The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 3

the tree line, facing out toward the lake. He watched, mesmerized by the tiny waves that rippled on the surface, creating the sparkle he had become so familiar with. It was a spot he imagined would be peaceful in other circumstances, but there was too much on his mind for such things. Anxiety raced through his body. There was a lot resting on him, and he couldn’t help but feel responsible for the sleeping figures in the clearing behind him, who were looking to him more insistently for a leadership he hoped he was ready to give. Guilt racked him too, riding alongside the anxiety for good measure. He knew he was the one who had gotten his friends into this mess, and he wanted to make sure they didn’t regret their decision to come with him. Glancing back, he knew he would protect them in any way he could. They had put a lot of faith in him by leaving Spellshadow, and he was determined not to let them down.
His thoughts drifted to the school they had left mere hours before, wondering how the other students were doing after the half-successful uprising. Professor Gaze sprang to his mind, so ancient and fearless, and he hoped fiercely that the old mage had managed to keep the other students safe from harm. She had told him of her plans to scramble the hallways, but Alex knew such spells were only temporary where the Head was concerned, just as the displacement of the portal was. The Head would find a way through and come looking for his lost prey—Alex had no doubt about that. It was only a matter of time.
As recent memories raced through his head and his eyes came to rest on the glittering lake with so many bodies beneath, Alex couldn’t help but be reminded of those who hadn’t made it. The ones he had failed. The vacant eyes and stilled lungs of the dead students haunted him, and he felt a deep pang of sorrow at the tragedy of their passing, knowing the potential they might have had and thinking of the homes they would never go back to. So much needless loss at the hands of a power-hungry Renmark. It made the burn of vengeance glow ever brighter in his heart, though the sensation made him curious—hatred was proving a powerful fuel for the fire within him.
His gaze was drawn back across the water to the unseen shore on the other side, the shadows making him wonder what lay beyond it. The lake was huge, and there did not seem to be a settlement or building in sight, save for the old hut beside them—though at the center of Alex’s mind blinked the idea of ‘Stillwater House.’ Here was the still water, but where was the house? He knew it was out there somewhere; he could feel it in his bones.
It was up to them to find it, but even that held a flicker of uncertainty for Alex.
What are we supposed to do when we do find it? he thought anxiously, staring out into the darkness that hid his goal from him. He thought again of Spellshadow, and wondered if they were simply out of the frying pan and into a much worse fire. At least at Spellshadow there had been glimpses of the real world, but this alien land did not feel like the real world at all. The magic that crackled in the air around him like static electricity reminded him of that fact. Yes, they had escaped Spellshadow, but not into the real, human, non-magical world he longed for.
Pushing away a looming sense of worry, Alex looked back at his friends in the clearing, who were resting easy because he had promised to watch over them. That promise, he knew, went beyond that night. It was his duty now. His stoic gaze rested on each one with fondness, despite any former misgivings, though it rested a little bit longer on the curled-up figure of Ellabell. There was a dogged determination within him to make good on his promises and his responsibilities.
Turning back to the distant, shadowed shore, somehow it no longer seemed quite as frightening. Instead of being filled with the unknown, Alex shifted his perspective, trying to see it instead as a land of untapped possibility. Beyond that darkened horizon was a way out. Alex didn’t know what form it would take, but he knew he had to find it, whether it be another portal to another land, leading them home, or a person or thing along the way that might help them, or a bargaining chip that would keep his friends safe and maybe, just maybe, lead them out of this magical realm and back into the real world.

Chapter 2
Alex turned sharply at the sound of a twig crunching underfoot, but it was only Jari, coming to relieve him of his watch. Looking up, Alex could see that it was almost dawn, the starry black of the night’s sky diluted to a hazy mauve.
“How did you sleep?” asked Alex.
Jari gave him a groggy thumbs-down. “Not good.”
“Go back to sleep if you want,” Alex said, but Jari shook his head.
“No, man, it’s your turn. You look like hell.” He grinned, plucking a stray leaf from Alex’s hair, which had taken on a mind of its own.
Alex grimaced and stretched out his arms, feeling the stiffness in his spine from staying in one spot for too long.
Jari sat down companionably beside him and gazed out at the lake.
“It’s beautiful, huh?”
Alex nodded stiffly. “It’s definitely something.”
“Weird that the Head had it there all along, though. He must have really liked the view,” mused Jari as he stretched out his limbs too.
“I suppose he must have,” replied Alex, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
“Hey, I meant to thank you last night, for what you did for Aamir,” Jari said. “I was too beat to say it before.” He