Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy (28 page)

“Follow me and try not to
talk,” Ben said.

Charlie gave an unrestrained gasp
as Ben unpeeled himself from the tree.

“Ben, are you mad?”
Charlie whispered furiously. “Ben!”

He ignored Charlie’s
frantic pleading and walked through the last of the trees and into
the large circular clearing.

There were three of them. Two sat
on griffins, but it was the man in the middle, sitting atop a
gleaming black pegasus, who caught Ben’s attention. He was big,
with serious eyes and four red diamonds floating above his right
shoulder.

“Ben Greenwood,” the
man said in a calm, even voice. “My name is Matthew. It is good
to see you. We have been waiting some time.”

Ben watched the man closely. The
four red diamonds meant he was probably one of Draven’s
right-hand Wardens, but his composure was the polar opposite to that
of his senior.

“How did you find us?”

“We have many contacts in
Borgen. I have come to take you home.”

Ben hesitated. “Home? I
thought the Institute wanted me confined in Taecia.”

“There have been
developments,” Matthew said. “Draven has instructed me to
return you back to your home in Croydon and post a Warden to make
sure you are safe.”

Ben thought fast. A couple of
days ago going home would have been wonderful, but now it was a
disaster. He needed to get back to the Institute. Matthew didn’t
look like a man whose mind was easily swayed. Ben took a gamble.

“One of your apprentices,
Natalie, has been captured by the dark elves. She is going to be
executed at sunset at the Floating Prison.”

Ben expected some sort of
response, but Matthew barely flinched.

“I will inform Draven as
soon as I’ve seen you safely home. Now, we’d better get
going.”

The two Wardens on griffins
jumped down and beckoned them forward. Ben threw a desperate look at
Charlie, but he was no help at all.

“This doesn’t need to
be forceful,” Matthew said, seeing their lack of movement.

The two griffin riders started
towards them, Spellshooters by their side.

“My parents!” Ben
said in a rush and the two men paused. “The dark elves have
spread a rumour that I’m also going to be executed in order to
lure my parents to the Floating Prison.”

This produced even less reaction
than the news of Natalie. “We know. Why do you think we are
taking you home? To get you as far away from the dark elves as
possible.”

Ben cursed silently. He wanted to
tell them he needed to get to the Floating Prison, but what was the
point? They would never understand his desire to find his parents.

The men resumed their advance.
Ben glanced back. They could flee into the forest, but Charlie would
never be able to keep up with him.

“You should run,”
Charlie said. There was steel behind his pale face. “I can buy
you a few seconds. You can make it back to the wood elves.”

“Good idea,” Ben
said, as he readied himself for the oncoming Warden. Ben had no
intention of leaving Charlie.

A screeching noise pierced the
air. Ben looked skywards, searching for the source, hands covering
his ears. Charlie tripped and landed on his backside.

In the distance, flying swiftly
beneath the clouds, was a huge dragon-like animal. Someone was riding
its back. Ben could just make out the rider’s flapping cloak as
the beast approached.

“God damn,” Matthew
said, his voice hard. He barked a command to his two men. “Back
on your griffins. We’ve got company.”

The dragon circled above them. It
was a wyvern, Ben realised, remembering the huge animals on the roof
of the Institute. It had a long, narrow neck and a crocodile-like
mouth. Ben took a step back as the wyvern came in to land and the
ground shook on impact. When Ben’s eyes finally went from the
wyvern to the rider, his heart leapt.

It was Alex.

His blue, hooded cloak looked
strangely impressive and contrasted with the trendy, tight-fitting
jeans and black, pointed shoes. Eyes sparkling, he reminded Ben of a
five year old up to no good.

“Good afternoon,”
Alex said, giving them a little salute. He towered over everyone on
his wyvern. “Apologies for being late. You’re a sly fox,
Matthew; you nearly threw me off the trail. Have you considered
switching departments? I could use someone like you.”

Matthew had a face of stone.
“This mission is not your concern, Alex. I have orders from
Draven to take these two boys home.”

“How lovely for you,”
Alex said, making a show of inspecting his nails. “However, I
have a wyvern that can eat you whole, so your orders don’t mean
squat.”

