by Victor Kloss
She raised her spellshooter and fired at the ceiling.
Ben flung a hand in front of his face just in time. The store went bright white, as if the sun had suddenly paid them a very intimate visit. Even with a hand in front of his eyes, it was painful.
The dwarf screamed. Ben heard the axes clatter to the floor and the dwarf followed with a soft thud.
“Now – go!” Natalie shouted.
One hand still in front of his face, Ben fumbled towards the storefront, Natalie and Charlie just behind. He yanked the door open and hit the cobbled pathway at a dead run. They didn’t stop until they were safely amongst the crowds at the Dragonway.
“I’m so sorry,” Charlie said, once he had his breath back. “I can’t believe how careless I was.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ben said. “We got out, thanks to Natalie’s quick thinking. And now we have a name.”
“Hunter Abney,” Natalie said, with a smile.
“Let’s see what we can find of Mr. Abney,” Ben said.
— Chapter Eleven —
Fire Spells and Green Vegetables
“According to Facebook, Hunter Abney is the head science teacher,” Charlie said, his head buried in his iPhone. “Not the friendliest face I’ve ever seen.”
He showed them a photo of a surly-looking man, with untidy black hair, a hawked nose, and squinting eyes.
Ben had wanted to go to Edmund’s and search Hunter out the very next morning, but Charlie and Natalie had persuaded him that it made more sense to wait until school finished, when they could trail Hunter, rather than walk in to the school and attract unwanted attention.
“There’s not a lot else on him,” Charlie said. “He isn’t connected to any other social media, which isn’t surprising – he doesn’t exactly look like the social type. But give me a few hours and I bet I can find his home address.”
“Could he be the Guardian of the Helm?” Natalie said.
“I hope so,” Ben replied. “That would make things a lot easier than our search for the boots. Let’s just hope he knows where the helm is.”
Despite Ben’s impatience to meet Hunter, the day passed quickly, the apprenticeship taking his attention away from the helm, at least for the afternoon. He almost lost track of time studying The Ten Most Devious Trading Manoeuvres by the dwarf marketing guru Brior Gothpot.
A light thud on the table tore his eyes from the book. He looked up, to see that Amy and Beth had slid up next to him. Ben always had trouble telling the difference between the two, though he was fairly certain Beth’s hair was a fraction lighter.
“How are you?” Beth asked, with a sweet smile. They were both bubbling with energy and it was clear they had interrupted him for a reason.
Ben returned the smile. “I’m fine, thanks. Just doing a bit of reading for a change.”
Beth gave Amy a quick look, and then said in a rush, “Are you going out with Natalie?”
“No,” Ben said, caught by surprise. He was vaguely aware that Charlie was now listening keenly.
Amy tapped the table in frustration. “Darn!”
“Why is that bad?” Ben asked.
Amy looked embarrassed. “Well, it’s not…"
“It just means Natalie is available, which means Aaron might go out with her. Which would be a disaster,” Beth finished quickly, her cheeks flushing.
Before Ben could ask anything more, Amy stood up, and Beth followed her out of the library, whispering to each other.
“That was weird,” Ben said.
Charlie shrugged. “Not really. Haven’t you noticed how obsessed people are with Aaron? He’s friendly, smart, and a really good apprentice. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up going out with Natalie. She’s far and away the prettiest girl here.”
Ben didn’t respond. The thought of Natalie going out with Aaron made him feel queasy in a way he didn’t quite understand.
“Hello? Are you even listening?”
Ben became aware that Charlie was talking and waving a hand in front of his face. He shook himself and forced aside the unpleasant thought of Natalie and Aaron together. It was more difficult than he expected.
“Sorry - what were you saying?”
Charlie pointed at the book he had been reading, and Ben noticed the black leather jacket, masking the actual cover. He was reading one of the books they had discovered in the Guardians’ common room.
“I found something really interesting,” Charlie said, leaning forwards, his hands pressed on the table. There was a glint in his eye that made Ben forget all about Aaron.
