Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy (27 page)

There was no fear in the elf’s
eyes, just serenity, and perhaps a hint of amusement.

“Very good, human,”
the elf said, in his child voice.

Ben sensed movement behind a
second before he felt the pain. Something hit him on his head and he
blacked out.

Ben woke to the smell of fresh grass with absolutely no recollection of
where he was. His enchanted jacket was still dry, but his trousers
were damp from dew. He moved his hand slowly to the back of his head
and he felt a little bump, which hurt to touch.

Pain brought the memories
flooding back.

The wood elves. The green light.

Ben’s eyes shot open.
Daylight was flooding through the tall trees. The birds were chirping
and the forest seemed normal.

He got to his feet, feeling a
little sore. His stomach rumbled. He was so hungry; it felt like he
hadn’t eaten for a week. Distracted by his empty belly, it took
him a second to realise he wasn’t alone. Far from it.

He was surrounded by wood elves.
They were standing in a perfect circle around the trees Ben and
Charlie had set camp in. His initial reaction was panic, remembering
the mental war with the child elf the previous night, but reason
stopped him from fleeing. The elves had clearly been here some time.
If they wanted to get rid of him, they could have done so while he
was sleeping.

They all had faint auras like the
child last night, though some of the elves seemed to glow more than
others. The combined effect was a halo that enclosed him and the
trees. The elves wore green and brown clothes, blending in with the
forest, but the elf right in front of him stood out with gold trim on
his shirt and breeches.

“Good morning, Ben
Greenwood,” the elf said. There was a warmth in his face that
Ben found reassuring. His voice was soft and had a peculiar echo to
it.

“Who are you?” Ben
asked.

“Why don’t we do
introductions after your friend has woken?” the elf said.

Ben had been so glued to the
elves he hadn’t noticed Charlie sleeping nearby. Last night he
had been hypnotised by the green light and disappeared into the
forest. Had the elves brought him back or had he recovered?

“Charlie,” Ben
whispered, giving him a nudge.

Charlie was slow to wake until he
saw the wood elves, at which point he scrambled to his feet.

“My name is Lantis,”
the elf said. “I am, in your language, the 'lord’
of this forest. After your commendable show of strength, Ben
Greenwood, my advice was sought. As soon as they mentioned your name,
I came directly.”

The way Lantis spoke, the manner
in which he responded to Ben’s name and the warmth in his voice
were all good signs. But Ben still felt nervous when he asked his
next question – there was so much riding on it.

“Do you know my parents?”

Lantis smiled. “I know them
well, your father especially. They were here last week.”

“Last week?” Ben
turned, sharing his excitement with Charlie. “Do you know where
they went?”

“I don’t. But they
never tell me where they are heading.”

Ben felt deflated, but only a
little. His parents had been here! Last week. He looked around with a
funny smile, as if they were still hidden somewhere in the trees.

“What were they doing
here?” Charlie asked, seeing that Ben was busy revelling in the
news.

“They were resting. Suktar
keeps them on their toes and this is one of the few places he cannot
easily reach.”

The news sobered Ben. “Why
do they keep running and hiding? Why don’t they go to the
Institute for protection?”

He didn’t ask the questions
he really wanted answered. Why did they leave him in the first place?
Why don’t they come back home?

Lantis sensed Ben’s doubts
and placed a hand on his shoulder. “They aren’t hiding,
Ben, I promise you that.”

“What are they doing then?”

“I swore an oath to your
parents not to say. I am sorry.”

Ben’s mind went back to the
hidden memory so recently revealed at the Institute and he spoke
softly.

“My dad said he was going
to search for someone.”

A flicker of surprise crossed
Lantis’ face and Ben knew he had something. Charlie saw it too;
his eyes widened and he pointed a finger at Lantis.

“That’s it, isn’t
it? That’s the key to all this. Who are Ben’s parents
searching for?”

Lantis stared intently at each of
them.

“Yes, they are searching.
But more than that I will not say.”

“Why though? They have
Elizabeth’s legacy. Isn’t that what Suktar wants?”
Ben asked.

