by Victor Kloss
“Where the hell are you, Charlie?” Ben muttered, an unexplainable anger surfacing.
“Patience, Mr. Greenwood,” Dagmar said.
“Patience?” Ben said, glancing at his watch. “Unless my watch has sped up, he's only got two minutes left. It's 5:58pm.”
“And here he is,” Dagmar said, with a little smile.
Charlie staggered through the entrance in such a state that it made Ben look impeccably clean. His clothes were torn, his trousers were shredded, and there were strands of hay stuck to his body and hair. His skin looked tender and bruised and Ben spotted several open wounds. In his hand he held a large bird cage, and in that cage was a small pixie, buzzing around furiously, but clearly unable to escape.
“It’s 5:59pm,” Dagmar said, taking the bird cage and inspecting her watch. “You should give yourself a little more leeway in the future, Mr. Hornberger.”
Charlie managed a flicker of a smile. “I like to live on the edge.”
Then he collapsed in a heap on the floor.
— Chapter Twenty-Six —
The Secret Search
Charlie spent the night in the healing room and by the following morning he was back on his feet, though he still looked battered and bruised, with a nasty scar that ran across his right cheek.
The three of them were sitting in the common room, having just had muster. Most apprentices had either left for their morning chores or else to study. Ben and Charlie had the luxury of being excused from both until their exam results came in, next Monday. They could more or less do as they pleased until then, which was perfect timing, as they needed every last moment to search for the caves beneath the Institute. It was Tuesday and the solar eclipse was on Friday.
“You know what the ironic thing is?” Charlie said, sipping his tea. “I was actually doing quite well. My mission was to capture this lunatic, mentally unstable pixie that was causing mischief in London. I spent a lot of time researching this pixie and her life, as well as their culture, so that I would have the best chance possible of capturing her peacefully.”
“I'm guessing it didn't go to plan?” Ben said.
“Actually, it did. I tracked the pixie and we had a good chat. It took about half an hour, but I managed to get her to willingly go into the cage. Everything was going swimmingly.”
“So what happened?” Natalie asked.
“Well, everything had gone so well that I hadn't needed to use any force, so I hadn't been tested in the Department of Spellswords. To rectify that, the examiner threw a hungry imp my way. You know how well imps and pixies get along.”
“Not great, I'm guessing,” Ben said.
“Think elves and dwarves, then multiply their animosity by a hundred,” Charlie said. “Anyway, I bumped into this imp on my way back to London Victoria station. I'm sure one of the examiners placed him there to test me. That's when all hell broke loose. The spells I purchased in Taecia Square were useless. I couldn't afford any good ones, and my attempt to bargain with the chap selling the spells was shot down. Of the ones I purchased, I only got a couple to actually work. In the end, it turned into a massive three-way brawl – me and the pixie against the imp. It wasn't pleasant.”
Ben couldn't help laughing. “I wish someone had recorded that. You could have been an internet sensation.”
“Very funny,” Charlie said. “Just to make matters worse, I spotted at least half a dozen people who may have seen the imp in plain view and I didn't have enough spells to blank their memories.”
“The Institute will clean that up,” Natalie said.
“I'm sure they will, but it doesn't exactly bode well for my Warden score, does it?”
Neither Ben nor Natalie had a suitable reply.
“Let's talk about the cavern,” Ben said, when Jake and Alan, a couple of Fours, left the common room, leaving them alone. “Where should we start? I've never seen anything below the ground floor.”
“There are old dungeons beneath the Institute,” Natalie said. “They are no longer used now, but they were housed in the basement.”
“That's a start,” Ben said, brightening. “How do we get there?”
“I've never been down there, but I think you access them from another entrance round the back of the Institute. Obviously that door is now locked and barred.”
“Obviously,” Charlie said. “Otherwise it would be too easy.”
“Well, shall we check it out?” Ben said.
They had to wait until lunch as Natalie had to complete her morning chores. Ben and Charlie spent the remaining time in the library, looking for any mention of a cavern beneath the Institute.
“Any joy?” Natalie asked, when they told her what they'd been up to.
“Lots of interesting stuff, but nothing useful,” Charlie said, and he proceeded to give Natalie a brief history lesson on the Institute dungeons, listing all the famous people they had housed and a lengthy explanation on why they were no longer used. Natalie did a good job of listening and an even better one of seeming interested, Ben thought, as she led them outside and round the back of the Institute. A small outbuilding, no more than a shed with an arched roof, was attached to the back of the grand Institute building, looking rather out of place.
“There it is,” Natalie said.
The little building had no door. Inside was a staircase that led down to the basement and, presumably, the dungeon. Blocking the entrance to the dungeon was a stone door.
In front of that door stood Dagmar.
“Back!” Ben hissed, the moment he saw the Master of Apprentices.
They quickly hid behind the walls of the outbuilding. Ben poked his head around so he could see down the stairs.
“What on earth is she doing here?” Charlie whispered.
