Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy (18 page)

Josh shook their hands and he
stared at Ben curiously.

“Not Ben Greenwood of the
infamous Greenwood family?”

“That’s right,”
Ben said, with barely masked impatience.

Josh gave him a sympathetic
smile. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents.”

“What do you mean?”
Ben asked. He kept his voice mild, his expression neutral, but there
was something in Josh’s voice that annoyed him.

“You seem like a decent
guy, but having a mum and dad of such poor character will reflect
badly on you. I’ve seen it with many other apprentices –
those who have strong, successful parents often do better. Take
myself as an example.”

Ben felt Natalie’s hand on
his shoulder, but it did little to calm his growing anger. “The
treason my parents have been accused of is nonsense.”

Josh nodded. “Supporting
your parents is admirable. It is just unfortunate that their criminal
records count against them.”

“What criminal records?”

“You don’t know?”
Josh said, with mild surprise. “I thought the Institute would
have told you of all people. Perhaps they didn’t want you to
suffer.”

Ben started clenching and
unclenching his fists in an effort to stop them from throttling Josh.

“My parents don’t
have criminal records,” he said.

Josh gave him a look like a
mother breaking the news to her son that Santa doesn’t exist.
“I’m afraid they do. Unlike your parents’ current
predicament, this one is a matter of historical record.”

Ben wanted to deny it, but
something unpleasant had settled in his stomach. “For what?”
he asked.

Josh smiled and tapped his nose
in a friendly manner. “I don’t think it would be right to
say, do you? If you haven’t been told by now, it’s clear
the directors don’t want you to know.”

For a moment, Ben was too angry
to do anything except concentrate on not hitting Josh. He was
probably sixteen and looked like he worked out, but Ben was confident
that he could take him down, especially if Charlie pitched in like he
did against the dark elf.

“Josh, that isn’t
fair,” Natalie said, but her pleading only seemed to delight
Josh.

“I’m sorry, but it
just wouldn’t be right,” Josh said. “Look, I can
already see Ben’s lip quivering; let’s move on before he
gets too upset. A few of us are going to the Horse and Groom for a
few drinks. Unfortunately, Ben and Charlie look too young to join us,
but I’m sure I could get you in.”

“No, thank you,”
Natalie said curtly. “It’s time we got going.”

Josh, however, did not move from
the open doorway despite Natalie’s obvious intent to walk
through.

“I’m sorry,”
Josh said. “The Director of Diplomacy, Colin Seymour himself,
told me to stand guard and not let anyone through. He is holding an
important meeting and needs some privacy.”

Natalie gave him a dazzling smile
that made Ben’s skin tingle despite not being the recipient.
“We just need to get to the Victorian history section,”
she said. “We’ll only be a second.”

“No can do,” Josh
said, with an uncaring shrug. He smiled, showing his sparkling teeth
in a manner he clearly thought charming. “My offer still stands
for drinks tonight though, if you tire of looking after these two.”

Natalie turned to face Ben and
Charlie with a helpless look. Charlie looked angrier than Ben could
remember. His fists were balled and his cheeks were red, however, he
did nothing but give Josh an evil look.

Little thought went into Ben’s
plan – partly because he didn’t have the time, but mostly
because he was angry and itching to do something.

He lunged forward and in one
smooth movement pulled Natalie’s Spellshooter out of her
holster and aimed it at Josh.

Josh’s eyes widened in
surprise. He seemed unaware Ben had no clue how to use a Spellshooter
or perhaps he was too scared to realise it. His tanned face suddenly
looked significantly less brown.

“What are you doing?”
He looked at Ben and clearly didn’t like what he saw, for he
turned to Natalie. She looked as startled as Josh but said nothing.

“As I have the Spellshooter
pointing at your face, I will ask the questions,” Ben said,
relishing the fear in Josh’s eyes. “Let’s talk
about my parents. What crime are they accused of?”

“I don’t know,”
Josh said. He was looking down the barrel as if there were a snake
inside. Ben made a show of readying his trigger finger on the
Spellshooter and Josh let out an involuntary moan.