It was almost three o’clock, so they quickly wrapped up, and headed down to the Institute entrance, to wait for Natalie.
“You look excited,” she commented to Charlie, as they made their way down the hill towards the Dragonway. “Been reading, I suspect?”
Charlie glanced about, to make sure nobody was within earshot. “The books we smuggled out of the Guardians’ common room are brilliant. I’ve been reading a lot about Elizabeth’s Armour.”
Charlie immediately had their undivided attention.
“As we know, each Guardian and their piece of Elizabeth’s Armour will have a role to play in defeating Suktar. You, Ben, and the sword will have the task of ending Suktar’s life. The Guardian with the shield has the task of protecting you against Suktar’s fiercest attacks, so you can make the killer blow.”
“Lovely,” Ben said. “Let’s hope the Guardian of the Shield possesses some serious courage.”
“We know from Dagmar,” Charlie continued, “that her task with the boots is to get the Guardians to Suktar. That leaves the breastplate and the helm.”
Ben was paying so much attention to Charlie that he almost stepped in a large pile of animal pooh.
“The breastplate I’ve yet to really research. It has been hard to nail down anything specific regarding the helm, but today I found something interesting. Apparently only the bearer of the helm will know how to defeat Suktar.”
“How?” Ben frowned. “So it’s not just a matter of sticking Elizabeth’s Sword into his black heart?”
“I think there is more to it than that,” Charlie said. “The book spoke of the helm-bearer being able to predict Suktar’s moves before they happen.”
“That would be handy,” Ben said. The three of them slowed down, reluctant to enter the crowded Dragonway while talking of such a sensitive subject.
Natalie turned back to the Institute, her eyes suddenly becoming distant. “That would change everything. Everyone is having such a hard time guessing what the dark elves are going to do, but imagine if we already knew. Imagine if we knew where he was going to invade and when.”
Nobody spoke for a full minute.
“Is that what the book says?” Ben asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” Charlie replied hesitantly. “It could be or it could be the helm’s powers are more specific – I don’t have enough information at this point.”
“Still, that’s good to know,” Ben said. “Have you uncovered anything else?”
Charlie tapped his cheek absently. “Yes, and no. I’m experiencing some difficulty tracing the bloodline of the helm.”
“Well, that can’t be easy,” Natalie said. “I had a really tough time with the boots.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
Charlie kicked a pebble absently, his hands now clasped behind his back. “What do you think would happen if a Guardian did not feel his son worthy of taking up the mantle and inheriting their piece of Elizabeth’s Armour?”
“He wouldn’t have a choice, would he?” Ben said. “Isn’t that the whole point? It has to follow bloodline?”
Charlie kicked the pebble again. “Maybe.” He kicked another. “But maybe not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Charlie admitted. “I need to do some more research.”
Ben felt like slapping him across his sizeable cheeks and demanding more answ
ers, but they were swallowed up by the Dragonway and the general confusion made it impossible to continue the conversation.
After the journey on the Dragonway, they took a bus ride from Croydon, and arrived back at Tiddlehurst. The autumn sun was setting, and Ben slung on a light jacket, the first time he’d needed one since spring.
“Are we going to Edmund’s?” Natalie asked.
“No need,” Charlie said. “I found Hunter’s address online. We can just go straight to his house.”
Ben pulled out his spellshooter and fired the tracking spell into the sky.
“Is that necessary?” Charlie asked. “We’re not on duty.”
Ben shrugged. “I like to practise. We don’t often get to use our spellshooters in the real world.”
Charlie glanced at his iPhone again. “Hunter lives on the other side of town.”
They followed the main road until it split, and took a left, heading down a gentle hill towards the train station. The road was lined with apartment blocks and several small neighbourhoods.
