Chapter 49: Brother

Salem

The day after the wills were recovered and the proper owner of the Bloor fortune was discovered, Lyell and Paton took the box of papers to Lysander's father, Judge Sage. He was the wisest and most respected members of the judiciary and it didn't take him long to declare that Lyell Bone was the indisputable heir to Septimus Bloor's fortune. He would have to take the matter to court, of course, but the judge knew that the turn out would be in Lyell's favor.

"We'll have to warn the present owners of Bloor's Academy." Paton informed us when they returned home.

"I'm going." I said. It wasn't up for debate. If I couldn't get to Manfred now, then I would lose my brother forever. While he pushed boundaries and did awful things, Manfred deserved to live a life that he had control of, even if his feelings for Infinity bothered me.

"If Salem's going, then I want to go." Infinity butted in. And naturally, Charlie wanted to go as well. While he wasn't going to argue with me about going, Lyell didn't want to put his children in danger yet again. He considered the academy the "Seat of Evil" and if something were to happen to him, he wanted his children to inherit the fortune and take care of Amy.

Charlie argued that he was the one who opened the box and should be able to go. Infinity reminded him that she had held her own against an expert swordsman and it would take a lot more than whatever the Ezekiel had in store to take her down. Because his children were just as headstrong and stubborn as he was, Lyell finally agreed. "I'm warning both of you, no heroics and you have to do everything that I say."

They agreed, but I knew both of them well enough to know if something went wrong, neither of them would listen. We left the house in the early evening, just before the streetlights came on. Together, we walked through the city and up the steep road where the deathly silent academy sat. When we approached the square, a black car drove out. It stopped a moment before turning onto High Street. I could barely make out the figures in the car, but Charlie seemed to see them well. "It's Weedon and his wife. I think Norton and Joshua too."

"And his mother, most likely." Paton chimed in.

"Rats and a sinking ship come to mind," Lyell said drily.

Weedon had not bothered to close the academy doors behind him in his hasty retreat. We walked into the shadowy hallway and a cold chill traveled up my spine. Although the academy always had an uncomfortable and dark vibe to it, today was worse. It was truly a seat of evil and the cause of all of that evil was sitting in his wheelchair, staring down at us from the landing at the top of the staircase. Almost as if he was suspecting us.

"How dare you come back here, you traitor. You're a coward and a fool." His beady eyes stopped on me, his bony face turned up in disgust. Ever since I was a child, I could remember hating Ezekiel. He never had much interest in me, though. Not when Manfred could be easily influenced by his dark magic. While my endowment was overpowered, Manfred took to learning magic much easier than I did. I saw the same thing happening in Charlie and Infinity too. Infinity was strong, but Charlie could easily surpass her if he put in a little bit more effort.

"How am I a fool when I am on the winning side?" I said through gritted teeth. Ezekiel was always quick to insult us. Manfred was always a coward and my dreams were always foolish, but why had we been stuck doing his dirty work while he sulked in the shadows? No one was more spineless and out of touch with reality than Ezekiel Bloor. "We have the will, you wicked old codger. It's over."

"Do you really believe that you'll be successful?" Ezekiel grinned, showing of a row of cracked and black teeth. "Do you think that you can defeat your brother? That the girl will let you?" He turned his gaze to Infinity and I felt sick to my stomach. I wondered if Infinity would be able to stand up against him if the situation called for it. She had a breakthrough with him and she had gotten a glimpse of the brother that I knew. Part of me worried that she wouldn't want to let that go, and part of me worried that if we were successful in helping him that she would fall in love with him instead. They had a lot more in common than she and I did. They were both incredibly intelligent and serious. Any dreams and goals that Manfred would hold would align with Infinity's a lot better than mine. But that didn't mean that I wanted to let her go. "We're not going anywhere and Manfred is going to make sure of that. If you take even one more step, he's going to burn this place to the ground." Ezekiel warned.

At these words, Manfred walked out from the shadow behind the stairs. He held up one of his hands and showed us a ball of fire that slowly cackled and turned at the base of his palm. "Don't come any closer." He warned, his eyes trained on me. At last, Borlath's awful power had fully materialized itself in Manfred. People with multiple endowments were rare and a force to be reckoned with, but we had Charlie to match him.

"You don't have to do this." I pleaded with him. "You're not a bad person, Manny. This isn't you. There's good inside of you. I know it, and Infinity saw it too."

"If you don't shut the fuck up, I'll burn this place to the ground anyway." The calm ball of fire started to leap into high, dangerous flames as his mood changed.

Ezekiel needs to die if we want to help Manfred. I informed Lyell. I didn't want the death of someone to be on the hands of Charlie or Infinity, but I knew that Lyell wouldn't be opposed to the solution.

I glanced at the wheelchair balanced at the top of the stairs. A gentle push could send it flying. I, however, wasn't gifted with telekinesis, nor could I produce wind. But somehow, it happened anyway. One moment, Ezekiel was stationary at the top of the stairs, the next, he was moving at lethal speeds and his body was flung through the air.

"Salem, move!"