Lantis did not answer.

“Can you at least tell us
what Elizabeth’s legacy is?” Charlie pleaded.

“That I can tell you. Have
you heard of Elizabeth’s Armour?”

Ben shook his head, but to his
surprise saw Charlie nodding.

“Natalie told me about it.
Queen Elizabeth wore a silver suit of armour during her great
conquests of the Unseen Kingdoms. It was said to bring her luck
because she never lost. The armour was buried with her when she
died,” Charlie said.

“Very good. That is exactly
the story everyone is told.”

“But not the true story?”

“No. Your Institute had
conquered or allied with many of the kingdoms with little resistance,
until they landed on the shores of Erellia.”

“King Suktar’s
realm,” Charlie said, giving Ben a glance.

“That’s right. Suktar
was planning a mighty invasion and it was on those shores the
Institute suffered their first defeat. Over the next decade Erellia
conquered many kingdoms with shocking brutality and the Institute was
forced to retreat. Elizabeth realised the danger Erellia posed not
only to the kingdoms but also to the British Empire. So she took her
case to the High Council.”

“The High Council?”

“A society consisting of
twenty-four of the most powerful wizards. I do not know how Elizabeth
found their headquarters or how she convinced them, but she returned
with a suit of armour powerful enough to combat the threat of
Suktar’s army. To this day, it remains the only thing Suktar
truly fears. The armour is Elizabeth’s legacy.”

The revelation caused a momentary
silence. Ben was vaguely aware that his mouth was hanging open.

“What about the spell on
me?” he asked eventually.

“Your parents came straight
here after the dark elves raided their house. They convinced us to
cast a spell that harnesses the power from Elizabeth’s Armour
in order to protect you.”

Ben exchanged a meaningful glance
with Charlie. So that was why the dark elf mentioned Elizabeth’s
legacy when his spell was deflected.

“What does it do other than
deflect spells?” Ben asked.

“The spell relies on the
qualities of the Armour, which are largely unknown. I can tell you it
is only effective against dark elves.”

Ben felt the mystery finally
becoming clear, but Charlie’s intense stare indicated he still
wasn’t done.

“How did Ben’s
parents get Elizabeth’s Armour in the first place?”

“On this I am also sworn to
secrecy,” Lantis said. “Indeed, you already know far more
than the Institute.”

“Did they steal it?”

Ben directed the question at
Lantis with such intent he thought for a moment he was going to get
an answer. But Lantis remained silent.

“I don’t think the
way they got it is important right now,” Charlie said.

“It’s important to
me,” Ben said with a hint of anger. He sighed and ruffled his
hair. “I need to know.”

“Do you trust your
parents?” Lantis asked.

“Of course.”

“As do I. They are two of
the best humans I know. Do not worry about how they obtained the
Armour.”

Ben wiped his forehead with the
back of his hand.

“You’re right. I
shouldn’t doubt their motives. I just wish I understood them
more.”

“You will in time,”
Lantis said softly.

The moment was broken by an
almighty rumble coming from Charlie’s stomach.

“Sorry,” he said with
a cringe. “I’m not usually this hungry in the morning.”

Ben felt the same way. He delved
into his bag and took out the last of their sandwiches.

“Your hunger is to be
expected,” Lantis said, as he watched them munch down their
food.

“Why? Does that trance
spell you cast on us last night drain the body?”

“It wasn’t last
night,” Lantis said. “It was two nights ago.”

Ben almost choked. “What?”

“You’ve been out for
thirty-six hours. I’m sorry, it took me some time to get here
and my colleagues saw no sense in waking you.”

Charlie had turned pale. “It’s
tonight.”

“What’s tonight?”
Lantis asked, sensing their sudden alarm.

Ben grabbed his bag and strapped
it over his shoulder.

“The dark elves spread a
rumour that I’m going to be executed, in an attempt to capture
my parents.”

“But you’re not.”

“No, but my parents don’t
know that.” The more Ben talked, the more he realised how
desperate the situation was. “Nobody except the dark elves know
where we are.”