Matthew glanced warily at the
wyvern, but his determination never wavered. “I have orders.”

“I had a feeling you might
say that.”

Alex pulled the wyvern’s
rein and it reared its huge neck, towering over Matthew with a mighty
roar that gave Ben goosebumps.

The wyvern snapped its neck
forward like a snake striking, but Matthew’s black pegasus was
already moving and with a mighty leap it took to the sky. One of the
griffin riders went with him. They started circling the wyvern like a
couple of annoying wasps.

“Ben!”

The remaining Warden had
dismounted and was running right at them, Spellshooter in hand.

Ben squared up to the Warden,
eyes focused on his Spellshooter. The tip started to glow and the
Warden took aim. A flash of white exploded. Ben dived to his right
and felt the spell whiz by. He rolled and sprung to his feet just in
time to see the Warden jump on him. With a burst of energy Ben
squirmed free and threw himself at the Warden’s legs. Both of
them went down. They rolled around in the grass, Ben barely hearing
the screeches and blasts from the other battle. He had a hold of the
Warden’s wrist and was trying to point the Spellshooter away.
But the Warden was too strong and slowly the Spellshooter turned
towards Ben’s chest.

Thump.
A huge branch smashed the Warden on the head. He dropped his
Spellshooter and looked up in a daze. Another blow caught him full on
the face and he slumped to the floor, motionless.

Charlie stood over them, branch
raised, as if another blow might be needed.

“He’s out,” Ben
said, picking himself up.

They turned to the other battle
scene and gasped.

The griffins, the pegasus and
their riders lay on the ground, unconscious. Alex sat sideways on the
wyvern, legs crossed as if he were enjoying the midday air.

“Are we ready?” Alex
asked. He saw Ben and Charlie staring at the fallen Wardens. “They’re
fine. Abbey’s breath is quite toxic, but they’ll recover.
I don’t envy the headache they’ll have.”

“Abbey?”

“My wyvern,” Alex
said, giving her a little pat. She lowered her neck until her long
crocodile head touched the ground. “On you get.”

“You want us to get on that
thing?”

“Yes, and make it quick.
She’s not that thrilled at having to take all three of us.”

“Where are we going?”
Ben asked.

“The Floating Prison
obviously. The entrance is back in Taecia, so we’ve got a bit
of flying to do.”

Ben took a deep breath and
approached the beast. His unease grew as he examined the wyvern’s
scaly neck. How were they supposed to stay on that? But as he climbed
up, the beast’s scales stuck to him like Velcro. With a bit of
coaxing, Charlie eventually joined them.

The wyvern lifted its neck and
suddenly they were ten feet high. With a great flap of its wings, the
wyvern took to the air. It soared up with such acceleration Ben’s
neck was nearly thrown out of place. He took in great gulps of air as
the forest quickly receded into a blanket of green.

“The Institute has been
working day and night to find you since you gave Draven’s
Wardens the slip. The dark elves weren’t happy and our treaty
with them looks like it’s about to go up in smoke. The
Executive Council finally realised kissing up to the dark elves
wasn’t working, which is why they’re trying to get you
home and as far away from the dark elves as possible.”

“But you’re not?”
Ben asked.

“I know your parents. They
will attempt a rescue if they think there is the slightest chance
you’ve been captured. But not even they can escape the Floating
Prison without help.”

“But why take us?”

Alex turned and gave Ben a rare
flash of sincerity. “I heard about that spell your parents laid
on you and how it seems to repel dark elf magic. We’re going to
need that if we have any chance of success.”

So Alex didn’t need them at
all, just Ben’s spell. He wasn’t surprised, but he still
felt a little disappointed.

“Do you know about
Natalie?”

“Yes. My guess is the dark
elves will disguise her as you. They will execute her at the island’s
highest point to get the best chance of spotting Greg and Jane. There
is a huge rock formation on top of the tallest hill that gives a
panoramic view of the whole island. By the time Greg and Jane get
close enough to recognise the disguise, they will be trapped.”

“So, just to be clear,”
Charlie said, “we have to rescue Natalie and potentially Ben’s
parents by approaching the most exposed place on the island?”

