by Victor Kloss
“She's interesting, isn't she?” Ben said. He pushed open the double doors and they entered the lunch hall.
Warmth and the pleasant smell of chicken hit their senses. Laughter and chatter filled the air. Two long tables, flanked either side by wooden benches, ran down the centre of the room. Most of the spaces were taken by boys and girls. Ben guessed most to be about sixteen to twenty, though he spotted a few adults old enough to be his parent. Ben and Charlie surveyed the scene and received a few curious glances.
“I feel like this is my first day at school,” Charlie whispered. “And not in a good way.”
“Relax,” Ben said. “Let's get some food. I'm hungry.”
They made their way to a set of trolleys at the end of the room and Ben piled his plate full of veal, potatoes and a couple of obligatory vegetables. He found a few empty seats at the end of one of the tables.
“Did you notice that many people have more than one diamond?” Charlie said, sitting down opposite Ben. “They must have a ranking system for apprentices just like the main departments of the Institute.”
Charlie was right. Many of the older kids had several colourless diamonds above their right shoulders. It took some willpower to focus on eating rather than staring at everyone. Ben was mid tucking into a juicy potato when he heard a familiar voice from across the room.
“Ben! Charlie!”
Natalie was waving at them. She was mingling with a group of friends and appeared very much the centre of attention, which didn't surprise Ben, as most of her friends were boys. As soon as she spotted them she detached herself, to the disappointment of her suitors, and came running over.
Ben had almost forgotten how attractive she was. Her dark brown hair fell in curls over her shoulder, and there was something exotic about her almond-shaped green eyes. She was slim, but shapely; even her slightly pointed ears, due to her tenuous elf heritage, added to her looks.
Ben stood up as she approached, hastily wiping his mouth, and Natalie flung her arms around him.
“You made it!” she said. “You passed the test!”
Natalie turned to Charlie and he stood up awkwardly, almost knocking his chair over. He received a hug that was just as enthusiastic, though perhaps slightly gentler.
“Don't stop eating,” Natalie said, motioning at both of them to sit, and then doing so herself, choosing a seat next to Charlie. “The Initiation Test leaves you starving. I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you anything about it. The rules are very strict. I knew you'd both pass of course, but I was still nervous. Have you been chosen by a locker yet?”
“Funny way of putting it, but, yes,” Ben said. He couldn't help smiling at Natalie's effusiveness. Charlie appeared momentarily flustered by it, but that could just have been his re-adjustment period to having a close friendship with someone as pretty as Natalie.
“We have so much to catch up on, I hardly know where to start,” Natalie continued.
“You have two diamonds now,” Charlie said. His voice sounded a little squeaky, but he pressed on. “Did you graduate or something?”
Ben hadn't noticed the extra diamond floating above her shoulder, but he did so now.
“I passed the first grade exam last week,” Natalie said. “It wasn't too bad. My Spellsword work isn't great and I only just scraped past that part of the exam. But enough about me, I want to hear about you guys. How was your trip here?”
Together Ben and Charlie recounted their morning, from the attack at the Croydon headquarters to the Initiation Test. When Ben mentioned the ghost of Elizabeth labelling him as a Guardian, both Charlie and Natalie interrupted him at the same time.
“What does that mean?” Charlie asked. Both he and Ben turned to Natalie expectantly.
“I've never heard of it before,” she said. “But it sounds important. She said 'another' Guardian? Who else is there?”
“My parents, maybe,” Ben said.
They debated the matter in hushed tones for the next several minutes, but as none of them had any real insight to add, they were soon going round in circles and decided to move on. By the time they'd finished, Ben had cleaned his plate and was eyeing up seconds.
“I can't believe that attack on Croydon,” Natalie said, her locks falling over her forehead as she shook her head. “The security on the Dragonway is really tight. There are very few breaches.”
“So you've no idea what a Shadowseeker is, then?” Ben asked.
“No, but I bet we can find out in the library. I would also like to know what animal he was riding.”