“I swear it!” Josh
said. “The only thing I know was that your parents pleaded
guilty and spent a year in jail. It happened many years ago, before
you were born.”

“They pleaded guilty?”

Josh nodded, slightly
frantically. “Yes, that’s what made the court case so
strange. The Institute was prepared to defend them, but they declared
their guilt and were offered a lenient penalty in return.”

Ben’s head started to swim,
but he forced his questions aside and inched the Spellshooter forward
until Josh was looking at the barrel cross-eyed beneath his nose.

“It’s the truth,”
Josh said. “You can look at the records in the Justice section
for proof.”

Ben glanced at Natalie who
nodded. He hesitated for a moment. He desperately wanted to look up
his parents’ court case, but it would mean missing the meeting
between Colin, Draven and Elessar. Even now they might be too late.

“Get out of here,”
Ben said.

Josh looked like such a pathetic
wreck that Ben lowered his Spellshooter. The instant he did so,
Josh’s face transformed. The fear vanished and he raised his
own Spellshooter with a look of triumph.

But Ben was quicker.

He aimed his Spellshooter like a
seasoned cowboy. The instant he touched the trigger time seemed to
blur. In his mind he could see with crystal clarity, down to the
finest tone of colour, the coloured pellets floating in the orb. He
could see the elements they were made of, their strengths and exactly
what each one did. The advice from the Spellshooter teacher came back
to him.
If you concentrate and command it well enough, the spell will obey.
Ben focused on a tiny yellow pellet with every ounce of willpower he
had, casting aside any doubts it might not work.

He pressed the trigger and fired,
a fraction of a second before Josh.

Ben had visions of a ball of
energy hurling towards Josh and knocking him off his feet. What he
got was a tiny yellow ball so insubstantial it looked like it might
splutter into nothing. It curved erratically and hit him on the arm.

Josh’s face glazed over and
he fell to the floor, breathing but unconscious. Ben nudged him with
his foot; he didn’t move.

“Not quite what I
envisioned,” Ben said, inspecting the Spellshooter.

“Did the job though,”
Charlie said.

He handed the Spellshooter back
to Natalie, but she made no move to retrieve it. She was staring at
him with such astonishment her green eyes seemed to take up half her
face.

“You fired the
Spellshooter,” she said.

“It was pathetic,”
Ben said, Natalie’s astonishment making him slightly
uncomfortable. “It almost disintegrated before it reached Josh
and he was only standing about a foot away.”

Natalie shook her head. “Most
people can’t fire anything for at least a month and it takes
double that for the spell to do anything effective.”

“I’m a fast learner,”
Ben said. He was looking at the doorway, eager to get going. Natalie
finally took back the Spellshooter. She looked down at the
unconscious Josh and aimed her Spellshooter at him. Before Ben could
ask what she was doing, she fired. A small silver bullet hit him with
a soft pop and Josh disappeared.

“We don’t want anyone
seeing him lying there,” Natalie said. “Both those spells
should last about half an hour.”

Ben led them though the doorway
back into a maze of bookshelves. It was dark and musty, but it was
his ears, not his eyes, Ben was relying on. After a moment of walking
as quickly as he dared through the shelves, Ben picked up the sound
of familiar voices. He slowed to a crawl, the voices slowly getting
louder until he had to stop for fear of turning a corner and running
right into the meeting.

All three of them strained their
ears to listen. Colin was speaking, an edge of concern in his voice.

“…to more important
matters: who will pick up Ben Greenwood tonight? This procedure must
be carried out as quietly as possible.”

“I will,” Draven
said. “He’s a slippery one, but I know how to deal with
him.”

“Unharmed,” Elessar
said. “We need him in perfect condition for the Memory Search.”

Ben bit his lip to stop from
crying out.

“How will he cope with the
stress of the spell?” Draven asked.

“There are many variables.
We delve much deeper into his subconscious than you, but every effort
will be made to retain his sanity.”

There was a moment’s
silence. Ben prayed that Colin and Draven were having second
thoughts.

“I want a full and
immediate withdrawal from Burnstad,” Colin said. “I also
want an official cessation of hostilities towards the Institute.”