“Where is this execution
supposedly taking place?”

“The Floating Prison.”

Lantis gave his first sign of
worry, a subtle creasing of his smooth forehead. “Let us hope
your parents are not fooled.”

“Do you know where the
Floating Prison is?” Charlie asked.

“It is a small island that
floats somewhere in the sky, though nobody knows where. It’s
Suktar’s personal jail. As you can imagine, escaping is
impossible.”

“It can’t be
impossible,” Ben said. “There must be a way in, so there
is obviously a way out.”

“The entrance is through a
gateway, but its location is unknown and it changes each day. As for
the exit, there is a different gateway that also changes daily.”

Ben ran a hand through his
dishevelled hair. “Do you know where the entrance gateway is
today?”

“No, and I would strongly
advise you against finding out. Going to the Floating Prison serves
no purpose. If your parents do find a way in, it will be a lot easier
escaping without worrying about you.”

“The dark elves captured a
friend of ours,” Ben said. “She is going to be executed
as well. So we don’t really have a choice.”

“I’m sorry to hear
that,” Lantis said.

“Who would know where the
entrance gateway is?”

“The only people who might
possibly know are the Institute. They have a mighty network of people
across the Unseen Kingdoms.”

“We’re not on great
terms with the Institute right now,” Ben said. “Is there
anyone else who might know?”

Lantis shook his head and Ben
cursed. The Institute was the last place he wanted to return to, but
if it was the only way to the Floating Prison, what choice did he
have?

They left the wood elves and set a good pace back to the forest clearing.
The sun was poking through the tall trees and Ben guessed it to be
approaching midday. That meant they had about eight hours before
dusk. Eight hours to save Natalie and find his parents.

“I don’t want to be a
pessimist—”

“Then stop talking,”
Ben said.

“…but I’ve
been thinking about our to-do list. First, we have to fire that spell
the taxi driver gave us and hope he arrives. Then we have to sneak
onto the Dragonway avoiding the dark elves, get back to the
Institute, find the location of the Floating Prison, rescue Natalie
and make an escape. Have I missed anything?”

“My parents,” Ben
said. “Once we’re at the Floating Prison, I want to find
them.”

“Your parents – of
course. Also, while we’re there I wouldn’t mind catching
up with Elessar over a cup of tea.”

Ben couldn’t help but
smile. “Let’s just concentrate on getting back to the
Institute and worry about the other stuff later.”

“I’d prefer to worry
about it now,” Charlie said. He swatted aside a stray branch.
“Are we doing the right thing? I don’t want to sound like
a coward and I certainly don’t want to abandon Natalie, but
wouldn’t it make more sense to report her kidnapping to the
Institute? They have a far better chance of rescuing her than we do.”

“My parents don’t
trust the Institute and neither do I.”

“What about Wren?”

Ben considered the question. “I
trust her, but we have no idea if she’ll be there when we
return.”

The trek back seemed shorter than
the original journey and it wasn’t long before Ben could make
out the clearing through the trees. Charlie handed Ben the spell
pellet and he tucked it into his pouch. This was one spell he could
not mess up or else they would have no way back to the Dragonway.

“What’s that?”

Charlie was pointing at a hint of
colour beyond the trees, in the clearing.

A ripple of movement. Voices.

Ben and Charlie stopped less than
twenty yards from the forest edge and darted behind one of the huge
pines.

“What can you see?”
Ben whispered.

Charlie had his back pinned
against the tree. Slowly he turned his head and peered round. “I
see a couple of those creatures that look like a cross between a lion
and an eagle.”

“A griffin?”

“That’s the one,”
Charlie said. “They have riders.”

“Are they dark elves?”
Ben asked. His own view was obscured by branches.

Charlie squinted. “I don’t
think so.” His eyes widened. “They have stars floating
above their shoulders.”

“The Institute,” Ben
said.

“How did they find us?”

Ben barely heard the question. He
was thinking furiously, re-adjusting his hastily made plans. Yes,
this was better – riskier but better. They needed to take
risks; they only had eight hours.