“Do you think the attack had anything to do with Ben, or was it just a coincidence that he happened to be there?” Charlie asked. The topic of mystery solving had quickly melted his lingering shyness.
“It's hard to say, isn't it?” Natalie replied. She looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, then leaned onto the table – Ben and Charlie did likewise. “We know the dark elves wanted Ben to get to his parents. But it also looks like they're trying to start a war, which they've been threatening for a long time. The Shadowseeker could easily be trying to create havoc and distract the Institute. It might have nothing to do with Ben at all.”
Ben glanced up to make sure nobody had started listening. There were a few older kids watching them at a distance. Ben recognised one of them. He was tall, with expensively styled blond hair and teeth so white Ben could have sworn they were glowing. The sleeves of his dark blue shirt were rolled to his elbows, and his trousers and shoes looked like something Ben could only dream of affording. He stood in the middle of a small group, surrounded by a few girls and boys.
Joshua whispered something to one of his colleagues and they started approaching.
“We're about to meet an old friend,” Ben said, watching them near. Their first and only previous meeting with Joshua hadn't been a pleasant one – especially for Joshua, and Ben knew there might be trouble.
“Oh dear,” Charlie said. “I swear, I've got some sort of bully magnet.”
“Nobody's going to get bullied,” Ben said, shifting his chair back a fraction to make room for manoeuvre.
“Let me handle this,” Natalie said. “I'm friends with them.”
“Is there anyone you're not friends with?” Charlie muttered to himself.
Ben had seen that type of smirk on Joshua's lips a hundred times before, normally on the faces of idiots who would try to have a go at Charlie. There weren't normally five of them, though, and they weren't normally a good two years older than him. On top of which, his reputation at school didn't exist here. But how much damage would they do in the middle of the lunch room?
A collective gasp from the lunch room and a sudden turn of heads made Joshua and his crew stop in their tracks. People were twisting in their seats and voices suddenly lowered to hushed whispers. Everyone was looking towards the entrance. Ben turned to see what the fuss was about.
Wren Walker was making her way serenely through the lunch hall towards them. She looked just as Ben remembered, with long silvery hair elegantly piled on her head. She had that agelessness that made Ben wonder how old she could be. Her eyes were a sparkling grey and her ears were slightly pointed. Floating above her right shoulder were five green diamonds and they were attracting a good deal of attention.
“Good afternoon,” Wren said, smiling at them. “Welcome back. Congratulations to you both for passing the Initiation Test. I had no doubt you would.”
As nice as Wren was, she was also one of the most powerful members of the Institute, and Ben didn't believe she had just come down here to congratulate them.
“Is the Queen a spell or some sort of ghost?” Charlie asked.
“That is a very good question,” Wren said. “The test was put in place by Queen Elizabeth herself many centuries ago. Nobody quite knows, but my feeling is that it's a very old, powerful spell, combined with a tiny remnant of the Queen's consciousness.” She clearly saw the look on Ben's face, for she added, “We are not privy to what happens in the Initia
tion Test, so your secrets are safe.”
Ben tried to conceal his sigh of relief.
“I have a request,” Wren continued. “I'm sorry to break up your reunion, but, Ben, would you mind coming with me? There is an important meeting I would like you to be part of.”
“Sure,” Ben said, standing up. If there was one Institute member he trusted above all others, it was Wren. It was her letter to his parents that had triggered their initial adventure. As Director of Spellswords, she was Ben's parents' boss and had been open from the beginning about how much she liked and admired them. Wren had been a rock of stability amongst the confusion of their last visit to the Institute.
“We shouldn't be more than thirty minutes,” Wren said. “I will bring you back down when we are done.”
As Ben followed Wren out of the lunch room, he glanced at Joshua and his crew watching him. He hoped they didn't turn their attention to Charlie and Natalie, but he couldn't worry about that now. His mind was buzzing with questions. Where was Wren taking him?