“You got it.”

“How well guarded will the
Floating Prison be?”

“Very. Even the gateway
entrance will be watched, hence the wyvern.”

“That’s not as
comforting as it sounds.”

Alex shook his head. “Don’t
worry about it; I have a plan.”

“I hate that line,”
Charlie muttered under his breath.

Ben hoped Alex’s plans
weren’t as ad hoc as his. Charlie did have a point – the
rescue mission seemed hopeless, even by his standards; but he trusted
Alex for one very good reason.

“Do you know my parents
well?” Ben asked.

“Very well,” Alex
said, the flippancy in his voice disappearing momentarily. “I
count them as my closest friends.”

It was just the answer Ben had
been hoping for. His next question made his stomach churn with
nerves, but he forced it out; he had to know the answer.

“Do you know what crime my
parents were accused of?”

There was a pause. “Yes, I
do.” Another, longer pause. “At least, I know part of it.
Only your parents know the whole story, despite my efforts to learn
the truth.”

Ben didn’t like the silence
that followed, but he knew what Alex was doing. He was trying to
figure out the best words to use. The anticipation had Ben squirming
on his seat.

“It happened over twenty
years ago when they lived in a cottage in Sussex,” Alex said.
Ben had seen pictures of the cottage with its acres of open gardens.
“An intruder, a dark elf in disguise, entered their house.
There was a fracas. The dark elf was killed and your parents were
done for murder.”

The word “murder”
echoed in his head and made his heart falter. But he resisted the
tide of emotions threatening to swamp him.

Charlie asked the question Ben
had been about to voice. “So they got done even though someone
broke into their house? Surely they acted in self-defence?”

“Not quite,” Alex
replied. “Yes, the dark elf broke into their house and yes,
they acted in self-defence. But the dark elf had escaped. He had made
it halfway down the cottage path before Greg shot him down.”

Ben frowned. “Why would he
shoot a fleeing dark elf?”

Alex turned around, his grey eyes
filled with intensity. “That, Ben, is a very good question.”

“Had the dark elf stolen
something?” Charlie asked.

“No. The dark elf came and
left with nothing, hence the mystery.”

Their peaceful flight was a
stark contrast to Ben’s spinning mind, disturbed only by the
wyvern’s flapping wings and occasional snort. So his parents
hadn’t gone to jail for stealing the Armour from the Institute.
His dad had been convicted for shooting a fleeing dark elf and his
mother was probably an accomplice to the crime.

Alex was clearly confused by the
dark elf’s presence at the cottage, but Ben wasn’t. What
if the dark elf had been searching for Elizabeth’s Armour? He
must have learnt his parents might have it, so he tracked them to
their house. He didn’t escape with the Armour, but clearly he
learnt something so significant his dad felt he had to stop the elf
escaping.

Was Elizabeth’s Armour
really that important? Important enough to kill for? Lantis said it
was the only thing that could defeat Suktar. Did that justify his
dad’s crime?

The questions waged a war in his
head. He wanted to talk to Charlie, but it was clear Alex didn’t
know about the Armour. There must be a good reason for someone as
senior and close to his parents to be kept in ignorance, so Ben kept
quiet.

They left the forest and were
soon flying over endless sea. Occasionally Ben made out a ship below
or a plane above. He kept a close eye on the sun; it seemed to be
getting lower at an alarming rate. Hours had passed, and Ben felt
sore and stiff from holding onto the wyvern, when they finally
sighted land again. Taecia’s coastline materialised below and
they soared inland, above hills and small lakes.

The constant sound of wind and
flapping wings was broken by Alex.

“The gateway lies in the
next valley, right by a lake. Our best chance is surprise, so I’m
going to hit them hard and fast. Lean forward and flatten yourselves
as much as you can to minimise yourself as a target. Any questions?”

The anticipation sent Ben’s
heart racing. He could only imagine what Charlie was thinking.

Sure enough, it was Charlie who
spoke.

“I don’t want to
sound like a pessimist, but could you give us a figure, a percent, of
our chance of success? Are we looking at fifty–fifty, or is
that too optimistic? Because I thought these dark elves were
dangerous.”