“We will withdraw from
Burnstad. I am not authorised by my king to grant your other
request.”

“I suggest you obtain
authorisation,” Colin said. “Otherwise we do not have an
agreement.”

There was a faint hiss. “You
ask a lot for a boy my king feels is owed to us anyway.”

“I could never explain this
to the Council for anything less,” Colin said.

“I agree. Those are the
terms,” Draven said, his rough voice cutting through the book
shelves. “King Suktar can take them or leave them.”

“I will speak to my king,”
Elessar said. “I hope, for your sake, he does not take
offence.”

There was a sudden shuffling of
feet and the sound of footsteps approaching.

Ben, Charlie and Natalie
retreated as quickly and silently as possible, past the small room
where an invisible Josh lay and back into the relative comfort of the
main library.

Ben needed to get outside. His
heart was racing. He knew he was in no immediate danger, but he
couldn’t shake the feeling that Draven was just around the
corner, ready to spring out and catch him. Ignoring questions from
Charlie and Natalie as they hurried behind, Ben kept walking, leaving
the library and hurrying down the grand staircase and through the
main lobby.

The sun on his face and blue sky
above gave him a feeling of freedom he had never really appreciated
before. He hurried along the Institute’s grounds and only
stopped when they had exited the gate.

There was no going back to the
Institute now, with the plans that had been instigated in Wren’s
absence. Part of him wanted to scream at everything they had just
witnessed. Someone should be able to help them, someone who could
expose the obvious wrongs being perpetrated.

He took a deep breath and turned
around to face a perplexed Natalie and a huffing and puffing Charlie.
The time had come to lose Natalie, unless he could persuade her to
help. Would she agree to his plan? Last night he would have said no,
but everything had changed. Would she still side with the Institute
or could he make her see reason? The prospect of finding the wood
elves without her knowledge of the Unseen Kingdoms was daunting.

“Is there somewhere safe we
can talk?” Ben asked. “I have a plan. It will take some
explaining.”

Natalie
led them back to the hotel. Ben wasn’t happy about the
proximity to the dark elves, but he reluctantly agreed this was the
best place for a bit of peace and quiet.

This time they went to Natalie’s
room. It was just as welcoming with one king-size bed instead of the
two twins. Ben, Natalie and Charlie sat on the chairs surrounding the
fireplace, nibbling on biscuits that had been placed on the table for
them.

“So, what’s this
plan?” Natalie asked.

This was it – the moment of
truth. To include her in his mad plan or to blow her off? He had
agonised over the decision the moment they fled the library, but he
was no closer to an answer. Natalie was looking at him with
inquisitive green eyes and a strange smile. Ben had no idea what she
found funny, but it highlighted one of her assets – she was
beautiful. A pretty girl was always useful, especially one as chatty
as Natalie. More importantly, she also knew her way round the Unseen
Kingdoms; she was born there. But her blind allegiance to the
Institute meant if he did reveal his plan, she might just report them
to the Institute; after all, the Executive Council had ordered him
not to leave Taecia. Additionally, she didn’t seem to be the
brightest lamp on the street; given the obstacles they might
encounter, this was another strike against her.

“Hello?” Natalie
said. “You mentioned something about a plan?”

Why was she smiling at him? He
was trying to concentrate and it was distracting. Charlie was looking
at him anxiously, but offered no words of encouragement. Ben wished
he could have gotten Charlie’s advice, but there had been no
time.

Ben grit his teeth. He knew what
he had to do.

“I bet I can guess your
plan.”

Ben looked at Natalie in
surprise. Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

“You want to track down the
wood elves that put the spell on you.”

Ben’s jaw dropped. He cast
an accusing look at Charlie. “You told her!”

“No, I didn’t,”
Charlie said. He too was staring at Natalie, mouth agape.

“Nobody told me. I figured
it out. It wasn’t difficult really, with your constant
questions about the wood elves and where to find them.”

Ben was speechless, which only
seemed to delight Natalie further.

She pointed a finger at him. “You
thought I was an airhead, didn’t you? You assumed I was too dim
to work out what you were up to.”