“There,” Charlie said. He was pointing to a small detached house across the street. It looked similar to the other houses, and certainly didn’t warrant any undue attention. The front garden was unkempt, but it was the door handle that caught Ben’s eye. It was an ornate iron thing, cast in the mould of an eagle.
“Shall we knock on the door and see if he’s home?” Natalie asked. “He may not be back from school yet.”
Ben was just about to rap the handle, when he heard the noise. It sounded like rain hitting glass, except that it wasn’t raining. There it was again, coming from the sky.
“Oh no,” Charlie moaned.
Ben turned. Up in the sky was a small shower of red sparks, like a tiny firework show.
“Unseen activity,” Natalie said, using her hand to frame her eyes from the sun. “Looks like it’s coming from the centre of town.”
Ben paused. They were so close to entering Hunter’s house. He thought about quickly knocking on the door. But if Hunter was in, then what? Ignore the Unseen activity?
“We’ll come back,” Ben said.
They hurried back up the street, towards the centre of town.
“Remember, our job is just to scout and report,” Charlie panted, as he struggled to keep up with Ben and Natalie.
In response, Ben fired his spellshooter skywards, with such nonchalance that he didn’t look to see the spell streak into the sky.
“That’s the reporting part done,” Ben said. “The Institute will be informed shortly.”
“So why are we still running towards the incident?” Charlie asked. “Wasn’t the whole plan that real Institute members deal with stuff like this? I quite liked that idea.”
“I want to see what’s going on,” Ben said. “The Institute won’t get here in time to stop any danger. They will just come to clean up.”
“Don’t worry,” Natalie said, giving Charlie a reassuring smile. “We’re just going to look. We’re not going to jump into anything we can’t handle.”
Rather than placate Charlie, Natalie’s comment made him stony-faced, and Ben knew why. The last thing Charlie wanted was Natalie to think him weak. Ben didn’t blame him, especially as Ben knew that, when push came to shove, there were fewer people braver than Charlie. But he couldn’t worry about Charlie’s feelings now. If he was correct, the shower of sparks originated right around the next corner.
Ben heard gasps and knew immediately to expect trouble. He wasn’t wrong.
“Oh no,” Natalie said, her hand going to her mouth.
In the middle of the road was a pygmy troll, and it was holding a Mini above its head as if it were no more than a toy. The pygmy troll was no taller than four feet, but, like most trolls, it was built almost entirely of muscle, with broad shoulders and gorilla-like arms. Its ugly, stone-chipped face was grinning manically, and it was yapping away in its native tongue.
“What’s the plan?” Charlie asked. He had his spellshooter drawn and was surveying the scene grimly.
“You and Natalie neutralise as many people as possible,” Ben said. “I’m going to have a word with the troll.“He stepped forwards, and then paused. “What are their weaknesses again?”
“Fire-based spells and green vegetables,” Charlie said immediately.
Ben stepped forwards, his spellshooter raised. He didn’t want to create more of a scene, but, at the same time, he needed to scare the troll away. It was creating havoc and was far too dangerous to have right in the middle of the town. He took a deep breath, and scanned the spells in his orb, searching for the most appropriate fire spells.He pointed his spellshooter at the troll, and waited to see if it would react. It didn’t. Too bad. Ben fired a compressed fireball. It seared through the air and hit the troll square on the chest.
The troll cried out and Ben was again reminded of a gorilla. Ben tensed himself, readying for a troll backlash. With a show of impossible strength, the troll swung the car back, and then launched it right at Ben. Ben’s astonishment lasted until he realised he was about to be flattened by a car. He rolled forwards and ducked; the car crashed harmlessly behind him on the empty road.
He was now close enough to see a spark of intelligence within those brown troll eyes.Ben took a measured risk, lowered his spellshooter and spoke in a soft, measured voice. “If you come with me, I will see you safely back to the Unseen Kingdoms. If you resist arrest, you will be in danger.”
“Not safe with you, wizard,” the troll said, in a deep voice more associated with his larger cousins.
The troll turned, and bounded off down the road with surprising speed.