— Chapter Eight —
An Ignored Warning
Ben wasn't surprised when Wren led him up to the executive floor at the very top of the Institute. They passed through the double doors and entered a lavish hallway, impeccably decorated with gold leafing and ornate panels. The torch lights seemed to shine lighter here, and the ceiling was a fraction taller, creating a feeling of space. Ben refrained from asking questions. If Wren wasn't talking, there was nothing she wanted him to know. Any questions would just result in tactful deflections.
“Here we are,” Wren said.
They had stopped by a door that said “Meeting Room Two”.
Wren turned to Ben and gave him a reassuring smile, which was almost magical in its ability to help relax.
“It goes without saying that you're not in any sort of trouble. We just wanted to have an informal chat with you, as certain things need to be said. We shouldn't be long. Are you ready?”
“Sure,” Ben said, wondering who “we” constituted.
The room inside was typically lavish, and contained an expansive wooden table, surrounded by intricately carved wooden chairs. Standing in front of the table were two men Ben recognised immediately. Draven he had seen earlier that day, and looked much the same, though perhaps his beard was slightly less scruffy. Ben wondered, not for the first time, if Draven had dwarf blood in him. His heavy eyebrows exaggerated a grumpy-looking scowl. Colin, by contrast, looked like a bank manager. His hair glinted in the light, hinting at liberal amounts of grease to achieve the perfect parting. His posture was so straight it looked as though he had a broom thrust up the back of his suit. His clothes were ironed to within an inch of their lives and his black shoes gleamed. Both men had five diamonds above their shoulders – Draven's were the Wardens’ red; Colin's the Diplomacy's blue.
“Mr. Greenwood,” Colin said. Every syllable was attenuated perfectly, reminding Ben of royalty.
“Ben,” Draven said, with a curt nod.
It was clear nobody was going to sit down, which gave Ben hope that the meeting might indeed be short. He stood facing Colin and Draven and was pleased when Wren chose to stand by his side.
“Right, let's not draw this out,” Draven said, his voice gruff. “We're all busy at the moment, especially me.”
“Eloquently put,” Colin said. “First of all, Mr. Greenwood, myself and Draven would like to clear the air. We were, quite frankly, catastrophically wrong to entertain any notion of allying with the dark elf Elessar. We were trying to avoid conflict with the dark elves until we could work out where your parents were and why their king wanted them so badly.”
“You thought they had murdered his son, didn't you?”
“That was the line we were fed,” Colin said, unflustered by Ben's open resentment. “We went with it because your parents were not present to disprove the king's accusation, and it gave us time to find your parents and establish the real reason Suktar wanted them. However, nothing worked as planned and we put your life in danger, for which there can be no excuse. Draven and I apologise unreservedly. It will not happen again.”
Ben was beginning to see why Colin was the Director of Diplomacy. He never thought he would forgive Draven and Colin so easily for plotting to hand him over to the dark elves, but Colin's sincere apology and frank explanation eased a good deal of Ben's ill will. He glanced over at Draven, who shifted a little uncomfortably. Colin gave him a little nudge.
“There's more to it than that,” Draven said, “but there were a few things we did, because we were desperate, that weren't right. Of course, all of this could have been avoided if your parents had showed up.”
“Draven,” Colin said politely, turning to his peer. “I think you're deviating from the point I'm trying to make.”
Draven looked as though he was sucking a lemon. He scowled at Colin, and then turned to Ben. “I'm sorry for how things turned out,” he said, sounding like he was being strangled.
Ben grinned, enjoying the moment. “Apology accepted.”
“Good, now let's move on,” Wren said. “We are here to give Ben an update on what is going on with the dark elves and how it might involve him, in order to warn and protect him from any potential danger while on his apprenticeship.”
“An excellent idea,” Colin chimed in.