Very little, it seemed. Dagmar stood in front of the door, her hand feeling the stone and the bolts fastened across it. She turned suddenly, without warning, and Ben moved his head away just in time.
“We need to hide,” Ben said, urgently. He spotted a large oak tree less than ten paces away and darted behind it. The trunk was so large that when Charlie and Natalie followed suit, there was enough space for all three of them.
Ben did a slow count to twenty before poking his head round the tree. Dagmar had gone. She must have walked the other way round the Institute. Nevertheless, they approached the stairs cautiously, and relaxed only when they verified she was truly gone.
The stairs were sturdy but well worn, and they descended them carefully, stopping at the bottom when they reached the bolted door. Ben tested his strength against it; the door didn't budge.
“Is there no other way in?” Ben asked.
“There may be, but I don't know about it,” Natalie said.
“Well, we'll need to find one, because short of shooting some serious spells at this door, it's not going to budge.”
“Do you think Dagmar was trying to get in?”
“I don't know, but I wish I did,” Ben said.
Over the next few days, they had little time to think about Dagmar, instead focusing their energy searching for the cavern. It was tricky at times because they believed the cavern entrance would most likely be on the ground floor, which was always busy. There were plenty of doors that led off from the ground floor, but it was difficult to explore them without arousing suspicion. Ben managed it a couple of times, but he got caught by an Institute member who accused him of trying to sneak his way to the magic lifts, which were restricted to senior Institute members.
Tuesday became Wednesday and Ben started taking even greater risks, searching areas of the Institute he shouldn't be setting foot in for several years. On another day, he would have been mesmerised by what he saw, but right now he felt only a growing desperation. There was simply no passage or stairway that showed any sign of leading to the cavern. Ben became obsessed with finding it, and every waking minute was spent either searching or discussing where it could be.
By the time Thursday rolled round, Ben was certain he had se
arched everywhere he could physically gain access to, with no joy.
“I don't want to state the obvious, but we're running out of time,” Charlie said.
The three of them were returning from Taecia Square, where Natalie had been instructed to pick up a new spellshooter from the “W” store on behalf of a prominent Institute member.
“We must be missing something,” Ben said, slamming a fist into an open hand. “There has to be a passageway or a hidden door somewhere. We just have to keep looking.”
Ben was fully aware how desperate he sounded, but he didn't care. If they couldn't find the forreck tomorrow, they would lose their one chance to get Elizabeth's Boots. The next solar eclipse didn't happen for six months. The dark elves could have launched a full-scale war by then.
“We'll find it,” Natalie said, injecting her voice with a determination and certainty that lifted Ben's gloom. “Why don't Charlie and I head back to the library to see if we can discover anything more, while you keep searching?”
Ben couldn't think of anywhere to search that he'd not already looked, but he agreed with the plan; the alternative was to accept defeat, which was out of the question.
Charlie and Natalie headed up to the library, already chatting about some obscure reference to a book that might help. Ben watched them head up the stairs, and then surveyed the ground floor, hands on hips, for what felt like the millionth time. He mentally ran through each doorway and visualised what lay beyond. This was no good. He'd been everywhere, many places more than once. He had looked everywhere inside. What did that leave?
Outside.
Ben wandered outside the Institute, and decided to circle round the building again. He must have done it three dozen times in the last couple of days, yet he still felt a glimmer of irrational hope that maybe this time he would spot something.
The sky was blue and the sun's rays lightened his mood a little. He did a couple of circles around the Institute, looking for a sign of an opening, a crevice, a false stone – anything that might look suspicious. Again, he found nothing, and ended up by the little outbuilding.
Ben thought again of Dagmar. What had she been doing? Taking a quick glance around to make sure nobody was in sight, Ben descended the stairs again, stopping at the door. He placed a hand on the stone and slapped it. It was as solid as it looked. Ben bit his lip in frustration. They had tried a dozen different ways to open the door in the last few days without success. Had Dagmar been trying to work out how to open it as well? He recalled her staring at the door; she certainly hadn't been resorting to force.
Ben placed a hand on the stone, feeling its hard texture. It was the first time Ben had actually touched the door without the intention of breaking the thing down, and he was surprised by how cool it felt.
Something touched the edge of Ben's mind, making him jump. A faint consciousness. Ben gave a sudden intake of breath. It was the door; it felt alive. Ben thought of the lockers in the Institute, but this was different. The lockers were a magical race inhabiting the lockers. This door was a consciousness unto itself.
Ben ran his hand over each stone, touching softly, with a tenderness normally reserved for a pet. The further down the door he went, the stronger the consciousness became, until the door felt like a real person. Ben was on his hands and knees now, touching the stone at the base of the door, focusing on the consciousness, hoping for a sign or a signal.
Then he saw it.
An outline of a door within the door, so faint that unless he focused he lost sight of it. The inner door was no more than three feet high and fit underneath the bolt. Ben began searching for a handle of some sort, his face just inches from the door. It took him a moment; the handle was so well camouflaged it was something he could only feel, not see. Holding his breath, Ben turned the handle. There was a faint click, and the tiny door opened.