Everything was happening so quickly, I didn't know how to process it. I stood directly in the path of the out of control wheelchair and Ezekiel's skeletal body. In a swift motion, Manfred shoved me out of the way and instead, he was struck. I heard the clanking of metal and something crack as Ezekiel's skull hit the floor. From the top of the stairs, I heard the sound of Percy's joyful barking. As long as Percy has been in our family, my father would always make the joke that someday Percy would get sick of him and push him down the attic stairs. It seemed that he was right, but I didn't care about that right now. Manfred had saved my life in a split second decision and may have lost his own. I shifted Ezekiel's dead weight out of the way while Lyell pulled up the gnarled wheelchair. Manfred lay un-moving under the heap. Nothing looked broken but there were a few scrapes and cuts. Infinity dropped down on the floor beside him with sheer panic on her face. She looked up at Lyell for guidance.

"You shouldn't touch him." My father warned us. "If there's a spinal injury, you could make it worse."

"But I could heal him." She said. I stared at her hands. Like they always did when she used her healing powers, they glowed a magnificent bright white. She hesitated for a moment, waiting to see the subtle rise and fall of Manfred's chest. If he broke his neck and died instantly, her endowment would be useless.

"He's breathing." Paton noted. That was all Infinity needed.

I loved watching her use her magic. Something about it was so graceful and beautiful, the way her hands carefully caressed his face and the calm that washed over all of our bodies as she worked. Being on the receiving end of her healing hands always made me feel like I was floating on air and I loved every second of it.

"It's working." Charlie crouched down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. "Do you think with Ezekiel gone, he'll be nicer?"

"Manny was never actually nice. Not like you or your friends are. He has always been a little rough around the edges." I admitted. "He's still going to be every bit as domineering and his temper will still be shit, but he won't be a murderous, abusive psychopath."

When Infinity did all that she could for him, she moved back a few inches and waited. Slowly, Manfred's eyes fluttered open and he struggled to sit up. He looked around at all of us with confusion contorting his face. "What is going on?" He asked. He finally noticed Ezekiel's body on the floor and quickly scooted away from it, nearly knocking Charlie over. "Sorry." He mumbled absently.

"Oh my God, it worked." Infinity breathed a sigh of relief. "He just apologized. To Charlie."

"Are you okay? Do you know what just happened?" I asked him before offering my hand. I pulled him to his feet and he seemed to be steady enough. His eyes didn't hold the anger and malice that they did before. His features had softened a bit. He didn't speak to me, instead he pulled me into a tight hug. I couldn't remember the last time I had hugged my brother. It had been many years and I felt a happiness I hadn't felt in a long time.

"So it has finally been done." My father's powerful voice carried through the corridors. When Manfred and I broke apart, I noticed him standing by the entrance to the west wing. He gingerly approached us, taking care to step over Ezekiel's body but didn't even glance at it. "Grandfather is dead and the will has been found."

"I take it that you won't give me any trouble?" Lyell suspiciously raised a brow.

"Why would I? This place has been a prison my entire life. Ezekiel made me do terrible things. I hurt my wife, I let him do the same thing to my sons. I think it will do us some good to get away from this place." He held his hand out to Lyell, who didn't hesitate to shake it.

The court case was a civil one, and through Lyell's mercy and benevolent heart, he allowed my father and Manfred to keep one of the properties in the city. The Passing House, the place where Billy had been kept prisoner by the de Grey family, would become their new home. When Bartholomew, Meng and Naren returned from the sea, they agreed to meet with them. Pap wanted to judge for himself if my father had really changed. I was surprised when the first thing my Pap did was apologize. He was the first to admit that like any Bloor, he was selfish. He had chosen to go and travel the world and left his son with his father, knowing the awful person that he was.

I agreed to move back in with my father and my brother, even if it was to make sure that they had genuinely changed and would no longer pose a threat to the Bones or the rest of the city. Infinity and her family were preparing to move back into Lyell and Amy's old house on Diamond Corner. Paton and Julia Ingledew were preparing to marry just before the Easter holiday.

Their wedding was a beautiful one. It was held in a small church just on the edge of the city. It was a beautiful ceremony and people were packed to the door. After all of the festivities were over, the newlyweds went to live above their candlelit bookstore, where Paton adopted Emma.

Billy remained unaware of how close he came to inheriting the Bloor fortune. While the Bones were busy trying to move everything into their finished home, the poor kid was passed around from family to family. I believed that the Gunns wanted to adopt him at one point, but it never went through. Instead, he was adopted by Lyell and Amy.

As for the academy, it had gotten a total face lift and a new name. The Bone Academy was transformed from a school that most students dreaded going to, into a safe haven for endowed children as well as creatively talented children. Lyell had zero interest in running the place and left that job to Dr. Saltweather. Senor Alvaro took over as head of music and the teachers that had made the place unbearable were quickly fired and replaced. Maisie had even come to work in the academy. Although she spent her weekends with her family, she ran the green kitchen with a smile and made all the students feel at home.

Asa and I were both allowed to come back to try to graduate and the atmosphere when we returned was completely different from the invisible cloud that had hung over us previously. During our time in the King's room, Infinity took over as our authority. Naturally, she forced us to take our studies seriously, but she also allowed us to speak with each other and help each other out with assignments.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I had a relatively normal life. We all did. And I had Lyell Bone and his stubborn children to thank.