Draven looked ready to retaliate to Ben's impudent grin, but he took a deep breath and seemed to put the matter aside. “We have known that Suktar has been building his army for the last fifty years, despite his insistence that it was only to defend his borders. The Department of Diplomacy did a pretty good job maintaining any sort of relationship with Suktar. But being the evil, power-hungry dark elf king that he is, war was inevitable sooner or later. Now it looks like sooner. We have reports that he is moving his army and targeting Fiorgan, a small but tactically important country about five hundred miles west of Spain.”
Ben was enraptured by the revelation, but it didn't answer his most basic question. “What does that have to do with me?”
“I'm getting there,” Draven said. “Part of Suktar's strategy when preparing an invasion is to try to distract us. So the Shadowseeker who caused havoc in our Croydon headquarters could easily have been Suktar's attempt to do just that. I hope, for your sake, that it was.”
Ben didn't like the way Draven finished that sentence. “Why? What is a Shadowseeker? And what else would he be doing?”
“Shadowseekers are Suktar's personal assassins,” Wren said, taking over. “They can move almost undetected and can penetrate enemy lines like nothing else I know. Normally they are sent to eliminate a specific target. Now it's only speculation, and I personally feel it unlikely, but there is a chance the Shadowseeker was looking for you.”
Ben's throat suddenly felt dry. “Why me?”
“The same reason as before,” Draven said. “He wants to get to your parents. The real question is – why does he want them so badly?”
Draven, Colin and even Wren were now looking at him expectantly. Ben managed to keep a straight face and said nothing.
“Obviously we cannot let the dark elves use you as bait again,” Draven continued. “So I would like to have one of my Wardens watch over you. Additionally, I don't want – I mean I would prefer it if you did not leave Taecia until your parents have returned.”
“What?” Ben said, his voice rising. “Is that an order?”
“No, it is not,” Wren said, before Draven could reply, her voice soft and soothing. “It is simply a request we feel would help you and make your time here safer.”
“If the Shadowseeker is after you, then you could be in considerable danger, even within the safety of the Institute,” Colin said.
“They could infiltrate the Institute?”
“Possibly,” Colin said.
“But if I had one of my Wardens watching you, it's unlikely they would reveal themselves. And even if they did, my best Wardens are more than a match for them.”
If they were tr
ying to scare him, it was working. Ben felt sick at the thought that a Shadowseeker could be lurking round the corner, waiting to take him out. But having a Warden watching him would scupper all his plans, and give Draven the perfect excuse to have someone spying on him the whole time.
“I'll be fine on my own,” Ben said.
“Fine?” Draven said, his face going red and his bushy eyebrows soaring upwards. Ben prepared himself for the inevitable tirade, but Wren raised a slender hand, and Draven's voice seemed to stick in his throat.
“You are perfectly entitled to decline,” Wren said. “It is extremely unlikely a Shadowseeker would ever penetrate the Institute. We have powerful wards at every entrance point and even within the building.”
“What about the incident with Prince Robert?” Draven said.
“That was a long time ago,” Wren said, giving Draven a stern look. “A lot of things went wrong that have been rectified since then.”
“It's still possible,” Draven said stubbornly.
“I would definitely recommend the security,” Colin said. “Draven's Wardens are very good; you will barely notice them. However, as Wren says, the choice is yours.”
“Good. I'll pass, thanks,” Ben said, giving Draven a meaningful stare.
Draven clenched his fist, and gave Ben a nasty smile. “You think this is all some joke, don't you, Ben? Well, I'm going to be watching your progress closely. The apprenticeship success rate for those new to the Unseen Kingdoms is less than one in ten, and if you think you're a special case because of your parents, then you're horribly mistaken. The passing mark for you is the same as for everyone else.”
“That's enough, Draven,” Wren said.
But Draven wasn't listening. He pointed a stubby finger at Ben, ready to launch another tirade. A sharp knocking on the door cut him short.
“Who is it?” Draven asked sharply, staring daggers at the door.
The door opened and in stepped Dagmar, calmly surveying the scene.
“What do you think you’re doing? Can't you see we're in a meeting?”