Darkness lay beyond, but just enough sunlight crept through to make out stairs. Lots of stairs.
— Chapter Twenty-Seven —
Beneath the Institute
“A living door? Even by today's standards that's weird,” Charlie said.
Ben had rushed into the library and practically dragged Charlie and Natalie outside, before revealing his discovery.
They were now loitering in the front courtyard with great impatience, waiting for an opportune moment to circle the Institute without being noticed. Draven and a couple of his Wardens were talking by the water fountain.
“Doesn't he have anything better to do?” Ben asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
Five painful minutes later, Draven finally walked – stomped might be a better word – back into the Institute and for a moment, at least, the courtyard was empty.
They walked quickly round to the back of the Institute and hurried to the little outbuilding. After a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, they went down the steps and stopped at the stone door.
“Now what?” Charlie said.
Ben pressed a gentle hand against the stone. He felt the door's presence immediately, almost like touching a tree brimming with life.
“Touch there,” Ben said, retreating his own hand.
Charlie did so, his face a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. After a moment he retreated his hand and shook his head.
“I don't feel anything,” he said.
“Really? How's that possible? You're more sensitive than I am to these things.”
Natalie extended her slender arm. “Let me try.”
Her hand stayed on the door for even less time than Charlie's.
“Nothing for me either,” she said.
Ben felt a moment of alarm. He touched it again himself, and once again felt its life pulsing through him, if anything, stronger than before.
“It's still there,” Ben said, with a sigh of relief. “I don't understand how you're not feeling it.”
“Maybe it's a Guardian thing,” Natalie suggested.
Ben hadn't thought of that. Charlie clearly thought Natalie might be on to something, for his face lit up.
“That would make sense,” Charlie said. “Maybe this is another one of those passages that only Guardians can access, just like the one that led to the common room.”
“Well, let's see if I can still get it open,” Ben said.
His hand went slowly down the door, feeling the texture of the stone, just like last time. And just like last time, the door's consciousness became more significant the further down he went. He got onto his hands and knees, feeling the stone, looking for the edges of the little door.
This time he saw it clearly. Even the handle, which he could previously detect only by touch, was visible. Ben turned it carefully. The door clicked, and opened. Ben turned round and grinned at Natalie and Charlie, whose excitement mirrored his own.
Inside was a set of stairs that descended steeply into an inky blackness. Ben crawled through the doorway and clambered onto the stairs. He stood up and grazed his head on the ceiling. The passageway was so narrow he could reach out and touch both walls with his hands. The air felt stale and it was cold enough to make him shiver. He went down a couple of steps, giving Charlie and Natalie enough room to squeeze in. Charlie shut the little door behind them and they were instantly plunged into darkness. Ben put his hand on the wall for fear of losing his balance.
“Sorry,” Charlie said, his voice echoing from behind. “I don't suppose anyone brought a torch?”
“I did actually,” Natalie said. She fired her spellshooter and a beam of light shone forth. The darkness was so intense that the light only penetrated a couple of steps, but it was enough for Ben to make his way slowly down. The stairs led them to a long, wide passageway with old torch lamps hanging from the walls, giving the place a dim, gloomy ambience.
“The dungeon,” Charlie said softly.
At regular intervals along the passageway were prison cells, their doors ajar. Ben walked slowly, inspecting each cell. They were uniformly empty, save for one, which contained a pile of old bon
es. At the end of the passageway was a set of keys hanging from the wall; they looked like they were for the cell doors.
“Twenty cells,” Natalie said. “Most in need of a good spring clean.”
Ben surveyed the dungeon, hands on hips. “There's nothing here.”
“I wouldn't expect there to be,” Charlie said. “Lornor said the boots and the forreck were in a cavern, not a dungeon.”
“So now what?”
“If there is a cavern underneath the Institute, there's a good chance it’s connected to this dungeon. We just have to find it.”
They spent the next hour inspecting every inch of the dungeon, searching for clues. Each cell looked as though it had been cleaned out before it had been abandoned. Ben even took to inspecting the walls of each cell, searching for a possible secret entrance to the cavern. Finally, the three of them sank down against the wall, exhausted.
“I was sure we'd find the cavern entrance here,” Natalie said.
So had Ben. He had been so sure, he hadn't even considered that they might make it underneath the Institute and still fail. He wanted to get up and search the place again, but he knew it would be pointless.
Charlie's thoughtful face was in contrast to Ben’s and Natalie's dejected ones. He was tapping a chubby finger against his lip.
“I think we're doing this wrong,” Charlie said. “We've been stuck like this before and you, Ben, have always managed to get us through because of your unique position.”
“That's right,” Natalie said, sitting up straighter. “I completely forgot about that. As a Guardian, you're able to access hidden parts of the Institute.”
Ben felt a glimmer of hope, but it didn't quite match Natalie's sudden exuberance. “Normally that happens when we hit a barrier or a wall that we can't get past. How would that work here? I can't go around feeling every inch of surface – we'd be here all week.”