Ben turned. Natalie was tending to an injured man, and Charlie was busy zapping a few stunned businessmen.
“Go after him!” Charlie said. “Natalie and I have this.”
Ben took off in pursuit, keeping a firm eye on his target. The troll stayed on the main road only for a minute, before turning into a car park. Ben hurled himself into the car park and up the levels. He could see small cracks in the tarmac, where the footsteps of the troll had been, giving Ben an easy path to follow.
Every time he turned a corner, he could just make out the troll in front of him, rounding the next one. They reached the top of the car park, and still the troll ran, until there was nowhere else to go. The troll stood upon the ledge and turned back to face Ben, panting.
Ben put his spellshooter away and raised both his hands. “Calm down, mate, you don’t want to do anything stupid.”
“You the stupid one,” the troll said, spittle coming from his cracked lips. “Your kingdom is finished, yet you still fight.”
Ben frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Thirty days until they come. Then you finished and we can roam freely.” The troll grinned.
“Thirty days until who comes?” Ben asked. He drew his spellshooter, and a split second later realised he’d made the wrong move.
The troll crouched down and then, with a mighty leap, jumped off the car park.
Ben acted on instinct. He pointed his spellshooter, summoned forth a spell, and sent a dozen flamed arrows towards the troll. The troll managed to pluck the first two from the sky, but the rest pierced its rock-like skin. The troll cried out. Its forward momentum faltered and it fell from the sky, hitting the ground below with a mighty thud.
— Chapter Twelve —
The Prince
The following morning they headed up the Institute staircase with more urgency than usual. Members hurried by, but they were so intent on their destinations that they barely noticed Ben, Charlie and Natalie.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with to report the incident?” Natalie asked, her green eyes looking at Ben with concern.
“Yes. I was the only one there, and it will be easier.”
“We’ll wait for you in the common room,” Charlie said.
Ben nodded, and they parted ways, Charlie and Natalie heading off to the apprenticeship floor. Ben continued up
the stairs.
He would rather see Wren, or even Alex, alone, but that was almost impossible these days. The executive council was nearly always in some meeting or another, and Ben didn’t have time to wait until they were alone.
By the time Ben made it to the executive floor at the top of the Institute, he was no closer to a plan of action, beyond saying exactly what happened and hoping they didn’t ask too many questions. Much depended on whether Draven was there or not.
Ben passed through doors, barely noticing the expensively appointed décor, the plush red carpet or the gold trimmings on the wooden panels. He stopped at a large door that said “Executive Council”. Ben cursed silently. Even from outside, he could hear Draven. Ben took a calming breath, focused, and knocked firmly three times.
“Come in,” Draven said, clearly annoyed.
That was a start. Ben had expected to be turned away. He grasped the gold handle and opened the door.
Seated around a large table was the entire executive council, each with five diamonds hovering impressively over their shoulders. In the centre was Prince Robert, with his own set of diamonds. He wore a weathered brown cloak and his hair looked a little ruffled, as if he had just returned from somewhere. Ben instantly felt the prince’s gold-flecked eyes on his. Draven was staring at him with undisguised hostility, but his negative energy was countered by Wren’s warm glow. Alex winked at him when they met eye contact. Ben couldn’t tell if the Director of Trade was smiling or if those slightly upturned lips were his default expression. He wore his blue jedi-style cloak, and a gold coin ran through his fingers with remarkable dexterity. Colin, the Director of Diplomacy, was also there, his black suit as spotless as ever. The final member, Victoria, Director of Scholars, he was least familiar with, but he remembered her peculiar choice of clothes well. She had long, brown hair and glasses that magnified her eyes to scary proportions. Her furry, blue jumper clashed horribly with her flowered trousers.
Six sets of eyes stared at him, with varying levels of interest and affection.
“This had better be good, Ben,” Draven said. “Apprentices are not even allowed on this floor, let alone into an executive council meeting.”