, when he can bring himself to be bothered about them. He’ll probably do a quick cull at some point down the line, but we are hopeful it will never get to that.” A strange smile pulled at the taut skin of his face, causing the swollen cut on his lip to bleed afresh.

Alex fetched him a tissue. “‘We’?”

“Thank you,” said Virgil, dabbing his lip. “Yes, we—Hadrian, Ceres, and I. Ceres and I have had many discussions in my time at Starcross, and they have been somewhat enlightening. With her words, I have found parts of myself I thought were long dead, buried with the boy I once was. Sorry, I shouldn’t get bogged down in the past…” He trailed off, staring out at the view beyond the French doors.

Alex listened intently, eager to learn more about this strange man who had been his arch-nemesis not so long ago, but was now something else entirely. What he was to him, Alex had yet to figure out, but it was becoming clearer with each meeting.

“No, go on,” Alex encouraged, but it was clear the moment had passed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Virgil said, shaking his head. “Where was I? Ah yes—so, Ceres and I had many discussions in the windmill at Starcross, and one of those was a plan of action, should the place be captured. As planned, Hadrian is still at Falleaf, under no suspicion whatsoever, because he managed to do the impossible task of getting Julius to believe he wasn’t involved in any of it. That nervous tic he has is a veritable pot of gold when it comes to persuading someone you’d do anything not to be killed,” he explained, chuckling softly. “So, Hadrian told the king that Ceres had been blackmailing him and taking students in the middle of the night, without his consent. Once captured, Ceres admitted to it to Julius’s face, to back up her brother, in the hopes of keeping that alliance with the king open, should it come in handy again one day soon,” he continued, pausing to flash Alex a curious look. “Am I boring you yet?”

Alex shook his head. “Please, continue.”

Virgil nodded. “I have been told my voice can get a little soporific at times,” he said apologetically. “So, while Ceres is sadly under lock and key, the good news is, she hasn’t been punished yet. As you heard, my stepfather wants to let Hadrian deal with her, so we know she’s good for a while. That friend of yours and hers, the redhead—he has been captured too, but he’s fine,” he added, almost regretfully.

Alex frowned at the skeletal man, wondering if he wasn’t a bit jealous of the flame-haired Demeter, and his relationship with the fiery Ceres. If that was the case, Virgil didn’t confirm it, quickly changing the subject.

“As for your friends, they are indeed at the palace. So, getting them out is going to be a nightmare,” Virgil continued. “Julius really is keeping them as collateral, and I don’t think there is much to be done about that. I suppose they’ll just have to